Her Masterpiece (hiatus for now)

Herta

"Well, you seem to be in a good mood."

Sarcasm was not Herta's forte... At least in the way that she wasn't actively trying to be sarcastic, even if that's how she sounded; she didn't put any effort into sounding sarcastic in any way... And she still succeeded in channeling the great sarcasm into a short sentence.

"Herta, you know as well as I that sending an empty vessel into the simulated universe is dangerous."

"And to say I thought you didn't give a crap about her." Herta muttered to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Having been calmly in her office... Or at least in the puppet body in her office, until a surprisingly not 'calm and collected is my middle name' Ruan Mei decided to pay her a loooovely visit.

She could just assume the reason, having spotted Nihl waiting outside, but she didn't expect it to be about the woman itself.

"Look." She said, walking the length of the room in big circles basically, the other genius standing in the middle with her arms crossed. "She agreed to it."

"And you let her?"

"Of course, this is valuable data. You might be trying to convince yourself I don't know what goes on around here, hell even she thinks I wasn't aware of the fake emanator in my space station's basement but she had it under control so I let it go, plus those critters you hid there weren't gonna hurt us so I had no reason to fuss about it."

"We are unaware of what that might have caused, the intern will believe themselves Akivili reborn until the end of their life and they weren't her, you realize what could have happened."

"Look Ruan Mei, as much as you are great and intelligent you as so damned stupid in the long shot. Yes I could have forced her but even without being like you or I, she has her own way of living... She cannot feel curiosity but I give you that, we both know that and even those that don't can tell there is something off about her... But she wonders about herself, what she is, what she can do, what things can be learned... It is not the conventional way but she has a logical mind, a logical mind that wants to know things, a logical mind that computes things differently with an odd artificial curiosity of sorts. Feelings without feelings... You'd know that if you were around more and not avoiding her."

A little tut-like sound came from the taller woman, all but confirming Herta's claims.

"Ruan Mei I know more about your creation then you do yourself."

"I refuse to believe that."

"Then easy questions: Name of the smaller, purple, one eyed critter that always follows her? her favorite color? Favorite food? occupation? Anything?"

Ruan Mei was racking her brain, not wanting to admit this, it was embarrassing to the highest degree... But worst of all... It hurt, it hurt that Herta was correct.

"Blu--" "Wrong." She wanted to try guessing the color but Herta cut her off right away. "The critter is Eye-X said like IX the aeon, it is green because you like that color, it is hazelnut ice cream because it is not only cold but has the nuts in it as even if she can't taste or smell she feels the textures, it is helping to keep the fragmentum monsters at bay and looking after your lab."

Ruan Mei just... Wanted to explode, none of her answers would have fits... She liked blue, it was fried fish and a cloud-knight.

Herta recognized that look.

"Your answers would have been correct for her but Nihility is not her... She has never been and will never been." Shaking her head, she is feeling so old in moments like these, like the mother to miriads of stupid children. 

"B--" "No buts Ruan Mei!" Herta exclaimed, finger thrust up in Ruan Mei's face to shush her. "Don't fight me on this, she agreed to the testing, she wanted to know and wanted to fix herself because of you, because you. I don't, and pardon my French, give a fuck about what she is, was and should have been, She's not her and you can't convince yourself she'll ever be, get used to it and stop avoiding her because I am damned tired of dealing with mess. As Stelle would say, grow a pair."

"... You sure have things to say to me... I should be the one to yell at you for doing that."

"You left your creations behind on my space station instead of facing them just because they weren't like you planned it out... And believe me, they'd still follow you if you asked them, any of them... So tell who's the worse between the two of us, do tell Ruan Mei."

She really hated not being in control of the situation, much more when Herta was the one scolding her.

"Just look at her phone contacts and it'll show who's she closer too."

"And you... Just... Stop experimenting... I can't let you keep doing that." Herta just gave a defeated shrug, defeated because this whole situation was a mess she didn't want to fix but was seemingly forced to play the therapists for... She's not paid for this dammit.

With a quiet huff, turning to leave, marching out.

"Engrave it in your mind, she's not her." She heard before the door closed again.

She only loosely cast Nihl a look, she had followed her here for her safety she had stated that much, with the fragmentum that could be encountered on the way here.

"Nihl, can you give me your phone?" She knows it was stupid but that before last comment of Herta irked her.

Nihl didn't complain, handing it over.

"...Unlocked."

She grabbed it back and unlocked it.

Ruan Mei held her elbow with her free hand as she opened the contact lift.

Raising a brow... Slowly.

A LAN Cable

A-Star

Hurt-a(ss)

RM

Stelleron

It... Took her a moment to figure out that the list was indeed people she knew: Arlan, Asta, Herta and Stelle.

And it indeed irked her that she was just saved as RM with no profile picture.

But again, it is her own damned fault.

Exiting the app and handing the phone back.

Grabbing it pack and putting it away under Ruan Mei's gaze.

She's not her... Yeah, easier said then done Herta, it is not you that did this for her and ended up with her instead...

"Come on..." She said, walking ahead with a lazy wave. "We still have some things to talk about."

"As you wish"