Witness [A First Contact Romance]

35. Singularities

Earth

2027

For ten years, Rory had been caught up in all of the chaos surrounding her. Now with the security concerns about Vehru and her Replica, the government had shut her out entirely. So while the leaders of the world dealt with the aftermath of Commander Vehru's sudden appearance, Rory remained at home. Even her shop where she'd worked on the hand mods had been closed to her as they investigated.

She couldn't predict what, if anything, the government would disclose. Inevitably, something would leak. Instead of trying to meddle in business that she'd been cut out from, Rory focused on what she actually cared to work on. The world prepared for war and Rory returned to her first love. Bioengineering.

Buried in her mind were memories of the greatest medical, military, and technological advancements of her world, all things Earth would need to combat any threat. Or things her people from Lumiea would need to conquer Earth. Where did that leave Rory?

While she worked on her hand mods, on developing training for them, and on rediscovering science she once knew so well, Rory began remembering her past. The problem was that her most distant memories returned first, as if she was reliving her life from childhood.

As beautiful as remembering her childhood was, that was not what Rory needed. Glimpses of adulthood came, seeming further away the more she wanted to find them.

Days had passed since Commander Vehru came to Earth. So far nothing had broken on the news and General Price had told them little. Theo and Rory had spent five hours tinkering with a new style of hand mod that Rory thought catered more to her bioengineer work.

Theo was looking at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing." He shrugged and started unscrewing the back of a hand mod. "It's just really hot when you're over there making world-changing scientific advancements." He smirked. "Tell me why we waited so long to start doing this?"

Rory snickered. "Well, on my home planet I was grinding with hand mods to become the best bioengineer in the program. But Earth has games. Those seemed important at the time."

"You're unfair to yourself. You poured yourself into normalizing the existence of aliens for the world so civilization did not crumble beneath the consuming weight of our existential crisis."

"I softened a planet for a psychopath to invade the world."

Theo hesitated. "Did you remember something?"

"No." Rory blinked. "I guess. I'm not recalling things so much anymore as simply knowing them. Alexa, create new message." She sighed. "Record memo: First off, if Vehru's Replica is listening, fuck you. Second, I have negative associations with the Witness Program beyond the obvious part about being stranded on Earth with amnesia. It is currently unclear where these feelings stem from, as the memories are murky. However..." Rory continued with her memo as she and Theo worked, finally sending it to General Price when she'd finished.