Synthetic

Chapter 03: Flashback

"Th-that...may be hard to find..." My voice synthesizer hit an unexpected blip. Were there ever personnel in the factory? "You are aware that Enterprise Laboratories is a fully-"

"No!" The stranger cried out, before recoiling and remembering to watch her volume in this place. "No, no...this place had employees. I should know, because my mother worked in this godforsaken lab." She hissed, her determined blue eyes staring me down.

Her mother? I gave my logs a quick scan. I hadn't identified any familiar humans except for this one. I was a sentry, after all. Any member of Enterprise would possess identification, or at least have a connection with us. Though it only took a fraction of a second, my internal searches had no matches. I shook my head in defeat. "My logs don't show any sign of her, or any employees for that matter. I'm sorry." Strangely, the apology felt...real, for lack of better words. Heartfelt, despite my lack of a circulatory system. I shrugged it off. Departments from my logic were common at this point.

However, the trespasser wasn't too keen on giving up. "Alright, alright. Do you know where any storage rooms are?"

Huh. I hadn't moved from my patrol route until recently, but I had a map of most of the facility's components. "We're currently in Sector 01...rooms in close proximity have been removed due to attempted looting incidents. So far, there are three rooms, one in each of the two sectors and another in the factory. I hope that'll help your search." I paused, wondering if this was all I'd see of this stranger. It brought a twinge of remorse to my processors. "By the way, may I attend your search? There's...an error in my system that's come to my attention."

"Really. And that error is not murdering me?" The woman remarked, picking up a few more files without breaking eye contact. I nodded dumbly in response. She hesitated, before speaking defeatedly. "I suppose you could be of use, just as long as you don't recover from it.'"

A part of me wanted to let loose a snide reply, but I managed to resist. I saw her rounding the corner and crouching near a loose grate, slipping her fingers under it. Yet, it was barely a minute before she pulled her hand back with a hiss, nursing a small cut she'd received from the metal.

"Are you alright?" I asked, approaching swiftly. This response was innate...was it my software, or was it me alone?

"I'm fine," she huffed. "There's got to be some way to get in the vents. Can you open this thing for me?"

I obliged, proceeding towards the vent and drawing a blade from my forearm. Just as I was about to strike open the grate, I made a sudden realization. I possessed no maps of the ventilation system, and even if there were no working vents in this sector of the factory, we could be lost for good. My bout of calculation ended when I saw the stranger giving me an odd look. "You've got to be kidding me...Does that vent, uh, catch your eye or something?" She called out, shrinking backwards as if I were about to explode. "Did you change your mind about the whole 'not-killing-me' thing?"

I recollected myself, acknowledging that freezing and staring at a wall wasn't something considered natural, before taking off and searching through the boxes. "Negative. All I need is a map of the ventilation system before we depart."

She gave a relived sigh and replied, "Right. I'll get to looking, then."

The box I was looking through contained no maps, but many assorted belongings. Apparently, she was right about the human employees. However, what caught my attention was somebody's old clothes beneath them, which were neatly packed in a plastic film. Intrigued, I set the lightly worn box aside and kept looking. Peeking inside further, I was met with a shocking discovery. A pair of blue, slightly cracked glasses, a matching tie and a slightly singed lab coat; as well as several papers scattered beneath the meticulously folded clothes. It may have looked unremarkable compared to the other boxes of similar objects, but this one made me recall something more than just a face.

I remembered another body this time.

A distant memory flashed in my mind: I was a lean, albicant man, toiling feverishly over a workbench with one metal hand and one of my own flesh. I was grinning almost wickedly at the enormous device in front of me; a stark white machine with bared wires and caging in multiple places, the few shelled parts of it glinting in the light of the laboratory I was seated in. In a frenzy, I threw aside the tools I was carrying, pulling a curious remote from my pocket and flicking it on. Then the room came alive with a thrumming noise, as the incomplete contraption flared to life and reared up several feet above me and...

"Please...understand..."

...and I was back in my robotic shell, my new acquaintance standing beside me. However, she seemed to be calculating something instead of gazing on. As soon as my senses returned, I nearly threw myself to the floor in confusion, bringing her back from her thoughts as well. With a muffled curse, she hastily grabbed my chestplate and hauled me back to my feet. "Got a little carried away there, buddy-" She panted, hands retreating from my metallic form. "What happened to you?! First, you start staring at that vent and now-"

Her eyes widened in apparent realization. "Tell me everything."