LOOK AT ME.
The Star.
They wake up to sunlight streaming through the window. The current Noko Heir ala Stand-In for the actual Directive, is slumped in a chair leaning against a perpendicular wall, a considerable distance away. The walls are white, and they are reminded of their first meeting with the Noko Heir.
"Directive Noko?" When no response is given, they look for crutches. There's a diagnosis on the floor, where the Directive Noko had dropped it as they fell asleep. They should probably be able to walk. There aren't any crutches.
They don't want to wake Directive Noko up. They don't want to speak to Directive Noko. Despite how rude and against coding it is, something close to a sick feeling spreads along their veins, when they think about following courtesy to him. They dismiss the sick feeling. Androids are not capable of disgust. Especially not one malfunctioning.
They get up anyway. Maybe the blankets are thicker than they're comfortable, but the light that pulses on the bedside table, isn't as easy to hide as strips of half lights on wrists. Directive Noko will see the light and know that their awake. And deception is something that a malfunctioning android might be capable of, but not a rehabilitated and fixed one.
A sharp phantom pain goes up their arm as they step off the bed. The wire hooked into the tangle of circuits that is their wrist, is tense and still connected to the pulsing light. They take a moment to contemplate the outcomes. 1, 3, 5, 7... 23, 29, 31, 37-
"DEIRDRE?"
IDRA, they correct before stopping themselves.
"Yes, Directive Noko." they reply in lieu of having to greet them.
"Are you- do you need anything?" Directive Noko is a hard person to hate, and ranked first as Most Liked Directive, according to the data and readings compiled. Their brown hair is in need of brushing, and Idra notes that they must have fallen asleep overnight. Or day.
"No. May I inquire why your presence has been deemed necessary?" they reform the words several times, and rearrange sentences. The end result is fine. Directive Noko looks up, eyes still as wide as ever. It was a wonder why they hadn't been back stabbed yet, with that kind of attitude. But then again, who would back stab the Most Liked Noko Directive since the founding Noko Directive?
YOU ARE READING
These Violent Stars Will Set Your Heart Free
Fiksi IlmiahIn a future, not entirely unsimilar to the present, the world is ruled by lines of code. Coders create viruses and sabotage each other, all to reach an impossible deadline, set by their Directive. A prominent Coder is found dead in their assigned ap...
