As you were previously warned…

Part 1 – Nathan
Part 2 – Shawn
Part 3 – MWT
Part 4 – Eric
Part 5 – Matt
Part 6 – Jeri
Part 7 – Saqib
Part 8 – Me
Part 9 – Vince
Part 10 – Kimberly Ann
Part 11 – Tom
Part 12 – Kate
Part 13 – Justin Ryan
Part 14 – Bryan
Part 15 – Tania
Part 16 – C
Part 17 – Nathan
Part 18 – Shawn
Part 19 – MWT
Part 20 – Eric
Part 21 – Matt
Part 22 – Jeri
Part 23 – Saqib
Part 24 – Me
Part 25 – Vince
Part 26 – Kimberly Ann
Part 27 – Tom
Part 28 – Kate
Part 29 – Bryan
Part 30 – C
Part 31 – Justin Ryan
Part 32 – Tania

Part 7
When we last saw our heroes…

Not-Sophie sighed. “True. But it’s me the Spaceforce will want, not your daughter. Her ability to create a symbiosis with that quasi-intelligent flying tarantula you gave her is what made her a candidate for the mod. In one sense, you created me. Mother. ”

Sophie’s mother flinched and turned away.

Not-Sophie pulled at the restraints, watched the relentless IV drip that was feeding it, helping it grow. It was too bad that the metamorphosis would destroy the original version of Sophie. It was hardest on the family. OK, it was pretty tough for Sophie’s symbiote, too, but that was inconsequential.

Meanwhile, on the sterilization fleet above Chenolla VI’s orbit.

“I’ve detected a dual brained life form could be one of ours”
…
“Very well I authorize the use of precision force. Deploy the hunter seeker droid.”

Now to continue our story…

Not-Sophie quietly seethed while waiting for the lights to go out. They had discovered her presence, but hadn’t divined her purpose, so her mission was still safe. But these humans were worse than they had imagined. That they would treat their offspring in such a manner was bad enough, but to treat a monocular multipod as a pet? This was unbelievable. Every time she saw the way Blink was treated she could barely control her rage. She still wasn’t sure what they had done to Blink, but it seemed that only true-Sophie had seen his potential.

Finally the lights went out. All the other children in the lab were drugged into insensibility, so not-Sophie felt safe to act with impunity. She quickly undid the restraints holding her to the “bed” and then pulled out the IV drip. As she did, she released her mental hold on the tubing, and the toxic cocktail drained out onto the floor.

She’d allowed a small amount of the drugs to seep into the system to keep true-Sophie calm. She was still distraught by the replacement of her biological body with the new biomechanical body, but despite true-Sophie’s trauma, not-Sophie was a tiny bit relieved, for the biomechanical body was much easier for her to control.

She sat up and moved quickly across the room to the computer console. Within moments she had cracked the system and was moving into telecommunications. Although time was of the essence, she spared a moment to place a termination order for the awful creature that called itself true-Sophie’s mother. Then she finished up and removed all trace of her presence of her system.

As she walked towards the exit, she began to modify the body’s bio-mechanics. They had given Sophie a fully equipped body, but turned off many of the advanced features, assuming that it would be a long while before Sophie was capable of finding, no less figuring out, those features. Within a few seconds Sophie was connected to the global wireless network, and immediately received the notice that the termination was complete.

While she took the elevator down to leave the building, she activated the rest of Sophie’s components. She was impressed by the quality of the components of the body. Considering how horrible the facilities where the transplant had taken place were, they had spared no expense in Sophie’s new body.

Sophie exited the building at ground level and began to walk down the street. She didn’t have a destination in mind, she needed to keep moving while she downloaded the information she needed. Meanwhile, she needed to do something even more important.

“Sophie?” she thought. “Sophie, can you wake up a bit? We’re safe now.”

As true-Sophie awakened not-Sophie could feel her fear return, however, the drugs had done their work and it was a dull fear, not the hysterical panic that had put her in the ward in the first place.

“Safe?”

“Yes Sophie, we’re safe. And we’re going to look for Blink.”

“Blink?” not-Sophie could feel true-Sophie’s increased alertness at the mention of Blink. “Blink is alive?”

“Yes. He’s alive and in this area, but your connection is much better to him than mine, so I need you to concentrate on him so we can find him. Then we’re going to go somewhere safe.” Not-Sophie didn’t specify what safe would entail, but true-Sophie was already concentrating on Blink, and didn’t notice not-Sophie’s concerns and worries.

As they walked, not-Sophie felt someone searching for her. She assumed it was her people, but right now her priority was to find Blink, and then to make sure both Blink and true-Sophie were safe. As she was trying to figure out where they could go next, a small shape darted out of an alley.

“BLINK!” true-Sophie cried.

Blink turned, scurried towards Sophie, and then leapt into her arms. True-Sophie was ecstatic as Blink nuzzled her and licked her face. Letting true-Sophie enjoy this reunion, not-Sophie was finally able to examine Blink to see what they had done to him. Suddenly she noticed a small microchip at the base of Blink’s brain. It was but a moment’s work for not-Sophie to disable the chip.

True-Sophie felt not-Sophie’s exaltation, but assumed it was shared joy at being reunited with Blink.

Blink stiffened suddenly in Sophie’s arms, and his eyes went blank for a second. Then he turned his head towards Sophie and for the first time not-Sophie saw his true intelligence there. They hadn’t permanently harmed or changed him!

Onto Part 9!