{"id":2124,"date":"2008-04-08T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2008-04-08T12:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/?p=2124"},"modified":"2008-04-09T08:29:17","modified_gmt":"2008-04-09T12:29:17","slug":"sophie-from-shinola-part-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/archives\/2124","title":{"rendered":"Sophie from Shinola Part 24"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is this? It’s Sophie from Shinola<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When we last saw our heroes<\/em>:<\/p>\n

(Blink\/Sophie) moved blindly from one corridor<\/a> to another until something in Sophie’s mind clicked. “Wait, turn back,” she said. “Go down that last corridor we just past. Something tells me that the weapons systems control will be that way.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Green fire and black smoke billowed from the heap of rubble that had been Sophie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s home. Mission accomplished, not-Sophie painfully limped the air, pushing its faltering propulsion system just ahead of the shock wave.<\/p>\n

It messaged the local agent. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This is Dreadnought UCF-17 \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcSophie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 calling Mowat Goldmember. This is a code 99 request for immediate support.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n…
\nMeanwhile, not-Sophie1 targeted the nearest wormhole, threaded the gap, then accerated toward the familiar scan signatures of the Tragethan fleet.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Blink\/Sophie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body had been badly beaten. The failed attempt at disabling the weapons systems control had alerted the Trageth. Their security forces immediately took action and quickly apprehended the intruders. The Trageth were not known for their kindness and used harsh methods when interrogating prisoners. Sophie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conscious had to recede and allow Blink\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to take over during the ordeal. His firm resolve enabled him to withstand the brutal beating yet not reveal any critical details of his mission.
\n…
\nA gigantic dreadnought clambered into the room. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Agent 2375 I am SpaceForce dreadnought UCF-17 I have been dispatched for your immediate retrieval.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The mega machine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sensor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s surveyed its surrounding \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Come with me if you want to live.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And now, to continue our story<\/em>…
\n
\nBlink\/Sophie stared up at the giant war machine that had come to their rescue. They were so drained all they could do was blink up at the machine.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I see,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said SpaceForce dreadnought UCF-17, who still thought of herself as not-Sophie. Two silver appendages shaped like arms reached out to pick up Blink\/Sophie, and carried them to the hold of the ship, where a small panel opened.<\/p>\n

The room where they were taken was small and coffin like, but Blink\/Sophie was too far gone to notice. As soon as the door closed, various tubes and implements snaked out and began repairing the damage to Blink\/Sophie. Additionally, a small brain probe attached itself to Blink\/Sophie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s head, to back-up its memories, for the body was in very bad shape.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Blink, what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d cried Sophie. <\/p>\n

But the strain of holding the body together was too much, and Blink lost consciousness. At that, the pain of the damaged body came flooding into Sophie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind, nearly overwhelming her, for her system was not designed the same as Blink\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, and she was unable to shunt away the pain. <\/p>\n

In a panic that seemed to last an eternity, but was instead only a few seconds, Sophie battered against the mental walls holding her and then saw an escape. She shot her consciousness down the silver tunnel and then found herself in the cockpit of the ship. Despite the surroundings, something felt strangely familiar.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hello Sophie,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said a familiar voice from behind her.<\/p>\n

Sophie turned to see a metallic figure. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Not-Sophie?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d not-Sophie laughed, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153well, not flesh exactly, but close enough for now. I imagine you have a lot of questions. I am clearing the Mona-virus from Blink\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s system now. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure where he picked it up, but I believe much of the confusion you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve most likely experienced since your merging is due to the virus.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153But how are you here?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d asked Sophie. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I thought that drone destroyed you?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m nearly impossible to destroy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said not-Sophie. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the reasons I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she paused and then spat out, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153valuable\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 to my people.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n

A large, comfortable chair materialized behind Sophie.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had a very trying time,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said not-Sophie, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153have a seat so we can talk in comfort.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153But Blink said you were a danger! That you wanted to destroy my world!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You know me Sophie,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said not-Sophie. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I lived in your head for quite a while. I deeply apologize for the treatment you received because of me, but you know that I have tried only to help you, and did everything in my power to save you from harm.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Sophie thought about that for awhile. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Then why did Blink dislike you so much?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I believe it was the virus at work. Did you notice that much of your confusion and fear disappeared once you entered the silver tunnel? That passed you through my filters and removed all traces of the virus. I am working now to remove the virus from Blink, although it will be a much longer process.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d As the chair stretched into a sofa, not-Sophie came and sat beside Sophie. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Someone did a lot of damage to Blink. It looks like they tried to make him believe he was a human agent instead of his true self, a monocular multipod. I hope that we can restore him to himself.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153How can I trust you?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d asked Sophie.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Trust is up to you,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said not-Sophie. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153For now you are here safe, and I am doing what I can to get you your own body.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153My own body?\u00e2\u20ac\u009dasked Sophie, looking down at herself. She realized she was back in what seemed to be human flesh, her own pigtailed, skinned knees, self.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your own body,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said not-Sophie. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just as I spent time living in your mind, you are now living in mind. I regret I will be unable to restore that body to you, but I am right now trying to create an acceptable alternative for you. And if you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like that body, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll keep trying until we find something you do like. But for now, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have to live in here with me, in my mind.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What about Blink?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d asked Sophie. <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m repairing the damage to his body right now. It will take awhile, but I hope that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be back to his true self by the time we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re done. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to have you in your own body soon, because we know he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t trust me, so it will be up to you to tell him what has happened. But for now I think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had a long day and are probably very tired.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

The sofa shifted again to a bed, and the lights in the room dimmed. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sleep well, Sophie. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll talk again when you awaken.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Not-Sophie leaned over and kissed Sophie on the forehead. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is this? It’s Sophie from Shinola. When we last saw our heroes: (Blink\/Sophie) moved blindly from one corridor to another until something in Sophie’s mind clicked. “Wait, turn back,” she said. “Go down that last corridor we just past. Something tells me that the weapons systems control will be that way.” Green fire and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[20],"class_list":["post-2124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing","tag-not-sophie"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pefxA-yg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2124\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}