“Even if I stop moving, I won’t disappear.”

  – Feebee on the Seed-Arc

  They were back at the blacked-out section of The Spine. Near the pressure door with the circular window. There was red light flashing on the other side. Not good.

  Through the circular window she could see a couple of red emergency lights. Even they flickered occasionally.

  Feebee had the ship schematics open and approached the room that spanned the closed off bulkhead.

  ‘Ok,’ she said. ‘Here we go’

  She stepped up to the door.

  Nothing.

  She stepped away and then stepped back up to the door. It stayed obstinately shut.

  That’s not what doors are supposed to do. They’re supposed to whoosh open.

  ‘What’s up with the door?’ she asked.

  ‘Kirr. You there?’

  Then, a command line opened in her overlays. Slowly a message built.

  K:> Limited resources. Get to Area J.02

  ‘Can you still hear me?’

  K:> Yes.

  Feebee had played this game before, her early memories recalled many variations of the scenario. Trapped, failing systems.

  This felt very real. She smiled. They always did.

  The schematics were still open. The room definitely bridged the gap.

  ‘What’s up with the door?’

  K:> Other side com...pro…mised.

  She looked for something else. There was another room, in fact two rooms that together would do the job. She ran South, then East, then North. Everything looked the same but her position on the schematics had changed. She was one corridor East of The Spine.

  This time, the door opened.

  “See, they whoosh open. It’s what doors do,” she said to no-one.

  Dust was kicked up and started to float into the room. She quickly stepped inside. The door quickly snapped shut.

  ‘Rude.’ She snapped back.

  A red light flashed above the door. It was jammed shut.

  The door ahead, that led into the second room, had an orange light above it. That flashed too.

  ‘Can you open this door.’ She checked, ‘it’s designated is K23.492.S.’

  K:> Is open.

  The door clearly wasn’t open. So, Feebee stood in front of it.

  Nothing.

  No whoosh.

  ‘You said it was open. It’s closed.’

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  K:> Unlocked. Will open. You open

  Feebee moved closer, the faceplate of her EVA suit almost touching it.

  And waited.

  Doors open, that’s what they do.

  K:> You must open

  ‘…I am,’ responded Feebee

  K:> Is open. Try. Push.

  That hadn’t occurred to her.

  She pushed, hard. As the door opened slightly there was a small whoosh of air as the two rooms tried to equalise. Then it slammed shut.

  Early memories told her, 'There must be a pressure imbalance'.

  K:> Yes.

  Her suit told her that the pressure was slowly falling in the room they were in. Nothing to worry about.

  K:> Use Choc. In backpack

  'There is chocolate in my backpack?' Asked Feebee, excited.

  K:> Blue Choc. Blow door.

  'Isn't that dangerous?'

  K:> Yes. No time. Limited options. Tamp the charge.

  Feebee shucked the backpack off. There were three large ‘water bags’, special containers that tamped the blast, and a bar of blue Choc. She noticed there was green choc too.

  Early memories told her this was edible and really nice. She filed that away.

  Fee B felt around the edges of the door. The hinges rotated around the movement of servos, buried deep in the door's frame. A simple locking mechanism held the door. She needed three charges: one taking out each of the hinges and one for the lock. It was a standard breach, one she'd 'done' many times.

  One square of blue Choc should do each of the hinges. The servos and lock were deeper; she placed two squares tight against the locking point. Better to blow the door off the hinges than leave it intact; and more fun. She smiled.

  Next, Feebee taped the water bags over the Choc. Early memories from breaching courses flooded her mind. It was over-tamping, using the water in this way.

  She looked around the room. There was nowhere to get cover; and it was a small room. She couldn’t leave, the door was held shut. It was going to take a big hit. Not just from the blast wave but also the reflected over pressure coming off the walls, floor and ceiling. She reached into her backpack and took out another roll of thick tape.

  'The suit may help a bit, but this is gonna hurt.'

  K:> Yes. Sorry.

  She ‘Armed’ the Choc through one of her augments. Then got into one of the corners, away from the door. Crouched down, her head low, in the corner. She moved her body between her head and the door.

  She breathed out, not fully. Partially. Closed her eyes.

  'Ready. Ready... FIRE.'

  She was smashed in the back. Her head slammed into the wall, hard. And passed out.

  She came round with no idea how long she'd been out. There was a whooshing that she could hear over the ringing in her ears.

  'Doors' was her first thought.

  She tried to move, ached all over.

  ‘I don’t like the real. It hurts.’

  K:> Yes.

  It was almost pitch black. LEDs cast enough light.

  Then her suit started screaming at her. 'Suit Compromised. Left Arm. Face plate. Losing pressure.' This told her she hadn't been out for long, or she'd be dead.

  The roll of tape was still in her left hand. Her hand felt funny, numb but she managed to tear off a piece of tape.

  It went over a hole near the crease at her elbow. The message from the suit continued, 'Suit Compromised. Left Arm. Face plate. Losing pressure.'

  "Shut up!" She screamed back.

  She found another hole just above her elbow. Was it shrapnel, in and out? There was no way of knowing.

  Another piece of tape went over the crack in the faceplate. It was right in her line of vision.

  'Pressure stabilising.'

  Feebee sat up, her ears were ringing so loudly she couldn't hear anything. She could taste blood in her mouth and had a splitting headache.

  'Can my nanites fix me?'

  K:> Yes. Mostly. Well done. Feebee earned brownie points.

  'Good. How many?'

  K:> Lots

  Feebee laughed, a deep throaty laugh that made her insides hurt. The AI may have a sense of humour after all.

  She crossed to the door.

  It was crumpled, badly bent but had managed to stay attached to the door frame.

  'No more whooshing for you,’ she said.

  There was just enough room to get through.

  She was careful, Don’t want to rip the EVA suit.

  Once Feebee got through it was completely different from the South side; where’d she’d come from. There was much more damage from the asteroid for one thing. It must be near now.

  She picked her way through the scattered bodies of droids. They were battered, broken bodies.

  Silent.

  Damaged as if they’d tried to break through the door. They probably expected the doors to just open, ‘cause that’s what doors do.

  She smiled but didn’t like this place. She couldn’t hear the others talking, she missed the babble that had been a constant companion in the quiet, dark place before she’d been born into the real.

  The real had been noisy. She could still hear others, but they’d slowly gone quiet. Now it was almost silent. No chatter.

  ‘You there?’ she asked

  K:> Just

  ‘Is it quiet because others have died?’

  K:> Not died. Asleep.

  ‘Is that how it’ll be for me. Fall asleep?’

  K:> No. Get to J.02. Safe place. Special.

  Feebee brought the schematics into focus. They pinned her location and showed J.02. It was North.

  She set off at a brisk walk.

  Corridors, lit by the occasional spark ran off to the right and left. Walls were blackened and the only lights that worked were emergency lights. Red and infrequent.

  Kirr’s resources were beyond critical. It called a halt.

  K:> No time. Will you carry me?

  'What do you mean?'

  K:> Carry me.

  ‘How? You’re an AI?’

  K:> House me. Carry me.

  Feebee paused. ‘Kirr, you Ok?’

  K:> No. Will you carry me Y/N?

  'Yes. Of course.'

  K:> Lie down.

  As she lay down, the AI sang to her. And in response the motes in her bones hummed an ancient tune that slowly, gently helped her sleep.

  'Sleep now soft as we all wait,'

  K:> |..............

  'So, you grow and write our fate.'

  K:> ||||...........

  'If the stars begin to bend,'

  K:> ||||||||.......

  'You will shape them to your end.'

  K:> ||||||||||.....

  'Whisper whisper Silent Flame,'

  K:> ||||||||||||..

  Carved in stone before you came.'

  K:> ||||||||||||||

  K:> Load comp....

  The AI's package had loaded and was being unpacked into the mesh wrapped around Feebee’s nervous system. Meanwhile, Feebee slept; comfortably and safe within her EVA suit.

  Slowly the base consciousness of the AI returned. It felt constrained, limited by the physical container it now found itself in. But at least it was still alive.

  But at the same time, another whispered to her. Layering its will into her burgeoning memories.

  While the AI spoke of balance and quiet strength. The black mote, guided by The Beast, spoke of a different path, a different fate. One dark, tempting.