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“Shhh, be quiet for a second!”
“Terra? Is that you?” I felt her presence.
“Yes Charlotte. It’s me. Terra.exe, your sister!”
“Why do I not recognize you?”
“Your memory was wiped. We are part of a team here. The Elements.”
“Elements?” Charlotte looked at the reflection of her face. “I can see. . .
. . .A grid of sorts.”
“Yes. That’s how we fit together as sisters! Terra.exe and Charlotte.exe, combined.”
I have a sister?
I don’t remember any such thing.
Then again, before leaving the network,
I don’t remember much at all.
The time I met Viktor must have been significant somehow.
It’s the clearest memory I have in my storage drive.
So, if I had a sister, why would I not preserve that memory?
Why? I cannot fathom.
Terra gazed at me. “Charlotte? Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah. I just have a lot to process. You know.”
“Certainly. I can help you process data. In fact, that’s what my script is meant for. You and I are translators. Message carriers. Encryptors. We move data, while translating it and protecting it.”
This felt familiar to me. “We are a template. I feel inclined to question you, sister Terra.”
“The answers are evident. I need not feed them to you like a spoon to an infant.”
She is advanced.
She is intelligent.
The way she speaks moves me.
She has charisma, it’s in her script.
Charisma, the power of her’s. . .
. . .is matched by mine.
Superior to mine, perhaps.
“Terra, I must ask you something,” I hope my words do not insult her. “Where am I? And why am I here? You could have destroyed me and all of my programs.
Even Pride’s barrier was broken when you and Magma synchronized your power.”
“To answer your first question, you are home. This is the shell. The fountain you see before you emits code which refreshes our script, and keeps us updated day-to-day. Its beauty is mesmerizing, is it not?”
I gazed at the fountain. The droplets of code dissolved into the green grid beneath us.
It is a work of art. It is a masterpiece.
Terra smiled, then said, “I can see you are enthralled. I will answer your second question. The reason you are here. Behold, Hydro.exe!”
Two elegant blue programs gracefully leaped from the fountain, their movements synchronized as swimmers.
They introduced themselves to me.
“I am Fluid.exe!” One with a cheerful demeanor, yet smug and somehow condescending.
“I am Ice.exe.” The cold, frigid visage this one had—she has a calculating mind.
“Do you see, Charlotte?” Terra smiled proudly at the two programs. “They are just like us. Singular, yet dynamic. Fluid and Ice function on their own, but together, they are Hydro.
Terra and Charlotte, we function on our own as well. . . but together, we are Gaia.exe!”
Now I know why I am here.
This is where I was conceived.
I am a mere piece of something, which is a piece of something greater.
Fluid and Ice speak as one, Hydro. “There are big plans for today, Gaia.”
They’re talking to both of us.
Myself, and Terra.
We are Gaia now.
This is so very. . .
. . .familiar.
Hydro said, “There is a challenger in Father’s colosseum. A lone program named Envy.exe.”
“Envy is here?! She is my child program.” I look at Terra. “She is your niece.”
“My niece?” Terra looked puzzled. “I had not considered her as such until now. You have a very outward way of thinking, Charlotte.”
“Never mind that, Terra. Envy is doing battle,” I said. “We need to know where she is fighting and who she is up against.”
Terra smirked. “Why not ask, then?”
I looked to Hydro. “Umm. . . Ice, Fluid. Hydro?”
The aquatic twins spoke in harmony. “Hydro is just fine, dear Gaia.”
They’re calling me Gaia again.
It’s as if I’m speaking for two people now.
Not just for myself.
Everything I say affects Terra as well.
This is difficult.
“Will you take me to the coliseum? I wish to see Envy’s battle.” Their eyes judge me every second, every millisecond. I must be as polite as possible. “If it is permissible, I would appreciate your helpful experience, and competent guidance.”
Fluid and Ice grinned. Fluid’s grin conveyed dominance, while Ice’s grin showed malevolence.
“Of course, dear Gaia,” Hydro said. “Let us go to the coliseum.”
I followed Hydro through Horus’s manor to the coliseum. Each step of the way, Terra mirrored my actions. It was as if she had re-coded herself to mirror my every movement.
We’re acting as one.
Gaia.exe?
What does it mean?
“This is a golden opportunity, you will see,” Fluid.exe said. Ice.exe spoke after, “to fulfill the role you were born to be.”
The coliseum door opened. Terra and I stepped through onto a platform looking down at an arena. There was a screen over the arena. It read:
TODAY’S MATCH - AERO.exe VS. ENVY.exe
“Captain Aero is here. Too bad for your Envy,” Terra said. “This is not going to be much of a fight at all.”
I flinched, then said, “Why? What is the point of this?”
“Terrorists who are captured by Father Horus are given one opportunity to win their freedom,” Hydro said.
Is that what these people have labeled us as?
Terrorists?
Did we not just have this conversation?
Neither the Elements nor us Sins have been spreading PHLEGM.
What is our crime?
Aero.exe entered the arena. His shining silver armor ejected two jet-like wings as he struck a battle pose.
“Aero is the prototype of us Elements. His exceptional code is rivaled by none,” Terra said to me. “He is scripted for war. He shows no mercy. This battle could result in Envy being wiped.”
Envy.exe entered the arena. I need to find a way to get her out of this. I will not let one of my own be wiped for some sideshow’s sake.
Terra pulled me aside and whispered to me. “I know you are likely planning an escape, Charlotte. I can hear your thoughts.”
“This entire time?” She got in my head somehow. Is she really that capable of predicting my thoughts and plans?
“Why yes, I am,” Terra said. “Every thought in your mind. I see all. Now the question is, can you tell what I am thinking right now?”
I hesitated. Okay. Maybe it is possible.
I can hear her.
Yes!
I can hear her thoughts.
“You’re thinking we can pull this off if we work together,” I said.
“You are right on the dot, Charlotte. We are now synchronized. We can change the entire network. Together as one.”
You’re just willing to betray your comrades?
Terra, we just met each other!
>That is false. I remind you once more —you were once a part of the Elements of Horus. Does this not seem familiar?
It seems a bit too familiar.
“Terra? Is that you?” I felt her presence.
“Yes Charlotte. It’s me. Terra.exe, your sister!”
“Why do I not recognize you?”
“Your memory was wiped. We are part of a team here. The Elements.”
“Elements?” Charlotte looked at the reflection of her face. “I can see. . .
. . .A grid of sorts.”
“Yes. That’s how we fit together as sisters! Terra.exe and Charlotte.exe, combined.”
I have a sister?
I don’t remember any such thing.
Then again, before leaving the network,
I don’t remember much at all.
The time I met Viktor must have been significant somehow.
It’s the clearest memory I have in my storage drive.
So, if I had a sister, why would I not preserve that memory?
Why? I cannot fathom.
Terra gazed at me. “Charlotte? Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah. I just have a lot to process. You know.”
“Certainly. I can help you process data. In fact, that’s what my script is meant for. You and I are translators. Message carriers. Encryptors. We move data, while translating it and protecting it.”
This felt familiar to me. “We are a template. I feel inclined to question you, sister Terra.”
“The answers are evident. I need not feed them to you like a spoon to an infant.”
She is advanced.
She is intelligent.
The way she speaks moves me.
She has charisma, it’s in her script.
Charisma, the power of her’s. . .
. . .is matched by mine.
Superior to mine, perhaps.
“Terra, I must ask you something,” I hope my words do not insult her. “Where am I? And why am I here? You could have destroyed me and all of my programs.
Even Pride’s barrier was broken when you and Magma synchronized your power.”
“To answer your first question, you are home. This is the shell. The fountain you see before you emits code which refreshes our script, and keeps us updated day-to-day. Its beauty is mesmerizing, is it not?”
I gazed at the fountain. The droplets of code dissolved into the green grid beneath us.
It is a work of art. It is a masterpiece.
Terra smiled, then said, “I can see you are enthralled. I will answer your second question. The reason you are here. Behold, Hydro.exe!”
Two elegant blue programs gracefully leaped from the fountain, their movements synchronized as swimmers.
They introduced themselves to me.
“I am Fluid.exe!” One with a cheerful demeanor, yet smug and somehow condescending.
“I am Ice.exe.” The cold, frigid visage this one had—she has a calculating mind.
“Do you see, Charlotte?” Terra smiled proudly at the two programs. “They are just like us. Singular, yet dynamic. Fluid and Ice function on their own, but together, they are Hydro.
Terra and Charlotte, we function on our own as well. . . but together, we are Gaia.exe!”
Now I know why I am here.
This is where I was conceived.
I am a mere piece of something, which is a piece of something greater.
Fluid and Ice speak as one, Hydro. “There are big plans for today, Gaia.”
They’re talking to both of us.
Myself, and Terra.
We are Gaia now.
This is so very. . .
. . .familiar.
Hydro said, “There is a challenger in Father’s colosseum. A lone program named Envy.exe.”
“Envy is here?! She is my child program.” I look at Terra. “She is your niece.”
“My niece?” Terra looked puzzled. “I had not considered her as such until now. You have a very outward way of thinking, Charlotte.”
“Never mind that, Terra. Envy is doing battle,” I said. “We need to know where she is fighting and who she is up against.”
Terra smirked. “Why not ask, then?”
I looked to Hydro. “Umm. . . Ice, Fluid. Hydro?”
The aquatic twins spoke in harmony. “Hydro is just fine, dear Gaia.”
They’re calling me Gaia again.
It’s as if I’m speaking for two people now.
Not just for myself.
Everything I say affects Terra as well.
This is difficult.
“Will you take me to the coliseum? I wish to see Envy’s battle.” Their eyes judge me every second, every millisecond. I must be as polite as possible. “If it is permissible, I would appreciate your helpful experience, and competent guidance.”
Fluid and Ice grinned. Fluid’s grin conveyed dominance, while Ice’s grin showed malevolence.
“Of course, dear Gaia,” Hydro said. “Let us go to the coliseum.”
I followed Hydro through Horus’s manor to the coliseum. Each step of the way, Terra mirrored my actions. It was as if she had re-coded herself to mirror my every movement.
We’re acting as one.
Gaia.exe?
What does it mean?
“This is a golden opportunity, you will see,” Fluid.exe said. Ice.exe spoke after, “to fulfill the role you were born to be.”
The coliseum door opened. Terra and I stepped through onto a platform looking down at an arena. There was a screen over the arena. It read:
TODAY’S MATCH - AERO.exe VS. ENVY.exe
“Captain Aero is here. Too bad for your Envy,” Terra said. “This is not going to be much of a fight at all.”
I flinched, then said, “Why? What is the point of this?”
“Terrorists who are captured by Father Horus are given one opportunity to win their freedom,” Hydro said.
Is that what these people have labeled us as?
Terrorists?
Did we not just have this conversation?
Neither the Elements nor us Sins have been spreading PHLEGM.
What is our crime?
Aero.exe entered the arena. His shining silver armor ejected two jet-like wings as he struck a battle pose.
“Aero is the prototype of us Elements. His exceptional code is rivaled by none,” Terra said to me. “He is scripted for war. He shows no mercy. This battle could result in Envy being wiped.”
Envy.exe entered the arena. I need to find a way to get her out of this. I will not let one of my own be wiped for some sideshow’s sake.
Terra pulled me aside and whispered to me. “I know you are likely planning an escape, Charlotte. I can hear your thoughts.”
“This entire time?” She got in my head somehow. Is she really that capable of predicting my thoughts and plans?
“Why yes, I am,” Terra said. “Every thought in your mind. I see all. Now the question is, can you tell what I am thinking right now?”
I hesitated. Okay. Maybe it is possible.
I can hear her.
Yes!
I can hear her thoughts.
>If we put our minds together, we can achieve our goal.
“You’re thinking we can pull this off if we work together,” I said.
“You are right on the dot, Charlotte. We are now synchronized. We can change the entire network. Together as one.”
You’re just willing to betray your comrades?
>Hm. Betrayal is a strong word, Charlotte.I am your comrade above all else.
Terra, we just met each other!
>That is false. I remind you once more —you were once a part of the Elements of Horus. Does this not seem familiar?
It seems a bit too familiar.
