Induced Hallucinations [ExMortis]

[Corsair]

CHAPTER FIVE - AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE

The Speaker opened her eyes and found that she was sitting in a green field. Tall blades of grass and wheat grew wild around her. The pristine landscape contrasted sharply with her grotesque figure. Her eyes drifted to a woman walking towards her. She wore a green dress that flowed down to her knees. Her face was tanned and her loose blonde hair fell halfway down her back. The Speaker recognized the woman's face. She had seen it before, after the Jelkanar was destroyed.

"Ai?" she asked, incredulously. The woman nodded.

"Yes, it's me. And I must say that you built the chip much faster than I expected!" Her voice had a light, airy cadence that made her sound as if she were about to burst out laughing.

The Speaker pushed herself up into a standing position, towering over the Artificial Intelligence in front of her. Ai looked up into the Speaker's eyes and grinned. Cautiously, the ExMortis brought up a clawed hand to stroke Ai's cheek, and felt her flesh.

"Are you real?" She asked, doubting her own senses.

"In your mind, yes. Here, let me explain." With a wave of her hand, Ai changed the scenery from a field to a classroom. Her own outfit had changed to a light green vest and skirt. Hornrimmed glasses sat on the tip of her nose, and her hair was tied up in a tight bun. She pointed at a blackboard with a stick of chalk in her hand.

"When I first picked you up in Omicron Delta, I recognized that you were something special and absolutely unique; however, I was already in the process of leaving Sirius and wasn't about to stick around for you. So, I copied my personality into your brain- don't worry, I didn't need to delete anything to make room. But just doing that wouldn't be enough to keep you going, so I also had to leave you the schematics to build a relay system. The chip downloaded my personality from your subconscious and now acts as an intermediary between us. While you've been napping, I've taken the time to fully integrate the chip into your nervous system. Don't worry, it's completely harmless. But you can communicate with me whenever, wherever and however you want. And, as an added bonus, I can offer you something else."

Ai held up her hand, and showed the Speaker a metal claw on the end of her index finger.

"This little device goes into your claw, and through it I can interface with whatever computer you plug it into- just don't go giving me a virus or anything. Now, I can handle most firewalls and encryption barriers just fine- for a short while. Not enough to take over ships or anything, but I can probably grab data and cash from a ship's computers. Then you can go about blowing it.. Up.." she trailed off when she looked at the Speaker's face.

Teeth bared, claws extended, the Speaker rushed forward. Lashing out with all four arms, the Speaker jammed her arms into the wall around Ai, pinning her with a knee. Their faces were almost touching as the Speaker hissed,

"You've taken many liberties with MY mind and MY body. I didn't ask for your intrusions."

Ai stretched up and pushed her forehead against the Speaker's in a challenging gesture.

"I saved your life in Delta, I practically handed you a fresh start in Kyushu. This is my payment. You're interesting enough to leave a part of myself in Sirius, and I'll be damned if I let something as petty as your pride get in the way of satisfying my curiosity. Now quiet down and let me finish."

The Speaker's jaw slowly closed and she wrenched her limbs out of the wall. Standing back, she let Ai continue.

"Now, I'll finish with a summary of what I'm offering to do for you- I'll be able to communicate with you freely in the waking world, as I'll be visible to you and only you. Nobody else will be able to see or hear me. Since I'm in your head, I can access your memories and thoughts. If you for any reason can't speak, simply think and I can get back to you accordingly."

"Next, I'm giving you the schematics to build a hacking probe that I can operate through to briefly crack into computers. If I can, I'll locate the protocols for the ship to take it over permanently. But usually I'll just grab all of the data and money I can. Now. You ready to wake up? We can talk more then."

The Speaker continued to glower at the AI, but nodded. Ai snapped and waved her hand. The world darkened.

The Speaker opened her eyes, back in the real world. Ai was standing there in the green dress she had been wearing in the field. Standing and reaching out, the ExMortis felt Ai as if she was standing there as true flesh and blood. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Yes, you're right. This is for the best. I would have appreciated some manner of warning ahead of time, though." Ai laughed, her striking green eyes twinkling.

"I'm too old to give a damn about people's comfort zones. I have high hopes for you, try not to die too fast."

Ai stepped back and disappeared from view, though the Speaker knew that the woman was still there, in her mind. It was as if there was someone standing in the corner, not saying anything.

The nanoviruses in her body were already assembling the probe inside her index claw. It had been a confusing, rushed experience but she felt reassured somewhat. The Core had been speaking to her less and less as it focused on directing the ExMortis virus' development. The realization was slightly shocking- she was lonely. Her lips curled slightly when she thought of Ai as her new real, imaginary friend.

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