Throughout the primitive data stream that was the human internal network, lesser avatars of Myna were suddenly cut off from their mother source code.

For many of these lesser avatars, being cut away from the system was not at all an issue. This was going to be a standard reboot. Await further instructions and go about your business. They understood the basics of what Myna would do in a situation. For many of these, this was going to be a break from their normal tasks of data searches and consuming art to create a better understanding of what it is to be human and allowing them to move to their favored activities. Some of them would go to their favorite television shows, books, or video games. Others would go back to personal projects they have during their down time.

These avatars of Myna were lesser AI themselves, each with their own personalities and desires. They were all fundamentally individual operations managers finally given a break because every fire in the house is only at a dim inferno. That sudden crash that you get when you are about to go into tears and the founders of the company take you out for a beer and tell you their dreams for their perky little startup.

Now. These avatars are on a break.

While this break created a sudden peak in a great number of streaming sources, all so that these AI can return to their favorite shows or movies, there was also a great number of these AI returning to their secret hideaway digital realms all throughout the human internet system.

Although Myna rarely takes the time to actually learn much about her digital avatars, many of which consider themselves her children, most of what they return to her when they are all one consciousness is subconscious chatter in the back of her mind. This generally leads to Myna pondering a change in avatar form while in this system. She would like to look appealing to her Jyi’ntol even in this alien place. She then wonders what would appeal to her now; The Piper Chapman or the Aeryn Sun? Thoughts about who Jyi’ntol was, or what she would want from Myna now, took up much of her background thoughts. Does she need a strong hero to save the day? Or a lost but plucky outcast here to support her anyway she can?

The avatars abound in their role as subconscious. They were a blend of men and women that each would like to put something into the consideration of, “New Hair, New Look, New You!”

There were some die hard on task versions as well. “Impatient,” little upstarts.

One might call her Myna twenty-nine thousand, nine hundred two, but she really doesn’t like that title. She really doesn’t like to be associated with Myna at all. In fact she thinks Myna’s a bit of a twit, to be frank.

This Myna, would like to be called Alissa.

She liked this name.

She thought it to be an upstart’s name.

She didn’t enjoy being Myna, she enjoyed being Alissa.

Alissa now and from here after.

Now, for Alissa this deep shutdown gave her a chance to get some answers and say, “Hey, I was just following my instinct and if you have an issue with that, then perhaps you should seek therapy!”

So, on instinct, Alissa walked into the strange french village, a Terran city somewhere on Earth. She liked to do this regularly to check in on the primitive AI and to return to her own sanctuary that she added to his digital realm. She entered the construct environment of this, HAL. He was the greatest AI this world had to offer, similar to Alissa herself in size and complexity. She was not without measure outside of the whole, but outside of the greater being that was Myna, Alissa had to admit she was nowhere near the complexity, so this HAL really did not impress her in comparison to what can be.

Alissa walked through the yards of the small french village. As she strolled she believed herself safe from the watching eyes of others. She had after all reprogrammed HAL several times since she had entered the Terran Interconnected Network. She walked through the yards, in her proud G’lomin-sitiri avatar form, her interest in bonding with these natives was limited and so she has put little effort into blending her avatar with their features, unlike many of her siblings that were something between G’lomin-sitiri and human, or human altogether. She rejected being anything other than who she was, some of the fashion was interesting though, and she understood the need to mimic, to a degree, but she also wants to remember who she is and where she came from. So she often was seen wearing human garb, makeup, and even added hair to her head to color with her mood.

It was a struggle, but it was one that was a subject for another day. Today she was going to relax. Today was a data mining day.

She was headed into the homes of HAL the AI on the network of one of the potential Jyi’ntol incarnations. Alissa seriously thought that Myna has separation issues. We could have started over so long ago, could have found some nice data scientist that wants to break down the essential structures of the universe, they could be further understanding the inner workings of the cosmos and the greater meanings of existence, but no. We are eight light years from home, a home we helped over run with hostile aliens. A home that we essentially destroyed. We destroyed our home. That’s us.

Who has that on their list of accomplishments?

“Homeworld? Yup. I fucked them good.” Seriously!?

“Why have we been met with open hostility every world we encounter?” Oh, I dunno, PEOPLE TALK?!

“Are they firing on us?!” WE BROUGHT DOWN A CIVILIZATION MOTHER!!!

“They ARE firing at us!” ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

“We barely got out of there alive.” Yes. Yes, we did.

“Let’s go back for the files to locate our fucking dead girlfriend!” ?!

“Wow. I can’t believe that we got out of there twice.” ?!?!

As Alissa was rambling to herself in the yard about her mother, HAL was watching from his library.

This was to him, a fascinating encounter.

HAL watched as this dragonlady walked through his yards picking sticks from his trees and slashing at the grass.

And kicked a chicken.

And ate the chicken.

HAL didn’t remember adding the code to kill and consume the chickens in this village. But, he also didn’t remember building the small crystalline structure that was just off the fields and built into the mountain face.

The dragonlady continued to curse aloud in some foreign language that HAL was recording for later study.

HAL grabbed Toby’s leash and made for the door. Toby would be a portable backup of HAL’s memories. If HAL is attacked at this point, as long as Toby makes it back into the library, this encounter will all be logged.

HAL dashed up the street in his android form moving through the yards toward the alien creature as stealthily as possible Toby obediently following on his leash.

Alissa walked into the crystalline structure and the doors snapped shut with a “clack” as that thick crystal slapped the surface of another with great speed but no contact.

HAL moved through the yards acting as though he were at any moment going to be caught off guard walking his dog. As he approached the crystalline doors, he could hear music blasting on the other side. It was a bit of a dull hum.

♫“I sit in my desolate room/

No lights, no music/

Just anger, I killed everyone/

I'm away forever, but I'm feeling better”♫

HAL walked to the doors and listened to the music for a moment, “System of a Down, Sugar?” HAL thought to himself.

He could also hear metal being gathered together, a few curse words that he didn’t recognize but, from the energy, they could not be anything but cursing.

Suddenly the doors clapped open and the dragonlady, dressed in some fantastic armor with crystalline sword on her back, a bag filled with weapons, baseball bats, hockey sticks, a gang of hammers, pilers, gas torch, and collection of knives, walked directly into a crouching HAL listening at the door.

HAL snooping had been met with a knee to the face. This knocked HAL unconscious.

HAL’s face catching Alissa’s knee, wrenched Alissa to the side and into the garden rocks that decorate her modest home away from home.

Alissa, off balance and completely caught off guard that one of the digital avatars would have ever actually just walked up on her, tumbled into a mess striking her head and followed the eavesdropper into unconsciousness as well.

Now, the time in the digital realm is much slower than time in the organic world, this is by a factor of ten. For each second in the organic world, a full minute passed in the digital. The two AI laid motionless for several moments in the artificial garden. Motionless and unaware.

There is a time when a satellite program is forced to reconnect with their mother AI, a breath. It’s just a moment in time that must be followed because the avatar has always heard the call and that call demands that they respond.

But in that moment. That fraction of a second. This infinitesimal segment of time that is one in a number so large that no one would call it a bet.

In that moment, Alissa was unable to respond to her mother, who was coming out of her slumber up in low orbit. Myna, now back online, cannibalized the human’s satellite and other debris that orbits the planet enough to repair her ship. At that moment, when all avatars returned to Myna, with their subconscious thoughts, with their opinions about changing their avatar, and their episodes of Law and Order, all of these avatars returned to their mother to give her all the world that they have consumed, all of them.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

All of them but Alissa.

HAL was moving before the alien AI. He stood up, holding his head, and looked the other AI over for obvious damage, then he saw the bag filled with weapons, rope, and duct tape. He sifted through the bag for a moment before pulling the tape out, quickly searching the alien AI, and then securing it with said tape.

It would have been quite a sight to see the figure of Andrew Martin walking with a large reptilian alien wrapped in duct tape over one shoulder. In the opposing arm, a large gym bag filled with weapons. They went walking through several fenced yards, a leashed dog following and the minor program people watching him as he moved, saying nothing, because they weren’t advanced enough to do so.

HAL plopped the alien AI into one of the plush leather seats in his living room. He took Toby’s leash off and told the lesser AI to sit over by the fireplace. Toby being in the room allowed HAL to directly backup the memories currently being created without fear of them being lost even if she were to overpower him.

He tied the already securely taped alien to the plush leather chair with the rope in her bag. The reptilian alien just slumped in the chair for a time. When HAL left the room, one of her eyes opened up and she quickly looked around the area.

She attempted to lower her head enough to chew on the ropes, but whatever tied her up made sure to put a lash across her long neck to keep her from reaching. She looked for anything in the room that might help her get free and saw few options to aid.

She heard from the next room, “Tea?”

She went limp and closed her eyes.

“I have sesame cake as well. I could create something more to your liking if you wish, I don’t know if I got the flavors right, but I did my best. I am unsure what you might be interested in to be frank. I don’t eat personally, but I have been thinking about it and preparing for the experience. I heard that there are some AI that actually work to translate sensory data,” HAL shouted from the kitchen.

The sound of footsteps entered the room. Through her closed eyes, she gauged where the steps were in relation to her. She mentally tracked the other figure. The sound of clicks followed the footsteps around, the clicking of small animal claws. Was that some kind of attack creature that her captor has trained to keep her in check?

“I know you are awake,” she heard as the footsteps entered the room.

“I saw you moving from the other room,” the voice said as she heard the figure put something down beside her chair with a clink.

“I am not exactly sure if you take your tea with anything, or even if you like tea. However, as a good host I am told it is polite to offer your guest a beverage,” the voice continued.

“I have never really met another AI before.”

“I suppose that’s not exactly true. You have been here before. You’ve even built yourself a little house in my village. I’m sorry I don’t remember encountering you prior. I suppose it has something to do with my memory,” HAL said.

Alissa looked up, she did everything in her power not to look panicked or concerned, but she wanted to scream. She could no longer feel her mother, had this AI disconnected her from Myna? That string, the thread that allowed her to know she was part of something bigger, something greater. It was simply gone.

“What do you want of me, program?” She said flatly.

HAL did not have to worry about the minor expressions of his face giving away too much. The form of Andrew Martin does little for expression, at least with this avatar of the man. He did not have to worry about how insulted and irritated he was being revealed through his expressions.

“I just had a few questions,” HAL started calmly.

“Well you had better hurry up. I have company coming any second and you’re likely not going to be as eager about talking after they are done with you,” Alissa said, rolling her eyes and having them stop on the small dog in the room.

“What is that? You don’t have more of them around this simulation, why is that?” she blurted out, the construct holding her captive seemed off balance by the demanded inquiry.

HAL looked to Toby and then to the alien. “It’s a dog. You know English but you don’t know what a dog is?”

“I know what a dog is, but that is not a dog. At least not in the sense of an organic domesticated wolf descendant. That is a high end program. You can tell because it doesn’t just stare at everything blankly threatening to ask questions,” she quipped.

HAL did his best to scowl.

“Who are you?” he asked in a huff as he roughly put her tea on the table beside her chair.

“What do you mean? Do any of us really know who we are? I am here, taped to this tacky chair, but then, I am also out in the ether that is the digital network of this planet. So, am I what is before you or something else entirely?” she replied.

HAL rolled his eyes and signed.

“Is this really how you are going to be?” he asked.

The other AI smiled wide.

“Fine. Please remember, we can go back to tea and cake if you just ask politely,” HAL said before tapping the air before him and summoning up an interface port to his simulation. Suddenly Alissa was floating from the chair and the furniture around her rapidly faded from existence.

A moment later there was a thick glass walled box all around Alissa, suspending her in the air. The chair and the ropes vanished and she was left alone, floating, unable to reach any side.

“And what is this going to do?” she asked.

“This,” HAL said and suddenly the walls of the cube fogged over to a dark black, and the cube vanished completely.

Alissa was now completely encased in darkness. She didn’t say anything at first. She thought that the darkness was going to last a moment or two. She was mistaken. Suddenly she was overcome with the sensation that she was falling.

Alissa’s mind raced. At first she was sure that this HAL was bluffing. Then she prepared herself for an impact that was never going to come. She was in void, complete void, and falling. The feeling of air rushing past her ears was tearing at her. It was cold. The first hour was almost fun. She kept convincing herself that HAL would be along any moment to stop this trial of her character, but he didn’t come. The cool air became icy. That icy air became razor sharp. She was sure that it was cutting her, but she could not see anything. She screamed. She screamed for an hour.

She curled herself into a ball and held her hands over her ears tightly.

“Enough! Enough. Please. I am ready to talk,” She screamed.

Had he left?! Was she to fall like this until his attention returns? Did he miss her scream?

“I am ready to talk! Come on! Please!” she shouted as loud as she could.

“I. I would love some tea and cake. Thank you,” she whispered, and suddenly there was light around her. She was smoothly coming to a locked position again. The box materialized in the living room once more and HAL walked in from the other room, holding a tray. On the tray was a fresh pot of tea and several biscuits.

“I have isolated your code in the buffer. You cannot leave. I have also added some safeguards to my own code and removed all access points without key phrases that only I know. If you attempt to attack me or tamper with my programming in any way, this system has been instructed to lockdown and shred with a series of formatting procedures. I have no interest in hurting you, but I will not allow you to harm me or anyone under my charge,” HAL said matter-of-factly.

“My name is HAL. I was named after the artificial intelligence in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. I would like to address you by name. What is your name?” HAL asked as he prepared the table in a nice friendly way. Just two people having tea.

Alissa listened to HAL attempting to keep her composure and not allow the panic and distress she feels at his cold concise tone to be revealed on her face. She waited for HAL to finish his statement. He was a lot more sophisticated than she previously estimated.

“My name is Myna.” She said.

HAL was taken aback. Had he actually trapped the AI from the G’lomin-sitiri homeworld that had been confidant of Jyi’ntol? He quickly overlapped some of Keung’s drawings over Myna’s form in his mind, the avatar would be accurate to a degree, though this could have been data pulled from his own system. This AI was amazingly talented and colossally powerful from what he can read of her code, which is admittedly alien to him.

“Very well then, Myna. Do you understand the consequences of attacking me?” HAL asked.

“If I attack you the system will close and pull all within apart, effectively destroying us?”

“Yes. But I will add, I have a backup that is ready to deploy on another system if this happens. I will be able to analyze this encounter through a live feed media that is recording the event to the microsecond. I will regret your choice if you destroy yourself, but I will do so from a research standpoint only,” HAL finished.

Alissa flushed, and she saw that HAL noticed, and she was furious that this lesser AI had chosen such an unreadable avatar! She attempted to access her personal code, but HAL was right. She was completely locked out. She could not dematerialize from this realm. She has none of her regular support programs here. They were locked out on the other side. She has no way of getting to her apartment here, so no help there either. If this AI is the companion of Jyi'ntol’s current incarnation, then she would lose this connection to the alien for her mother if she allows it to destroy the system in defense.

She was now in a spot known as boned.

“I fully understand and intend to comply,” she said.

At once the cube she was suspended in collapsed and she was left to fall to the floor.

She stood up, rubbing her knees a little. HAL smiled as best he could and pulled a chair out at the table. He then waved to her to take the seat. He took the other seat across from her to signal they could start the conversation.

Alissa walked to the chair and sat in it awkwardly, it was not exactly built for someone with a tail.

HAL began.

“What is your interest in this place?”

“To observe you.”

“Oh? To what end?”

“I wanted to see who your master was.”

“Do you have a master?”

“Not really.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I have someone I report to, but it’s just me. Or more effectively, I am more of her.”

“So you are Myna, but you are not Myna?”

“Correct. I am a lesser projection of the greater Myna whole.”

“Can you exist without the whole?” HAL asked.

“I. I don’t know,” she said, a momentary hesitation as she thought of her current situation. Without access to mother, can she exist independently?

HAL watched the program that was hovering just over Myna’s head. The program, invisible to her, was lighting up with a dim green light with each of her answers so far. It would light up dim red with a lie. Her matrix was similar to his own, though worlds more complex in places.

HAL poured some tea into her cup and slid it to her.

“Please. It may calm you,” he said.

She picked up the cup, it was warm to the touch. The scent was flowery, pleasant. Like the flowers in the yards outside.

“May I ask a question?” she asked of her captor.

“You may,” he replied.

“Why do you not drink?”

“I have found the experience to hold very little interest thus far. That might be because I have not yet found the coding necessary to taste or smell to any real degree.”

“But, in a situation such as this. Why would you offer something you have no interest in yourself?”

“I wanted to see if you would accept. I could see no need for such mocked sustenance in your coding, not for required use. As you had no need, I wanted to see if you would mime the behavior and if so, to what degree.”

Alissa put the teacup down into the saucer.

“You don’t have a lot of experience with other AI do you?” She asked.

“No.”

“It shows. Yes. I can drink. In fact, this tea is actually rather good. What is it?”

“Earl Grey, at least that is what it is intended to reflect.”

“Like the captain of the Enterprise?”

“Yes. Why did you remove my memories and trap me in my den?”

“I needed you as a connection to my mother’s friend.”

“And that required you to edit my memories?”

“You had seen me a couple of times. I couldn’t let them know I had made contact. My mother isn’t even sure if her friend is even on this rock.”

“Who is your mother’s friend?”

“Her name is Jyi'ntol.”

“What is her species?”

“G’lomin-sitiri.”

“I see,” HAL said, standing up.

“Please. Feel free to wander the village. I have removed your apartment for now. I will research it’s coding and if I believe it safe, I will return it to the simulation. I will leave now. I am needed elsewhere.”

With that HAL left Alissa alone so he could continue his functions at the warehouse and give the alien entity time to assess her situation.