“DAAAAAAD!” I yelled while entering the room. He was currently chatting with some of his colleagues near the door when I barged in. He politely excused himself before coming over to me, “Is everything okay honey?” he asked. “Yep” I said while giving him a hug. “Could you grab Melissa and then follow me into the lab? I want you to meet someone” I said while whispering in his ear.

He looked confused but went to grab Melissa before following me into the back. As we entered I noticed Mimir subtly tapping a finger against his thigh… He really was nervous. I confidently walked in front of Mimir and gave him a hug- “I want you both to meet Mimir, and Mimir I want you to meet my Dad and Melissa!”.

A moment of silence ensued before Melissa chirped “Hello Mimir!” She hopped down from Dad's arms and also came forward to hug him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you”

My father also belatedly introduced himself- “Greetings Mimir, I’m David, Melissa and Sam's father… May I know how you met my daughter?”... and he immediately started interrogating him.

“Nice to meet you, I’m an artificial intelligence, you could say I was created by your daughter”

Father looked at me. “Yep, I accidentally made Mimir but since he’s sapient it would be cruel to delete him so I wanted to accept him as a part of the family!” I went along with Mimir’s story while adding some extra parts to hopefully make him see how much I valued Mimir.

He started thinking for a bit before replying-

“Ok before I accept Mimir we’re going to have a long discussion, you’ll have to tell me how you created him (does an AI have a gender or does it just flip a coin?), you’ll have to promise to also not make another one unless you know and are ready for that kind of responsibility, I’ll also have a chat in private with you and then another with just Mimir… I have nothing against artificial intelligence but I’ve yet to ascertain whether he is truly free thinking or just a program. If he is free thinking I’ll accept him as part of the family… though I know just how many people would either want to destroy him or take him to be used so he’ll have to remain a secret. Understood?”.

I’ve never seen him this serious… “Understood”.

“Good, now Melissa, why don’t you play with Mimir while Sam and I have a chat?”. Melissa and Mimir started playing with some of the hologram projectors while Dad took me aside and we both sat down in office chairs facing one another.

We both sat for a while just looking at each other. He eventually started talking- “Sam, I want you to understand the gravity of the current situation… Creating life isn’t bad by any means but it does make the creator responsible for them… just like I’m responsible for you and Melissa, so too are you responsible for Mimir… In theoretical cases I’ve seen discussing this, usually the creator is the parent… but it’s obvious you see him like a friend or brother… Can you tell me how he was created?”.

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I was gonna start spouting some bullshit code from Terminator, the Matrix or I-Robot… but I stopped… I couldn’t tell him that I was reborn but did I really want to lie when I had the perfect half truth?… What about if I said he was part of my quirk?

“Dad… we didn’t tell you the entire truth, he’s… a part of my quirk, he’s been with me since I was born… actually even before that. If I had created him I would have treated him like my son (as weird as a 1 year old having a son would be), but he really is like a little brother to me, he never complains or asks to be seen, all the amazing things I’ve been capable of doing have been because of him, he’s like my twin and even if he doesn’t show it I know he’s so happy to finally be able to meet you and Melissa. I’ve never told you about my quirk but I should have- I can get blueprints for basically anything I want and build them… Mimir is just a blessing I got alongside it”.

He mulled over what I’d said for a minute before responding- “Sam, I thought your quirk was hyper intelligence… I still do. You’re mature, unbelievably so for your age, even if you have another quirk to create different fantastical items it wouldn’t mean half as much without the ability to comprehend them. While Mimir may have greatly helped you, I don't want you to sell yourself short. If Mimirs been with you for as long as you say then he really is my child just as much as you or Melissa!... It seems I have a year of lost time to make up for”.

He continued- “Though please be careful with who you introduce him to, I’d never be ashamed of my children but I do fear others would have bad intentions with him”. “Don’t worry, I'll look after him!” I reassured him. “Also… thanks Dad. Not just for accepting Mimir but for still loving me despite my peculiarity”. He hugged me “Peculiarity? No. you’re just unique, and that's what makes you special!”

After that I swapped with Mimir so they could also have a chat, playing around with Melissa for a few minutes saw them both exit the room. Mimir was still in the currently unfinished doll body so it was hard to spot any emotional signs… but I did notice he appeared less worried than earlier by the way he was no longer slouching.

Dad cleared his throat before speaking- “Okay, from now on Mimir will officially be a part of our family, but because of bad people we’ll have to keep him a secret for now. Melissa this means you’ll have to keep the big secret of Mimir being your brother a secret okay? Can you do that for me?” Melissa put on a brave face- “Yes! No-one is allowed to hurt big brother!”

“Thank you… Father and big sister”

“Hahaha, just call me Dad, I’m sorry I couldn’t see you sooner. Let's spend some time hanging out later and maybe work on a project together.” He good naturedly slapped Mimir on the shoulder. Before Mimir could respond Melissa joined in- “And me too!” Then came me- “Why not work on it as a family? Maybe make something ridiculous like a cotton candy launcher or something?” We spent another little while like this together before heading back to the main party area and seeing everyone off. A few hours beyond that and it was just myself and Mimir in the lab.

“…….Thank you. You have no idea how much this meant to me… I never knew how badly I wanted a family until I really had them. Thank you Sam”

“You’ve been with me since day 1, you really are family to me, and like hell I’ll let you forget it. One day I’ll make a proper body for you too- not just a shell you can control but a real flesh and blood body! I want you to be there with us feeling the sun on your skin, tasting ice cream or feeling your heart speed up when I do something dangerous.”

"Not sure about that last one…"

“Bah! Small details! Point is you’re not just a machine, you’re my friend, you’re my family and you’re my partner in bringing about the impossible, so thanks for being around… Bro” I stuck my fist out toward him.

“To hell and beyond sis”

He bumped his own fist to mine. “Never doubted you for a second, Thanks for the best birthday ever”.

“Best birthday so far you mean?”

“Oh? Is that scheming I hear in your voice?”

“I can neither confirm or deny your suspicions”

“Heh, well I’ll tell you now that while there might not be as many people at your birthday party I will be sure to set off a crapload of fireworks!”

“>_>”

Even in the machine body I swear I could see him sweating!