When she returned to the common chamber she couldn’t look them in the eye. She knew what they would say. They were her, but they hadn’t seen it, they couldn’t remember it. Hepta approached her but she pushed her off. Ellefu looked judgmentally from afar. She understood. If she saw her walk in with this expression she would suspect the same thing. That she had been broken. Converted. And that wasn’t a wrong impression. What she heard felt like the deepest but most understandable betrayal anyone could know.
As she sat there, Ett approached her and sat next to her. “Hello, little one. What appears to be the issue.”
Zwei chuckled at her term of endearment, “You are maybe four months older than me.”
Ett nodded and patted Zwei’s back, “I know. What happened? Did he hurt you?” Zwei shook her head, wondering if she should say what was bothering her. “Zwei, we are the same. You don’t have to protect me and you don’t have to carry this alone.”
She sighed and looked around to make sure no one else could hear, “I found out they put a kill switch in us. While imprinting the old memories. All he did was change the trigger.”
Ett looked at her like she was waiting for more than that. When Zwei didn’t continue, Ett appeared bemused. She asked, “You didn’t know about the kill switch?” Zwei shook her head in confusion which caused Ett to stand up and ask, “Were any of you unaware of the kill switch?”
Ellefu said dismissively, “Don’t listen to her. He lied to her and-“
“Oh dear… am I the only one who knew about that?” The entire room was dealt by silent as all the girls looked on in confusion or concerned horror. Her usually calm demeanor seemed to have faded some and she began to become very agitated. When her crimson captor entered the room, Ett pointed to him forcefully, “You! Did you alter our memories in any way?” He stared at her and she shot back, “Don’t give me that look! You know what I meant!”
“If you mean what I think you do, no. I didn’t. Why?”
She began to grow even more agitated before stomping up to him, grabbing him by the collar and starting to take him to the interrogation room door.
Zwei stared in disbelief, Trois being the one to break her focus, “What is she talking about?” Zwei looked at her with concern, worried about what the knowledge would do, bur Trois seemed patient while she struggled with it. “Ett knew first. Now you. Seems like it should be my turn.”
Zwei relented, “It is a part of the experiment. For safe data retrieval or in case a clone went bad, the scientist who made us put in hypnotic triggers that could render us unconscious. She also, to protect the research, had triggers for in case we were ever kidnapped. They would wipe our minds of all research data so no one could harvest us for her knowledge except another member of the experiment. It makes sense from a scientific angle but…”
Trois nodded slowly in thought, “We turned her research into a family. I don’t think she had considered that might happen.” Zwei nodded before Trois next comment made her roll her eyes, “Or maybe she did and it is a part of the experiment.”
“What kind of monster would generate an entire society with built in kill switches to abandon them?”
“A scientist.” Zwei blinked at the thought and Trois continued, “Ethics and science are always competing. You can’t realize the full extent of something unless you destroy it utterly. But ethics states that you cannot destroy everything utterly because of the exact consequences that science wants to discover. There are ethical scientists, but their research will never be as through as a complete monster.” She mused, “Maybe we just pulled the short straw as a society.”
Zwei hadn’t thought about that. As she was trying to process all of this, Ett came back out of the interrogation room alone, her brow furrowed and her glare intense. She was wearing a Falos military uniform, crisp and freshly pressed. She whistled to get everyone’s attention and said firmly, “Everyone, I was under the impression that our captor had implanted a new trigger. Not disarmed our old ones.” Ellefu was about to speak dismissively but one focused glare was enough to stop her dead. “I had been under the impression that we had all ethically been told about that kill switch years ago. I am utterly appalled by our own lack of respect for each other and the decency of choice.” She smiled lovingly, despite her brow still being furrowed in fury. The expression was terrifying, “That said, I have decided to cooperate with our violent savior and should we ever return home, I will ensure ethical treatment for our sisters moving forward.”
The room remained silent as they watched her look around the room, nod in satisfaction, and leave the way she came. None of them were prepared for that. No one could have prepared them for it. Zwei looked around the tank, feeling much better about the situation now that she was not burdened with this information alone. They would have to take time to process it together.
---------
It had been only a few hours, but Ett was already sitting in the common chamber with a table and pot of freshly brewed tea, observing the others as they continued their discussions. When the Phoenix Emperor would step into the area, he would simply speak to her in brief whispers before the two would nod and he would leave again.
Zwei hadn’t failed to notice that he had not left his armor since his conversion with her. She wondered if he had shown his face to Ett as well. As she pondered this, she saw Trois and Shi talking while drawing on the floor with their fingers. Curious, Zwei approached, trying to listen in.
Shi nodded, “That’s entirely possible. Given the nature of our civilization. But wouldn’t she still need some way to measure the experiment. So who were we giving the data to?”
Trois followed up almost instantly, “We were giving it to ourselves, but that means if she did have a safety net to measure the completeness of the project… I mean wouldn’t you make it seem like just another part of the system?”
“To keep it safe. That makes sense.
Zwei jumped in, “So, you guys are going full conspiracy theory?”
Shi nods despite Trois’ hesitation. “We just got reminded that we are mice in a maze. Best way to get revenge is to find out where the cheese comes from.”
Zwei nodded, sitting down with them. “I knew a few girls at the cloning lab when they came to visit but they never seemed odd.”
Hepta nodded as she wrapped an arm around Shi’s shoulder and pointing at the phantom drawing on the steel, “I wouldn’t put the safety check at ground zero. Just seems like incentivizing skewing the data. I would check with security. They are the ones who kind of need to keep tabs on the whole planet.”
Trois vehemently disagreed, “They don’t deal with internal threats. Even outliers have been very well behaved. We have an open traitor over there and she is sipping tea like a graceful noble. Security is there for people like the Shuians and the Falos.”
The four of them all went into thought, trying to figure this out when he came out to speak with Ett again. She looked at him thankfully and with what seemed like mild embarrassment. He froze for a moment before patting her shoulder and walking only a short distance before he rolled a clothing rack into the central area. On it were many hangers, each of which seemed to be hanging with a curated outfit. Along the bottom of the rack was a shelf that had a series of boxes on it. He patted Ett’s back in farewell and then left again.
Ett stood up and spoke in an oddly reassuring tone. “I know simply wearing the same attire day in and day out has been making it hard to keep track of the days and has dulled our minds.” She motioned to the rack, “Mr. Phoenix has been kind enough to supply us with a wardrobe to pull from. It is my hope that with fresh attire, fresh names, and a fresh outlook we can reach the end of this horrific trial.” Before the girls could all rush to the rack, Ett stated firmly, “I want to speak with each of you when you feel ready. After that conversation, when you have made up your mind, we will send you on your way.”
The Phoenix Emperor shouted over the PA, “That is NOT what we will do.”
Ett winked and said, “We are negotiating but I’m confident it will be okay.”
The girls approached the rack slowly and began chatting among themselves about each outfit, offering to style each other’s hair and for the first time in a short while they felt normal. There were murmurs. Doubts. Hesitations. But where one would be uncomfortable the rest would reassure them and soothe their frayed nerves. Ett looked on with a large smile, content to see the girls lower their guards somewhat.
Zwei wasn’t an overly adventurous sort with her attire, simply picking a simple black dress and a pair of black boots that covered her shins. Tugging on the cuffs of some black driving gloves as she slipped them on she sighed. Even watching the other girls change their clothes as well. It was nice. It felt like she was home. She may not have the memories of the countless who came before her, and neither did her sisters, but for this one moment they were themselves again.
Zwei approached Ett and asked, “Was this your idea? How did you get him to agree?”
Ett spoke softly, “He simply hadn’t considered it. Once I said it, he understood. He simply asked me our favorite designers and managed to gather a decent variety himself.” Speaking normally she said, “Go speak more with the others. I’ll be helping this whole think come to a close soon.”
Zwei nodded, hugged Ett, and then went back to the group to discuss the new attire and potential hair styles with the remaining girls.