Chapter 1- Fearless, Brave, Daring

Bubbles, liquid, glass when at first I gaze upon these, they are by no means unfamiliar curiosities. How odd indeed to have such certainties about a reality of which I have never seen.

“Truly how odd” this is the extent of my feelings when it comes to the self-awareness of my own birth. When at last I work up the strength to move my still delicate body the first actions I take are not an awkward flail but rather a steady and controlled raise of my arm.

In reference to both my genetic memories and the accumulation of my sleep learning an estimation can be made of my age. Five at a glance though reality may differ slightly due to variables like nutritional intake.

Continuing my steady assessments it has quickly become clear that I am a female. While I did not as of this time have any thoughts in regard to preference I am by no means dissatisfied either.

Breaking me free of my internal soliloquy is an approaching silhouette seen through the glass of my watery prison I now understand to be a culture tank of sorts. While not guaranteed in the slightest the more primitive parts of my underdeveloped brain tell me that this stranger is my parent, sire, caregiver.

What this may mean for me though remains to be seen. In the worst case scenario my very life may be rendered forfeit just as abruptly and whimsically as it had begun.

I would like to think this not the case but carved into my flawless memory are more than a few precedents of our kind nurturing offspring to then only turn around and use their similar genetics as experimental materials instead; a means rather than an end in and of itself.

Deciding to not leave anything to chance I mentally assign my symbiotic nano constructs to begin building a long, sharp, spear just under my skin and beyond common detection range. Just as I had begun my actions in earnest so too did the stranger suddenly cease their approach and instead opt to maintain their current distance of one metre away.

This distance they now stand was merely the smallest of increments beyond the range of my newly created weapon. A coincidence? Unlikely, rather given the slowly forming smile visible on their impossibly perfect features, this action should be considered a deliberate taunt of sorts.

“You’re quite the lively one aren’t you?”

I do not deign the unknown individual any heed and instead focus on subtlety elongating my spear further using the very iron from within my blood as substitute of the nano constructs themselves. In theory by making use of my body itself as my weapon I can fool the senses of whatever means this person has used to detect my assault and successfully catch them off guard.

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Hubris was this man’s Achilles heel and I would make him pay a steep price for it. Just as my spear had elongated and sharpened to the point it could easily pierce through glass and flesh alike the man spoke again.

“My name is Elian but you young one may call me Father. Creating you was indeed the right decision it appears I will not be bored for yet some time to come, Reen.”

Hearing this I pause my actions and think over my current situation again from the ground up. This Elian or rather my “Father” has dealt me no harm, damage, threat and such my actions could indeed be considered somewhat premature.

Rather something else just now caught my focus a means of address, a “name”. Reen he said, was Reen me? Tapping on the glass of my cell with ancient morse code as my medium I ask “Why Reen?”

The man, Elian, Father, easily understood my meaning and did not hide his reasonings for my designation from me.

“Long ago I was born on a world called Fendros. On this world lived a savage tribe named the Fermi. The Fermi warred with the Darkash a timid but intelligent people, logic says timid as they were with the might of wisdom on their side the Fermi were no threat to them. Now though the Darkash are extinct and the Fermi went on to rule that world as its sole overlord. Why do you think this so?”

Growing bored of the unasked for history lesson I sought to prevent Elian’s constant dancing around with his words and merely tap out “Why Reen?” again, ignoring the query posed to me.

“The young are so impatient. The reason lies at the end of the story so listen to everything or do not ask again. The Fermi were able to triumph over the Darkash because they knew no fear even when being assailed by a rain of bullets the Fermi merely charged and charged spears in hand. In the Fermi tongue Reen means “a spear that can never be put down”. It refers to how the will of a fighter is unchanging and unbreakable. To fight for yourself despite overwhelming odds I think the name rather suitable for one such as you.”

A spear that can never be put down, the double meaning was apparent. Clearly Elian had noticed what I was doing and sought to deter me from my aggressive actions.

While at this point it remains unclear if my extensions have been noticed or not it is already obvious that my Father, yes I will call him Father from now on, means me no immediate harm. Even so … I need to know just how close can my fangs truly reach this man who despite standing a mere metre away feels lightyears distant.

Ignoring the hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary instinct telling me this was a bad idea I smile and lunge. The glass of my culture tank immediately exploding outwards alongside the pain of my own weapon escaping my body, my mind momentarily goes blank and it is only after a few moments that I can see the results of my foolhardy charge worthy of my name.

The tip of my spear formed of the rust of my blood was simply evaporated into atoms as it came within microns of my Father’s person. How this occurred even with all my downloaded knowledge I am uncertain all I do know is that for my present self the human named Elian is an untouchable existence.

“Satisfied?”

After a minute of waiting my nano constructs finish repairing the hole in my stomach and I stand on my own feet for the first time in my life. Locking eyes with Father’s amused amethyst gaze I speak my first words aloud.

“My butt’s cold.”