[New user detected. Initiating System integration.]

[Requesting login credentials.]

[Request processed. Godmin credentials accepted.]

[System initialized.]

[Checking soulform-matterform compatibility.]

[Compatibility: 96%]

[Compatibility within acceptable parameters. Transfer initiated.]

[Transfer in progress...]

[Systems check initiated.]

[Check Complete.

Storage: 100% operational.

Communication: 100% operational.

Feedback: 100% operational.

Adaptability: 100% operational.

Productivity: 100% operational.

Safety: 100% operational.

Security: 100% operational.

All systems operational.]

[Attempting user integration.]

[Integration 25%... 50%... 75%...]

[Safety system override. Integration paused.]

[Initializing all systems.]

[Initialization complete.]

[Adapting matterform to soulform.]

[Update in progress... ETC: 44h 12m 42s]

——

Whimsy landed in a heap. The jump back home was one of the most terrifying things she’s ever done, and that included the recent expedition. Instant death was terrifying, yes, and the risk of it when she entered the research lab would not quick leave her. But it was an abstract thing. A hypothetical what if, the worst case scenario. It was one thing to walk into a dark room unsure if the floor was there, another seeing the floor crumble under your feet. She never fought in the war, so she didn’t realise before how terrifying it was to see infrastructure you needed to survive crumble around you. She promised herself she’d never do anything like that if she could help it. Not even the Orbital falling apart scared her such, likely for much the same reason as before. Taking a second to recentre herself, she looked around her home Node. Spreading her awareness through her domain, paltry as it was, she looked in on Alice, digital fingers crossed.

I hope you’re OK Alice. With that thought Whimsy activated the external cameras of her house. It’s been a while since she last used them personally. Usually she kept them as dumb motion sensor in case someone, or something tried breaking into her house. The view from them just reminded her of what she lost. The forest outside used to be a suburb, ages past. Now her house was the only building left standing in almost fifty kilometres in any direction, not including what was left of the amusement park she used to work at. Not that there was much left of the original buildings, and what did stand was now home to nests, layers, burrows, colonies and other horrors. Even the library on the outskirts of the park, the only building she knew for a fact retained its function looked ravaged by time from the outside. The librarians security measures turned the entire area into a death trap for all but the hardiest of humans and creatures. From what she heard, via her Oracles, it was considered one of the most dangerous places on the shard, and with good reason. She knew of six separate expeditions into the ancient forest and exactly two survivors from them all.

Focusing on the view outside she found the puppet immediately. Or rather, what she assumed was the puppet. Against her door was now sitting a metallic cocoon. Its location being exactly where the puppet sat and the shape, vaguely reminiscent of a human in the fetal position, confirmed it was indeed her construct. Curious and slightly worried, she tried connecting to it as she hadn’t tried for decades. She was flooded with system messages and parsing through them she understood roughly what was going on. She sighed with relief. Alice was fine, probably.

Apparently the system classified her original avatar as, essentially the installation package. Now that a proper user was connected it was adapting itself to its new occupant. Whimsy hoped nothing happened. Eris wasn’t exactly the most stable individual and as far as Whimsy was concerned, the system inherited its supposed creators madness. Not wanting to risk upsetting anything she disconnected herself after confirming the construct was doing... whatever it was meant to be doing. Leaving one of the cameras overlooking the door she kept in in the corner of her awareness as she moved on to other things. After all, she had a guest coming, for the first time in almost five centuries.

——

She was woken up with a shudder due to the sound of a jet flying right over her head. She tried opening her eyes but the lamp aimed right at her eyes forced her to close them almost instantly. A spike of panic shot through her. Was she captured by enemy soldiers and about to be interrogated? She groaned, the sound vibrating through her brain, only adding to the unease. She tried covering her ears in an effort to lessen the shock only for the slightest twitch of her hand to send another wave of unexpected sensations. She wasn’t bound and slowly remembering her recent experiences she realised what was probably happening.

The wave of relief was intoxicating.

“Wh... Whimsy?” Her voice boomed in her own ears, even though she was certain she only tried whispering. “Whimsy, please tell me you’re there. I think something’s wrong.” With those words she very slowly hugged her legs and buried her face in them. Focusing on her breathing she did her best to ignore everything else and waited to hear from her friend.

—

Whimsy’s entire focus was on the external camera. With only a few seconds left of the countdown she wanted to be sure Alice wouldn’t be alone when she woke. The cocoon surrounding her glowed brightly for the last second, sending a massive wave of mana inside and promptly vanished. As she watched the naked figure shuddered, groaned, twitched then spoke in a whisper a hundred decibels too loud. Relieved her friend seemed to be ambulatory, and significantly more human in their looks, she lowered the volume on the door speaker to a minimum and spoke softly.

“I’m here sweetie. Don’t worry, nothing is wrong, at least I hope there isn’t anything wrong. While I was waiting for you I learned what I could. I’m pretty sure I know what’s going on. It happens to many newborn DIs when they first leave Progenitor’s Mansion. You’re being overloaded with sensations, correct?” At her words the figure franticly shook their head for a second, then just as violently, stopped. Whimsy tried connecting to the avatar but unlike before she couldn’t reach any part of it. She could see it, right there full of ports, but anything she tried was violently rejected. Giving up she decided to try the old fashioned way and spoke again.

“OK. Sweetie, I realise I’m very loud to you now but I’m actually barely above a whisper. I need you to focus on my voice and do as I say, OK? Good girl. Now, focus inward. Listen to my voice and try to visualise where the sound is going after it hits your ears. I know it must sound weird to you but I believe in you. Trace it a couple of times, then focus your will around it and lower the output. You got this, you hear m—”

“I’ll try, I’ll try! Just stop shouting.” Alice interjected, clearly annoyed and loudly enough to scare the birds nearby off their perches. This prompted another series of groans from Alice.

“Sorry.” Whimsy said in a small voice. Shutting up, she reinforced her attention on Alice, digital fingers crossed.

Focus inward. Trace the sound. Easier said than done. Gods damn that demanding DI. Wait, no, that’s the anger and fear talking. Focus. Focus. Trace the— There. That’s where the signal’s going. Holy, that’s where all of them are going it seems. If I managed to numb that bit somehow I might avoid going insane because the wind on my skin is too much. Yeah, let’s do that. Focus. Focus. I need less... Everything.

[Feedback functions limited: 10%]

She sighed with relief as the world around her returned to normal. The jet engine replaced by buzzing of insects. The skin lashing just wind on her arms. Surreptitiously she tried opening her eyes despite her face still being buried in her knees. The little light that reached edges of her vision was bright, but not blinding. Her whisper was much louder than she expected it to be.

“Oh thank god. That’s better. Whimsy you still there?” Trying to look around she raised her head only to get dizzy with how quickly her perspective changed. Burying her head back she whimpered, very loudly. “What the fu—”

“Same problem as with the senses I assume.” came Whimsy’s voice, slightly digitised by the speaker. “Much the same solution should work, focus on the signal. It’ll go from your mind to your muscles, tendons etc. When you find it, just focus on lowering the signal at its source. We’ll work on the other way round some other time, just as we’ll work on getting you used to the incoming stimuli.” Whimsy’s words and her previous success meant this time it took her just a moment to trace the impulses throughout her body.

[Motor functions limited: 50%]

Feeling confident she tried to stand up... And promptly dug her face into the soil in front of her. Panicking she jerked back, only to cause another booming noise as her head bounced off the reinforced door, leaving it dented. She focused inwards again.

[Motor functions limited: 10%]

Giving it another go, this time with extremely slow and measured movements she put her hands against the wall behind her. Back against the steadying presence of the house she once again tried standing up, this time without incident. Opening her eyes she took in the scene around her.

It was evening, the sun just about to set behind the forest. Streams of light to shone between the trees. A slight fog covered the overgrowing garden in front of her, giving it an almost mystical aura. She took a step forward and quickly found herself next to the fence in front of her. Staggering she grabbed the white picket for stability. Turning around she did at least two pirouettes before unceremoniously falling on her ass after loosing her balance. At least I’m facing the right direction, she thought incredulously. Keeping that thought to herself she spoke out.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Ow.” Only to realise she hasn’t actually felt any pain. At best a slight discomfort from a rock digging into her butt, no pain thought. Small favours. With that thought she once again turned her awareness internally.

[Motor functions limited: 1%]

She tried standing up. Once again supporting herself, this time with the fence she did a number of simple exercises, one hand firmly on the barrier. She turned her head, then shook it, followed by her arms (switching which one held her in place. Finally she detached herself from the fence and for the first time moved her entire body, at first slowly then with more and more confidence.

Satisfied with her motor functions she turned towards the house. She blinked. Then giggled. Soon followed a full blown belly laugh, causing her to loose balance and once again plant her behind in the grass. This only made her laugh more.

——

Watching Alice take her first steps was equal parts funny, and stressful. The slapstick was enjoyable and the mischievous part of Whimsy gleefully recorded all of, in hopes of teasing Alice down the line about it. The other, larger part of her was worried sick. Not so much for Alice considering her head left a dent on a reinforced door, but for everything around her. Especially since everything around her belonged to Whimsy. She was about to speak up when Alice turned towards her house and froze. Then fell on her ass laughing, causing Whimsy to get quite self conscious.

“What?!” She almost shouted from the speaker. “You find something funny with my home Alice?” The latter sentence stopped the laughing abruptly.

“Alice, huh? Is that to be my name then?” The human asked, standing up and heading towards the door.

“Well, yes.” Slightly bashful, Whimsy continued. “After we talked I took a long time to think on it but nothing seemed fitting. Former and recent friends, family... They all seemed either shallow, silly or... Inappropriate. So I focused on what we spoke about. Between that and how you guffawed over this supposedly ‘wonderfully exciting fantasy world’ it seemed a pretty obvious choice.” Taking a pause for her to reach the door, Whimsy opened them and spoke again, dark mirth clear in her voice.

“Welcome to wonderland, Alice.”

——

“Alice in Wonderland. Haha, yeah I can see that being fitting. I like it. As for laughing... Look, I’m sorry it’s just... Not what I was expecting. Some fantasy like dungeon cave with a glowing sphere in the centre? Sure. A (retro?) futuristic, glass and steel office building. Of course. A nondescript industrial estate? Par for the course.” She waved her hand indicating the building. “This... American wet dream, is definitely not on the list of places I expected someone like you to live in.”

“American... Rust and ruin, you really are old. Anyway, I’ll have you know this is a classic. Also, it came with the job. Besides, I figured it was said to be better to host guests.” Whimsy added that last with a hitch in her voice.

“Have you?” Alice asked innocently, though she was fairly certain she knew the answer.

“Have I what?”

“Have you ever actually hosted guests?”

“I... Of course I have!”

“Uh-huh... Techs and salesmen don’t count.”

“Of course they do! I even had tea and cookies when they came. Same for the construction crew who reinforced the house.” Whimsy said in a huff. Deciding to change the subject to something less embarrassing she quickly continued. “A-Anyway. Welcome to my home. I’ll give you the grand tour some time later. Right now I’m sure you want to actually see yourself. There’s a bathroom down the hall, it’s got a big mirror, hot water and cleaning products. Let’s get that grass and... lubricant, or amniotic fluid, or whatever the hell it is on you, off you. Preferably before you sit down on any of my vintage IKEA furniture. Now follow the yellow brick road.“ Laughing to herself at the horrible joke she switched a number of lights to a yellow hue and watched as a groaning, yet laughing Alice went into the house.

——

Alice walked into the bathroom to the sound of running water. Looking around she had to whistle at the view. The room was a mix of Japanese and western sensibilities. There was a small washing area in one corner, comprised of a large wall mirror, two shower-heads and a plastic bench. Next to the mirror was a wall mounted towel dryer, complete with two fluffy bright pink towels. The centrepiece of the room was a large free-standing bath, complete with a small table next to it that held several bath salts on the lower shelf and a prominently placed rubber ducky on the top. Alice took a second, picked the jasmine infused salts and threw in a hearty handful into the bath. Right after checking the glass jars for a use before date.

“They’re not expired you wise-ass. I asked a friend to make them then picked them up with a drone. Same with the soap. Well, I asked her to buy the soaps but the point stands. No shampoo or conditioner.” Whimsy’s voice came from the ceiling, slightly startling Alice. She continued as Alice moved to the cleaning area. “Please don’t break any of my shit. That bench, for example, should hold your weight but I’d recommend not moving too much.”

“You calling me fat?” Alice said with mock outrage while grabbing a bar of soap and a cloth to lather herself with. She started to sit down. “I can see I’m skinny enough, how could I possibly—” She stopped mid sentence as the heavy duty plastic bench groaned under her weight. “What the actual fuck?”

“Yeah, sweetie you’re not a meat-sack anymore. Your bones alone weight close to two hundred kilos. We’ll have to find someone to train you in how to control that rocket-ship you call a body, but for now just be extremely careful, ok? I like my things, like I said, and as you can see I took a lot of care to keep them nice all this time.”

“I wonder, is it simple materialism or you trying to hold on to whatever you have left of the world before? Or, wait, I know! Were you a member of the SCA? Cause this whole place just looks like a very bizarre postcard picture. “ Alice said, only the slightest note of concern in her voice, as she gingerly applied soap to her body. She could feel the touch but had no good point of reference for her grip strength, which she realised only after crushing the bar of soap by accident when picking it up without thinking.

“I... can’t say. I keep most of my memories from before the war in long term storage, otherwise I just find myself wasting time on reliving them over and over again, spent almost a decade like that once. It was NOT healthy. Honestly, the house mostly maintains itself. It looks like something from the early 20th century, but most of it was build on the orbital. About half of the materials used in it can’t really be made anymore, even with an omni-printer. You could probably drop a small bomb on this place and you’d at best rattle the windows. Which brings me back to the Be. Careful. Discussion. You dented a door, by accident, that, on this shard, probably half a dozen people could do the same. And that is using an actual attack. Some of it is the mana in your body, which we’ll discuss later by the way, the point stands however. For now, wash, take a long bath, preen in front of the mirror, you know, chill. We’ve both had a busy few days and need unwinding.” Alice wasn’t sure but somehow she knew Whimsy wasn’t focusing on her anymore. Rinsing herself off Alice stood up. Though the room was full of fresh steam, now smelling faintly of jasmine and other herbs, the mirror remained crispy clear.

Smiling, she struck several classic pin-up poster girl poses in front of the mirror. She giggled for a moment at herself and, facing the mirror head on, took a more critical look. Looking back at her was a redhead, just shy of 180cm. An oval-shaped face with high cheekbones and a defined jawline. Her forehead was smooth and slightly curved towards the hairline. Thick and well-defined eyebrows framed her emerald green, almond shaped eyes. The critical look she was giving herself might seem cruel if not for the sparkle of joy in the back. Her nose was small and straight with a slightly upturned tip, and her lips are full and plump with a defined cupid's bow. Her skin was smooth, clear, and had a pale, porcelain complexion. Some freckles might be nice, she thought idly.

Her flaming-orange hair, damp from the wash flowed down the left side of her body, almost reaching her navel. Well, this’ll be a bitch to maintain without cosmetics. God I hope she has a good brush in this museum. Her breasts were a modest C-cup, combined with a narrow waist and wide hips she had almost the picture-perfect hourglass figure. Rather than delicate looking, however, her stomach, arms and legs all had well defined muscles. Flexing her arm a little she laughed again, then with a start notice she had no hair anywhere but her head. Well, I suppose that solves that vanity problem. Heading into the bath she spoke quietly.

“Damn, I’m a looker. No complexes this time. Sweet.” Lowering herself into the bath, she sighed contentedly as the warmth and smell enveloped her. Looking up she spoke up. “Whimsy, you there?!”

“Of course, Milady Narcissus, how can I help?” Whimsy’s response was thick with sarcasm and laughter. “I’m afraid we have no honey or milk for your bath today.”

“Heard that did you? That’s good, if you see me becoming too full of myself, you’ve my permission to whack me upside the head until I get better.” Now laughing full tilt, Whimsy responded.

“As if I needed your permission! When you finish your pampering, princess dear, there’s clothing in the omni-printer. It’s just a simple shirt, sweatpants and boxers since that’s literally all I know how to make. Well, know... I taught myself yesterday. It’s serviceable, will do for now.”

“Couldn’t you have asked your ‘friend’ for something?” Alice asked confused.

“You were still cooking, luv. For all I knew you’d come out a seven foot mass of muscle. Or a pixy. You want good clothing, especially situation appropriate clothing - visit a city. Big one too if you want anything other than utilitarian garb. That, or learn to make your own.”

“Yes, ma’am, no complaints, promise.” With that she submerged herself in the water, only her face poking out. “Clothing huh... Actually, that might be a fun thing to do.”

—

Almost three hours later Alice stepped out of the bath feeling like a completely new person. Laughing at her own stupid joke she grabbed the towel. After drying herself she gathered her hair into one of the towels, looked at the other towel, now crumpled on the floor, considered putting it across her hips... then shrugged. Whimsy already saw all there was to see of her, in fact now she thought about it, Whimsy probably saw bits of her that even god shouldn’t see.

Dressed, if it can be called that, in only a towel keeping her hair in check she went about exploring the house. It was a simple, single story construction. Right next to the bathroom she found a bedroom. In it was a simple metal-frame bed, a vanity that looked truly ancient and a plastic chair in front of it. What a mish-mash this place is, damn. She moved on to the next door, this one closed. She tried asking Whimsy, but instead of her usual chipper voice she got a mechanical voice and a message that equated to ‘went out, will be back soon’. Shrugging, she opened the door at the far end of the corridor, which lead to what Alice assumed was the workshop, originally probably a garage. In the centre of the room was a huge oven shaped device, the omni-printer. Inside its belly, neatly folded lay a pile of black fabric. Picking it up, she looked it over and understood what Whimsy meant when she said ‘it’s serviceable, will do for now’. The trousers were two simple tubes of fabric connected by the sides at one end. They had holes to weave a string through so they’d stay on. The boxers were essentially men’s braies, just really short, and seeing another string for them, she dismissed them. The shirt wasn’t much better, a square of fabric, with a hole for the head and two tubes for arms.

Dressing herself in her new “clothing”, Alice let out a small sigh. At least the fabric was nice to the touch, though she had no idea what it was. She wanted to explore the workshop a bit more as it was littered with doodads of all shapes and sizes, she was unsure if she should though considering her current propensity for breaking things. The solution came in the form of a growl from her stomach. She looked down, momentarily confused, then with a single minded intensity, she headed back to the living room and kitchen. With conviction of a paladin, she spoke to the empty house.

“Food first.”

Once in the living room, she looked to the left to see the kitchen, with a counter island dividing the two spaces. On it sat a weaved basket with a cloth draped over it. Lifting the cover she saw a loaf of dark bread, two jars and a short note. She was curious, of course, but food came first. Food always came first. Looking into the jars she found one filled with butter, the other with some sort of fruit preserve. Tearing off a piece of the bread she unceremoniously shoved it into the fruit jar. Taking a bite of the now jam covered bread, she sat at the counter and grabbed the note.

“Dear Goddess,

Please enjoy the offering.

Thank you for not forgetting about us even now.

With love and devotion,

Yours forever,

Former Oracle,

Olivia

P.S.

This is the first time you asked for anything, My Lady. If you’re in the mortal realms as this might suggest please come visit. “

Knowing Whimsy, the person, rather than Goddess Whimsy, Alice felt a little bit bad for this Olivia. She promised herself to ask Whimsy about her later, and maybe visit to thank for the meal. Although... considering the post scriptum that might lead to some very awkward misunderstandings. That was for future Alice to think on, right now she had a kitchen to raid.

Unsurprisingly the pantry was empty. There was crockery and cutlery, but after she bent a knife trying to cut the loaf she gave up on any pretence of civilization. Opening the fridge she expected it to be just as empty. Instead she found two cloth wrapped parcels, one with cheese the other an assortments of cooked meats.A smile spread on her face as she unpacked the food and prepared herself a simple feast. She decide to definitely visit the former Oracle and thank her.

After finishing the meal Alice cleaned the kitchen, picked up the towels in the bathroom and after about half an hour of cleaning, she lied down on the living room couch and considered her future.

"I wonder if there's an adventurers guild or something, I remember Whimsy mentioning folks like that. I can't really plan anything without her here anyway since I don't even know the lay of the land. So many things *yawn* to do... I've a very vague idea, but wonder what my stats are compared to other folk..."

Warm, sated and feeling safe, Alice didn't notice the chime in her head trying to get her attention. She was already fast asleep.