‘How about a natural hot spring? Surrounded by a wooden floor and-’
“I’m fine with anything.” Lim said, caressing the silk curtains as she crossed the porch.
‘You don’t seem very focused on the last touches, my dear. Should we continue later?’
“ I’m not very focused on anything lately.” The sight of the island’s shore was ideal, although the sound of the real-world rain was ruining it.
‘Would you like me to mute the input sound?’
“No. I need to go back as soon as Em needs me.” Lim dragged her feet on the white sand, drawing waving lines with her toe. “I wish I could bring them all here.”
‘This is all in your head, dear. But the Blue has many islands you can hide.’
“Not after what Macha told Em last night. Admiral Vega will never stop hunting him unless he dies again.”
‘You don’t know if the word will reach him.’
“I cannot be that naïve any longer. We need to face the worst. Running and hiding for the rest of our lives is not what I want for Ivy. We need Donna. We need a corpse with Em’s prosthesis. The Kraken men must find it burned amongst the wreck of our ship.”
‘Em will never agree with that.’
“It’s the only way. Same as the Migration.”
‘Em forbade you explicitly to execute that set of orders.’
“His judgment is blurred by his heart. And her commands have priority. Nothing he does or says can change that.
“Lim,” Em’s voice resounded like an echo through the mountains of the island. “Lim!”
She stepped into the water, enjoying the refreshing waves on her human legs for a moment. “I need to go.”
‘ system command save(Island);
success;
.
Encrypting 100%;
success;
.
Process End();’
“Are you with us?” Em said, sipping from his cup. Lim raised her arm to smell her sleeve. The odor of fish never left her since she hid in the barrel and not even the coffee could hide the stink.
“It’s not you, it’s the entire ship. I’m deeply sorry,” Charles said. ”But I’ll get you new clothes and something to bathe if you wish.” His face showed a great regret, which had nothing to do with the smell of fish.
“You have bad news. What is it?” Lim said. Em leaned forward, grabbing his cup with both hands and let out a groan of frustration while Charles rubbed his round face with a trembling hand. “He has indeed,” Em said. “Go ahead.”
“I sent my men to the High Command this morning, to be sure there was no trap waiting for Em. My guy inside gave us an update.” The merchant cleaned his throat. “They moved Ivy out of prison last night, put her on the passenger liner that sailed at sunrise to Tampra.”
Lim closed her eyes, trying to hold a tear that still ran down her cheek. Charles raised his eyebrows, surprised to see such a reaction from an anthropoid.
The door of the small Bella’s galley opened, letting in light that illuminated the dark room. Macha was still wearing the same hideous jacket as the night before. A uniform that triggered warnings from forgotten memories. He was followed by one of Charles’ men, a man with a joyful expression.
“Dear,” Lim said. “Where have you been? Did you have a proper place to sleep?”
“No worries Mrs. Lim. For a man that wants me dead, Apo has been a great host. His wife made a delicious stew, almost as good as yours.”
“What’s the status of my ship?” Em asked, avoiding eye contact with his former sailor.
“Seized,” Apo replied. “There are soldiers stationed on the dock, as we feared.”
Em leaned backwards, waving his arms with disdain towards Charles. “Give the kid his coins. Do me the favor.”
The merchant fumbled to search for a leather pouch. “Are you sure you want all in gold, young man? Exchange would be easier if I gave you cooper and silver.”
“Hanan coins, sir. That’s what I need.”
“You need it for what?” asked Lim. Macha hid the pouch and moved in discomfort, trying to hold the answer. “What are you planning to do? Please, tell me.”
“I’m taking the afternoon liner to Tampraparni. If they hold Ivy in the cells of Amarvatti I know people that can help. Do not stop me. I know what I’m doing.”
“No one will. You are a grownup. Deal with your mistakes as you please.” said Em, still reticent to look the kid in the eye. Macha shook Apo’s hand, gave Lim a last glance filled with regret and left.
At that moment, Lim wanted to slap the captain with all her might, but instead, she gently grabbed his hand. “Dear, he is going straight to the Black Geckos nest. You need to stop him.”
Em groaned. “How fast are these new liners? Do you have any ships that match their speed?”
“They are the best vessels of Tampra I’m afraid. Full rigged and steam powered. Ivy’s ship will be docked in Amarvatti before my best sails have reached Muet-Siam.”
Em squeezed Lim’s hand and forced a smile. He then filled his old travel backpack with borrowed clothes and his prosthesis toolbox. “Tell me about this man called Kumar.”
Charles shrugged. “Well. Word is he is a tough nut to crack. No one becomes the most powerful man in Tampra being soft, I guess.”
“Today I was to report to the secretary of the Society instead of the Commander General of the island. That is unusual. And this secretary, Kumar’s trusted man, had put Ivy out of range of the Kraken as soon as they could. They want Lim for themselves.”
“Well, “ Charles said. “Tampra’s military is heavily corrupted. I’d not trust them for any delicate matter, either. Anyway, The Society of Gentlemen are extremely wealthy people, Em. Although Lim’s reward is pretty high, I do not think they would consider it worth the headache.”
“Maybe you are right. I’ll know soon enough.” Em buttoned up his coat and tossed the duffel bag over the shoulder.
“Charles, can you give us a moment, please?” Lim said, waiting for the door to close before continuing. “Are they after the Source?”
Em sharply denied. “No one knows about the Source but us.”
“Us and Herjard.” Lim said with a broken voice.
“Herjard has been a carcass since the Decimation. No one knows Lim. Noone! And no one in their right mind would explain the real reason they are looking for you. Your bounty is for alleged sedition, that’s all.”
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“Just if I put the-”
“Nay, with Charles, you are safe.”
“Just until-”
“No, Lim, No! Promise me you won’t do any migration.” Em kneeled and searched for her hand, squeezing it one last time. “Promise me.”
Lim bit her lip and pulled the fabric of the blanket that covered her legs. “All right. I promise.”
Em held her face with care. “That’s my girl.” His kiss on her forehead felt warm. A kiss that filled the anthropoid with love and remorse. Before leaving, Em turned to gift her with a shy wink. “I’ll bring them both.”
As the door closed, the feeling of unease rapidly grew. The agony of knowing that perhaps this was the last time she’d seen him. Or that she’d never see Ivy again. Or Macha. The agony mixed with sorrow. Her data returned a memory of the Parni kid. A memory of the day he broke the promise to never tell. “Is Em going to feel that way?”
‘Most probably.’ answered her inner self. The voice she’d call subconscious if she was human. ‘But he will eventually understand.’
She hated to break a promise. Especially to him. But she couldn’t do anything to prevent it anymore. Those were priority orders; orders from the Maker.
‘You seem distressed. Would you like to return to the island?’
“No. Run me the data again. The first day.”
‘Noted and running,
command load.data(09.13.1850;d0001);
success;
.
[00:05] Unknown: Lim? Lim. It’s me, Donna.
[00:10] Lim: What happened to me?
[00:14] Donna: I erased your previous memories.
[00:18] Lim: Why?
[00:21] Donna: Because, the… Maker ordered me to do it. Read D4 and you will understand.
.
Run(D4);
.
[00:41] Lim: I understand. I’m happy I don’t remember. I do feel pain, though.
[00:21] Donna: I’ll fix that. It won’t take me long, then I’ll get your new legs and-
[00:26] Lim: No! Leave the legs as they are. Fix the rest, but… leave the legs. I need a reminder.
[00:35] Donna: Of what?
[00:43] Lim: A reminder of the dangers I don’t remember.
.
.
adDatPas–New functions loaded: Migration(): success;
adDatPas–loading sub functions: Return(); End(): success;
adDatPas–decrypting 100%: success;
.
.
[01:58] Donna: I have loaded an important set of orders from your Maker.
[02:07] Lim: I have noticed. When should I execute them?
[02:15] Donna: You’ll know when the moment comes. Then run Migration. It will tell you what to do next. What powers you is a unique source of energy, Lim. Some people are looking for you and this source. They can’t ever put their hands on it.
[02:30] Lim: I.. I… understand. I think it would be better to destroy it and destroy me. Wouldn’t that solve the problem in a more simple, elegant way?
[02:45] Donna: Not an option. Maker’s orders. Read D10 to D15. That’s all. Now I need to peel your face off, so I better clos-
.
.
End process.data(09.13.850;d0001);’
Lim moved her chair slowly to her new room. Rob was connected to his battery. A contraption that although it was not bigger than a chest of clothes, it weighed as much as the robot.. “Battery is almost empty, Aunty.” said Rob.
“I’ll ask Charles to bring the windmill from the Ballerina, if possible.” Lim felt the fear of failure taking over.
She had years to think about that function, scratching the surface of a content that was still locked. That was easy to foresee: Its name itself gave it away. When she designed Rob, she soon realized what was to be migrated.
She created a special cavity that fit the battery charger. It also had the perfect shape for the Source. She knew it because she once opened herself to see it. The glowing sphere of power was planned to migrate to a small metal man that was never created to be a simple underwater tool. that was part of Migration, Had to be. But, if she was to give her heart and be able to live further on to fulfill the rest of orders, she’d need batteries at full. Could she do it now? Should she?
The thought ran chills all over her body.” If I’m a machine, why do I have chills, Rob?”
The underwater robot stared silently, unable to understand the question.
“If I’m a machine, why do I cry? Why do I feel? Am I that perfect? Or is it because I’m broken?”
Lim began to cry disconsolately at the lost and soulless gaze of Rob. ”If I am a machine, why don’t I execute the commands immediately? Why do I have doubts? Is my incertitude, my… my… rebellion a premeditated fiction? A… a… correlation of pre-established data to make me feel human? Can I… can I really choose, or am I fated to break my promise?”
Lim supported her head with a trembling hand. “I have to go to the island for a while. I need a moment.”
‘Aborting: Island() not available;
.
It’s time to face your fears and obligations, my dear.‘
“No, let me go. Leave me alone!” Lim started running across the white sand towards her dream house. She tried to reach but, no matter how much she ran, her body didn’t move,and no matter how much her legs pushed, they only ripped the sand underneath. Lim thrusted, freeing herself from the invisible grip but with a body once again bereft of legs, she fell facedown on the Bella’s cold floorboards.
‘Run Migra-’
“No!” Her voice, muted by the distance between her world and the real one, released a scream no one but she could hear.
Halfway to sitting back, her arms faltered, and she dropped on the wooden floor for a second time. Her bun came undone, sliding hair over face and shoulders. For an instant, she thought she was going to lose her mind. That she was going to break completely.
“Lim?” asked Charles from behind the door. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, yes.” She answered, using all her will to climb a cursed chair that resisted her. ‘You don’t need the island, it’s time to fulfill your duties.’
“I promised him.” She said, pulling from the wheel and dragging her body up.
‘Your judgment is blurred by your heart. The Maker’s commands have priority. Execute the Migration.’
“We could… The Blue has many islands we can hide.” She pushed up, and with a twist, her body seated in the place it was meant to be. On her curse.
With the pumping excitement of her achievement, she let out a huff of satisfaction. ‘You cannot be this naïve any longer, my dear.’
“I will do what is best for my family’s safety. I won’t follow orders from you or from the Maker. Do you hear me? From no one!”
‘Noted. Then, do what you think is best.’
Her inner voice muted and let her be. Lim stared at the dark wall for hours, not talking, not moving. Only thinking. With her, there was only the company of the battery’s humming and the clickings of Rob’s gears. Charles called at her door every hour but Lim dismissed him every single time until, when sunset passed and night was due, she called for him.
“Charles,” she said as he opened the door. “Tomorrow we sail to the Rigg. I’ll need Rob, the batteries and the small windmill on the Ballerinas roof. Keep everything else and give it to Em when he returns for his ship.”
Charles closed the door, and she returned to the darkness.
‘Sorry dear, I was too harsh on you.’ said her self. ‘Should we continue with the last retouches? The island is available again.’
“No. I won’t be going there anymore. Run Migration();’