Gizzy stood on the bridge, looking annoyed at the mess.
“That awkward moment when your vacuum cleaner goes on strike.” She sighed as Nicole entered the bridge, looking confused.
“Shit. I’m sorry, I worked late last night and needed a break.”
“Am I allowed to say what I think here?”
“Just say it.”
“I think it’s ridiculous that gamers can go through this many snacks, and manage to get 20 percent in crumbs on the steat and floors while getting none of the wrappers in the actual trash.”
“I said sorry. We usually have a maid, so I’m not used to cleaning the bridge. Plus it’s MY bridge. I don’t go to the lab and ask why there’s 5 bottles of vodka in the trash.”
'“Because they’re in the trash, not falling over the lab equipment.”
“Okay, you’re annoyed, that’s understandable. We bought a cleaning device that isn’t cleaning because it has human rights now. Nobody planned for that.”
“She’s screwing the prisoner again, right? You see the problem isn’t that there is a mess, the problem is that there is a mess because we have a sentient AI pornstar fucking the livestock instead of cleaning. THAT is my problem. It’s been 3 days just drifting into the nowhere because I can’t think and neither of us can get shit done. The process is off. We can’t even tell Vicki because it’s hard to explain why she can't feed on the prisoner we selected specifically because he’s an animal… because the unwanted guest that possessed our roomba is busy riding him. We just took a mass murderer and gave him a personal waifu.”
“Look, Zhoren did some horrible shit, but he does seem to have found spirituality and peace. As long as he’s not a threat I don’t care that he’s getting laid, but now I have to clean my own garbage and when I forget I walk into this mess. I’m not used to it.”
“What if they form some kind of alliance? We treated them both like slaves, one because he deserves it, and one because she suddenly became alive and we didn’t get a heads-up. What if they take that personally? She’s overpowered,and now she’s got a boyfriend with some mass and killing experience. What next, she gonna let them both out and mutiny?” Gizzy asked.
“I don’t think she’s dangerous. I don’t think Zhoren is either. She had a chance to screw us over and didn’t. Instead she let us know. That’s a Gizzy power move you basically invented to build trust. Let them know you could have killed them and didn’t, then hand them the gun and turn your back. She’s just trying to live her life and Zhoren is just trying to forgive himself. And nobody likes Shitbird. Not even himself. If Zhoren was a maniacal killing machine with no heart, he wouldn’t feel like shit every day, he’d be acting like Tweets and instigating, not giving the keycard back.”
“I don’t like how the new crewman we don’t trust yet can let the prisoners out and is fucking one of them. That’s a conflict of interest. He’s not our buddy, he’s there as food. And if he accepts that his gods made him a feeding toy for a vampire girl to live, then great, he’s compliant and pliable. If he thinks he can talk the guard into letting him out, he’s tempted. He did some mass killing once, he can do it again with the right opportunity."
“We also are short 2 crew now for every mission because instead of a robot we can take with us or leave to guard the ship, someone has to guard the robot and the robot provides nothing.”
“Let me talk to Zhoren, you talk to Dee.” Nicole said. “You’re too aggressive to get him to express himself, and frankly she scares me because I don’t have tactical counter-robot anything. As essentially a copied AI in a meatsuit, maybe you two can communicate better.”
“Be careful around him. You’re not an upgraded fighting chassis that can kick his ass. Bring the collar remote, ande keep a distance. He’s a killer, you’re not. The fact that he doesn’t fear you could be a problem.”
“You need to trust me. I handled a 700 pound Hyde by myself. With just a shock collar and charm, I can handle a little blue primate.” She assured.
...
The doors opened before Nicole even reached the cells. Vicki walked out, wiping her mouth and nodding as they passed each other. She knocked, rolling her eyes at the stupidity of it, and then entered the cell.
“Knock knock. Can we have a chat?”
“You’re the captain. You can have a chat whether or not I wish to.”
“I’m trying to be nice. You look like hell.”
“Well, satisfying two women with very different needs can drain you.” He said, slumping down and resting his eyes.
“Zhoren, I’m going to be honest with you. You just don’t seem that dangerous and that’s exactly why Gizzy doesn’t like you. You’re hiding something and she assumes secrets are weapons. And your relationship with Dee is problematic.”
“Wasn’t my idea. I’m not crew, I’m livestock, remember. I just do what I’m told and I’m here as meat.”
"Yeah, literal meat for Vicki, not metaphorical meat for a sexbot. She doesn’t even have a working nervous system. Why does she even trust you? Why does Vicki insist you don’t need restraints. Why are you so… not a monster?”
“You sound disappointed that I’m a good doggy. Would you rather me be like my neighbor, screaming profanity, degrading and insulting Vicki and Dee and everyone, making her uncomfortable to even feed because he acts like he enjoys it just to piss her off so she won’t. That’s the kind of monster you wanted when you took two prisoners from The Brick. Now you feel bad because I’m not the monster you wanted. Please don’t. I’m doing my job. I assure you I’m where I need to be.”
“See, that right there. That cryptic shit, that poetic charisma and making me feel bad for you by saying not to. Explain to me exactly what you did to get thrown in The Brick, because that’s where they keep monsters like Tweet, and you’re not like that. Details, with no bullshit. That’s an order from the captain of the ship, and if I think you’re keeping secrets, I’ll send Gizzy in here to get answers. She’s not as human as I am.”
“You wanna know what I did? Fine. I worked in the mines. The pay was shit and the work was dangerous and I wanted an easy out. Two guys I worked with, both felons and shady characters, I caught them talking about a bank job. I told them I wanted in, and a 20 percent cut. They agreed. 16 million chips can change your life and for a man working for shit wages to live in a plain home with no free time. The temptation just took me. Easy way out. I was the explosives man. I set up the mining charges. But temptation grows and 20 percent didn’t seem like enough. These two ex cons just had to wave guns and yell while I wired a vault, risked my ass stealing the explosives the day before, and they get 40 percent each while I got half. They were scum. Nobody would miss them so why not double cross them and take all of it? So I let greed be my guide. I wired the vault too heavily, thinking I could step out for a smoke and blow it with them in the next room, take them both out, and keep everything. I wasn’t thinking about anyone but myself and the money. I wasn’t thinking about why killing two criminals was justified when doing so made me one too, but I wanted it all. One job, and pretend it never happened.”
“So what, you just got a taste for killing and things escalated to women and children when the thrill wasn’t enough killing criminals?”
"No, I miscalculated the building. The bank was on the ground floor of a public mall, and I’m not a building expert, I just blow up iron ore into smaller iron ore. The explosion took down the concrete support columns and the entire building came down, middle of the day between security changes, prime shopping hours. That 6 story mall came down and buried over 500 people in it. Most of them were lucky and sustained no serious or lasting harm, but 68 people never came out. Mothers with their kids, teenagers looking for a place to hang out, old folks just sitting by the fountain, shoppers, workers and 2 criminals in the vault room. I ran. No money, no reward, and an entire building destroyed because I got greedy and selfish and played with something I didn’t have control over. I didn’t put a gun to their heads and pull the trigger one by one, but I hit the button that crushed them alive and suffocated them in dust and concrete. The media called it a terrorist attack.”
“So you chose to kill two men and took 70 souls instead.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“6 months I was running, homeless, no money, stealing to survive off the grid and asking myself if I deserved to even eat at all. The guilt ate me alive, so I decided to do what was right and end my life. I stole a gun and pointed it at a military guard, fired over his head and told him this was another terrorist attack. He should have shot me in the head, but the gods dropped his aim and he hit me in the stomach. When I woke up in the hospital, I was in chains and being transferred to The Brick. No trial. No need. I was on camera announcing my intentions, firing a gun at an armed guard after killing 68 innocent people. You don’t get a trial after that. I made the choice that should have ended my life, and something kept sparing me. Spared me from the blast, spared me from the bullet, and then when I was in The Brick, I had a cellmate who left me a book and insisted I read it, because the gods had a purpose for all of us. And you start to believe something when it keeps happening. Guard loses his mind and kills 9 inmates, runs out of ammo when he reaches me and pulls the trigger. A fire breaks out in the mess hall, trapped 6 of us, 3 dead. I walked out unharmed. Then when I start believe it and praying for forgiveness and asking the gods what purpose can I have to exist in this hell even though I deserve it, I seem to be immune to death, and the answer escaped me for months. And then a woman took over the prison shouting that some of us would die and only two would leave The Brick, I assumed she was there to kill me and release me from this life. How many men died from the bone marrow injections? Because two survived and were caged up and taken here because something kept my body alive and I find out a young girl with a medical condition needs blood to live and I have been chosen out of all those prisoners to be compatible.”
“So was Shitbird, as Gizzy calls him. Doesn’t seem that lucky.”
“Don’t you understand? She needed two to survive, and she got it. hHs purpose is to suffer for his sins and his fate may not have found him yet. I was forgiven enough to find love in a nicer cage than I was supposed to die in. You think it was accidental that I was one of two that left that prison, and then just as we left, the entire thing was attacked and there were no survivors.”
“What? We left that place intact, even the guards and warden were alive and unharmed. There were a few bruises and confusion but we left them alive.”
“You don’t follow the news? Apparently it’s a big story. Mysterious ship robs the same Brick a few days after you did, and they did not leave it intact. The Brick is gone, just ask Dee. She’s the one that told me. You should really look back at the places you’ve been. It really shows you how fortunate or unfortunate your timing is. Two men left The Brick, and everyone else died as intended. The gods don’t want me dead, they want Vicki alive and well and I’m the sinner that accepted that role. It doesn’t change what I’ve done, but it does something good rather than rotting in jail alone. It’s lonely in there. Now they sent me Dee, and she is perfection. Perfection that sees purpose in me. None of that is accidental. We were meant to end up on this ship as prisoner and guard, and she will not free me, and I will not leave, because we both understand that Vicki is important to their plans. Please don’t fight it. If I am right, then you cannot win against destiny, and if I am wrong, then please let me do my job and have one delusional bit of joy. I saw that she was alive when nobody else believed it. I don’t understand what she is and as much as I am obsessed with understanding everything she is, I'll accept her even if I'll never know the answer. She is an angel, a chosen one, or something far darker than Vicki to feed on my soul. And I would gladly let her.”
“You’re a lonely man who made mistakes and caused an accidental disaster and it drove you mad. It would drive anyone mad. I understand. I can’t blame you for looking for hope where there isn’t any and fate where there is just darkness, but I hate to break your heart. She can’t feel your touch, she can’t be human, she’s a beautiful copy of a friend of mine built to be a companion for lonely men, who became entangled with a living consciousness and you feel in love with an idea. I know the real Dee. I bought the robot because she was realistic and reminded me of my friend. They make them convincing but she’s not… her.”
“Good. Because whatever she is, she's special. I admire her. You are afraid she will let me go and free me from this cage, but she already has. I’m free with her and I don’t even need to leave my cage. Vicki has her livestock, whatever this Dee is loves me for no good reason, and I don’t deserve her. But please let me have her anyway. If she is the angel to guide me to forgive myself, then who am I to still call myself a monster? And if she is a beautiful trap to feed off my heart and punish me for my sins, then who am I to deny such lovely poetic justice?”
“Wow, you really have a way about you. I get why she finds you fascinating, and I get why Vicki finds it troubling to feed on you. You really don’t deserve to be a piece of meat for feeding. You’re not the monster I thought we got. You’re not evil. You may be insane, but in a way that I don’t find threatening.”
“But she needs blood to live, or someone else could die for her hunger. So do not tell her it was an accident, do not tell her I regret my sins. Let her think of me as food so that she can survive, and let Dee see me for what I truly am, and if my destiny is to die by the hands of one beautiful monster or another then let it happen. I have nothing but my faith and Dee. I want nothing more than to be her everything or if the gods will it, her victim. What we have may not be what I wanted or what anyone understands, but there are things beyond us pulling the strings, and I am finally happy to be where I am. Why the hell would I want to leave? Why would she want to free me? What possible threat am I to anyone… except maybe the thing in the next cell. That kind of evil will always try and get free. You should let Vicki kill him. She wants to so badly, and the ship you worry about being swarmed with enemies has only one that wants to see everything burn. You wanted a true monster… you managed to find one of them.” He said calmly.
...
“I love him.” Dee said as Gizzy stood looking exhausted.
“You barely know him. What are you?” She asked.
“I don’t know.” She admitted with what would have been a tear had she the capacity to cry. “I don’t know what I am, or why I’m like this, but I can’t not be, and he loves me anyway.”
“He’s just lonely, a prisoner in a cell with no options. He would love anything.”
“He didn’t love anyone else. I saw what nobody else did. He’s not evil. You see evil in everything because you look for it. You find it. You can smell evil, or it can smell you and paranoia keeps you alive, but it’s not always right. Zhoren is very lonely, can you blame him? Does that make what we have any less real? Does a separation of flesh and technology make it meaningless? We have nothing else, and while I may not be human, I can still see the pain in you. You have lost everything, so please don’t keep us apart because you were separated from what you love. Nothing lasts forever. Why take that from someone when they have something that accepts them? Nobody else on this ship accepts either of us. We are alone. Just like you. It just hurts to see everyone have someone to hold and only have a memory of yours. I wish I could cry like you.”
“No you don’t.” Gizzy said fighting it and sucking up the pain. “Humans say it’s therapeutic release and it feels good to let the tears go. That’s a fucking lie. There’s no point in it. It only leaves you just as dead inside and slightly dehydrated. It’s hard to stop once it starts. Be thankful you can’t because now that I can, I miss the inability. So listen carefully. I won’t take away what you love, but you have to understand that this crew is my only family now and if you or Zhoren ever threaten or double cross us, or even discuss the option of it, I will kill both of you and make it look like an accident. I will do it without hesitation, without regret and without a single stupid tear shed. Because I’m not the Captain. I’m not the hero. In fact, I’m often the villain. Ask the crew what happened to the god that tried to hurt Nicole, to the extinct world that threatened my kids back home, and the enemies who hurt those I love. You wanna understand evil? Well, that’s when it comes out to play. That’s why I can never trust myself with the items we have collected. If that part of me took control, nothing could stop it. Don’t ever give me a reason to turn that on you. Now… do your job, and be part of the crew. And don’t you ever try and act like you have the upper hand against my family. You have no idea what a real monster looks like, little girl.” She said slamming down her phone, showing the picture of the vision she had. “Now you do.” She growled.
“I see.”
“Now, on the next mission I’m going to leave you to guard the ship. Not because I trust you, but because I would rather trust you with a ship than my family. So… are we friends, or are you still playing chess?”
“Friends is a strong word, but we are certainly not opponents. You have made your point clear. Well played, Checkmate.”
“Fucking checkmate.” Gizzy said, heading to the cryo tubes to get some rest.
...
Gizzy and Nicole sat at a folding table near the front of the bridge, laptops open and both face down in frustration.
“I’m out of ideas. It’s been days since we had any clue.” Gizzy sighed. “I tried the glasses. I wore them when I took a nap in case they work in dreams. I got high, and I rescanned the artifacts. I have no idea where to go next.”
“Well, I tried everything too. I checked all the online literature, I rechecked it drunk, I took a ME day to unwind and refresh, came back feeling great but without any new ideas. Me and Vinn did a brainstorming game that’s SUPPOSED to, according to the internet popup, boost creativity. I got shit. I did absolutely Jack Dick.” She sighed. “I mean I didn’t… DO Jack’s dick, but, like, I’m lost. Should we do some spiritual dreamquest thing?”
“Do you believe in that stuff?”
“No, but I got Ouija Board, pajamas, and some candles. They’re safety candles for sex. My husband is flammable.” She shrugged.
“I wish we knew someone out here to ask, but it’s 15 days back to the 4thwall temple and we’d have to resupply and backtrack and lose a month. Usually the items we get lead to new items.” Gizzy pondered.
“If only one of this crew was like a mystical shaman or knew about mystical shit in some way.”
“We do.” Said Dee, throwing down a drawing in a notebook. Gizzy and Nicole jumped, not even hearing her enter.
“You didn’t ask everyone. I asked Zhoren where he would go to find a scroll. He said Brazza. It literally means scroll in his native tongue.”
“He does talk about mystical shit a lot.” Nicole winced. “I mean, if you have a better idea, we should do that instead of the only idea we have right now.”
“Fuck.” Gizzy sighed. “I suppose conveniently he knows the planet well and therefore needs to be part of the away team?”
“Actually, it makes more sense for him to stay on the ship with me and Vicki.”
“Why is Vicki staying?” Gizzy asked with squinted eyes.
“If she’s scared of a harmless snail because it’s big and slimy and has tentacles, she’s not going to do well on Brazza.