Gizzy slumped in exhaustion, trying to hide her bleeding wounds.
“Jack are you okay?” Vicki yelled, rushing to him.
“I think I broke a few ribs. You may wanna get the recovery injections.” He wheezed, barely getting up. “Gizzy, you need several.”
“I’m fine. You rest up. Good job, soldiers. Good fucking job.” She said limping off.
..,
Jack let the shots do their thing as Nicole gave everyone hugs, going easy on Jack, since Vinn broke 2 of his ribs.
“Guys, we did it. We took on one of the most feared things in the universe and won. And Gizzy saved our asses as usual, despite being half her usual size and squishy. Here I thought being overpowered, bulletproof, and huge was your cheat code; turns out I’m wrong. You’re just a bad bitch, even in a human body.” Smiled Nicole “Can we get a 3 cheers for squishy meat Gizzy?”
Gizzy got up and lumbered away, looking depressed and annoyed rather then successful. Jack followed her. If she trusted anyone to say what was wrong it was him.
...
“Gizzy…I need to ask you something you seem to want to avoid.” Jack said, sitting down.
“You always ask don’t you?” She groaned.
“You don’t seem the same, something is off about you. Why do you just constantly look like your puppy died? Don’t give me protocol, I grew up around you when you wrote it.”
“Because the Charlotte 2 isn’t just a surrogate body. I’m something new. Gizzy is a hive mind, like all Osirians. One entity, piloting up to 40 bodies in some case. All equally the same person, regardless of shape or size or color. Gizzy has smaller bodies and ones that look human, and ones that have better armor, or built for a purpose. They’re all Osirian technology, Osirian blue meat and metallic bone, the same person inside powered by the same nuclear core. We feel the same pain, if one of us reads a newspaper the other bodies can quote it. One hive mind. The bodies are just extensions, tools, even with the modifications. Just like you getting into another car. It handles different, but you’re the same driver no matter what you’re driving."
"I’m not connected to the hive like they are. The Charlotte 2 spheres have Gizzy’s personality and memory built into them, but they do not remotely connect to the hive, and they can’t. I can’t have detectable traces. I’m a singular thing now. I can’t hear the others, I can’t…look back and see my wife and my kids. I’m not there. Gizzy is there. Gizzy is at work, she’s at home, and she’s in the bath enjoying some wine and somewhere else watching her daughter work on her cars. They’re one entity, all made from the same alien flesh and technology. Look at this hand. It’s bruised. There’s no blue glowing meat under, it, no clear thick gel or shiny wires, just…red human meat and tendons. In a sense I WAS Gizzy, but I’m not entirely anymore and I will keep being less of her as time goes on. It’s a long mission to be changing and drifting with no roots to your core being. And I’m already getting used to being human.”
“Vicky put 3 rounds through your chest. Humans don’t survive that and you barely flinched."
“Because my brain is a solid state drive and a battery. I can’t bleed to death or feel pain like you do. I detect it but I don’t really feel it. My brain is just a computer, so it doesn’t need air or blood. So if I bleed out, I don’t die, the body just…slowly rots. I’m a damn zombie with a computer for a brain, and my personality and memory…is just a copy of Gizzy. If I cloned you, everything you were in your mind, and put you into the body of a toaster, would you still be Jack? Just sitting there, sheet metal and coils, making toast for us silently as everyone treated you like an appliance. Is that Jack Greene, or a toaster that thinks it’s Jack Greene? I’m a toaster, Jack. A human copy.”
“We’re all copies here.”
“Exact copies. The same exact being as before, memory and defects, skin and organs, cells and DNA, down to the molecule, so identical that a doctor couldn’t tell who was who. You died human and woke up human, the same human. Every time. Vinn has slightly better vision and Nicole has a slightly higher sex drive, whooptie fucking doo, good for Vinn. I woke up an alien, Jack. Am I still Gizzy?” She asked, touching her eyes and looking at her fingers. “Have you ever seen Gizzy do that? I don’t fucking cry, do I?” She asked while rubbing the tears between her fingers. "I’m not just another Gizzy surrogate with some modifications. I’m Charlotte:
Cloned
Human
Autonomous
Ranged
Low-power
Operations
Tactical
Termination
Entity
So Jacky boy…Am I still mommy dearest, or am I a silent echo with a crew and a job?” She smirked, mascara running, and looking slightly insane. He gave her a hug and she rolled her eyes.
“We love this Gizzy just the same as we do any Gizzy.”
“Well don’t.” she said pulling away. “Because Gizzy as a hive entity will live as long as this universe does, and I am destined for death. We all are. Don’t you get it? The moment we signed that paper, we signed our existence to a curse. A necessary one, but cursed. We’re the damned crew of a damned ship. When the mission is over, we have nothing left. We can’t go home, we’re already there, nobody misses us.” She said gasping and breathing deeply, her rib vents percolating blood slightly.
“And that is what Nicole feels, and why she left home. Jesus Christ, Jack. Cloning is a fucking incredible gift when you need replaced but you really can’t be the duplicate when the other one is still around can you? That blessed technology feels more like a sick joke. Goddamnit, I did that to her. My mistake, my error is what made two Nicoles, and now I finally know what it feels like to be the unwanted backup copy. Except if this mission succeeds, we can never go back, but you, Backup Jack, have Backup Vicki, and Backup Nicole has Backup Vinn. What does backup Gizzy have? No wife, no kids, no planet to rule, no council, no job. I got a fucking snail that gets you high.” She chuckled, crying a little before forcing it back.
“Let it out.”
“No, it’s stupid pointless over-moisturizing, and it serves no purpose but to dehydrate. Crying is fucking stupid.” She said, sucking it up as she would.
“Gizzy doesn’t cry, I’ll be damned of I start now.”
“Maybe you need to talk to someone else about that.”
...
Nicole and Vicki sat on either side of her.
“Is this an ambush?” Gizzy asked, cleaning her rifle.
“Jack told us everything.”
“You know, for a spy, he has a big mouth around you two.”
“Yeah, well, you taught him well.” Vicki scoffed. “You taught him to secretly record everything and always make sure the team is okay, even if they act like they are, but aren't actually.”
“Nicole, how do you live?” Gizzy asked with a sigh. “How do you not just want me dead? I made a rookie mistake, and it ruined your life. I fucked up, missed a DNA factor, and you got duplicated and lost everyone you love, because I missed a detail.”
“I didn’t lose everyone, they’re all safe and protected thanks to you, and we’re all copied here together now…except Dee. I understand why you didn’t copy her. It’s rough being the extra and not going home. It’s unfair, nobody signed up for that shit.” Nicole shrugged.
“No, that’s just it! EVERYONE else, signed up for it. Except you. Jack was born a killer, that’s not my fault. Two killers fucked and made Jack, I pulled his ass out of that prison planet and gave him something better. I helped Jack more then I’ve been a burden to him. He signed up to be cloned, he signed for this mission. Vicki had bug-cancer, I didn’t invent bugs OR cancer, and I’ve spent money trying to cure both. I saved her life, she literally signed up for this mission. Obviously she was not ready, but she’s a grown adult. Vinn BEGGED me to clone him so he could be with you. He nagged me till I did it, and now things are improved from before, I even fixed his damn eyesight. I knew what I’d be doing when I set up this mission, I signed my own stupid waver as a formality. Literally everyone here volunteered and signed up to get duplicated and shot into space, except you. You’re here because I fucked up my math. You never volunteered for this. Everyone else here needed my help and willingly took the step…you just woke up one day, and everything was wrong. I am so…damn sorry. I left everyone I love and my home willingly because I knew it needed to be done, and it hurts me to the core. You just got railed in the ass by a sudden Karma train that wasn’t even aiming at you, because I made mistakes.”
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
"Welcome to being human…well mostly human, none of us bitches are completely human. She’s a little bit bugpire, I’m 1 part fish-bitch and you got a Playstation 6 for a brain, but otherwise welcome to being human. Humans make mistakes and some of us forgive for it. Try and forgive yourself.”
“You wanna shoot me to feel better? Vicki already shot me, what’s one more ventilation hole?”
“See? That’s what a Gizzy would say, and you forgave Vicki for shooting you.”
“In my defense, I was unwillingly hallucinating. Let’s just remember that for any retaliation thoughts.” Vicki noted.
“Oh, and I’m technically a cannibal now.” Gizzy said, throwing her arms up. “I forgot that. It’s not so weird eating a human when you’re an apex techno god, but when you’re mostly human too, it has a weird feel to it.”
“Welcome to that limited club.” Smiled Vicki. “You get used to that one. Why aren’t you healing?” She asked.
“Didn’t wanna waste the regen shots. You guys might need them, and we have a finite supply.”
“Aww, you’re already being selfless. Tinman finally got a heart.” Nicole pouted.
“I know it’s horrible. How do you tolerate this thing? It just beats 24/7, rattling your brains around. It just feels like my reactor is malfunctioning and cutting out, but perpetually. I’ve been taking 40mg Klonopin 3 times a day just so I don’t actively feel and hear every heartbeat and hyperfocus on it.”
Vicki chuckled. “Yeah, well, we’d both be pretty alarmed if we just stopped having one. I guess you get used to what you’re born with, no… hatched with?” Vicki squinted. Gizzy nodded. “See, I did my bookwork on Osirians.”
“I probably should get medical attention for this.” She said raising up her shirt and peeling the bloody bandage with it, revealing a massive series of holes and exposed lung tissue.”
“OH MY GOD!” Vicki gasped.
“FUCK, warn me next time. Oh it’s so bad.” Nicole said, staring harder.
“I’m sorry, I’m ssssorry.” Vicki stammered. “Nicole will getting you a regen shot, that’s too much, no, it’s just too much.” She said getting up.
“The blood is just making you thirsty isn’t it?” Gizzy hollered as she diverted her eyes.
“No…don’t be gross. Also, I…I’m gonna go do my treatment with Vinn. The timing was irrelevant.” She insisted.
“And there she goes to go suck my husband.” Nicole sighed. “See, this life is never easy, it’s weird, it sucks…for some of us literally.”
“I thought she’d never leave…” Gizzy huffed. “She’ll be distracted for a good hour, so how long have you been sampling the seafood?” She asked.
“The what?” Nicole asked,
“Snail. How long have you been getting high off the snail slime?”
“Okay look, it was accidental the first time, then I was curious, then it lead to some more planning. I know she’s your pet, and I know it’s weird.”
“Nicole, I get high off it all the time. I don’t care if you get your feel goods off the leftovers. You’re sharing your husband with Vicki’s feeding habit, you think I’m gonna tell you that you can’t get your slime fix off my snail?”
“Don’t tell everyone.”
“I get it. You like animals, you gotta pet everything and be their buddy, and next thing you know you’re cleaning the tank and filtering the goo to get fucked up and forget your problems. I’m just saying it can be addictive, so go easy on it. The goo is good. Normally, I’d give you the speech about the risk of drugs to your health, but you’re part Menacodian, and it’s about 80 times safer for you than anyone else. Plus, you heal well, so aside from addiction, what’s the worst scenario? You know how hard it would be to overdose and die on snail goop, let alone with your aquatic attributes? Just don’t spend all day harvesting and hoarding it. I was concerned she was unhealthy and not producing enough slime.”
“I got like 2 gallons…hidden under the bed. Marked the jugs “Nicole’s protein shakes," so Vinn wouldn’t dare even try it. Even added some actual shakes to it so it looked the right color or off-white.”
“Clever.” Gizzy nodded.
...
The lab was quiet that night, just the dim light of the scanners as Gizzy scraped the Imposter blood from the knife, and saved it in a metal container in the sample fridge. She set the temperature and locked the door, putting the only key in her pocket.
"One shitstorm down, too many too go.” She said checking her ribs and how it was healing. Quickly for a human, expected for a human with a recovery shot, but far slower then she was used to. She gave another round of antibiotics, not sure how much or how little was appropriate, since she never had an immune system before.
...
Nicole laid on the cargo bay floor, staring at Candice, who was staring back. Jack approached casually.
“I see you’re distracting yourself as well.
“Yep. Gotta get some quality facetime with someone other than my husband."
“Vicki’s feed should be done quickly, and then back to life as usual.”
“Does it bother you?” She asked.
“I don’t find it thrilling, but it’s…acceptable. She needs to feed to stay healthy and strong. It’s medicinal, it’s food, and it’s not personal.”
“It feels personal, doesn’t it? I feel slightly…ignored.”
“Are you bothered that she’d feeding off him, or that he enjoys it?” He asked. She looked offended.
“Don’t be mad at him. Vicki’s venom has some enjoyable neurotoxins. I would know. Except I pass out and need rushed to the infirmary after a slight nick. He’s taking one for the team, she’s doing what she has to do, and at least he’s not suffering. At least her bite isn’t agonizing or dangerous to him. Could be worse. At least she has her thirst controlled for the most part, and luckily Delmarians can handle it. Without him, she’d starve out here or attack one of us. Likely me. I know loaning your husband out to another woman’s time and needs feels degrading, especially after being just you two for so long, in your home. But it beats cancer, and it beats death.”
“I guess we’ll have to come up with a hobby we can do together for an hour or so every day. Something they can feel left out of. You like racing games?”
“Not really.”
“Could you pretend to? See if after a few rounds you start to believe it?”
“I’ll try. Next time. I gotta go fix some bullet holes in the ship. Good thing it’s made of stone, and we run frangible rounds, or we’d be frantically fixing leaks.” He chuckled, looking nervous and relieved at the same time.
...
Nicole placed her head on the concrete floor, trying to hear anything since it was directly over the sex room. Ironically the ideal room for vampiric feeding, since it’s the only room with padded restraints, and a comfortable bed big enough for a Delmarian. The irony of that bothered her a little. She looked up, smiling as she noticed Candice laying her head on the floor too, clearly just copying her.
“What a scary monster you are.” She giggled. She stood up and stretched. Kicking off her boots and on a strange whim, she just walked off the side into the water, plunging down into the now thicker than usual saline tank. It felt familiar, though now slightly crowded with Candice taking up 20 percent of the tank. She felt more at peace in the water, partially from the familiarity of her personal space and her aquatic side, and partially from the drugs absorbing into her skin. She swam to the port window, facing her suite, placing her hand on it and feeling Vinn’s presence just inches away behind the pulled curtain She felt practically next to him but a million miles away with another woman. A redish orange tentacle plopped on the glass beside hers probably just to copy her but it felt like it was saying “it’s okay” somehow.
...
Vicki whipped her chin-length red hair up suddenly, her mouth stained red and her eyes even redder.
“You’re sure that glass is thick enough?” she asked nervously, hearing the tentacle just beside her thumping it.
“It’s 4 inches thick lumaglass, it’s basically clear metallic armor that would stop a claymore mine. It’s against a foot of solid greystone, and it’s a one piece coolant tank. It’s basically indestructible.” He huffed, “Stalling is just gonna make this take longer.” He reminded.
“Sorry.” She said slumping back down.
...
Gizzy stood on the bridge staring at the hologram of a cube rotating in the air. The doors opened and RoboDee walked in, cleaning the room like she wasn’t even there.
“Dee…how real are you?”
“I don’t even understand the question.” She chuckled just like Dee would.
“Remove filter, repeat the response, how real are you?”
“I am unable to process that question.”
“Glorified roomba with tits. So you wouldn’t think I was insane regardless of what I said, and under orders you can’t repeat anything I tell you, right?”
“Unless directly overridden manually by the Captain.”
“Filter back on.”
“Not unless Nicole gives me an order to.”
“I’ll just deny it and bullshit something, maybe tamper with your security settings later.”
“That’s cool. Is there anything I can help with. I am here to help, after all.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know where to find this?” she said gesturing at the holographic floating cube.
“I dunno what it even is.”
“It’s the Writer’s Block. And It’s going to be mine.”