Diary entry #127. #1st entry in my new home, its been two days since I arrived here and I've been given a new arm PAL to support my new living situation. A fancy little device that I'm now using to write my diary. But anyway It's been one test after the other with that woman Selena aka my potential real mother trying to determine if I'm really her daughter. Blood has been drawn skin lifted scans scanning and mind probed all to determine if I'm really me. When I still don't understand who else they think I could possibly be.
But if anything can shed light on that its the conversation Helena had with Selena when I first arrived. There was something about me being the real one this time.....but that could mean lots of things. Someone could have been trying to impersonate me and gain access to the Tonoute family, or as decoys for something else I just don't know. But ill think about that later my main concern is my future will I pass Selena's tests, will she accept me can I finally have a real family to love and to be loved by. I'm.......I'm not sure Selena seems always tense around me and I still have no idea who my Father is or if I have other close relatives. I also never did confirm if Selena and Helena were twins or not. They look too similar not to be.
Anyway, the staff is distant like there looking at a dead person walking. At least Helena seems to want to have some relations with me she always visits twice a day. Asking about how I've lived till now and how I'm adjusting the thing is I still have no idea what my future here is. At least the room they gave me is nice and I can live in comfort till whatever happens happens.
Knock Knock Knock. Looking up from my Diary Helena walks in with Selena.
But the face Selena is staring at me with is different than usual it's not that all business look with no emotions. She actually has a little smile on her face. She walks up to me and places her hands on my shoulders."My daughter your really her...Welcome home welcome home." Hugging me into her chest Selena cries into my neck.
I freeze and get stiff as she does so and looks up at Helena not knowing what to say or do. With a wide scary grin from her scars she just looks on. With new confidence, I hug Selena.... no mom back forgetting the past few days of her harsh tests. I start to tear up not knowing where these emotions flood out from. We sit in silence for a few minutes as Selena gathers herself back together.
"So my daughter I know we're late with your explanation of our separation but your aunt has updated me on the conversations you've been having. And first, we have to fix your understanding of your name, Asa is not your full name it was just what was leftover from your name tag after the kidnapping. The matron just used it because that's all she had to go on."
With just a few words my new mom just revealed to me I know nothing about how I came to be who I am today. I mean Kidnapped how typical what is this the fairy tale that's reality.
Seeing how speechless I am Selena I mean mom, it will take a while to get used to this. Mom continued her monologue.
"Right focus my girl your full name is Asandria Ester Anthelia Tanoute eldest of my line and heir to the Celta line of House Tanoute. You were kidnapped a week after your birth by people I won't mention right now. The important part is that they were after some special secret research we applied to you during birth, a special body and mind treatment meant to enhance your performance in the future and hopefully increase lifespan in the longterm."
I had no time to process that lump of info before she continued." They broke into the family hospital somehow breached our security and stole you. Your Aunt Helena was head of security that night"....glancing over her shoulder Selena gave Helena a look of understanding. "That's how she got that nasty scar you know, one of the infiltrators shot her from the top of the stairs to your room hit the side of her face knocking her straight out shes lucky. Normally that would be a fatal shot and I would have lost my sister and child in the same evening."
Still looking at each other Selena continues."But I never blamed her even though she blames herself. We were all caught off guard no one knew of that project at least that was our belief at the time, it came to light we had a traitor in the project spying for another family. Trying to steal the formula to our cutting edge youth-enhancing treatments. They took you scanned you we think and created light clones of you to spread around and keep to through us off their trail."
"And it worked at least for a while, but we eventually caught up to them. By that time though you were already gone scattered among the light clones they spread in this and neighboring systems. We think there plan was to through us off your true location so they could come to collect you later but ironically enough they lost you in there own ploy. And in the last Seventeen years, we have been fighting against the clock to locate the real you. There were over 50 light clones spread around the place and our opponents have been trying to collect the same as us."
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"The good and bad part about light clones is that they don't live long about 12-17 years to be exact they break down and die due to organ failure and DNA corruption. I've lost and buried 23 Asandria's these past 17 years collected at different times and places all dead because they were light clones. The other 20 something clones were collected by the opposition there fates most likely the same as the ones here. I've shed tears every time one died, and I lost all hope to see the original Asandria ever again. Who would have thought you were here the whole timeless than a 15min flight away."
With more tears in her eyes mom hugged me again.
This explains so much no wonder it took 17years to find me, they did several times while fighting a rival each time they thought they did. I can't even be mad at them no wonder mom was so skeptical of me she had all the reasons to and losing another me would hurt her a little more each time. Those cynical bastards how dare they do this to me and my family all those poor other me's. Pawns in a game not of there knowledge.
"Now Asandria your life is going to get harder you are no longer a young girl living a normal life but the eldest of the line in your generation. Of course privilege you will have but duty comes with it. You're behind your whole generation in terms of training and learning and that will reflect poorly on you. No one will give you pity even though you just came back, power and resources are limited in the family, and only the talented and gifted reach the top."
Peering deep into my eyes Mom gave me a look of worry and determination. Staring back I took her words to heart it seems ill have to work hard to belong here.
"Now that I've broken my persona in front of you, they're no longer any reasons to delay explaining your exact position and who your close relatives are. So, of course, I'm your mother and you already know your aunt my twin, that leaves my husband your father and then the twins Dawn and Shawn, and last but not least Selera the youngest. Your dad is off on a mission and I did not want to tell him about you unless I was sure you were the original Asandria. As for the twins and Selera, they know nothing of this they have heard of the clones and know you could have been out there, but they have never shown interest in you being alive and or back."
I was hurt about my new siblings not being interested in me but what can I blame them with they never meet me I'm a stranger as far as there concerned and a thief of there status if I'm understanding how things work so far.
Seeing my face mom speaks up "now don't make that face you will have chances to bond with them and I'm sure eventually get along with them. But the most important thing is you knowing your place in the family. Being the eldest in the Celta line means you will eventually lead this branch of the family of course after the current head and those after either die or retire. Truthfully your about 6th in line after me and my mom only women inherit the Baroness title in the Celta line the Rendal line Follows male-only inheritance of the title."
Taking my hand mom pulls me up from my bed and leads me down the hall. Following is aunt Helena who has been quiet this whole time.
"There's not much time we need to get you up to par with your peers. You could lose your right to inherit if your skills can't meet the standards of a Tonoute. Good thing our enhancements to you when you where young are still active we can kick start your learning and catch you up on 17years of training."
"Wait mom I get your reasons but why the urgency is there an evaluation or something that is in the next days. I would have really bad luck if that was true" I said in a joking manner. But the look on her and my aunt's face said it all."You can't be serious really such a thing is actually taking place in the next few days!" throwing my free hand up.
"Yes my dear it is, but worry not we have a solution right in my lab here." Doors pushed open revealed my mom's lab the place I've been testing in the last few days. "Come along and sit here" I have pushed ontop a reclined chair with a helmet and straps connected to it.
"Uh, what's this" pointing to the helmet hovering over my head. " That my girl is a VIU device not unlike the VR game helmets the commoners us to play there lives away. This, on the other hand, brings you to mind straight into a virtual environment, and in that space, we can provide a 10x-1000x times of time than real space to help you catch up. Of course, normally 10x speed would be a burden for the common brain and 50x for the enhanced brain. But you my child can endure 80-120x speed according to your test. All thanks to that research from the past."
"A new limit and your advantage against your peers" With swift hands she strapped me in the chair and lowered me into a pod of some sort."Now listen here the trials are in 2 weeks at most I can keep you under for 12 days, in that time the pod will keep you healthy and fit and an AI will monitor you at all times for safety. I'll also be here but I can't keep watch 24/7 but don't worry we will slowly increase time compression to not tax your brain ill see you when you get back be safe and do your best."
Before I could respond to her she closed the pod in my face. Then the fluids to keep me healthy started to fill the pod, the helmet lowered and covered my head then all went dark. Something pricked my neck and then I blacked out.
Spoiler: Spoiler
PAL-a Personal Artificial Learner are devices that act as assistants, communicators, writing devices and ect. The key feature is that they learn there owners and eventually develop a AI personality to further help there owners.
VIU- a Virtual interface Unit are pods that the rich and military use to train and provide a safe learning enviroment for there soliders and youths.
Next time on MCAM Asa finally finds what talents she really has and learns what it means to belong to a military-like family.