Engineered Empress - The story of Bia

Engineered Empress Part 4

Chapter 4 Waking up in a new world

Bia woke up in a clean white room on a bed. She felt sensors on her skin and as soon she moved a muted alarm sounded somewhere close. The door opened, and Marr came into the room.

"Oh Bia, honey you woke up! I am so glad. Do you know what happened to you?" "Grandmarr?" Bia happily acknowledged her grandmother but stayed silent as she feinted ignorance about what happened.

"Why am I here? What got you so worried?"

"No, no, everything is fine now. Thank the stars you woke up. You were found unconscious near your skid and the doctor couldn't get you to wake up. He tried everything he thought of, but you were totally unresponsive. What do you remember Bia?" Marr came over to the bed and held her hand in a fearful grip and stroke Bia's hair with the other hand.

"Hm... it was my birthday and I went window shopping. I bought myself a DOA. After that I had the nanite injection for the basic packet and then I went back to the skid. What happened? Am I allergic to nanites now?" A smiling Marr waved her hands as waiving all the fears and worries away.

"We don't know. The doctor will check you out and make sure everything is fine, but I think he won't find anything now, as he found anything wrong with you while you were unconscious. As soon as you are cleared, I will take you home." Knowing when the momma bear in Marr surfaced Bia just smiled lovingly at her grandmother.

"Okay, Grandmarr" Bia answered quietly, her heart heavy for worrying her grandma so much. In that silent moment she looked to the next patient in the room and recognized Zar in the next bed. He looked older than in the thought scape but not as old as he had to be. Instead of the forty years he is he looked maybe in his thirties. She reminded herself to ask Ceri why he looked so young.

The doctor ran a few more tests but found nothing wrong with her and released her back in Marrs care. Back on the homestead she went into her room to get some sleep and talk a bit to Zar.

"Ceri why does Zar look so young in the thought scape and not really old in the real life?"

"Well he looks like he last remembers himself when you met him. And in real life the alterations to his body don't let him age at a normal rate, to maximize the use of the cybernetics. His alterations are very invasive. I will need to repair a lot of damages they did while installing them. He already told me, that her prefers to keep them, although I can't fathom why someone would mutilate himself that way." Bia could hear the incomprehension in Ceri's voice.

"Ceri you told me the Anri'Te made war, did they not used every possible means to do that? Zar's alteration were meant to make him a better soldier. I don't know how long he had them, but they are part of him, or they wouldn't have materialized in the thought scape. Can you please connect me to him for an hour before I have to go to sleep?"

"Sure Bia" and Ceri brought her back to Zar. He redecorated the thought scape a little. He added some bigger trees she never seen before and a bench under it. Zar was laying on it and looking up in the leafy canopy, but he stood up when he saw her.

"Hi There, I am back again. My great grandma was very worried, I collapsed in the middle of the station and nobody could wake me. Talk about a buyer's remorse." She laughed.

"Anyway, I am now back on the homestead and ready to talk for an hour."

"Bia" Zar said, "How old are you? You look and sound like a teen sometimes and then like a grown up at others. I know you said you were legal, but I'd really like to know."

"Well I just turned 18 a few days ago. But I always was a loner and could better talk to grownups than peers. My school mates never really liked or connected to me. They think I am just too creepy looking. So, I put all my effort into my family, degrees and into grandma's corporation." At that statement Zar covered a laugh with a cough and looked her in the eyes.