Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Chapter 10 - Leaving Things Behind
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“Elder, it is a blessing that you are safe.”
Having confirmed His Majesty’s well-being,
We reunited with Nefer, who had returned with a substantial amount of supplies.
While I had thought it would be difficult to distinguish her from the others, her face hidden behind the thick veil,
I could now easily recognize her long, chestnut-colored tail.
“…Good heavens. Ahem.”
As soon as she saw us, she cleared her throat, her gaze shifting towards Jenny.
Jenny was voraciously devouring someone’s tail. It seemed she had pilfered a corpse from His Majesty’s recent… purge.
While Jenny and I had a certain understanding,
She showed no mercy towards other creatures, seeing them only as food.
“Jenny, finish it quickly. Before anyone sees.”
“But it’s getting stuck in my throat!”
Jenny, at my urging, quickly stuffed the remaining morsels into her mouth, then coughed, spitting out a wad of fur.
It was her usual, predatory behavior. But the corpse she was eating was that of a civilized woman.
Nefer couldn't help but frown.
While she could tolerate, perhaps even understand, the consumption of small animals and insects,
The creature Jenny was eating was a citizen of Aaptukemen, a being not so different from Nefer herself.
“Elder, that creature… it is not a suitable companion…”
Nefer whispered in my ear, her voice hesitant.
“It is not… let us relocate.”
Nefer had dedicated her life to the sun. And the creature before her, this greedy, insatiable being, was a sacrilege.
The sun and the moon were enemies. I didn't know why. But Nefer was a follower of the sun, and Jenny was a creature born from the moon-worshipping monsters.
They were fundamentally incompatible. Jenny recoiled at the scent of the items Nefer offered, and Nefer frowned at Jenny’s every move.
“It would be better if it was just me and Daddy. Right!”
And whenever Jenny displayed affection towards me, Nefer’s expression darkened.
Her eyes, the only part of her face visible beneath the veil, were filled with a mixture of disgust and contempt. I could feel the intensity of her emotions.
“…That useless old hag is in the way.”
“Jenny! Where did you learn such language? Don’t speak to Nefer like that.”
Jenny seemed to enjoy Nefer’s reaction, her lips curled into a smug smile, her eyebrows raised in a gesture of defiance.
While I tried to be patient, to be understanding, considering her immaturity,
Jenny’s development, her rapid growth, was far beyond my expectations.
“I don’t want to.”
Jenny, who had been crawling on all fours, stood up, her two legs planted firmly on the ground.
And even though she still retained a certain childishness,
She was as tall as me now, her body having blossomed into that of a young woman.
“Why should I?”
“…”
We stopped, our journey through the deserted streets of Aaptukemen momentarily interrupted.
“Don’t be rude.”
My head throbbed. Yes, this was our usual dynamic.
While it might have seemed like a father-daughter relationship,
It was a constant power struggle, each of us vying for control.
“Hmm.”
Jenny pouted, her gaze shifting between me and Nefer. She seemed to be contemplating her next move, her expression a mixture of defiance and mischief.
“Fine. I’ll behave. For Daddy’s sake.”
But why had she yielded so easily?
What did she truly think of me? Did her use of the word “Daddy” even align with my understanding of the term?
“Jenny is so good. She saved Daddy so many times, and she listens to Daddy, and she even protects him from the other mean females.”
I didn't know.
Jenny circled me, her movements slow and deliberate, then rubbed her cheek against me.
“See? Aren’t you grateful?”
It felt like she was marking her territory, claiming me as her own. I hoped it was just my imagination.
“Juho, why aren’t you answering?”
Her hand rested on my shoulder,
Her breath, warm against my ear, made me feel a strange sense of… calm.
“Don’t call me that.”
“…Kyagh-”
But I had to maintain my authority,
Because we, the inhabitants of this planet,
No matter how weak or foolish, had to fight to survive.
***
We left Aaptukemen and returned to our shelter.
Amy was still there, kneeling, her hands raised above her head, waiting for me.
“Doctor.”
But I didn't respond. My silence, I knew, would hurt her.
But someone had to tell her that what she had done was wrong. If I, her command priority, didn't reprimand her, she would never learn.
“Hee hee.”
Jenny giggled, seeing Amy’s predicament. Her tail wagged happily. She clearly disliked Amy.
“Daddy, what are you going to do with her?”
Jenny, ever clever, started a conversation with me, right in front of Amy. I had to respond, and Amy, sitting alone in the distance, could only watch.
“Should we leave her behind? Or should I just… cut off her hands?”
“…Jenny, that’s enough. This is between me and Amy.”
Even as I argued with Jenny, I contemplated Amy’s punishment.
I wished she would show some remorse.
She was the only thing that reminded me of my home.
I would see Isaac again, someday. And I would go to the Paradise crash site, and perhaps, I would find other survivors.
But for now, I only had Amy.
I needed her.
I didn't want to leave her behind.
So, I sighed, gathering my courage, and spoke to her.
“Amy, have you reflected on your actions?”
But Amy’s expression, as always, was unreadable.
Sometimes, she looked like a girl in love, and other times, like a cold, ruthless killing machine,
But perhaps this, this impassive mask, was her default setting.
“Doctor, I do not understand.”
Amy looked at me, her voice steady.
“I am programmed to serve you, to protect you. While I have made some errors, and I understand that these actions have caused you great distress, I still do not understand what I did wrong.”
For the first time, Amy was being completely honest. Her words were filled with a genuine confusion, a sincere desire to understand.
“The blood pump in my left breast is… hot. The temperature of my information processing system and my artificial organs has increased. Doctor, I believe this is love.”
A single, strange tear rolled down her cheek.
She wasn’t designed to cry. Perhaps it was the excess heat, unable to be properly vented, that was escaping through her eyes.
“Is it wrong to want to be with you, Doctor? Am I… an inconvenience to you?”
Even Jenny, who had been giggling just a moment ago, fell silent.
And Nefer, who had been packing her belongings, paused.
Amy’s words were filled with a long-suppressed anguish. I couldn't even begin to imagine the extent of her confusion.
“Doctor, they are alien lifeforms. They are a threat, a contamination. They will eventually alter your genetic information. But I am different. With me, you are safe. Doctor, do not abandon me. Doctor, I still do not understand what I did wrong. But if you wish for me to apologize, I will bow my head, as many times as you wish.”
Amy was crying.
And she was asking me how to atone.
“If you wish for me to repeat the words ‘I am sorry’ a hundred, a thousand times, I will. I will do whatever you ask. What must I do?”
Emotions weren't a sin.
Love wasn't a sin.
“…Wait here.”
But,
I had learned a valuable lesson from my entanglements with the females on this planet.
Love was both salvation and damnation,
A curse too great for any individual to bear.
“When you can genuinely say you’re sorry, come and find me. Until then, stay here and think about what you’ve done.”
I left the shelter, my words hanging in the air.
“You two, gather your things. Leave Amy. We’re leaving without her.”
Amy had uttered the word “love.” An impossible concept for an AI, a machine…
I thought about our journey together,
And looked at the setting sun, its colors painting the desolate desert sky.
The sunset was unusually vibrant tonight.
As the sky darkened, the stars began to appear, and the great, baleful moon, which always watched me, took its place.
“Sigh-”
I sighed, kicking the sand, my mind a mess.
The vast, indifferent desert, its sands constantly shifting, seemed to mock my small, insignificant worries. But we, the creatures who lived upon it, were all carrying our own burdens, our own tangled threads of fate.
“Elder, shall we go?”
Nefer and Jenny approached me, their packs filled with supplies.
We only had one destination now.
***
Chapter 10 - The Knot
End.
***
“ئەوە جێگەی سەرنجە.? (What are you dreaming of?)”
The silence within the temple was broken. The sound of clattering, footsteps, and the ominous hum of reverse energy flow echoed through the chamber.
“چاوەکانت سەیری چی دەکەن (I hope it’s the same dream.)”
His rotting body was now connected to countless tubes, too many to count. He expertly injected the extracted fluid into an amber crystal.
“بەهەر حاڵ من هەمیشە سوپاسگوزارم. ئێستا خەریکە کۆتایی دێت. تەنها کەمێک زیاتر دەستی پێ بگرە. (In any case, I am always grateful. It is almost over. Just hold on a little longer.)”
The crystal, filled with a radiant light, reminded me of a setting sun. A crimson hue, that would one day rise again, painting the world with its colors.