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Zero Dawn had taken most of her free time from her, if she’d even had any to begin with. She looked over to Jackie, her sister, hunched over a laptop computer with a small driver attached to it, modifying and saving down as much data as she could in a short amount of time. To Elisabet, her sister was the picture of focused, her eyes scanning the dimly illuminated screen before her, a trivial bit of tech that had carried on through the years, though was largely unused with the use of the Focus. Lis stood from her chair, stretching out the stiffness in her lower back, and made her way to Jackie’s side, collapsing beside her on the bed.
“Come on, Lis…” Jackie sighed, adjusting the computer back onto her lap, “I’m trying to work here. The sub-functions aren’t just going to back themselves up.”
“They will once GAIA has control.” Elisabet replied, sitting closer to her sister, her head resting on her pale shoulder, “It won’t be much longer now.”
“I know… Which is why I’m trying to prepare her for anything.” Jackie replied, gently nudging Lis’ knee with her own. “I don’t want anything to corrupt her programming. Which is why I’m the lead programmer on this joyride.”
The two women laughed easily at Jackie’s retort, knowing full well that the project was their initial child before the others had joined in. Hundreds of them, from all different backgrounds, had come together to complete this project before they would have to be separated and secluded in either air-tight bunkers or air-tight spacecrafts. Both women would never speak their fears to the other, knowing that they both would die in what would remain of GAIA Prime. Lis placed her hand on Jackie’s shoulder, offering it a gentle squeeze before standing from the bed.
“Come on… Let’s get some sunlight while we still have it.” She offered, her hand outstretched out towards her little sister, “Some fresh air could do both of us some good.”
Jackie conceded, taking Lis’ hand in her own and following behind her sister as she led them out into the midday sun. Jackie inhaled the air, filling her lungs full of the clear mountain air that surrounded them. It was only a matter of time before this was gone, and her sister made it their mission to soak up as much time as they could, even though they had been completely dedicated to the forward momentum of completing Zero Dawn before the Swarm could get to them.
“You know Lizzy,” Jackie began, her fingers laced within her sister’s, “I’ve been trying to find a hack to the Black Quartz program that that idiot built around the Chariot line.” Lis turned her gaze to her sister, confusion knitting her brows as she came to stand before the young woman.
“What kind of hack?” Lis questioned, her hands coming to rest on Jackie’s shoulders, eyes wide with realization. “What have you been able to put together?”
“I don’t have much, but it may be enough to slow the progression of the Swarm… It should be enough to at least get them to stop replicating and shut down their ability to biodegrade organic matter.” Jackie offered, reaching up to put her hands on Lis’. “I hope it will be enough for now.”
“Jackie, you may have just single-handedly saved us so much time for Zero Dawn!” Elisabet cried, wrapping her arms around Jackie’s shoulder and pulling the young woman in for a tight hug, “We can finally get the upper hand if your hack works!”
“Yes… IF it works.” Jackie sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I won’t know until I’ve gotten into the mainframe of the program and poked about in it. That jackass is no fool. He’s paid some of the highest sought-after programmers in the world to build up the Black Quartz program inside the Chariot line… I can only hope that what I’ve managed to hack in to will allow us the time we need and will give the world a greater chance at survival.”
“Well, we should get our asses in gear then.” Lis sighed, a soft smile on her lips now as she looked into Jackie’s hazel eyes, “We can’t afford to waste anymore time or energy… We must do what we can.”
“The APOLLO program has been downloaded, revised and saved at least a dozen times on my laptop, thumb drive, and my holofiles. I haven’t taken any chances. I’ve put up as many security features into GAIA’s programming as I can and am constantly adding more as I think of them.” Jackie took a breath, grounding herself to the earth beneath her feet. “Not even fuckhead’s best programmers will be able to hack into her systems.”
Lis couldn’t help but laugh at all the… colorful… phrases Jackie used to describe Ted. Truth be told, the younger redhead wasn’t wrong about her choice of words, though Lis had to admit that they would be funnier had Ted been around to hear them himself… She would have loved to see his face as he was verbally torn down from the pedestal that he had placed himself on by her baby sister. She laughed, a full belly, real laugh as she wrapped her arm around Jackie’s shoulder and lead her back into the facility and to their room, chatting along the way about how they would implement Jackie’s hack into Ted’s systems.
“Oh, I’ve already thought of that, Lizzy.” Jackie smirked, gazing at her elder sister with a cocky grin.
“Do tell, little sister.” Lis prompted, leaning against the table as she gazed back into her sister’s hazel eyes.
“Well, I do plan on putting on a grand performance for the chuckle fuck.” Jackie smirked, her smile growing on her face as she thought of the ways to embarrass Faro in front of not only his subordinates, but to what remained of the world. “I plan to march into his main tech hub, take control of the main terminal from his lackies, call him every colorful combination of a swear and verb I can think of as I download the hack into the main frame of the Black Quartz, then wish him a pleasant death as I waltz out of the facility, FBI at the door waiting for him to follow me, as you know he will.”
Lis wrapped her arms tightly around Jackie, resting her head on the young woman’s shoulder as a soft sigh pushed past her lips. She felt Jackie hug around her waist, pulling her closer against her body as they melted out of the Prime facility and into their mother’s waiting, warm embrace. She had been gone near ten years, but the pain was still a raw nerve to them both, each of them wishing they had had just a little more time. More time with the woman who had birthed, raised, fed, bathed and clothed them. More time with the woman who had kissed away every boo-boo, had tucked them in and read to them every night, had chased away the monsters under their beds and in their closets. The woman who had healed every burn, scrape, bruise, cold, flu and heartbreak alike… They missed her terribly.
“Do you…” Jackie began, fidgeting with a loose strand on her sweater, eyes cast down to the floor between them. Neither of them had been particularly religious, but with the end of the world now making its way towards GAIA Prime, they both found that they had to believe in something… Anything…
“Do I what?” Lis questioned, though she already knew. She knew what the question was before her sister could even utter the words.
“Do you think she’s watching over us?” Jackie questioned, toeing at the metal beneath their feet. “Do you think she’s proud of us?”
Elisabet had expected the first question, but the second threw her off just enough to make her falter, her eyes glossing over with unshed tears and years of buried emotions that she wasn’t quite ready to release yet. She knew how bad she was about bottling her emotions, but she would be damned if the first person that she let loose on was the sweet girl standing before her. Lis reached out and gently cupped her sister’s cheek in her palm, cradling the young woman’s face against the soft warmth of her hand. Jackie melted into her sister’s affectionate touch, melting at the last true feeling of happiness surrounding them in their darkest hours.
“I know she is… And she has always been so proud of everything we’ve done… And of everything we will continue to do together.” Lis affirmed, leaning in to place a soft kiss on her sister’s forehead, smiling at the toothy grin Jackie gave her in return. “Now…
Let’s get this lovely young AI up and running, shall we?”
Jackie smiled at her sister, both knowing that they needed to break their reverie if they were to get GAIA and her sub-functions up and running. They had a few more long nights ahead of them, and several more coffee stims were calling their names.
**
GAIA flared to life before them, her translucent form towering above them as they gazed up at her with childlike fascination and amazement.
It had worked.
All their time, effort, labor and sleepless nights had worked.
Jackie breathed a soft sigh of relief, her body giving in to the exhaustion and relief that she felt in equal parts of her being. She collapsed into the chair next to Lis, eyeing her with a soft smile, taking in the softness that had come to rest on her sister’s jaw, neck and shoulders. She had hoped to see Lis like this more often, but she knew what came next: continuing to integrate systems into GAIA’s network, encourage her to learn new tasks and terraforming habits on her own, and monitor each coming and going of any new systems that threatened to destroy the peace that had settled into their bodies.
Jackie felt her stomach knot in anxiety, her eyes scanning the faces of the Alphas as they sat around the duo. Her gaze fell back to Lis, seeing the smile illuminate her tired features as she made conversation with Samina and Margo, the three of them conversing on a topic that she hadn’t heard the start of. She excused herself from the table and made her way back to her bedroom, pulling her laptop up onto her desk and looking through every file and every code that had granted them GAIA as she stood before them.
She placed another dozen security measures on the laptop itself, feeling her stomach begin to uncoil with each one she had put on it. She then moved in to the actual files that had created GAIA and kept all of her sub-functions intact and connected to her network, throwing password after password and measure after measure onto each individual file as she moved from one to the next, her eyes glossy and exhausted. Her chest tightened as she continued to work, feeling heavy and constricting, but her fingers continued to type out commands and unhackable passwords.
And then she saw it.
The red blip from her focus that indicated something was wrong with GAIA.
She hurriedly finished her passwords and her own Black Quartz programming, closed her laptop and ran into the main control room, taking notice that her sister was nowhere to be seen. She glanced around at the gathered Alphas; her eyes wide with fear as she tried to piece everything together.
“Margo! Where is my sister?!” She questioned, fear lining her voice as she gazed over to the young woman. “What in the fuck is even going on?”
“GAIA said that the seal had malfunctioned. It was wider than two millimeters.” Margo began, her eyes now widening to match Jackie’s. The hologram on the table flared to life, Elisabet standing before them wearing her environmental suit. “Oh no…” Margo breathed, glancing between the sisters as Jackie approached the table.
“Lizzy… Why?” She begged, tears glistening and welling up in her hazel eyes as she looked at her sister. She shook her head, tossing her tears down to the table, “WHY?!”
Her heartbreaking scream resonated throughout the room as she dropped to her knees at the table, sobs breaking free from her throat as she held herself. Lis could feel her own heart breaking at the sight of her sister, so angry and broken, huddled up on the ground before her, sobbing her heart out.
Jackie never cried.
Lis remembered the one time in Jackie’s life where she had cried, and it was at their mother’s funeral. Never before, and not since.
Until now.
“Jackie…” Lis began, her voice soft and calm, though her heart hammered in her chest and her blood rushed in her ears at the sight of the most important person in her life.
“… You’re leaving me…” Jackie choked, her tears falling faster down her pale cheeks. “You’re leaving me just like mom did!” She screamed, jolting up to her feet, eyes bloodshot and glassy as she stared daggers at her sister’s image. Lis visibly flinched at the sight.
“Jackie, I’m not leaving you.” Lis tried, only to be cut off.
“You are! You’re throwing the time we could have had left together… As a family!” Jackie was riled up now, the other Alphas watching the exchange between the two redheads with heartbroken looks on their faces. “You’re sacrificing yourself and leaving me behind! You’re throwing me away like an old newspaper!”
“Baby girl, I would never—”
“Shut UP, Elisabet!” There was the explosion everyone held their breath to. Jackie never called Lis by her full first name. It was always Lis or Lizzy. Elisabet stepped back at the broken crack in her sister’s scream. All eyes fell to Jackie as she stood at the table, palms pressed heavily against the metal beneath her skin, eyes focused on Elisabet’s form.
“I’m sorry, Jackie…” Lis began, her voice shaking as she fought the urge to cry at the exchange. “I’m so sorry…”
“If you were, you wouldn’t be leaving in the first place.” Jackie ground out, her nails scratching against the metal beneath her fingers.
“I don’t have a choice, sweetie.” Lis soothed, putting her hand against a button on her environmental suit, revealing her tearstained face to those who looked at her. “It’s either close the gap alone, or all of us die for nothing… I couldn’t sacrifice everything that we’ve accomplished together.”
Jackie clutched the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white as she resisted the urge to scream and lash out at her sister. She could feel Lis’ eyes on her, the other Alphas following suit, and turned her gaze back up to her sister’s projection. Lis’ eyes softened as she gazed back at her little sister.
“I want to go home, Jackie…” She began, her voice cracking just a bit as she spoke; eyes softening with every word. Jackie bit her lip, holding back the urge to cry once more as fresh tears glistened in her eyes. “Come find me when it’s all over.”
“Let me bring you back in.” Jackie choked, “Please!”
“It’s too late… The Swarm is too close.” Lis replied, her eyes mirroring Jackie’s as she gazed back at the group.
“That motherfucker!” Jackie screamed, slamming her fists back onto the table as she stared down at its metallic surface. “This is all his fault!”
“I know, baby girl… I know.” Lis soothed, pulling Jackie’s gaze back to her sister once more. “Take care of them for me… Okay?”
“I can’t, Lizzy… I’m not a leader like you are.”
“Yes you are… You developed the entirety of this project… Don’t give up on it just yet.” Lis encouraged, hoping that Jackie would press on, even without her there. “You can still help them accomplish our dream… Even without me there.”
“It’s not the same… It will NEVER be the same…” Jackie ground out, biting her bottom lip as she stared straight at her sister. “They are brilliant, intelligent and lovely people, but they aren’t you… They aren’t my sister.”
“I know, sweetie… I know…” Lis replied, shaking her head. “Just try for me… Can you do that?”
Jackie could no longer reply, the lump in her throat nearly suffocating as she simply stared at Lis’ translucent face. She simply nodded her head, offering Lis a soft smile before it disappeared once more.
“Well…” Jackie began, clearing her throat as she stood tall once more. “Good luck, Lizzy… I’ll meet you there when I’m able.” Jackie offered a sad smile as she looked at her sister’s visage, her tears once more slipping silently down her pale cheeks.
“I’ll be waiting for you, baby girl.” Lis replied, tears also slipping down her own cheeks. “And I know mom will be waiting as well.”
“I hope so…” Jackie replied, her voice wet with tears as the others said their goodbyes to Elisabet in their own ways.
The hologram eventually disappeared, leaving silence among the group as they all just stared at the spot where Lis once stood. Jackie brushed at her eyes angrily once more, then turned on her heel and left the room, much to the dismay of the others who attempted to call her name. She returned to the room she shared with Lis, dropping to the bed and hugging her sister’s pillow to her chest, crying into the fabric as she buried her face against it.
**
Elisabet struggled as she made her way into the old ranch they’d once called home. She wandered into the entrance, her eyes immediately falling to family photos lining the walls of the foyer. She caught sight of a picture of the three of them, smiles on their faces, as Jackie and herself both held blue ribbons in their hands. Their high school and middle school sciences fairs. Jackie had always excelled at programming, while Lis leaned more towards green robotics, but each of them had found their niche quite young. She traced her gloved finger against the frame, tracing their faces with a sad smile on her lips. She was glad their mother hadn’t lived to see the world today.
She shuffled down the hallway, glancing into their mother’s room at her perfectly kept bed, clothes still hanging in the closet, waiting for the day that they were worn once more, the bed of their last dog, Bolt, sitting beside the bedside table that held a lamp and their last family photo. She caught sight of the journal their mother kept as she stepped further into the room, her eyes never leaving it until it was held securely in her hands. She couldn’t find the heart to read their mother’s words, her eyes stinging with tears as she gazed down at the leather cover that stared back at her. No… Now was not the time to read their mother’s last words… It felt wrong, even though she was long gone.
“If I live through this… I promise to read your last words to us, mother.” She vowed, putting the journal into the small safe their mother had kept her necklaces and a few stones the girls had collected for her; trivial things that had come to be her most valued treasures.
Lis made her way back out and into Jackie’s room, glancing around at all the posters that lined her walls and the small corkboard of photos that leaned against the mirror on her dresser. The drawers had been left half open, just the way Jackie had left them when she went off to college, and some clothes still laid perfectly on her bed, even though they had been left behind. She stepped into Jackie’s room and glanced around at the shelf of collectables, the piles of shells and crystals that sat on the opposite corner of her dresser, and a photo of the two of them sitting together, designing something or another, their eyes glued to Jackie’s computer screen. Lis couldn’t help the small smile that came to her lips as she gazed at the memory. Their mother had come outside to see them sitting quietly together, both reading the notes they had written for the experiment. She had snapped the photo without disturbing them, a smile illuminating her face as she watched over her little girls from the porch as they fiddled with electronics kits and programs.
Lis felt the sting of tears in her eyes as she backed out of Jackie’s room and made her way over to her own across the hall. She caught sight of the PV kits and robotics manuals littered across her dresser, along with a few tubes of lotion and candles. The smallest trinket in her possession was a small locket in the image of Earth that sat beside the last photo they had taken with their mother. They had gone on a road trip together through the Grand Canyon and the national parks in the surrounding area, returning home with a happiness that couldn’t be tied down. They had stopped at the hot springs in Yosemite National Park and had taken a picture together, both girls flanking either side of their mother as they smiled into the camera lens. Lis copied down as much as she could onto her Focus, for fear that, should she somehow survive mass extinction, the photos and memories would be lost in the scuffle for control between man and machine. She took hold of her locket and slowly made her way back outside, her breathing ragged as her environmental suit slowly continued to lose oxygen. She settled onto the bench in the backyard, overlooking the barren fields beyond the ranch, though she desperately wished to see one final sunset beyond the darkness that surrounded her.
“Warning, ten percent oxygen remaining.” The suit hummed, soothing Lis as she reclined against the back of the bench, holding the small world up to her eyes, gazing at the bright blue and green ensemble that colored it.
“I’m sorry, Jackie… We never did get to finish our tour of national parks together… Even though it’s now all gone.” She sighed, her hand dropping to her side. She stared out at the horizon, or what was left of it, and took a few deep, calming breaths. “I’ll see you on the other side, little sister.”
The suit began to shut down as the last remnants of oxygen filtered into Elisabet’s lungs, her heart slowing as her vision faded. A soft hum echoed through her thoughts as she slowly drifted off into unconsciousness.
Emergency Cryogenic Stasis Protocol Activated.
**
Jackie had holed herself up in her room, constantly fiddling with whatever passwords and security features she could come up with to keep Zero Dawn, and GAIA, operating at their highest potential.
“Jackie, might I make an observation?” GAIA’s voice called, pulling her gaze from her laptop over to the holographic image of the woman before her.
“Of course, GAIA.” Jackie replied, setting her laptop beside her as she gave the AI her full attention.
“You have been troubled as of late. Vitals indicate an influx of stress hormones linked to a traumatic event.”
“I suppose you could call my sister’s death a traumatic event.” Jackie snapped, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “All because of that asshole Faro, I lost my sister… I lost my best friend.”
“I cannot fathom the depth of your grief, Jackie…” GAIA frowned, her gaze breaking from Jackie down to the floor between them. “I only wish I could help you through this time…”
Jackie’s gaze softened at GAIA’s words, bringing a soft sigh from her lips as she finished up her last encryption, closed her laptop, then patted the space beside her for GAIA to sit, though the AI didn’t feel the strain of standing like a normal human did. Still, the AI joined Jackie on the edge of the bed, noting the way Jackie’s body language softened at her presences.
“You’re all I have left of her, you know.” Jackie began, her eyes focused on the wall across from them. “Sure, I have a few articles of her clothing, some holofiles, a few journal entries from the last year, and a few family pictures, but you are the absolute biggest
part of her I’ve got left.”
“Query: What do you mean?”
“Well, we spent the last year together working on you and your sub-functions, perfecting the code and incorporating the data. I spent most of my time perfecting the programming of your sub-functions, as well as fixing you up with your ability to sense and feel emotion. That was all Lizzy’s idea, and I helped her bring her idea to life.” She sighed, feeling the burden of her anger lift from her shoulders.
A message came through on her Focus, bringing her from her reverie and back to reality. With a sigh, she tapped the offending object with her finger, bringing a hologram of Margo before her, a soft smile on the other woman’s face.
“Hey Jackie… Are you busy?” When Jackie gave her a look of confusion, Margo continued. “The other Alphas are coming together for a meeting… We were hoping that you would join us.”
“Margo, I’ll be honest with you.” Jackie began, her body weighted down once more by her sister’s absence. “The Alphas were Lis’ thing. You guys all flocked around her because she was Alpha Prime. I’m not like my sister in that regard. I don’t want people to rely on me… I’m simply trying to finish what she and I started together.”
Margo could only look at Jackie with a mixture of sympathy and understanding. Zero Dawn had taken so much from both Elisabet and Jackie, and all the Alphas really, that it had started to weigh heavily on everyone. She nodded her head, offered a small goodbye, then disconnected their Focuses. Jackie sighed then turned her attention back to GAIA, who offered the woman a soft smile.
“I have finished calibrating the Cryostasis tubes for the Alphas and yourself, if you so choose to utilize them.”
“I might… I haven’t decided if I want to see a future without Lizzy.” Jackie lamented; her hands folded in her lap.
She sighed, her shoulders slacking as she fought the urge to let her welling tears slip down her cheeks. She blinked hard, hastily rubbing at her eyes to brush the offending moisture away as GAIA offered nothing but a sad smile and her presence, giving Jackie the moment that she so desperately needed. Suddenly, the AI shifted uncomfortably, her visage flickering for a moment before solidifying once more.
“GAIA?” Jackie questioned, her gaze focused on the AI beside her, “What is it? Status.”
“Unknown entity detected… Countermeasures failed to initialize.” GAIA offered, flickering once more as a grimace crossed her features, “Entity goes by Omega.”
“Omega? What the fuck?” Jackie questioned, grabbing her laptop and logging into the system.
Her eyes widened in shock as she gained access to the one calling themselves Omega. She poked and prodded into the coding, her shock turning to anger as she found the one behind the name. “Fuck you, chucklefuck. You already took Lizzy from me… You won’t get GAIA or her sub-functions.”
Jackie tapped vigorously at her laptop keys, her eyes scanning over each file as it appeared on her screen. Through her Focus, she could see the others attempting to cut out Ted’s intrusion, but they failed to hack his interface. Her jaw clenched as she continued to lock down as many of GAIA’s sub-functions as she could, her heat racing in her chest and blood rushing in her ears.
“Oh no…” GAIA breathed, breaking Jackie from her focus as her head shot in GAIA’s direction.
“What is it GAIA? What happened?” She questioned, every muscle in her body tightened in flight mode.
“The air was drained from the meeting room… It was Ted’s doing…”
Jackie paled, her hands shaking as they hovered over her keyboard. She discarded her laptop to the bed beside her then reached over to the garbage can beside her and emptied the meager contents of her stomach.
Dead… All of them… Dead…
Her heart hammered in her chest as she buried her head in her hands, strained cries pushing past her lips as she felt how alone she now was. She breathed a small sigh of relief for the fact that she had denied going to the meeting, but perhaps dying along side her comrades would have been better than being left all alone in Prime. She grabbed a napkin and wiped her lips, breathing heavily as she returned the garbage can to the floor.
“GAIA, status on sub-functions.”
“APOLLO has been rendered obsolete, but all other sub-functions are in working order.”
“That motherfucker.” Jackie breathed, grabbing her laptop once more. “GAIA, I’m going to reintegrate the APOLLO sub-function to your network.”
Jackie went through the slow process of bypassing all the passwords and encryptions she had placed on the files, unlocking them one by one until she had made it into the main folder of APOLLO’s information. She breathed a soft sight of relief at seeing that the files were still intact. She opened each one and uploaded the information back into GAIA’s network, working slowly so that, should Ted still be screwing with the network of Prime, he wouldn’t be able to see the trace amounts of her work until it was too late.
She worked for hours, late into the night and early morning, before completing her task. She smiled at her work, praising herself for having encrypted all of GAIA and her sub-functions in a way that Ted wouldn’t have been able to hack.
“APOLLO online.” The PA called through the empty facility, echoing down the hallways until the sound reached her ears.
“Good…” She breathed, falling back into her pillows.
“Jackie, may I suggest the cryostasis chambers at the end of the hall?” GAIA offered, her visage appearing beside Jackie on the bed with a soft smile on her face. “You have done more than enough… I can take over from here.”
Jackie smiled sadly, remembering that there were enough chambers for all of them, but now she was the only one left. She nodded her head, a grimace appearing on her features as she sat upright once more, sliding off the edge of the bed and making her way down the hall with GAIA at her side and her laptop in her arms. As she stepped into the room, she could feel her heart hammer in her chest at the sight of it. At the sight of all the chambers that would remain unused. She picked the one furthest from the door and ran her fingers over the side of it, feeling the weight of the entire project resting on her shoulders.
“You’re sure your sub-functions are secure?”
“Affirmative. No further action is required of you.”
“And the locks and encryptions? They’re holding?”
“Yes Jackie.” GAIA chuckled, focusing her gaze on the young woman beside her. “I have the system under control. You may sleep now.”
Sleep. She had longed for that word, but she had pictured it as an indefinite frame of time, not for the next couple hundred years. She breathed a huff of air, her mind made up, then climbed into the chamber, resting her laptop on her chest with her arms folded across it, very similar to the old vampire movies their mother had let them watch when they were growing up.
“I wish you a pleasant sleep, Jackie.” GAIA smiled, gazing down into Jackie’s hazel eyes.
“Thanks GAIA… Take care.”
The hatch to the chamber closed tightly, sealing off the outside world as it crumbled around them. GAIA’s smiling face was the last thing she saw before the darkness of sleep claimed her, leaving her with nothing more than her dreams of the future.
**
“Cryogenic Stasis Deactivated”
Aloy glanced around the room she stood in, seeing nothing more than a few metal tubes that were smaller than the one she was born from. The robotic voice said nothing more, leaving her in silence as she stepped through the hollow space and glanced at the empty cells. One, tucked away in the corner of the room, caught her eye as she stepped towards it. It was cold to the touch and looked like a frozen lake. She wiped her hand over a strip of glass then gazed down into the chamber. Her eyes widened as she saw a face beneath the glass.
“Deactivation successful. Opening chambers.”
Aloy stepped back from the chamber as a hiss of air greeted her. She watched intently as the door lifted open, letting steam trickle over the edge of the chamber. She flinched slightly at the sound of a gasp coming from the chamber, her hand resting on the handle of her spear, as she gazed intently at the dark tube. A hand gripped the side of the opening as the body within slowly moved to sit upright. The flash of a red mane of hair caught her eyes followed by the curve of a feminine body. Aloy released her spear and simply gazed at the woman sitting before her, a strange rectangular object clutched against her chest.
Jackie glanced around her, noticing the flickering lights and chill of settled snow that littered the ground. Her eyes finally focused in the dim room as she gazed around, her eyes coming to rest on a young woman’s who stood off to her right. She gazed at her intently, noticing her vibrant hazel eyes and wild mane of red hair. Jackie tapped her Focus and immediately bridged communications between her Focus at the one attached to the young woman before her. She eased herself out of the chamber, placed her laptop off to the side, and stood on the floor, holding tightly to the chamber as her muscles loosened out again. She tapped her Focus once more.
“GAIA?” She called, taking tentative steps around the room as blood rushed throughout her body once more. “GAIA? Where are you?”
“She’s not here.” The young woman called, bringing Jackie’s gaze back to her. “I’ve seen her final message. She sent the reactor into overdrive, which exploded shortly after. The HADES protocol became self-aware, as GAIA put it, and began to take over the terraforming system. GAIA blew the reactor to prevent HADES from gaining control.”
“Who are you?”
“Aloy.”
“Aloy.” Jackie reiterated, testing the young woman’s name on her tongue.
“Who are you?” Aloy questioned, bringing Jackie’s gaze back to her.
“Jacquelyn Sobek, computer engineer and programmer. But I go by Jackie.”
“Sobek… You’re part of Elisabet’s family?” The young woman questioned, her hazel eyes gazing intently into Jackie’s own.
“Of course. I’m her little sister… Or I was, anyways… Before entering cryo.” Jackie sighed, propping her laptop up on a console as she prepared the long process of reprogramming GAIA on an entry level. “Lis died when she left this bunker…”
Aloy couldn’t help the sad smile that came to her lips as she heard Jackie’s words. How she could explain that Elisabet Sobek didn’t die after she left the bunker was a lot harder than she had anticipated, but she broke the silence anyways.
“She isn’t dead.”
Jackie’s head shot up at the words, her eyes boring in to Aloy’s own as she processed the words the young woman had just uttered. “What?” Jackie questioned, her gaze still holding firm to Aloy’s, “She’s not dead?”
Aloy simply shook her head before turning her back to Jackie and walking out of the room. Jackie’s curiosity forced her legs to follow the young woman who looked so much like her sister, throwing all caution to the wind. She stuck close to the young woman, stepping around twisted metal and shattered glass that glittered in the snow. Her eyes softened as she gazed at the destruction around her, leaving a terrible ache in her chest.
Aloy stopped at the edge of the entrance, gazing down at the Stormbird that hovered over Elisabet, it’s calm, blue eyes glancing around the area as it shifted around to better guard that unconscious, environmental suit clad woman who lay motionless on the ground. Jackie gasped as she spied her sister’s name glowing on the chest of the suit but was stopped by the arm thrust in front of her chest.
“I’ll get her. There are no stairs here.” Aloy spoke, her gaze turning to the eyes of the machine before her.
Without a beat, the Stormbird wrapped its talons around Elisabet and hoisted her up into the air before hovering the short distance needed to lower the unconscious woman in Aloy and Jackie’s arms. Jackie looked over the suit, her Focus scanning Elisabet’s vitals as she held tight to the metal in her hands. With Aloy’s help, they brought Elisabet down to the room that Jackie had once shared with her sister. They laid Lis down on the bed as Jackie began to slow, arduous process of reviving her sister from nine-hundred years of cryo.
“How long does… Something like this take?” Aloy questioned, her hawk-like gaze on Jackie’s back as the other woman continued to tap at unseen keys.
“A few hours at best, a day or two at worst.” Jackie replied, her gaze locked on the vitals before her as she continued to slowly breathe life back into the suit that encased her sister. “Lizzy and I have been in cryo for hundreds of years… I had the luck of being preserved in an actual chamber.” She paused for a moment, pinching the bridge of her nose as she thought on her beloved AI. “GAIA must have experimented cryostasis on my sister’s suit, knowing that she could simply activate protocol in the event that Lis passed out from lack of oxygen.” Jackie shook her head with a soft chuckle. “Sorry, I mean in the event that Lis wasn’t able to breathe.”
Aloy would be lying if she said that she wasn’t fascinated by the technology that sat before her. Jackie’s fingers moved nimbly through the air as she continued to type and drag codes and commands across the digital screen before her.
“You know, you’re probably hungry.” Aloy began, pushing the snow with her foot as she spoke, “I could go hunt for a while and gather up some berries.”
Jackie broke her focus on Lis’ body to turn back to Aloy, a soft smile on her lips. “That would be wonderful, Aloy. Thank you.” She smiled, her eyes glittering in the soft lights. Aloy mirrored Jackie’s smile, a warmth spreading through her that she hadn’t felt since Rost was killed. She turned on her heel and made her way back out into the world, bow and spear ready for combat with machines and to take down game. Jackie watched her leave with a soft smile, her frown slowly returning once the young redhead was gone. She turned her gaze back to Lis, a soft sigh pushing past her lips.
“What has our GAIA done? Creating this young woman in a Cradle facility to carry our burden... What have we done, Lizzy?"
The hum of lights and a few of the old generators was the only response she received as she gazed at her sister, another soft sigh passing her lips. She continued to work on Lis, making sure her vitals continued to even out as she slowly brought the elder woman out of stasis.
**
Aloy stalked a group of boars from the shadows of the trees, her hawk-eyes trained on the prey as she readied a set of arrows, preparing to release them towards the fattest boar in the group. She aimed and let out her breath, releasing the arrows towards the group as she did so. The arrow struck the large boar, dropping it to the ground with little attention grabbed from the others nearby. She slowly stepped towards the fallen boar, wrapped its hooves together, then dragged it behind her as she made her way back to the Bitter Climb. The Stormbird from earlier still sat at the bottom of the cliff waiting for her as she approached with her small collection of boar, rabbit, berries and vegetables. She tied the boar to a part sticking out from the machine’s neck, tightening it so that it wouldn’t fall off in the short climb back to the entrance of GAIA Prime, then settled herself up on its back before it took off into the sky.
She gazed down in wonder at the surrounding landscape she could see, her eyes widening as she glanced over to see All-Mother Mountain in the distance as it stood over Mother’s Heart. She gazed over to see Meridian shimmering in the last rays of sunlight, its twin elevators glittering as sunlight bounced off their golden metal. She could see the cauldron doors as they stood out against the landscape, cutting out holes in the sides of mountains and hills, the triangular shapes still emitting steam from their overridden cores. The Stormbird let out a cry, signaling their landing at the entrance of GAIA Prime. Aloy slipped off its massive neck as it hovered near the entrance of the facility, then pulled the boar from the jutting piece of metal before she stepped into the facility and made her way towards the small campfire Sylens had once left behind. She skinned the boar and cooked the meat, crushing some berries and letting the juice cover the meat. She stuck some of the vegetables onto the other spit, letting them roast over the fire until they were soft enough to bite into, then pulled them off and put them on the dried skin of the boar. The meat followed soon after. She gathered up their dinner and made her way back down to the room that Jackie and Elisabet occupied, taking a seat near Jackie and offering her bits of dinner as she continued to work on bringing Elisabet out of stasis.
“How is she?”
“Stable.” Jackie breathed, popping a carrot into her mouth. “She’s going to be really sore from being in this damn suit for so long, but she’ll be fine once she wakes up and starts moving around again.”
“That’s good.” Aloy breathed, shaking her head as sleep began to settle in.
“It is.” Jackie whispered, her gaze on the exhausted young woman. “Why don’t you get some sleep… It’ll be a while yet before she fully wakes.” She offered, reaching up and putting her hand on Aloy’s shoulder. “I promise to wake you immediately when she begins to wake.”
Aloy was about to protest, but she knew it wouldn’t lead to anything. She simply nodded her head and went to set up her bedroll in the corner of the room beneath the humming lights of the facility. Jackie watched her until she fell asleep, a soft smile on her lips before she turned back to Lis.
“You better wake up soon, sis. She’s waiting for you.” She breathed; her eyes once again focused on the vitals of her sister. She took a piece of meat and bit into it, her free hand coming up to comb through her hair. “Ugh… Even I still feel like shit from being in
that tube for nine-hundred years. I can only imagine what you’ll feel like, Lizzy.”
Elisabet’s index finger twitched but she remained otherwise motionless. Jackie shut her eyes for just a moment, reaching up to scratch the back of her head with a sideways grin on her lips. She opened her eyes and simply looked her sister over, a soft, wet chuckle breaking from her throat.
“I’m still glad mom never had to see the world deteriorate like we did… But what I wouldn’t give to hear her voice again… To listen to her tell us that we did a good job and that she was proud of us.”
A crackle came over her Focus and startled her from her reverie. The soft sound of a soothing voice began to hum through the device, though she was unable to hear it just yet. As she sat in the silence, the voice slowly became louder, echoing in her mind.
“My sweet girls, you did so well! I’m so proud of you both!”
Jackie couldn’t help the tears that sprang to her eyes at the sound. Their mother’s voice was all that continued to play. Her singing with them in the car, reading bedtime stories to them, encouraging them to continue to strive for greatness in the fields of study that they chose, and telling them how much she loved them. Her hand flew to her mouth to stifle the sob that broke from her throat, her other coming to rest over her heart as she continued to listen to their mother’s voice.
“Thank you, GAIA…” She breathed, tears slipping down her cheeks.
The AI crackled in her ear for only a moment before disappearing once more. Jackie knew GAIA would need time to reboot in her computer, and so was not alarmed or worried about the AI’s lack of words. She smiled to herself as she glanced over to her laptop, noticing blips of code flashing across the screen; a simple ‘you’re welcome’ from the governing AI. Jackie turned her gaze back to Lis, popping a berry into her mouth before she continued her work.
“Ugh… What I wouldn’t give for a coffee stim.”
**
The first thing Elisabet noticed was the intense pain coursing through her body. Every movement, no matter how slight, left her in agonizing pain. Her limbs felt heavy and like they were being held down. Her mouth was dry, her throat was parched, and all she wanted was a sip of water. Then it hit her.
She was supposed to be dead.
Dead people couldn’t tell if they were thirsty or that they felt too heavy. Dead people didn’t give a shit about any of that. Perhaps she was stuck in limbo. Her fingers twitched again as she struggled against the weight holding her down. She managed to slowly open her eyes, straining against the light that shone above her. She turned her head to the left, shutting them tightly as she struggled to see once more.
“Are you okay?” A voice called, feminine and gentle, soothing her as they spoke. “Do you need help?”
“Wh-where am I?” Elisabet questioned, her eyes still burning from the lights.
“GAIA Prime.”
Her eyes snapped open, gazing into the room as her surroundings cleared and came in to focus. A bedroom… No… Not just any bedroom. It was the bedroom she shared with Jackie at GPrime. She was in her bed. She turned her head the other way and locked eyes with a young woman, no more than twenty, who was staring down at her intently. Her wild mane of red hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade, framing her face and making her hazel eyes pop. Lis felt pressure on her hand and looked down, noticing that the young woman had wrapped a calloused hand around her own, holding tight to her as if she might disappear if she didn’t. She turned her gaze back up to the girl, taking in the worry on her face. She cleared her throat, wincing at the sting.
“I’m fine.” She croaked out, a cough tickling her throat. “Just thirsty.”
“Here.” The girl offered, pulling a waterskin from her hip and placing the opening to Lis’ lips, letting her drink the cool water. A soft sigh of content pushed past her lips as the waterskin was pulled away. “Thank you.” She whispered; her voice was still hoarse though it sounded more alive.
The young woman nodded her head before glancing over her shoulder towards the other side of the room. Elisabet tried to follow her gaze, but the corner was still too dark to see. With effort, she managed to catch sight of a faint glow from the corner; a rectangle of illumination against the darkness. She knitted her brows in confusion, her hand still gripped by the young woman, as she turned her gaze back to her.
“Is there someone there?” She inquired, her gaze once more returning to the corner.
“Yes.” The young woman replied. “She’s awake.” She called to the corner.
The light moved before settling once more. Soft footsteps could be heard before the figure stepped into the light, hazel eyes meeting hers with a soft smile on her face.
“J-Jackie?” Lis questioned, gazing at her in shock and disbelief.
“Hey Lizzy.” Jackie smiled, sitting beside Lis and wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug.
“How did you survive?” She asked, holding just as tight to Jackie. “How did I survive?”
“Cryo.” Jackie replied, tucking Lis’ hair back behind her ear. “We had the chambers set and ready to go… GAIA must have experimented on your suit after watching us create the chambers.” She explained, dispelling any confusion that still lingered on Lis’ face.
“Don’t worry… She did the same to mine.”
“Where is she? She should have spoken by now.”
“That’s the problem, Lizzy… GAIA self-destructed after a virus attacked the system. HADES tried to gain control of the terraforming system to reverse hundreds of years of life. GAIA, being the governing system that she was made to be, would not let HADES gain control.” Jackie spoke, her voice soft as she gazed into Lis’ eyes, watching tears form. “She left a message… Had this young woman initiated in the Cradle facility nearby via the Lightkeeper Protocol… It’s a good thing your DNA sample survived long enough for
this purpose.”
“But what about the system? What about GAIA and the other subordinate functions?”
“We can get them back, sis… We just need a little bit of help.” Jackie turned her gaze to Aloy, then back to Lis. “The world is a bit more primitive than we imagined, but it’s workable. I still have the entirety of APOLLO saved in my laptop… I checked the drivers and compressed files… Nothing is corrupted or missing. Plus, our young Aloy here has friends that can build the bits and pieces that we’ll need to rebuild GAIA’s core, and she also knows of another AI in Yellowstone.”
“Another AI?” Lis questioned, her gaze falling to Aloy. “What is there name?”
“CYAN,” Aloy replied. “She said she was created by a woman named Anita.”
“Anita Sandoval… She came to work on Zero Dawn. Brought logs from this AI to help me enhance GAIA’s emotional responses, which under normal circumstances, would have been illegal. She never did tell me the name of her AI, but I thank you for telling me now.” Elisabet offered, a tinge of sorrow in her voice.
“When her part of the project was finished, she went to Elysium with the other Beta’s, Gamma’s, programmers and developers who chose to be with their families… We never saw each other again.” Jackie concluded, her head hanging as grief flashed across her face.
“So… How do we rebuild GAIA?” Aloy questioned, trying desperately to break the somber mood that had fallen over the room. “How do we recreate the parts for her core?”
“The same way we did before… Men and women who are up to the challenge of creating a functioning AI.” Elisabet nodded, shifting upright and stretching her stiff limbs. “I need people who are capable of building small parts, CYAN to recreate as many pieces of the core as possible based on her own logs and build, and Jackie and I will reprogram GAIA and APOLLO, then help her get the other subfunctions chained back in.”
“With APOLLO back online and GAIA sending out a transmission to the other subfunctions, they should be willing to return to her governance.” Jackie finished, helping Lis to her feet. “Aloy, if you can override some of these rogue machines for me and get some of your Oseram friends to help, I can rebuild most of the facility within a few months while helping Lis reprogram GAIA with the files I’ve saved of her creation.”
“I can begin downloading the files to the working terminals when you encrypt them again and then transfer them to me. I know you have the codes for all of the subfunctions as well.” Lis laughed; her eyes focused on her sister who only smiled back in return.
“I told you in would be worth it, but no. Don’t listen to Jackie when she’s right.” Jackie chuckled, poking fun at her sister for her doubts hundreds of years earlier.
“Okay, gather some of the freebooters and override machines. I can do that.” Aloy affirmed, nodding her head. “I’ll also grab Petra from Free Heap and some of the Carja artisans from Meridian. I’m sure they would be up to the challenge of building small parts with some direction from either of you.”
“That’s Lizzy’s department. She’s the engineer, I just program and code things.”
“Stop being modest. You helped me create GAIA from nothing but a few strands of code. You’re also more than capable of leading a group of builders.”
“Either way Lis, first things first. We need bodies and parts. We should also get some more Focus devices. Another thing we’ll have to ask of you, Aloy.”
“More Focus devices?”
“Yes. In the Cradle facility. I’m sure you saw them as you made your way to the control room of the facility. We need you to gather as many of them as you can. Once GAIA is back up and running again, we will need to reestablish a network connection among the people.” Lis spoke, her voice gentle yet firm. There was no ignoring her request, and Aloy knew it.
With a nod, the young woman left the room and made her way out of GPrime and back into the world, a new goal sending her back to the Sacred Lands before heading back to Meridian and the Free Heap. Jackie and Lis began the process of downloading and encrypting the files from the initial build of GAIA and her subfunctions and reuploading them into a terminal that was still functioning in the room next door. They wanted to be ready as soon as Aloy and her allies returned to the facility. There was so much to be done.