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Iris strode through the Storage Zone, tablet in hand. She browsed the Curio collection with awe. It was always her favorite part of the station. How Herta acquired so many was beyond her. Even if her betrothed paid the collection no mind nowadays, her dedication would always get Iris’s respect.
She scrolled through Asta’s checklist. It was amazing how much that girl managed. Allie flew past her, duster in hand. The tiny drone looked adorable dusting the Curios, Iris couldn’t even pretend to stifle a laugh. Allie let out an embarrassed Wah of her alarm. “Sorry, sorry,” Iris conceded with a chuckle. “So touchy.”
Red light burst from the tablet, a loud indicator of ‘you are behind schedule’. Iris instintually stretched her mechanical muscles, looking over the Curios. Check the Rating Pistol, de-grease Energy Black Hole, count the objects in the Joy Filtration Set, and repair Light of the Stars. The last one made sense to her. The other three…not as much. Work is work.
She decided to check the Filtration Set first. It would be the easiest. “1, 2, 3….13!” She typed the number onto her tablet screen. Dissatisfaction tugged at her cords. She counted it again. “1, 2…15…?” She adjusted the number accordingly. It still bothered her. One more count. 7. Nothing made sense. Such was the existence of a Curio. She decided to average the numbers out, add a question mark for good measure, and include the message, “This Curio’s inconsistency certainly filtered the joy out of me,”.
Next was Light of the Stars. The Curio had been damaged ever since the Antimatter Legion attack, which broke Iris’s heart. It was such a precious little device. She pulled out her arm cannon, aiming it at the Curio as the protective barrier dropped. “Sallie, could you assist?” The dynamo-powered drone swam through the air and locked into the top of Iris’s cannon. She remembered the Curio in its pristine state. The thoughts charged her weapon, alongside Sallie’s power supply.
A gold stream emitted from the arm gun, eveloping the Curio. Iris kept her breath steady. ‘ System stable. Nihility repressed. ’ Fragments of reality built themselves around the small box, directed by Iris’s thoughts. Imaginary Energy could be controlled by Imagination, if you tried hard enough. And had a weapon of mass destruction. It took multiple minutes and an overheat warning on Iris’s display, but the Curio was repaired. “Note to self: detailwork is strenuous on the system.”
Sallie flew out of the IIP, flashing a low battery icon on her screen. Iris pat its head like one would a kitten. It decided to rest on her shoulder, where it remained perched for the rest of her work. She groaned at her next task: the de-greasing. Research and science may be born from the curiosity of the unknown and experimentation of the unconventional, but trying to shove food into a black hole… She thought about it again. Perhaps she could not judge what people decided should be put through the nihilistic celestial body.
The cannon on her arm was tempting as a cleaning solution, but she knew her body temp was too high from her last use of it. Old-fashioned methods would have to do. Luckily, her elbows were recently greased, so she was prepared for the manual labor. Rag and cleaning supplies in hand she scrubbed with excessive force. Her mechanical joints clanged and whirred in tandem with her excessive movements. The pedestal was shining like new within minutes, even if she made a bit of noise.
“Why’re you so loud?” a familiar, annoyed voice asked from across the room. Iris whipped around to see Herta’s nearby puppet active, crossing her arms with a creased brow. “What’re you even doing?”
“Upkeeping your Curios!” Iris declared proudly. She set the cleaning supplies down. Herta’s eyebrow raised, but she waited to speak. “Asta asked me to help around, so I did. The more that’s done for her, the more that’s done for you.”
Herta sighed, shaking her head disapointedly. “You make it so hard to take your status as a Genius seriously…” She began twirling one of the locks of hair that hung over her shoulder. An annoyed tick. Perhaps a bored one. Or just something she picked up from Iris. “You’re at the top of the food chain here! Why do all this menial work.”
Iris held a finger below her lips, head swaying too and fro as she thought. “Mmm…good question.” Herta rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, but kept her focus on her betrothed. “We have infinite time, you and I. In theory. We can do anything and everything we want.” Herta nodded. Iris walked over, pulling her arms apart and slipping a hand into hers. “So why miss anything, big or small? The details of reality are what fill the full picture.” Herta’s puppet blushed, still frowning and now looking away from Iris. “Plus, I just love your Curio collection. Any excuse to mess with it is good in my book~!” She winked, getting the slightest glance from Herta.
“Sap…” She did nothing to leave Iris’s grasp. Her eyes drifted to the tablet in Iris’s offhand. “What else do you have left anyway?” She regretted the question immediately. Where a genuine smile once was became twisted into a half-open eyed smirk. “Iris, don’t-”
“Awww, does Hertzy wanna help me out with my menial tasks~?” Iris twirled the girl around, despite a cry of objection. “So sweet of you! But I’ve only got one thing left.” She tilted her head towards the Rating Pistol. “Wanna see what this thingy rates me?”
“Didn’t you once tell me it was a 4096 in terms of-”
Iris began dragging the puppet, nervousness writ clear across her. “C’mon, let’s see what it says!” She stood in front of it, hand still entwined with Herta’s. “C’mon, hit me!” Herta bumped into her side with her whole body. “Not you,” Iris giggled. She caught Herta’s small smirk.
“1/0 points. Undefined.”
Herta giggled, hand over her mouth. “Hah, you got an even lower score than me.”
“Or a higher one. Dividing by zero is infinite and nothing.” She eyed it curiously. “Meaning it knows the Paths I tred…how curious.”
“Duh. That’s where the name came from.”
“...Ya got me there.”
Iris continued to stare at the gun with interest. She knew it was staring back. Herta tugged at her arm. “C’mon. Let’s work on the SimU already. There’s still more Unknowable Domain stuff I need explored and Stelle is busy.”
Relenting to her beloved Genius, Iris tore away from her impromptu work. Allie, Sallie, and Tallie began floating around her. “Fine, fine. I’ll knock out the stages she can’t~.”
“Perfect. I’ll meet you up there, then.” Just like that, the puppet went on standby. It’s expression went flat and it walked emotionlessly back to its waiting position. Iris snuck after it, planting a soft kiss on its forehead before hurrying back up to the Master Control Zone with a skip in her step.