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It was a quiet day in the office of Adler, the administrator of S-23 Sierpinski, so much so that all that could be heard was the sound of the man’s pen idly tapping on an empty sheet of paper and the occasional crinkling of paper whenever the Kolibri, who had chosen to spend time with Adler and was sitting in front of his large table, flipped a page of the book she was reading. She was the de facto leader of the Kolibri cadre at Sierpinski, and people who were brave enough to give her nicknames usually called her Red - as in “Red right hand”, for obvious reasons.
Every now and again, she would glance up from her reading. The tapping was extremely distracting to her… Both because it was extremely rhythmic, and because it was just a little faster than the ticking of the clock that hung on the wall, meaning that the two sounds would harmonize every now and again before inevitably falling apart again.
Adler was visibly mulling something over - she could see it written on his face, so much so that she didn’t even need to use any of her Bioresonance for it. With an inward sigh, she tried to go back to reading her book. It was quite interesting.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
…It was a story of a soldier returning home after the Revolution and finding most of her friends and family either gone, or having moved on without her.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
She enjoyed the story, because it combined the sad and horrible reality of the sacrifices the common soldier made during the war-
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
-with a more hopeful undertone, as the soldier-
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap - oh, that one synchronized with the clock!
-as the soldier found those that remained from her past, vowing-
Tap. Tap - and it’s back out of sync. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
-VOWING to not let anyone-
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
With a heavy sigh, Red grabbed an old keycard she used as a bookmark, putting it between the pages of her reading before slowly closing the book. She would get no reading done until she addressed the elephant in the room.
“Adler.”
Technically, she was supposed to address him as “Administrator”, but the two of them were… friends? She wasn’t sure if that was the correct term, but she admittedly had a bit of a soft spot for the man, and she got the feeling that it was mutual. He had never corrected her, anyway.
He looked up as his hand froze, instantly stopping the tapping noise. Red breathed a silent sigh of relief.
“Yes?”
The administrator looked like he had just woken up from a nap, his eyes unfocused and his lips dry.
“What is on your mind? You’ve been staring at that paper for the last…”
Red glanced at the clock.
“...By the Revolutionary, for the last 30 minutes almost.”
“Oh, has it been that long?”
“Yes, at the very least.”
Adler sat up slightly, putting the pen down with a sigh.
“My apologies. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around what to do…”
Red raised an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly.
“What are you working on, anyhow? Reports?”
“No, I already finished those this morning, and it seems everyone in the facility has been on their best behavior before the upcoming anniversary.”
“Anniversary? Oh, wait, I remember - the Commander’s third year here at Sierpinski, right?”
Adler nodded, putting his hands together, his fingers intertwined.
“Yes, precisely. And as you no doubt know, there is a small-scale contest happening in honor of the occasion, where Replika and Gestalt alike may submit works of written and visual art.”
Red vaguely remembered something about that, which reminded her of a question she had posed the first time it was announced.
“Right… Why do we even have that? Won’t that distract people from their work?”
The administrator shrugged before a small smile formed on his face.
“It’s negligible, as we found out last year. Besides, it aids morale and is an excellent way to learn more about our… students.”
Red couldn’t argue with his logic - she remembered that the last anniversary was followed by a few investigations of their Gestalt “students”, most of which uncovered forming anti-revolutionary sentiments and groups. It was useful in that regard, she supposed.
“That’s fair enough, but back to what I asked before - what are you working on, if not reports?”
“Why, I am thinking of what to write for the contest, of course.”
The Kolibri stared at Adler for a second or two before putting her book on her lap and leaning forward.
“You are actually writing something for the contest?”
“Naturally.”
“You? Really?”
Adler put his hands up defensively.
“I was asked by members of staff why I didn’t participate last year, and as such decided to make up for it by leading by example this time around.”
Red leaned back in her seat again, frowning slightly before letting the thought go. Who was she to tell him how to spend his time?
“Anyhow, there is an issue with this… I do not know what to write about, I must admit.”
Adler motioned towards nothing in particular.
“There is simply too much to choose from, and I feel like many things have passed me by as I was engrossed in my administrative work here.”
“Oh come on.”
The Kolibri tapped her fingers on the book as she smirked.
“You know the Commander more than most of us - better than my cadre, for sure. I figured you of all people would have no issue singing her praises.”
She wasn’t sure if saying that was disrespectful or not, but Adler didn’t seem bothered by it, merely shaking his head and rubbing his eyes.
“Maybe so, but I’ve been trying to work on my… fixation.”
Red grimaced.
“Ugh, have the Storches been talking about you behind your back again? I can talk to my cadre and we’ll give them migraines for a week straight, like last time.”
Adler quickly waved his hands and shook his head.
“No, no, nothing like that! Even if they had, that little stunt you and your sisters pulled was more of a trouble than it was worth. The showers were constantly occupied by them, and I had half the ARARs in the facility hounding me about how they are meant to keep up with the hot water demands.”
He sighed.
“Just thinking about it gives me a headache… Oh, and I’m not even getting started about the pranks they pulled in revenge.”
Red had to stop herself from grinning - she remembered what he meant. A group of unruly Ara-units had locked Adler in his private shower, turned out the lights and made it spray ice-cold water. The Protektors were called in when a passing Eule heard what she described as “a woman screaming in terror” from the administrator’s quarters. The sight of the administrator, soaked through and almost crying, had stuck in her mind for some reason.
“We had to decommission four units that day. Good times.”
As Red mused, Adler cleared his throat.
“To you, maybe. Back to the matter at hand - I have been thinking about my role in the facility lately.”
Now there was something that Red had never heard before.
“Oh?”
“Yes, I’m not quite sure why… Maybe I’m just getting old as they say, but I’ve found myself appreciating all the little things that I tended to overlook before.”
“Such as…?”
The man pondered Red’s question for a while, weighing his head side to side before answering.
“Well, I’ve realized that, in my job it’s quite easy to see everything as… numbers, yes? Percentages, evaluations, work times - that kind of deal.”
He paused, putting his hands flat on the table.
“But really, when I thought about it… Each of the numbers has a lot more behind it - people that I may or may not know, interactions and complex social systems.”
Red nodded thoughtfully before looking back at the Administrator. The man continued, seemingly having waited for some kind of reaction.
“Well, it made me wonder - Up until recently, I have been mostly… curt, utilitarian almost, when talking to people besides our dear Commander.”
The Kolibri smirked to herself - there it was. “Dear Commander” - even now, he just couldn’t help himself.
“Now, don’t misunderstand me - I am well aware that fraternizing with my employees is something to be avoided, if purely because it would be a colossal waste of my time and energy. I am in charge of every non-Protektor Replika here; Trying to learn more about each of them would be both time-intensive and ultimately quite useless.”
He paused before shrugging.
“However… I think it would be good to… Hm, how do I put this?”
“Make them feel appreciated?”
The words had slipped out of Red’s mouth before she had consciously thought them. Adler clapped his hands together, startling her.
“Exactly, yes. You always know what to say when words elude me.”
Red barely had enough time to process what he said before the administrator moved on.
“I want to make them feel appreciated, yes. See, unlike our dear Commander, I am not a god-like being.”
He leaned back in his chair.
“I have my own office, and most lower-level employees will most likely talk to me maybe once, twice during their time here, but I am just… a man, yes? In that way, I have begun to feel somewhat… guilty?”
His finger tapped on a sheet of paper he had put to the side. Red glanced at it, seeing that it was some kind of duty roster.
“All of these? Just men and women, like me, compressed into data to ensure that everything works. It is a necessity, but it makes me want to show them that I understand, at the very least.”
The Kolibri had been listening in semi-stunned silence for a while now, pondering the implications. Was this… destabilization? She hadn’t noticed any decrease in Adler’s productivity over the last weeks, but to hear him speaking fondly over someone other than Falke was… jarring, to say the least. She cleared her throat, trying to think of what to say.
“W-Well, if I had to guess, they most likely understand that you care about them to some extent.”
Adler raised an eyebrow as Red continued.
“We all know that we were made in a certain way - to do certain work. The Eules know their professions, the Aras know more about how to repair and maintain this place than I thought possible.”
She paused, waving her hand in the air slightly.
“And I think, on some level, they know that you’re just like them. I mean, that you were made to do this work, and that, just like you can never understand their work like they do, they will never understand what you do fully.”
Red took a second to breathe in before continuing.
“Sure, they… complain sometimes, and I don’t doubt that there are tensions. When somethings takes a little longer than it should, you can start complaining about the people who were supposed to do it, and conversely, those people can complain about unfair shifts or what have you, but that is just… part of the workflow.”
She tapped her own chestplate, causing a hollow, plastic-y sound.
“We’re not automatons; There is a lot we understand and don’t understand implicitly, and that is… ok, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of work.”
There was silence for a moment before Red continued.
“Hell, I think that everyone knows that, if they were put in your place, they would crack and fold immediately. Not even I know how you handle half of the things you do every day - My head hurts just thinking about all the numbers and moving parts.”
Adler snapped his fingers, leaning on his desk.
“See, I feel similarly about you and your work. Having to always be ready to intervene, keeping your eyes and ears open as you walk around. Ugh, and that’s without the whole interrogation business that I hear about. Some of the remains that I see coming out of those interrogation rooms are… Well…”
Red grimaced awkwardly.
“Ah, well… You get used to it, really. I invested in a blood-repelling coating for my legs to make cleanup easier.”
“Oh, I was wondering if you had started polishing them - they shine a lot more than they used to.”
The Kolibri proudly put one leg over the other, running her hands along her thigh.
“Why, thank you. It’s practical and looks quite nice.”
Adler nodded thoughtfully, scratching his chin with one finger before leaning forward slightly.
“But yes, I can’t imagine what you go through to make things work as well as you do. My title gives me authority, but you have always been good at making people listen to what you say, all by yourself.”
Strangely, Red found herself a little taken aback by Adler’s comment.
“Uh, well - you flatter me, but that’s just part of my job, really. Truth be told, it gets a little tiring to know that most people are scared of me.”
“Oh, you tell me - I occasionally overhear rumors about myself. Did you know that some people believe I have a shrine to Falke in my room?”
“You don’t?”
They both laughed at Red’s question, with Adler shaking his head for a second.
“How about we go for a walk? Perhaps that will help me think of what to write about.”
Adler pushed his chair back, with Red following suit as she put away her book onto his desk.
“Sure - I wanted to stretch my legs anyway.”
With that, the two of them made their way out of Adler’s office and into the halls of the lower levels of Sierpinski. It was the middle of the workday, and as such, scarcely anyone was in sight.
“It’s always a little unsettling to see this place so empty. It’s like some tragedy swept through while I was too busy calculating our food ration stores.”
The administrator chuckled to himself as they walked to the paternoster lift, taking it upwards to the lowest level the normal elevators were able to reach. Red stayed silent for the most part, focusing on any potential threats that could have been in hiding. As a combat-oriented Replika, she felt responsible for Adler’s safety… Not to mention that she would be more than a little upset if anything were to happen to him.
They climbed into one of the elevators, with Adler looking up and down the little map that was attached to one of the cabin’s walls.
“Hmm… It’s been weeks since I’ve seen the surface.”
Red looked at him with interest but didn’t say anything, instead inserting her keycard and commanding the lift to go all the way up to the “vocational school” that was on the top-most floor. As the cabin whirred to life, she exhaled deeply.
“I’m glad that the elevator music idea didn’t go through.”
Adler chuckled.
“Not a fan of swan lake?”
“It just reminds me that I’m a Kolibri, not a swan; That’s all.”
“Both are elegant birds in their own ways.”
She shot him a confused look before rolling her shoulders.
“I guess.”
The elevator moved slowly upwards, the dim illumination being interrupted by the brights lights they passed. Suddenly, the administrator turned to her.
“Say, since we were speaking of rumors.”
“Yes?”
“Is it true that Falke… Well, you know.”
Red rolled her eyes.
“...She has only done it once, but don’t tell anyone that.”
“Really? She has picked you up before?”
A groan escaped Red’s lips.
“Yes. It was humiliating.”
“How so?”
She let out a low groan.
“My cadre are effectively her second in command - getting picked up like I weigh nothing doesn’t really mesh with that image, you know?”
“Ah, so she picked you up in particular, then?”
Red cursed herself out silently for letting that slip. Why was she so unfocused?
“...Yes, after asking if she may. I assume she just wanted to try it.”
“She’s very caring. I suppose she saw that you didn’t like it and didn’t repeat it again.”
They stood in silence for a while before Red answered.
“It wasn’t that bad. I just wasn’t ready for it at all. I mean, she asked and did it RIGHT after I said she could try.”
She sighed.
“I must’ve looked like a damn cat, ugh.”
“For what it’s worth, she never told me about this at all… So I think that particular secret is safe with her… And with me now, of course.”
“It better be.”
Adler blew air out of his nose, his hands behind his back.
“Oh? Are you threatening a superior, KLBR-2301?”
Red let out a singular laugh.
“I’ll personally walk through the facility and tilt every painting ever so slightly.”
Adler took a second to answer, sighing before he did.
“You wouldn’t dare - that’d give me such a headache.”
They laughed as the elevator slowed down. As soon as the doors opened, they had both put on their game faces, with Red keeping a hand close to the revolver she carried. The upper level of the facility was largely empty as well, though Red could hear the indistinct sounds of discussions and teaching from the nearby classrooms. How much of it she picked up via her bioresonance… that, not even she could accurately guess.
“All seems well here. Come on, follow me.”
They silently walked through the halls at the administrator’s behest, passing by the odd Eule sorting through her teaching notes or an Ara busy with fixing a light fixture. The everyday mundanity of Sierpinski, as Red pondered. She knew that, only a level below them, someone was getting interrogated for possessing illegal contraband. They most likely wouldn’t see the start of the next cycle, but that was their problem.
She had long since decided that she would live her life - however long or short it would be - as she saw fit, taking whatever opportunities came her way. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice anyway - if she stood out, she’d be cut down and replaced. Better them than her.
As they entered the large entry hall of Sierpinski, an odd feeling overcame Red. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been here… Or on the surface, for that matter. Adler motioned to the Eule that was sitting behind the thick, bullet-proof glass of the reception. The girl perked up.
“Ah, the elevator is ready for you, sir!”
“Thank you. Come along.”
Red only gave the Eule a curt nod before following Adler onto the large elevator platform. With a sudden jerk, the contraption began to move, slowly lifting them upwards. Adler hummed some melody that Red had never heard before, but the Kolibri was too preoccupied with the fact that she was going to see the surface for the first time since she was assigned to Sierpinski. The thought of the open sky and just how far she was from her sisters… terrified her, for some reason.
“Nervous?”
She flinched as she realized that Adler was standing directly next to her. She ran through her hair with one hand, brushing back a few strands that had fallen into her face.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been up there.”
Adler hummed.
“Understandable - I come here to ponder things sometimes, usually at night.”
“Really? And how come I don’t know about this?”
“Heh… Well, if the administrator wants to check on the state of the surface station, who would dare stop him?”
“...Fair.”
The platform came to a halt with a rattle. They stood in silence for a second before the giant gate in front of them began to slide open with a low, laborious groan and the sound of millions and millions of gears - big and small alike - working in unison. It took the gate nearly 20 seconds to open fully, revealing the platform beyond.
Red stepped out hesitantly, looking around. The room was simple, made of metal and glass and styled almost like a typical small-scale spaceship port, with benches, a tiled floor and even a public bathroom. Multiple docks meant for smaller-scale space- and planetary aircraft were on both sides, each locked off via heavy metal gates.
However, Red was focused on something else. Between the docks and at the opposite end of the room from where she was standing were large windows made of thick glass through which she could see the outside.
Slowly, Red walked across the room until she was standing right at the glass, placing one of her hands on it. It was ice-cold. The view beyond was entirely unlike what she remembered - gone was the icy wasteland she had been flown through on her way here, replaced with snow-covered plains. Trees were dotted around, their crowns also covered in snow, which was still falling from the sky above.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Adler stepped up beside her, his hands behind his back.
“I come up here to see the progress of terraforming. The tree closest to us sprouted this year.”
He pointed at a small sapling relatively nearby, but Red was too awed to say anything. Her breath fogged up the glass, making the white expanse outside blurry.
“So many small things happen out here that it’s difficult to perceive them all - that’s what made me think about the way I’ve been handling things at the facility in the first place.”
Suddenly, Red felt the administrator’s hand in her own, and she stepped back a little.
“A-Adler?”
In the light of the platform, Adler looked like a statue - an eagle, looking out over the expanse outside. He didn’t look directly at Red, but his hand squeezed hers.
“And as I was pondering this, I came to realize that, in my obsession with the Commander, I had been neglecting to look at the smaller things in life that make everything work.”
He turned to Red with a smile.
“Like you.”
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“Ok, pause. He would NOT fucking say that.”
KLBR-S2303 rubbed her eyes with an annoyed groan as Red stopped typing out her story and turned around to her.
“As if you’d know.”
“I don’t know Adler, but I know for sure that he would NOT say that. For that matter, none of this would happen! Have you seen him? Falke’s the only woman he even sees as a living, breathing being. The only accurate part of that whole thing was the annoying tapping he does with his pen when he’s thinking.”
Red pouted, looking at the manuscript in the typewriter before her.
“Yeah, well, I think he’s secretly way more of a softie than he lets on.”
“Ok, whatever, ignoring that - you’re NOT KLBR-S2301, you’re S2304.”
“Oh bite me; As if you wouldn’t use this opportunity to make some much-needed adjustments in the hierarchy.”
S2304 shook her head, looking at Red with hollow, tired eyes.
“Well, I would definitely not use an anniversary writing contest to submit self-insert smut with our literal, actual, living and breathing boss.”
Angrily, Red grabbed her typewriter by its base and stood up from the table.
“You’ll look real dumb once this wins and I start dating him, 03.”
The older Kolibri grunted in response.
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Also, nobody is gonna call you by a nickname you gave yourself, 04.”
Red, now definitely done with 03’s nonsense, waltzed out of the room, typewriter squarely under her arm. Once her story was done, it didn’t even matter to her if she won or not, really.
All that mattered to her was her target audience.