On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

The door to the laboratory opened, and for a brief moment Irena felt a pressure around her chest, a cloying sensation in her tightening throat hitching her breath, her heart beating faster, vision dimming. Then, as the calm, kind face of her Babulya came into view, the feeling faded, and Irena managed a tremulous smile in greeting.

This is so… unscientific. I know that just because the Institute was attacked once, that doesn’t make it any more likely to be attacked again. That’s not how probabilities work. I should be safe. But…

They came to her, playing through her mind far too often. Those staring red eyes, one pair oddly kind, almost compassionate, even as Alexei, the big, gruff yet friendly assistant she had been allocated, was slaughtered, the other pair as cold and as icy as death. I… should be able to push that aside. It’s over now. It’s over…

“Are you well, little devushka? You seem pale. Paler than usual. Have you caught a chill? Winter is here.” Her Babulya was fussing over her as ever, concern on her homely, wrinkled face. “The laboratory is usually too warm, but… I shall get you a blanket. And perhaps a hot drink. I can bring you some warm milk. And today, extra cinnamon!”

At her kind words, the fleeting fear receded, and Irena blinked her pale pink eyes blearily. They ached of course, as they were not strong, a curse of her albinism, but she steadfastly refused to wear glasses, considering it would make her look even more childish. “I’m not cold, Babulya. I’m not a kid! I was just… thinking.” She paused, noticing that instead of the usual tray of treats, this time her Babulya was carrying a gaudily wrapped box, though the paper had been torn. “What is that?”

“Oh. A present for you, little one. For Christmas, I would imagine. The sender is unknown, but…” She placed down the box, which was a cubic package around forty centimetres a side. “…they have your address, down to the room. Puzzling. Maybe… maybe it is one of your internet friends? If so…” She clicked her tongue, troubled. “It is nice you have people to talk to, little Irena. I know it’s hard to find people on your level. But… safety first! Why…” She suddenly fell silent as Irena’s face blanched, clicking her tongue again. “…enough about that. The present!” She changed the subject, and Irena felt her breathing slow again.

“Curious. I wonder what it is.” She pulled over the box. “It’s… been opened though.” she grumbled.

“Of course. We cannot have the little genius of Russia’s safety put at risk. If it was a bomb, or poison… perish the thought. Why, your parents would never forgive me, and nor would the motherland!” her Babulya explained cheerily. Clicking her own tongue now, Irena scanned the box. The wrapping paper was festive, and told her nothing about where it had come from. Lifting the lid, she noticed several things.

Sweets? I was just craving something sugary. My mind is feeling sluggish, and I’m tired. Nothing beats sugar to revitalise a faltering brain! “These are…” She paused. There were two distinct types, and the cellophane packaging around both had been opened, and some were clearly missing. Her Babulya merely smiled wryly.

“From what we could tell, the first are mizu yokan. They seem to be traditional festive Japanese confectionary, made from red bean sugar jelly and chestnuts. The others… we don’t know. They seem to be handmade. They were good though, so I’m told.” On seeing Irena’s look, she chuckled warmly, ruffing her hair, making Irena squirm, embarrassed and mortified.

“Of course we had to test them. But they don’t seem to be harmful. Nobody who ate some had any ill effects, and the specially trained dogs couldn’t smell any poison. So the rest are for you, dear.”

“I doubt anyone would go that far…” Irena countered, finally slapping off her Babulya’s hand. “…compared to… compared to Alexei… and the others…”

“You aren’t supposed to know about the others, dear.” her Babulya chided gently. “But then, I suppose expecting a little genius like you not to access the outside world through your computer is folly. Don’t worry, Russia is strong! While the red-eyed shadows escaped, a number of their comrades were caught around the country, and after such a beating, they won’t dare show their faces in the motherland again!”

Of course I can get around the firewalls and information blocks, though it is a game of cat-and-mouse. Sadly, I am the mouse, so I am always behind. But few mice are as clever as I am. While it was certainly true some of these religious fanatics were killed by Russian forces, reading between the lines, a skill every Russian had to develop by time they grew up, it was clear that it had been a series of bitter defeats and losses, with the victories exaggerated for public consumption. …regardless. They… they weren’t here for me. I was beneath their notice. Although…

Holding herself together, forcibly willing her hand to stop trembling, she popped one of the sweets into her mouth. Her eyes widened at the odd, chewy texture and rich sweetness, and soon she was eating a second, and then a third, her Babulya watching on fondly.

“Oh, yes…” Irena mumbled. “The other item…”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full. You’ll never find a big strong Russian man to take care of you if you don’t have manners!” She also had managed to get sugar on her lips, and her Babulya reached over with a handkerchief, roughly wiping her off.

“Quit it! That’s… that’s annoying!” she grumbled. “Besides, I’m not even allowed to go outside. For my own safety…” she countered bitterly. “How would I even meet any men? But that doesn’t matter, I suppose.” She took a deep, frustrated breath. “For now I have to make the best of what I have here. My research has stalled without…” No, there’s no need to think of him.

“So, what’s in this box? I can see it’s been opened too.” Irena lifted the wooden box, around thirty centimetres in length, feeling it had a substantial weight to it. Placing it down on the table, silently cursing her weak, fragile body, she then flipped it open, the brass hinges squeaking a little.

This is…? Irena blinked her pale, watery eyes in surprise. “…an automaton? A clockwork man?” Inside lay a sort of doll, maybe twenty-five centimetres in height, though it had been partially disassembled, one arm and the legs removed, and a number of smaller cogs were scattered inside the box. “A toy… for boys?” She was surprised, but it had accessories too, a black, armoured coat, and a small, curved sword. She reached for it, only to curse. “Chyort voz’mi!” She let out a bitter cry as a bead of red welled up on her fingertip. “That’s sharp! Real metal?”

“Careful.” Her Babulya produced another handkerchief, this one clean, and carefully wrapped her finger, before poking her cheek with one finger of her own. “And watch your language, young devushka! Men like demure women with good manners! And your parents didn’t raise you to be a rude girl! Nor did I!”

“Who is listening to me?” Irena rolled her eyes childishly, cheeks puffed out in a pout. “This is seriously sharp. Hmm…” With her keen eyes, she frowned, humming. “It doesn’t seem like a variety of steel. And it’s… soft…” She flexed it, and metal slightly shifted.

“Yes indeed. There are a few strange parts here, I’m told. Now, don’t break it. It’s a gift, after all!” Her Babulya insisted. “The lab checked it over, so it seems to be safe.”

“Don’t break it, you say?” Irena frowned down at the disassembled figure. “But the lab didn’t put it all back together…”

“It’s… complicated, supposedly. But they were sure you could repair it, little Irena! It might… give you something to take your mind off… things.” Her voice faltered towards the end, before she finished firmly, false cheer in her voice. “All the clockwork is there, but maybe a few little parts were… used up… to make sure it was safe. Here.” She handed over a sheet of paper, and Irena glanced at a few diagrams drawn on it.

I see. They confiscated some of the connecting pins, as they seem to be made of the same sort of metal alloy. Frustrating, but… flexing the sword one last time, she grimaced. “Yes, if it’s this malleable, I can machine replacements easily enough.” After all, my laboratory is filled with cutting-edge lathes, grinders and fabricators. I’d need to run some tests, but… perhaps some sort of silver-based alloy? Good for any heat dispersion too…

Seeing Irena so engrossed, her Babulya chuckled. “I shall go fetch you some warm milk. Don’t be eating all the sweets now, little one. You’ll ruin your appetite, and you don’t exercise enough, it’ll go straight to your tummy!”

“I’m not fat!” Irena protested, half-listening, still inspecting the documents and figurine. “I’ll be good. Now go. Go!” Waving a hand in dismissal, she didn’t even notice as her Babulya stepped out. “Let me see…” Having memorised the documents from the people who had vetted her package, she turned her attention back to the figure. Hmmm… it looks… familiar?

It was hard to tell as it had been taken apart, and the artificial skin over the clockwork had been removed, but… I’ll check that later. For now… Whistling to herself, she quickly disassembled the whole thing, ending up with a collection of cogs and gears in various sizes. Most of them seemed to be ordinary metal, aluminium or titanium, perhaps, yet the central cog, by where the battery should have fit, judging by the array of wires and twin connector, was also strange.

“What is this?” The cog was the largest, and made of some sort of blackish-purple metal. A small, hexagonal hole was in the middle, but as she had disassembled it, she was already getting an idea of how the doll should work, this being her specialty, after all, so… “There’s no rod that goes through here. It’s turned by the cogs directly connected to the battery…”

After more pondering, Irena began to reassemble the toy, and soon she had created several missing parts. As it was starting to take shape, a steaming, fragrant mug of sweet milk was put down beside her. She jolted, only to see her Babulya smiling fondly. “There was no need to ignore all the sweets, dear.”

“Oh…” Irena realised she hadn’t eaten any more, as she had quickly become distracted by the artistry of her present. “Yes, you are right.” She reached out, taking one of the unidentified sweets, and was amazed at the incredible honey flavour. Pale pink eyes sparkling, she cried out. “This is incredible? What is it?”

“I am afraid I don’t know, my dear.” Her Babulya shook her head. “So be sure to treasure them as there will be no more. Unless you work out who sent these gifts, of course. Really, you should prepare a return present, like a well-mannered, charming girl.”

“Yes, yes.” she grumbled, eyeing the sweets with some regret. If I have another now, then that is one less I can eat later. Decisions, decisions! Deciding instead to sip at her warm, cinnamon-spiced milk, she let out a contended sigh.

“It seems you have done quick work.” The older woman noticed her efforts. “I have only been gone twenty minutes.”

“Of course. Compared to creating artificial muscles and joints, fabricating a few connecting rods and gears is trivial.” She puffed up with pride, her white hair, pulled into pigtails, swaying. “Judging by the size, it requires a typethree-three-two battery. Quite the power draw. Though that’s a usual size for remote controlled model vehicles. I have some here…” She opened her desk drawer and pulled out several.

“Batteries not included, I see.” Her Babulya nodded sagely. “Your poor parents, the amount of batteries they had to buy for your childhood toys. You never wanted dolls, only things you could build and experiment with.”

“I expect they were wary of having it confiscated.” Irena pursed her lips. “Batteries can easily be made dangerous. And anyone who knows I am here knows how…”

“It’s for your own good.” The older woman promised, and Irena bit down on a sigh.

“So they say. I know I am valuable, and kidnapping me or killing me would hurt Russia. But compared to… the others…”

“Don’t dwell on it…” Irena found a sweet pushed to her lips, and she nibbled on it, calming her thoughts. “…it was scary, I know. But… you are safe here. I shall speak to your parents and see if they can make time for you. The leadup to Christmas is busy, but… I am sure that you will have a wonderful day together.”

Irena’s expression was painfully hopeful. “Mama and papa will be free for Christmas? Really? Not just for an hour, but the whole day?”

“If nothing goes wrong, they hope to be…”

Oh. Irena’s enthusiasm was suddenly dampened, but still smiling, she finished the sweet. “That would be wonderful. I wonder, can we go outside, it’s been a while…”

“The air might do you some good. So long as you wrap up warm! You are a fragile flower, young devushka, so catching a chill would not agree with you!” As she listened to the lecture from her Babulya, Irena found her thoughts torn two ways, between the strange toy she had been sent, and also her parents, who had fortunately not been involved in the attack on the Institute…

***

“Curious. For a work of art this fine… it shouldn’t be like that.” Several hours had passed, and Irena had reassembled the figure, replacing the missing parts that either weren’t included or had been taken or broken by the inspectors at the Institute who vetted anything she received. Her Babulya had returned with more glasses of milk several times, and Irena had also eaten more sweets than she had planned, and she was now feeling a little sluggish, having a sugar crash. Despite that, her attention was on the figure of a man, sword in hand. It’s impossible not to recognise this person. So, this package is from… him. But if that’s the case, I can’t see the purpose behind the seeming mistakes and meaningless oddities. But he wouldn’t do anything for no reason…

“And then there’s this…” There was a third gift, a smaller square box, that when opened, contained a gold ring, set with a large, ostentatious blue stone. Irena had thought it a sapphire, but on closer inspection it didn’t appear to be. Nor was it ordinary glass or other similarly fake stones used for costume jewellery. The faceted cut was interesting too. At first she had thought it might fit into the odd gap in the centre cog, but it didn’t. Nobody should be sending me jewellery. It’s not an appropriate gift…

Irena had little interest in anything but her research, boys the least of her concerns, but she still felt a sting of awkwardness at receiving jewellery. And if it’s from him, that seems even more out of character.

Idly, she flicked the switch on the doll, and as power was drawn from the inserted battery, cogs and gears shifted, and the figure slowly walked, arm with the sword swinging, and Irena grimaced, touching her finger where she had been sliced before. Dangerous… still, it’s hugely impressive. But sadly, scale models seldom work, as weight expands cubically, whereas strength usually only expands linearly, so copying it on larger designs just leads to failures…

Turning to her computer screen, her left hand danced on the keyboard, rattling out words to one of her correspondents, the mysterious scientist who called himself a Mortal Engineer, and talked of magic, the aetheric arts.

It was never made explicit who he served, though I suspected. Now… looking at the figure, as well as the fact that half of the sweets are Japanese confections… it’s obvious. So… why me?

“Are you there?” The words hung unanswered for an uncomfortably long moment, cursor blinking, before a reply came through, steeped in its usual irreverent manner.

“Oh, unusual for you to seek me out. I expect you received my little gift? I had such the trial getting it to you in time for Christmas, only to discover, much to my surprise, that in your country, you celebrate it on January the seventh. So it seems I had plenty of time. Fascinating. That would be like the winter solstice being celebrated at different times in the Court and the Hunt. It makes little sense to me…”

Court? Hunt? No, that doesn’t matter!

“…regardless…” Words kept pouring onto her screen. “…you are quite fortunate. It is very busy here, and I am not often on the Material to check these messages.”

“Just… just why?” Irena typed, biting her lip. “As usual you say a lot, but it doesn’t make sense. Though I will admit the automaton is a work of art. Akio, yes? The Hero of Britain? I appreciate the level of detail and craftsmanship, but… that sword was sharp! You are fortunate it wasn’t confiscated!” Newest update provided by novelꞁire.net

“You can use it as a letter opener.” Words blinked onto her monitor. “Besides, I am told these things need to have… accessories.” Irena could almost imagine her mysterious correspondent laughing. “Though that sword is already out of date now. The new one has to be seen to be believed…”

“That’s… I don’t understand.” Irena was annoyed. “But I don’t get why you would send me a Christmas gift?”

“You do not? Oh… do not be worried. I have no designs upon you. Why, I already have daughters older than you, I am sure. But…” There was a pause, and then the font changed. “…are you sure you can speak freely? I know you are being monitored, everything you search on this internet, every person you talk to, yes? Of course, a clever girl like you has certainly… considered that.”

It’s frustrating, but… “Of course.” Her fingers flew across the keyboard. “I wrote some code that acts as a layer between here and the oversight, as well as getting some backdoors into the Institute firewall.” They wouldn’t let me find out what was going on. But… after the attack, I can no longer feel assured being ignorant. “Right now, this is just a harmless conversation about sweets. Oh… that reminds me…” Irena found herself flushing, embarrassed, glad nobody could see her. “…those unknown confections… where can I get some more?”

“Ah, that would be difficult.” At his reply, Irena pouted, but fortunately he wasn’t done. “They are not… made with ordinary honey. They are a trial product, one of many we make here. I am delighted you enjoyed them. You know…”

There was a pause, before more words appeared. “…we are gathering quite the little team here. Not that our newest recruit is popular. In fact, she is rather loathed. It is not that I fail to understand, the princess and her consort are both soft-hearted, but… sometimes curiosity, the drive to know, can lead us down dark paths, the wrong roads. I do appreciate her willingness to put her own wellbeing on the line for truth though. She reminds me of my old self. Oh, how the burns did ache. I seem to be rambling on… though, I am sure… a woman of your expertise would be an asset, and… I suspect you would certainly find the experience edifying. My offer from before still stands. I would extend a helping hand, should you desire it. To have a promising young researcher stifled by ill-health, or worse…”

“What do you know?” Irena typed back, troubled.

“A great deal.” came back the answer. “I understand you have limited access to or interest in much beyond your experiments… a trait we share, I do believe… yet you must have been aware of what is happening worldwide. You say the firewall is… compromised, yes?”

Irena nodded. “Why?”

A direct connection request has been made.

The letters appeared in bold. Ordinarily, no outside files could be brought into the Institute networks without going through approval, the firewall blocking it, but Irena had made secret adjustments. She knew she was always being monitored, but those who watched lacked her skills, so it was trivial to make some… enhancements.

Do I… accept the file? Irena’s finger hovered over the key, and she had a feeling that if she did take a look, there would be no going back for her. Her hesitation lasted only a moment, though, as she then stabbed her finger down. “I need… to know. I won’t be able to sleep well if I don’t!” she cried out, still alone in her room. There was a chime, and the connection was opened, the file downloading quickly, Irena’s room being configured for vast amounts of data transfers, due to her experiments.

A minute later, she was watching a video, wide-eyed. It was cut together from various footage such as news reports, as well as security cameras and even what looked like somebody’s mobile phone. It detailed a number of girls battling Church of True Revelation fanatics, displaying a number of strange abilities. Irena shivered as she watched, remembering the crimson eyes that had gazed at her, but soon the file closed, and it deleted itself.

“Best to be safe.” The words came to her from her contact abroad. “Besides, self-destructing messages are a staple, apparently. Now, I know you are a woman of science and logic… aetheric arts are perhaps of lesser interest to you, but if you are curious… those shown there were using strengths they did not possess only short weeks ago…”

“I understand that. They must have the strange new power… wait…” Irena froze, before her hands mechanically typed out a response. “Weeks? You don’t mean months?”

“Semantics, I know.” came back the amused response. “But I know what you wish to ask. Yes, they were ordinary, untalented girls… no, I suppose if I call them that, many people will be angry. Let me instead say… unblessed. But matters have changed. And while the situation was terrible… they prevailed. I understand many would think being at the heart of the storm is dangerous, yet… in the centre is often calm. Do you feel safe?”

Her trembling hands matched the rattling of her teeth. I… safe. They won’t come back. They aren’t interested in me, but… Again, those red eyes seemed to be staring deep into her in her memories, and that smile…

“What can you do?” Her tapping was hard, staccato, emphasising her bitterness. “You are in Japan. Besides… I am Russian, my work is the pride of Russia…”

“It is all one world. Besides, work deserves reward. Do you feel rewarded?” The counterpoint was swift. “Nobody is telling you to betray your homeland. Only… expand your horizons. There are several new things I have discovered here which would advance your work in leaps and bounds. We have a young girl who has just arrived from Germany. In exchange for her aid, we plan to establish new industries there. While giving her a better, more interesting life, of course. You can reject me… we are simply offering a hand, but…”

“The Institute… I am not allowed to leave. The furthest I can go is the grounds, and even then, I am escorted. For my safety. There… was an attack. A terrible one.” Her hands shook. “What, do you propose to extract me by force? Kill good, honest Russian men and women, just doing their jobs…?” Her myopic eyes burned, hot and salty.

“Do you think the man represented by the figurine I sent you would do such? And yes, we are indeed far away. And if you are content, I am happy to continue sharing my insights with you. I find your ideas stimulating, and some of your wisdom has helped my own Mortal Engineering. Like with the automaton.”

“Then…” Irena began, but he was typing faster.

“I shall be brief. If… you want to go on an adventure, to broaden your horizons, or simply… feel unsafe, and wish to be elsewhere… there is a way. Even for you. It is not just a pleasant clockwork toy. No, it is… a beacon.”

“Beacon?” her reply was wary.

“Quite. I suspect you wonder… why the… oddities?” She had indeed suspected something was up. “Simple. Some of the cogs are alloys of an interesting metal. The sword… that was graciously provided to draw attention. I suspect if you check it, it will have been shaved down, so that the material may be studied. Our gift to your Institute. But some of the cogs, gears and screws… they contain threads of more metal, properly charged.”

“What…” Irena gulped, throat dry, wishing her Babulya was there to bring her a drink. “…what of the centre gear? It… seems unusual too.”

“Oh, it is. Though the material is actually rather uninspiring. It is what it contains that matters. I suspect you have no willing Chosen to funnel aether into it, so… another gift. The ring.”

“I checked. It does not fit…” Irena grumbled back.

“Of course not. I daresay those who scrutinised it first are no fools. If it obviously matched the gear, they would be suspicious. No, remove the fragment of blue Etherite from its setting. Then place the rear of the jewel into the black gear. And apply power. The gear shall turn, the Etherite shall shatter, and the stored spatial element shall be released, and… ring out. Oh…”

Irena read the words with a sense of puzzlement, but couldn’t tear her eyes away.

“…do please step back away from it. The Door will open next to the token. The distance is rather troubling, but since our clever physicist will have a beacon, and her strength has improved recently, it should be possible. Oh… make sure you have everything you wish to take with you on your… vacation… to hand, as returning will be a nuisance. Though should you wish to, we will of course make it happen. You would be a guest, a fellow seeker of knowledge, not a captive. Besides, he and his wives are far too tender-hearted to torment a woman so, especially a troubled one.” His words finally slowed. “Of course, this is simply an offer, an escape. Perhaps it will bring you peace of mind, having it available to you. Leave international diplomacy to those suited for it. All we should be considering is pushing the boundaries of understanding!”

With that, the messages turned to rather more harmless ones, and as Irena responded, listening to his new ideas for her project, and responding with some of her own thoughts towards his own stumbling blocks, her gaze went to the early Christmas gift. Peace of mind, you say? Blyat, this is all such a mess…

***

“Mama, papa!” Irena leapt up from her chair with an overjoyed expression on her face, while her softly smiling Babulya slipped out, offering them some privacy. Her father was a big man, brown-haired and blue eyed, while her mother was blonde, her long hair tied into a ponytail, her own eyes a cornflower blue like the skies Irena seldom had the opportunity to see. Both of them wore researcher clothes, lab coats, pockets full of pens and devices adorning them.

It was fortunate that the researchers weren’t the target of the intruders. Some who were unlucky still died, but… thankfully not mama and papa! Irena felt a little guilty at her selfish thoughts, but she quickly pushed that aside, being a pragmatist. Her father opened his arms, and she moved into his embrace, before flushing and stepping back after a quick hug.

“Oh, I am happy to see you!” She straightened her pink t-shirt, putting on a composed expression. “But… what brings you here?” I am not a child. I am mature and competent!

“Do we need a reason to see our little dove of peace?” her mama asked, her smile warm, yet Irena was shrewd enough to notice the trace of worry contained within it, the dark rings around her eyes, barely hidden by makeup. Of course. Everyone is working non-stop, especially since the… incident. It isn’t just me who was affected…

“Oh, and are you too big a girl to give your mother a hug now?” she continued, and Irena flushed.

“Since you are asking, I can be kind!” she declared haughtily, raising her chin, though she knew the effect was spoiled by her flushed cheeks, light pink like her eyes. After they hugged, Irena put on her most mature expression. “I know you don’t need a reason to visit, and I’m always happy to see you, but… things are… hectic.”

“Indeed they are.” Her papa agreed, a solemn look on his face, eyes falling on the clockwork figure on her desk. “Huh. Did you make that yourself? I recognise him, I think. He is marrying his country’s Imperial Princess. Is that the kind of boy you like? To think my little Irena is interested in boys now…”

“That’s not it!” Irena writhed in embarrassment. “It was a gift! A gift! See?” She flicked the switch, and the figure slowly began to move. That made the weight in her pocket, carefully stored, feel hot and heavy, as if it was burning her, but she knew it was just her imagination. “It is because of my research. The balancing here is very clever, done entirely with gears, though…” She let out a sigh. “It will not scale up. The size and weight factors make the balancing equations near impossible without some sort of external adjustments.”

In an extreme act of charity, Irena retrieved the last of her unique sweets. “Here, mama, papa. Fo you! They’re good!” I may never get to have any again, but… perhaps if I help my contact with his research, he’ll be grateful…

“Blyat! This is good!” her papa swore, only for mama to whack him across the back of his head with one hand.

“Not in front of our daughter! You know Ana has been complaining about her foul language. Though… working at such a young age, she’s bound to pick up bad habits. It is good though…” mama conceded, turning back to Irena, leaving papa to stammer an apology, quite unlike his strong appearance, rather mild. “…I have never had anything quite like it. Another gift?”

Irena nodded. “For Christmas, though… oh no, I’ve eaten nearly all of them early!” Even the Japanese confection she had pigged out on, despite her Babulya’s warnings.

At that, her papa let out a chuckle. “Don’t worry.” He hoisted her into the air, as if she was a kid again. It annoyed her, she was a certified genius, not a child, but she also felt warm, and even more troubled. Papa… we need to talk.

“I shall get you more. Papa’s got a pay rise, what with the… troubles.” Both her parents seemed upset, and she understood.

“I… barely even remember it. We scientists look to the future only!” she insisted, rather unconvincingly to her own mind. “Now papa, you won’t be able to get those sweets. They… aren’t on sale.”

“Your admirer must think a lot of you! Well, your father won’t let you go without a fight!” papa teased, spinning her around (gently though, as he was always treating her like she was made of glass.) The recessive nature of albinism was present in both her parents, and Irena was just… unlucky. “My beautiful daughter. Though… you don’t suit the name Irena, you are seldom peaceful!”

“That’s mean, papa!” she cried. “Now I won’t give you any more sweets!” She handed her last one to mama, who gave a soft giggle, stroking Irena’s hair.

“Our precious daughter. We are so glad you survived. To think that the Institute would be breached… don’t worry, we now have much tighter security, and a number more brave Russian heroes standing guard. This place is a fortress. Nobody gets in or out.”

“That’s… a bit of a problem.” Irena complained. “I… want to take a break. A holiday. And not just the sort where I’m brought books and games. I want to travel. See the skies outside of the Institute gardens.”

“I know. But… you are our little genius. Your research… it could change the world, bring Russia to the forefront once again.” Her papa was suddenly solemn. “You know there have been attempts on your life, or to kidnap you.”

“Even so… I want to live a little.” Irena pouted. “If I don’t have freedom, even for my own good… what am I but a slave?”

At her harsh words, she saw pain cross her parents’ features, but she pressed on. “All I am asking for is a break. Besides…” Her voice lowered. I have injected modified code into the software controlling the cameras in here too, and the microphones. It’s not perfect, but this conversation should be replaced with a rather more… innocuous one. An offshoot of my AI research, contextual assembly of cues.

“…do you really think that the Institute is safe? If… if the intruders wished me dead… I would be.” She gulped, remembering those ruby eyes once more, despite promising herself she would forget them. “I… want to create the artificial life that nobody else ever has. But… I have come to see… I want to live my own life too. Surely… that isn’t greedy, mama, papa?”

They exchanged a long, troubled gaze, before her papa knelt down, looking her in the eyes. “Nothing is too good for our little Irena. You may be a firecracker, a troublemaker, but… we named you so that you could live a peaceful life.”

“You were so beautiful, when you were born.” Her mana agreed. “But fragile, like glass. If only we had known we both carried defective genes for albinism, we could have… maybe gene therapy would have helped, it’s advancing a lot nowadays…” She shook her head, and Irena had an idea.

“You know… maybe it’s not too late. You are both young yet, you could have another child. I wouldn’t mind a brother or sister. I’d be happy to teach them mathematics, reading and science.” She swung her head proudly. “Isn’t there the chance of healing beyond what science understands? Maybe… maybe even I could be cured?” Her smile was pleading. “A trip for that, wouldn’t it be to everyone’s benefit? If I wasn’t so frail, I would get more done…”

“That… might be too great a concession.” papa declared sadly. “Leaving the country… there is too much that could befall you. But… maybe we can organise a short trip around Russia. I can ask… if we were properly escorted, although, taking manpower away from the Institute will have some opposition…”

“If it is just around Moscow…” mama suggested, and as they tried to come to some sort of agreement, Irena studied them both closely. I see. Mama and papa, they… are under a lot of pressure too. It’s understandable, trying to comprehend this new world with the tools we have before, when danger and disaster lurk around every corner… but if we don’t push back the unknown, the boundaries of ignorance, who will? Maybe…

Her hand found its way into her pocket, where the cool feel of metal and the hard edges of crystal met her fingertips. Red eyes staring at her, two with amused pity, which scared her almost more than the two that gazed at her with hostile contempt, coming to mind, she shuddered a little. I just don’t know. The Institute has been good to mama and papa, and when it comes to research, I get everything they can offer. Though… they treat me like a child, keep me in the dark. Her lips curled up into a sweet smile. Or they tried. Nobody can handle my hacking! No, I know more of what is going on than they wish…

Not sure who to trust, which path was best for her, Irena made up her mind. “I’d be satisfied with anything. I’m feeling caged in and run down. Mama, papa… we should go on a trip! Surely you can get some time off? I know times are tough, but… if we all break from exhaustion, that won’t be good.”

“See that, darling?” papa enthused. “Our little Irena is such a clever girl! All right, I’ll talk to the Director. Maybe if mama smiles at him…”

“Oh, you!” mama slapped papa again. “I’m not flirting with another man just to get our way! The Board aren’t… entirely unreasonable. If we approach it right…”

Seeing her parents enthusiastic, Irena relaxed a little. I am not a prisoner. It’s… for my own protection. If… if that’s the case, then I’ll be happy. If… if not… Her gaze strayed to the mechanical Akio. …then mama, papa… I’ll show everyone I’m not a child, and I can make my own well-reasoned, calculated choices. I’ll decide for you both too…