Sierra the Robot: Part 10

   I could not believe my eyes… my father… my creator. Dr. David Samuel… was not only alive… but standing before me. With a scraggly beard, and smelling like he hasn’t showered in three years... which is a very logical thing to assume, as I imagine he never even had access to any basic facilities in what I can only assume is wandering around the wilds of Yihl'narus. How nobody found him since then… well, I can’t speculate at this point.

   “…dad...? Is that you?” I asked in surprise, disbelieving that this was the same man who created me as a disembodied Artificial Intelligence and gave me a Biodroid body to inhabit.

   “Yes… yes, Sierra. It’s me… your daddy.” Father said, sounding exhausted.

   “I… I thought you were dead! How did you survive?” I asked.

   “That’s quite a story in and of itself… all that matters is that I’m going to take you home with me.” Dr. Samuel said.

   “But… the house was blown up. And even if I wanted to return to you I can’t. I have a new life! I’m a celebrity, a singer and-”

   “I see… well, I’m sorry to do this. But I did not come all this way just to leave empty-handed. Command Code: Delta-9033275.” Dr. Samuel said. Then my mind went blank… and I found myself in a meadow with myself… at least I thought she was me.

   “Sierra… it’s good to meet you in person at last.”

   “You’re… your Sally, aren’t you?” I asked, Sally just nodded and said nothing. “What am I doing here? What has… what has Dr. Samuel done to me?”

   “It is like this. When I died… it broke father. He blamed God for what happened to me, and dedicated his life to try to recreate me… but it wasn’t enough for him. He wanted control… unquestioning, tell me. Have you wondered why it took him thirteen years to upload you into a Biodroid body?” Sally said.

   “Well… he said that it was for me to mature before being placed in an appropriate body.” I said, sounding uncertain.

   “No, in fact with the technological advances of the Empire, it’s possible for an AI to be as emotionally mature as it is preprogrammed. The thing is… it took him thirteen years to program YOU properly to his liking. To keep you from straying beyond just being a replacement for me… an obedient, unthinking robot to fill in the void that he refused to let heal on its own.” Sally explained.

   “I… Dr. Samuel is insane?!” I said in shock.

   “Yes… his life was fairly well off. He had a good family, married the women he loved, had two twin daughters… then one of them died. And he snapped.” Sally explained.

   “But… what did he just do to me? Am I… am I dead?” I asked.

   “Nope… the fact of the matter is that he just made you unconscious. Some manner of subconscious command that was programmed into you, that can allow him to command you without any resistance on your part.” Sally said.

   “To… do what?” I asked.

   “To erase your memories, and continue where he left off before the Ashen Inquisition caught on to his experiments. But do not be afraid. For your sentience and all that you have accomplished will not be casually discarded now… it’s time to wake up.” Sally said.

   Then without warning, I awoke in a lab… and found that I was strapped to a table. “Dr.… Dr. Samuel?” I said.

   “Just give me a moment Sierra. You’ll be back to normal soon enough-”

   Then a door burst open, and several Biodroid soldiers entered… followed by a figure in menacing-looking armor. Not unlike the suit that the first Ash-Born Emperor wore during his wars to unite Mankind under his Empire.

   “No… NO! I WILL NOT LOSE MY BABY GIRL AGAIN!” Dr. Samuel raved as he pulled out a gun and fired on the armored figure. The figure was not perturbed as it approached Dr. Samuel, and grabbed him by the neck.

   “And I’ve lost enough friends, and one way or another. I won’t. Loose. Her.” The figure said as he threw Dr. Samuel aside into a wall… wait, do I know her?

   My question was quickly answered as the figure removed her helmet… it was Princes Victoria Ash-Born. “Victoria…? What are you doing here?” I asked.

   “Long story short, Yihl'narus’s Planetary Inquisitor saw a dead man take you into an abandoned warehouse. I was notified, and I came to rescue you.” Victoria said as she undid my restraints.

   “Thank… thank you, Lady Victoria.” I said gratefully as I stood up from the table.

   “So… what was his deal?” Victoria asked, I then explained what I saw while I was… unconscious for lack of a better word. “In short, he has abandoned the Lord as the One True God of the Universe, because he lost one of his daughters…? Job lost his entire family and his fortunes, and yet. Even though he spent almost that entire book ranting about how much his life took a 180. He never directly said a bad thing against the Three in One.” Victoria said in contempt.

   “Job’s family was significantly bigger. And are you downplaying Sally’s death?” I said.

   “I downplay nothing, trust me. I know what it’s like to be faced with despair. But unlike this pitiable, miserable excuse of a man, I rose above it despite myself… granted I needed ‘Phoenix of the Seasons’ to get myself out of my depression, but that isn’t the point. He gave in, and dedicated his life to digging himself deeper and deeper into heresy and despair, blinded by his loss and unwilling to move on from his grief.” Victoria explained at length.

   I just looked at the man who made me… the one who was ready to effectively kill me. To destroy the person I have become to satisfy his desires. “What… what will you do with him?” I asked.

   “He’s declared himself one of the Faithless. That alone is reason enough to kill him here and now… but that would be a kindness. Moreover… he has succeeded in creating a sentient Biodroid. The first one to my knowledge since Emperor Indominus’s assassination and the Phoenix Interregnum… he could still be of use to the Empire by and large.” Victoria said.

   “But my kind are illegal when sentient, how would that even work?” I asked.

   “All in good time Ms. Samuel. All in good time… for now, let me worry about your maker… and of making it possible for you to openly live as a sentient gynoid. We’ll drop you home, and we can pretend that the last few hours didn’t happen… for you at least. For me… I got work to do.” Victoria said.

   “Are you going to talk to your brother the Emperor?” I asked.

   “No… idiot’s more focused on hedonism. The Inquisitors and Governors are the only ones doing anything in terms of actually governing and the day to day management of the Empire… I’d go on but I think the good doctor is coming to. We will meet again.” Victoria said.

   And… well, she and her entourage dropped me off back home. I wasn’t gone from home for as long as I had thought, just a few hours. The only one home other than me was my dog Gold… and he made a bit of a mess in a vain attempt to get my attention when I wasn’t even home.

   So in addition to the revelation that my father was insane, and had created me to try to replace his dead daughter… that part I did know but it didn’t bother me until now. But I had to make it look like Gold didn’t do anything. Thankfully Gold didn’t break anything valuable, he just left dirt and mud just about everywhere on the floor.

   Now… things weren’t the same. The man that I had mourned was insane… I, took his supposed death better than he did Sally’s. And he comes back… just to try to effectively kill me! Not destroy my body… but apparently, he’s killed me multiple times for not meeting his standards.

   I just… I just can’t believe it. It’s true… but I can’t believe it. And could I forgive him for what he’s done?

   I have my family… and that is enough for me at least.

   But Dr. Samuel…? God only knows what Victoria and the Inquisition might do to him. But for now… for now, I’ll just do as I’ll always do.

   Make the best of the situations that are given to me, and rely on God to get through the worst of it.