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…

[ There's something … a tiny hint of what used to be, in Iota's voice. ]

Yes.

...

It's...incredibly easy for me to survive. To keep breathing, my heart beating. But there are days, where I can forget who I am. The more alone I am, the more it happens.

It terrifies me, more than anything, the thought of being alone. Because even if my heart's beating, sooner or later, I'm not going to be really alive anymore.

Because survival, and being alive aren't the same thing. And for some people....other people are a necessity. And I think you're one of those people, Iota.

[ Why is he telling her this? He hates her now, doesn't he? ]

… I do not like being alone. I felt happiness when I could talk to you. It made me smile to see you smile, and to enjoy hot chocolate together with you.

I am ... sorry that I hurt you. That I betrayed your trust.

But my duty ... my duty to the AI fragments—

You're the only one trying to make those two things mutually exclusive.

And making your duty to your AI's harder to do.

No, I am not, it is just …

[ Iota starts to shake her head … and that's when the glitch happens. Like a simulation starting to unravel, fuzzing out around the edges, pixilating, until she manages to wrench it back into focus. ]

I am here, I am here.

Iota?!

[The control breaks and there is DEFINITE worry on his face.]

[ THE NUMBER YOU HAVE DIALLED IS CURRENTLY ENGAGED. PLEASE HOLD THE LINE. ]

Shh. I am listening. Puma? Please hold for a moment, I need to reroute—

[Well, she shushed him, and he's not sure WHAT'S going on.]

[ The screen goes blank. ]

[ WHO KNEW KIDS WOULD BE THIS MUCH TROUBLE, GODDAMN. ]

[ Maybe ten, twelve seconds later, Iota speaks up through the STILL BLANK computer's speaker system. ]

Puma, if you would like to continue our [ fffzzzt ] conversation, please come to the medical bay. It will be quieter there.

...all right.

[He's blanking out again. Fighting the surge of panic.]

I hear any hissing, I'm breaking shit.

[FAIR. WARNING.]

[But standing up and heading for the medical bay.]

[ Aw, come on, don't you trust her?? ]

[ Don't answer that. ]

[ It's a quiet, uneventful walk over to the medbay. Iota seems to be entirely pre-occupied with whatever the hell it is she's dealing with right now. And once he's there … oh, there's Iota. Iota's body, at any rate, sitting up on one of the medical cots. Her hand is pressed against her forehead, and her cheeks are … wwwwwet? ]

[...what]

Should she already be up?

Biomed gel significantly increases the rate of healing. [ She mumbles, distracted. ] If anything, I am being overly cautious …

...why did you suddenly connect? You were freaking out.

[ Lowers her hand, glancing over at him with glassy, definitely watery eyes. She looks like somebody's hit her over the head with a two-by-four. ]

A small emergency. It is quieter here.

...

[Coming over to look at her face.] What do you mean?

[ It's not a huge crying fit. There's no drama, no fanfare, just weepiness and leakiness and something kind of … dazed. ]

[ She blinks up at him. ]

What do I mean by which statement?

It's quieter. What's noisy?

[Does there seem to be brain damage? Seeing if she can track his finger.]

[ She blinks again, stares at him in confusion, and then—as if finally realizing what he's trying to do here—starts tracking the finger back and forth. ]

Oh. She wanted my attention.

She who?

Not her.

[ That doesn't clarify. ]

Not her. [ Gestures to herself. ] The fragment.

That first her doesn't clarify.

The hurt fragment?

Yes. She needs a name.

[ Still doesn't clarify. ]

[ Iota mutters something under her breath, wiping at her eyes. ]

The fragment, who requires a name, loudly and somewhat violently requested my immediate attention. She, whose body I currently reside within, is fine.

A description can help for offering suggestions.

Except she, or you, are crying.

You said there were fragments from the games who were basically self sustaining. That means people in the game interacted with them.

I think that I am the one who is crying.

[ Looks down at her fingers, and the dampness she'd wiped away from her eyes. ]

... Hm? What were you saying?

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