Lucie's Memories

Every so often, a long-gone memory resurfaces, triggered by a present occurrence or by a moment of reflection. Here, descriptions of these memories are listed as well as Lucie's explanations of those memories in her own words.

## House Corren Tattoos

She was nervous. Cold sweat created a sheen of fear on her brow and upper lip. She could feel herself shaking; there was no coming back from this procedure. She had been under the knife before, but the process was painless. This procedure was more archaic; it was meant to both create a lasting impression and send a message.

She willingly laid down in the reclined chair, the woman with the needle offering her a sympathetic smile. She was lowborn too, just doing what she was told. Lucie tried to smile back. The first jab was easy, and it lulled her into a sense of security. After a hundred she winced a little, but it was still bearable.

Who knew how many hours, and hundreds of thousands of more sharp stabbing pains and she was clutching the edge of the chair. The adrenaline had come and gone, and the hum of the automatic needle was drilling into her mind as well as her skin. Tears had dried on her cheeks now, smudging the makeup oh so carefully done by yet another serf of her great house.

What felt like days passed, and Lucie's attendant had retired and been replaced twice. There were no clocks and no way to keep or pass the time, and Lucie was forced to accept her predicament like a personal hell that she refused to escape. She was not bound, and officially, there were no rules forcing her to stay. But she chose to for her own honour and that of her house. The needles had jabbed and jabbed and jabbed and covered the same skin over and over and over. The pain never let up, her body shouting at her to get out! But she could never betray her house. It was just wrong.

Eventually, Lucie was told that her procedure was complete. She immediately began shaking and sobbing with immense relief, and a hint of shame as she looked down at her body. She shook away the shame, telling herself that her feelings were warped by the overpowering tiredness she felt throughout her whole body. She finally left the room, barely walking. Blood seeped from her uncovered wounds and she clutched a shirt to her chest to cover herself, trying and failing not to touch the scars. Blood dripped from her wounds and ran painfully over raw, open scars onto the sterilised tiles of the hall. She was exhausted and in pain, wishing she could just lie down.

Dusky sunlight crept into the hallway behind closed curtains, though it had been morning when she had entered the room. Had it been a whole day? Had it been two? Three?

Lucie stood staring at the curtains, drifting to sleep standing up even though her whole body stung with the fresh memory of the nightmarish needles.

"Go get changed." An approaching attendant barked. He was lowborn too, just following orders. "You should be proud; you now bear the tattoos of the great house!" He said, and meant it.

And she was.

## Becoming a Machine: An Explanation for Avix

"I was brought to the moon, and my mind was uploaded to the computer. Uh, what I mean is that the Maverick had a supercomputer, and the scientist put my mind into it." She paused to gather her thoughts, realising her explanation was somewhat lacking.
"According to the ship's clock, I first awoke inside the computer on the 10th of December 866." She said carefully.
She remembered the feeling of being alone and abandoned. Not hot, not cold, just... Not. She couldn't feel her fingers or toes, and she couldn't even see. The feeling of being hooked up to cables and cords was totally abstract and terrifying. Not even able to scream, Lucie had just existed in sheer terror. She never even saw the scientist leave to bury her mindless body and let it suffocate to death in the cold ground.
"I managed to link up with the AI. I started by just asking for help and it gave me a list of commands." She laughed. "Eventually, I guess a couple months later, I found my way into the AI system itself and I could look through the cameras and control the service droids and stuff."
She remembered the feeling of seeing again after so long. She could hear, she could actually influence the outside world. It wasn't as good as having a body, but it was infinitely better than that unending, blinding and deafening prison.
"I built up the Maverick again, and started making all this. I said one day I'd have a body again. It seems so soon now!" She said enthusiastically. It had been a long time since she had been genuinely excited.