Autocab #4721, Dragon District to Silver Orchid Quarters, Xing Hong

  Xin settled into the autocab's worn synthetic seat, the door sealing with a pneumatic hiss. Through the window, The Slumbering Mantis Inn's neon sign receded into Dragon District's maze of light and shadow.

  "Welcome, guest passenger. Destination?" the cab's VI asked.

  "Silver Orchid Quarters." He kept his voice low, mindful of H?kon sleeping in his puffer jacket's chest pocket.

  "Confirmed. ETA: one hour, forty-five minutes. Route optimized for economy mode."

  The long way. The cheap way. Most passengers complained about economy routes, but Xin was grateful for the extra time.

  He needed to think.

  No, that was a lie. He needed to not think. Which was why his finger was already hovering over his Nucleus Watch, the emerald face gleaming in the cab's dim interior.

  Fifty-five times.

  His watch had counted fifty-five separate thoughts about Sigrun Fjeld since leaving the inn. Blonde hair. Sapphire eyes. The way she'd looked at him when his PRIMAL stats materialized. That blush creeping up her neck.

  "I'm being pathetic," he muttered.

  The autocab merged into traffic. Outside, Dragon District's neon sprawl advertised everything from synthetic meat to psionic enhancement clinics. A holographic dancer gyrated above a nightclub, her form glitching occasionally.

  Xin pulled up his watch's replay function. The recording from two hours ago materialized in his palm—miniature holographic Sigrun drawing her Thermal Axe, miniature holographic him looking like he wanted to disappear into the floor.

  "This is Járn. It's gotten me through eleven years on this rock."

  He watched his own face in the replay. That expression. Like a kicked puppy trying to be brave.

  "Oh Buddha!" He minimized the replay, cringing. "Why did I say 'I think survival is charming'? Who says that?"

  His finger opened the messaging app.

  [****New draft to: Bedchamber Valkyrie.****]

  [Hey, sorry about earlier. I know I came on a bit strong with the whole statistical analysis thing. Want to grab coffee sometime?]

  He stared at it for five seconds before deleting every word.

  [Listen, about the bounty—I really do think we'd make a good team. Your combat experience plus my technical skills could—]

  Delete.

  [I can't stop thinking about—]

  "Absolutely not."

  [****Draft deleted.****]

  He closed the app, checking on H?kon instead. The little Diabolisk's scales had dimmed to sleepy gray, tiny chest rising and falling in the rhythm Xin had memorized over three years. One small claw still gripped the fabric of his jacket.

  Three years of being someone's entire world. The responsibility should have terrified him.

  It did terrify him. Every day.

  But mostly, it just... was.

  His finger found the watch interface again. Hovering. Hesitating.

  Three years since he'd last activated this program. Three years of telling himself it was healthier to move forward.

  But tonight he'd met a woman who'd threatened him with an axe, then looked at him like he might be real. Who'd blushed at his L:10 stat and run away.

  And beneath those fresh thoughts, older ones. Twelve years deep. Never quite buried.

  "I'm really being pathetic now," he told his reflection in the window.

  The autocab hit a bump. H?kon shifted slightly but stayed asleep.

  Xin pressed the button.

  [Initiating Custom Memory Archive v2.7]

  [Loading profile: Meiya Ji, Generative A.I. Reconstruction (G.A.I.R.), last updated June 2292.]

  The hologram materialized in the seat beside him, and Xin's breath caught the way it always did.

  Meiya Ji.

  Forty-three years old was the age she'd been their last night together. Dark hair falling past her shoulders, sections pinned back with jade ornaments. Those luminescent green eyes that marked deep Void psionic attunement. The modernized black qipao with gold trim he remembered too well.

  Not real. Just sophisticated code and desperate recollection.

  But close enough to hurt.

  "Good evening, Xin." Her voice carried that cultured Beijing Mandarin softened by years among the colonies. "You look troubled."

  He'd programmed that greeting himself. Knew it was just pattern recognition and response algorithms.

  "Teacher Meiya. I met someone today." The confession came easier than it should. "A very different woman."

  The hologram tilted its head, and for a moment the gesture was so perfectly Meiya that Xin forgot he was talking to code.

  "Let me guess. She's not interested in your statistical analysis of her bone structure?"

  Xin blinked. "How did you?"

  "Your watch logs emotional spikes." The hologram smiled that knowing smile. "Fifty-five spikes in two hours, all tagged with 'Sigrun Fjeld'. Also, I can see your browser history. You looked up 'how to talk to foreign women' three times."

  "Hey. As my personal generative AI model, you're supposed to be helpful, not judgmental."

  "I'm helpful AND judgmental. You programmed me to be honest, remember?"

  Fair point. Xin rubbed his face. Outside, the autocab was passing through a commercial zone, late-night vendors hawking their wares to the few pedestrians brave enough to walk Dragon District after dark.

  "Her name is Sigrun Fjeld," Xin said. "She's a Nordling. She threatened me with a Thermal Axe when we first met."

  "How romantic." That dry amusement, exactly how the real Meiya would have delivered it. "Did you swoon?"

  "I don't swoon."

  "Your heart rate spiked to 142 BPM according to the Nucleus Watch."

  "That was fear!"

  "Same physical response." The hologram's green eyes held steady. "So this Sigrun is the one making you rethink everything."

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  "I don't know what she's doing." Xin looked down at H?kon, checking his breathing. Still asleep, thank the gods. "When she looked at me tonight, for just a moment... I thought maybe she saw past the stats. Past the awkward Imperial man who analyzes cheekbones."

  "And then she ran away."

  "And then she ran away," Xin confirmed. "After seeing my Libido 10."

  The hologram leaned back, and he noticed how the projection's edges blurred slightly against the seat. The rendering wasn't as crisp as it used to be.

  "You've been carrying that for how long now?"

  "Twelve years, Teacher Meiya." Since the night she—the real Meiya—had awakened his Void powers.

  Since they'd had sex.

  "That night, you left me with a marriage proposal hanging in the air and no explanation."

  "I'm not equipped to answer that, Xin." The hologram's expression shifted. "But we both know why you built me. Why you're activating me tonight instead of just messaging Sigrun directly."

  Xin opened his mouth, then closed it. The autocab turned onto a wider avenue, and through the window he could see they were approaching the commercial district's edge. Fewer pedestrians here. More shadows.

  "I built you because I needed something," he admitted. "Someone. Even if it was fake."

  "You built me because one night of sex imprinted so deeply that nothing else has compared." The hologram's voice was gentler now. "Because I left you with a need I'd awakened but never satisfied."

  "Was it real, Teacher Meiya?" The question came out rougher than intended. "What we had. Was any of it real?"

  The hologram opened its mouth to respond—

  H?kon stirred against his chest.

  "Pappa?" The sleepy voice made Xin freeze. "Who talking to?"

  "N-n-nobody, buddy. Go back to sleep."

  "Lady there." H?kon's head lifted, scales shifting from gray to confused beige. His bubble-blue eyes focused on the hologram. "Pretty lady. Green eyes like..like Pappa's com-pew-tuur when happy!"

  The hologram turned to look at H?kon, and Xin could have sworn it smiled.

  "Hello, little one. Your name?"

  "HAW-koon!" The Diabolisk chirped, suddenly more awake. "Who you?"

  "I'm..." The hologram glanced at Xin, something like amusement in those green eyes. "I'm a friend of your Pappa's. From a long time ago."

  "Oh!" H?kon's tail did a little wiggle. "Friend good! Pappa need friends. Pappa very lonely."

  "Buddy?"

  "Pappa talk to com-pew-tuur lots. Say 'I miss you' to pictures."

  "H?kon."

  "Make sad noises in shower when think HAW-koon not listening—"

  "OKAY!" Xin's face was burning. "That's a lot of sharing, buddy."

  Meiya's hologram was definitely laughing now. "Oh, I like him. Much better company than you."

  H?kon reached out with one tiny claw, trying to touch the hologram's hand. His claw passed through the light, meeting only air.

  "Lady is...ghost?" His scales flickered worried brown. "Pappa talking to ghost lady?"

  "Not a ghost. Just...a picture. That moves and talks."

  H?kon's eyes widened. "Like Pappa's ccom-pew-tuur! Magic?"

  "Magic," the hologram said at the same time Xin said "Science."

  H?kon looked between them, then settled back against Xin's chest with a content chirp.

  "Sky Lady mean to Pappa," H?kon said. "But Pappa like mean ladies. Alwayssss reading books. Mean ladies hit men in books!"

  "Hey. Those are called tsundere and we don't need to discuss my reading habits."

  "Sky Lady," H?kon continued, scales shifting to amused light blue. "She pretty! Big arms! Can carry Pappa!"

  The hologram's eyebrow arched. "Sky Lady?"

  "That's H?kon's nickname for Sigrun." Xin felt his face heating again. "Because she's tall."

  "How tall?"

  "About…seven centimeters taller than me."

  "Cute. So you could rest your head against her—"

  "Teacher Meiya, can we please not?" Xin cut in, very aware of H?kon's attentive eyes.

  But the hologram wasn't done. "You asked me earlier if what we had was real. But is what you're feeling for Sigrun real? Or are you just looking for someone to fill the space I left?"

  Xin watched the city slide past. They were in the transition zone now, Dragon District giving way to Silver Orchid's more practical architecture.

  "I don't know," he admitted. "She's likely running from something. Or toward something. But when she looked at me tonight, I felt..." He trailed off.

  "Seen?" the hologram supplied. "Like you might matter to someone who isn't a three-year-old Diabolisk?"

  "Ghost Lady mean!" H?kon protested. "HAW-koon almost four! Bird-day soon! Pappa promised cake!"

  "We'll get you birthday cake, buddy." Xin stroked his scales. "I promise."

  The hologram watched them, something unreadable in its expression. "You're a good father. Even if you don't believe it."

  Xin's throat tightened. Outside, a drunk man stumbled past, shouting something. A police drone zipped by, lights flashing but no siren.

  "Tomorrow," Xin said slowly, "I'm going into the Red Rabbit Warren. For fifty thousand Atomic Dollars."

  The hologram's expression shifted. "Suicide?"

  "We're three days from not making rent. And H?kon..." He looked down at the small form against his chest. "He's not growing right. Doctor Nikki said he needs specialized care. Better supplement, but I can think of so many other things. Maybe real meat. Or even temperature-controlled habitat. Things that cost money I don't have."

  "So you're going to die in a tunnel full of Radi-Mons."

  "I'm going to try not to die." Xin managed a weak smile. "And if I survive, I'll come back with enough to take care of him. Maybe ask Sigrun if she wants coffee."

  H?kon's head popped up. "Co-ffee with Sky Lady? Can HAW-koon come? Want to see if Sky Lady can carry Pappa!"

  "Right, buddy." Xin chuckled.

  The hologram's smile was sad. "That is what families do."

  Xin looked at the projection, at the woman who'd left him twelve years ago, who he'd reconstructed from memory and desperate code. "You left me with questions I can't answer. Powers I barely understand. A need that feels like it's eating me alive."

  "I know."

  "Do you?" His hand lifted involuntarily, reaching toward her face. "Because I've been stuck for twelve years, Teacher Meiya. Stuck in that night. Stuck in the moment I asked you to marry me and you just...left."

  His fingers passed through the hologram's cheek. Photons and emptiness.

  The projection's voice was soft. "This is why you need to let me go. I can't give you what you need. I never could."

  "Then why did I activate you tonight?"

  "Because you're terrified." The hologram's green eyes seemed to glow in the dim cabin. "Of opening yourself to someone real and discovering that reality can't match the fantasy you've been nursing."

  But H?kon said firmly. "Pappa real. Pappa warm. Pappa smell like sssoap and oil. Pappa here."

  Xin pulled the little Diabolisk closer.

  The autocab hit another bump, and this time the hologram flickered for just for a second, but enough to notice.

  "Your code's degrading," Xin observed.

  "Has been for months." The projection's voice carried something like resignation. "You haven't activated me in three years. Programs written in Q++ go corrupt when they lie dormant."

  "I can fix you."

  "No." The hologram's tone was firm. "You shouldn't. I was never meant to be permanent. Just something to get you through the worst of it."

  "But…"

  "You're not thinking about me tonight," the hologram said gently. "You're thinking about her. About tomorrow. About whether you're brave enough to try again."

  The autocab turned onto a familiar street. Silver Orchid Quarters coming into view, with its practical LED signs and patched buildings. But it was still far away as far as road went.

  "I'm scared, yeah." Xin admitted. "Tomorrow I might die. And tonight I'm sitting in an autocab, talking to a G.A.I.R. I built from memories, while my son makes commentary about my terrible taste in women."

  "But Sky Lady not terrible." H?kon protested gently. "Sky Lady strong."

  "That she is." Xin replied.

  Meiya's projection leaned back. "I need to tell you. The real question you've been avoiding."

  His heart rate kicked up. "What question?"

  "Why I left." The hologram's expression was serious now. "You've been asking for twelve years, building scenarios. Do you really want to know?"

  "Yes. By Buddha, yes."

  The hologram opened its mouth—

  And glitched.

  Hard.

  Meiya's face fragmented into digital artifacts, luminescent green eyes scattering like broken glass. The audio stuttered: "Because—bec—because Fenris—R-r-radi-Mons—"

  "What? You know about the Fenris Horde?" Xin's fingers flew across his watch interface, trying to stabilize the program. "No, no, no! Hold on!"

  The hologram reformed for a moment, face flickering. "—couldn't let you—too dangerous—Radi-Mons not supposed to—"

  Another glitch. H?kon whimpered, scales going dark brown.

  "Pappa? Ghost Lady broken?"

  "I'm trying to fix it—"

  [ERROR: Custom Memory v2.7 - Critical Corruption Detected]

  [WARNING: Holographic Projection Failure]

  [Cause: Unauthorized External Access - Source Unknown]

  Xin stared at the screen. "Unauthorized access? From where?"

  The hologram reformed one last time. But something was different. The eyes were too focused. Too aware. The expression wasn't anything he'd programmed.

  "Xin." The voice was wrong. Too real. "You need to listen carefully."

  "Teacher Meiya?"

  "She is closer than you think." The words came fast, urgent. "The woman you're looking for. The answers you need. Closer."

  The projection shattered. Gone.

  [Custom Memory Archive v2.7 - DELETED]

  [Data Recovery Impossible. Recommend re-installation!]

  [Warning: External breach detected. Recommend security scan!]

  H?kon pressed against his chest, scales flickering between brown and gray. "Pappa? What happened to Ghost Lady?"

  "I... I don't know, buddy."

  But he did know something was wrong. That last moment—those eyes, that voice—hadn't been the AI at all. He'd programmed every response, knew the limitations of the code.

  What he'd just witnessed shouldn't have been possible.

  The autocab made its final turn. Through the window, Building 7 came into view.

  Home.

  But Xin wasn't looking at the building. He was looking at a rooftop. Four buildings down. Where a figure stood silhouetted against the rust-colored Martian sky.

  Dark hair. Black clothing. The stance achingly familiar.

  His breath stopped. "Teacher Meiya?"

  The figure turned. For one impossible moment, her green eyes glowed in the darkness. Then she smiled—sad and knowing, the expression he could never quite program because the memory was too precious, too painful, to get right.

  She raised one hand. Not a wave. More like... a blessing? A warning?

  Xin blinked.

  The rooftop was empty.

  "Pappa see ghost?" H?kon whispered.

  "Maybe." Xin stared at the space where the figure had been. "Or maybe I'm just losing my mind."

  "Pappa not lose mind. Mind right here." H?kon tapped Xin's chest with one tiny claw. "HAW-koon checked. Mind still there."

  Despite everything, Xin smiled. "Thanks, buddy."

  He gathered H?kon closer. Tonight, he had this. This small life depending on him. This tiny hope.

  "Pappa?" H?kon's voice was sleepy now, scales fading toward gray again.

  "Yeah, buddy?"

  "HAW-koon sleep now. Is okay?"

  "Totally okay." Xin's voice came out rough. "I'll wake you up when we're home."