coming from the resort front in force. Someone else was firing at the military androids who threatened to overtake them and judging from the explosions and the creaking and cracking sounds of the melting sand behind them they had a great deal more firepower.
The Freeground Judiciary Council
None of it was happening as she would have chosen. Ayan couldn't stop thinking about her unique position as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. It was a space reserved for Petitioners to make themselves ready before addressing Freeground's highest court. The dim lighting and dark wood textured walls were made to maintain calm, to quiet the nervousness that rose in most petitioners and it wasn't working. All the events of the last two weeks and the many realizations she'd made since waking filled Ayan's mind, overshadowed by her irrational fear of what the Council would have to tell her.
She was seen as an oddity, a scientific first that was an unwelcome shock to the scientific and medical community. Science fiction had speculated on someone just like her coming along but it was seen as an indirect route to an unnecessary goal. Thoughts of a genetically pure human had been abandoned long ago, when the genome had been mapped and advanced materializers became capable of producing living tissue from a purely digital pattern. No credible scientist or medical professional known in the community thought there was a need for a living, breathing template for a genetically pure human. That was until Doctor Anderson refused to let her go and it was partially that unwillingness that drove him to bring her back to life in a way that he was sure she would have chosen herself.
He was right. If she were given the choice to come back with genetic enhancements or with none at all she would choose the latter. Her life had been plagued by complications and considerations that were the direct results of genetic meddling. The struggle to just feel normal was a constant and as she aged her genetic flaws became more and more apparent until it was evident that she wouldn't live much longer. That was my old life. She reminded herself.
All my pain is gone, I have a long life ahead of me and I can even have children if I like, something that was just impossible before. There are so many possibilities now, I only hope the Council doesn't cut them away. If I could just tell them to put their judgement on hold until I've done everything I'd like then come back when I'm ready… she shook her head at the ridiculousness of the notion. “Pardon me, I know you've been talking about this for two weeks, but could you just stop for a few decades while I go take a tour of the galaxy, maybe find out if I fancy Jake as much as I did Jonas, have a couple children then settle in on a long range exploration vessel before you pass final judgement?” She asked her reflection. Now that's the speech I should be giving today, pity they wouldn't consider it. Funny thing is, aside from the dimpled face in the mirror, blonde hair and a few new curves I feel just like my old self. Healthier, sure, but really if I could convince them there was so little difference. “How do you express that?” she asked herself aloud as she stared into the blue eyes reflected in the mirror.
Less and less she reminded herself that she was the second incarnation of Ayan Rice as her body felt more and more her own. The memories she inherited were filled with medical treatments, collapses and problems she'd never have to worry about again and that was a realization that was still sinking in and she couldn't help but feel new. When Doctor Anderson gave her the digital files containing the time lapsed footage of her in the artificial womb things started to come into focus. The playback was set to some of the ancient Earth music he had played over the thirty years he stood vigil as she developed from just a few cells to a foetus and into a full grown woman.
She couldn't help but watch it on a daily basis for the first week. Doctor Anderson and his colleagues thought it would help with her own mental image, and it did. They were certain that watching that footage would give her the sense that she had been given a second chance, and again, they were right. What they didn't predict were the questions. There were the normal ones; “How did you do it?” The detailed answers to that one were in the medical file, and with the help of a scientific encyclopaedia she was able to figure it out.
The questions that surprised them the most were the ones that came as she paused periods in her late development; “What memory was I reliving when I looked like I was pushing something away?” she asked as she replayed a segment of her growth where she was warding something away with her hands and feet. It turned out to be the memory of an unwelcome pass while she was in a night club on leave.
“What's happening here? I'm curled up, not moving at all.” she asked as she pointed out to a long clip that stretched on for several hours. The answer surprised her, an unwelcome reminder of the friend she had lost after graduating from the Academy. Sylvia, who she had grown up with and had graduated before to join Fleet as an ensign had been accidentally killed while on long range patrol. The memory came back to her then. She laid in her bunk and cried herself to sleep the night after hearing the news. The following duty shift came too soon and she almost didn't show up. That watch was the hardest, and for weeks she was on autopilot, working, studying, sleeping. Eventually she snapped out of it and thinking back she realized it was her work that got her through the grieving period for the friend she still missed.
There were other expressions, positions that she had questions about, but the most important and the last query was brought on by a self satisfied grin unlike any she'd seen. As it turned out that expression was caused by the experience of the Pilot's Ball. Ayan liked the spotlight from time to time, it was true. The Pilot's Ball was an experience she'd never forget, feeling like the center of attention, having the eye of the one person in the crowd you wanted to be near; few people had more than one night like that in their lifetimes.
Jonas had been tongue tied, dazzled. She couldn't help but wonder if she should change her hair colour back to the shade of red it was that night or if she could fit into that white gown. Those thoughts were secondary to the memory of their first kiss, the first time he trusted her with stories of his childhood, of his parents. She missed him and at the same time wondered if Jacob Valance was struggling with the same questions, the same problems she had.
The thought seemed ridiculous somehow. Jonas, or Jake as he was called the second time around, would have no such problems. Heaven knows he wasn't always sure of himself, but if there's any of Jonas in Jacob he's probably gifted with that deep well of strength and resolve. I've never seen someone so kind summon such will and clarity of purpose when it's needed. He's probably past any problems he's had with Jonas' memories if Jake's anything like him. If nothing else I'd just like to hear what kind of advice he could offer. God I hope he's in there, I hope he remembers everything important about what it is to be Jonas. Everything with him feels so unfinished and I miss him. In times like these, when I could use someone just like him, I miss him so much. The recordings of him chasing down bounties, making a grand speech for the Aucharians and other, less flashy security footage came to mind. There's got to be something. He was a bit of a bad boy in sims before we met, always looking for some challenge to overcome, and the more it seemed like someone else couldn't do it, the more he wanted to do it. That white scarf I gave him, in most of the playbacks he still wears it, there's got to be something of Jonas in him, even if it's buried. Still, marks how little I've changed; still heels up for the bad boy in the bunch.
She sighed and fixed herself with a small smile. The dimples in her cheeks were something she was still getting used to along with other little changes in her expressions. Silly girl, pining over someone whose as much fantasy as anything when your future's about to be announced by the highest law in the sector.
Her thoughts returned to the seven judges on the Freeground Nation Judiciary Council, entrusted with protecting and determining foundation laws for all citizens. From what she understood her very existence was a question that was difficult to answer in legal terms. She wasn't a clone, but a new being that had matured from genetically purified stock in a wormhole that allowed time to pass faster inside its influence than outside.
Doctor Anderson and Doctor Milan both visited her every day since she woke to ensure she was well physically as well as mentally. Doctor Anderson was a researcher and medical doctor, the other, Doctor Milan, was a seasoned psychiatrist who had been on board for the thirty year circular trip. They also kept her up to date on how the presentation of her case to the Judiciary Council was going. The fact that she wasn't allowed to attend was beyond frustrating. Even though she already knew the answer, she couldn't help but ask why she wasn't allowed to watch the proceedings; “The Council is judging this based on scientific fact and they believe that it may be difficult to remain objective with you present,” came the predictable answer.
“I'm not just some experiment, I became a person. An actual woman who deserves to know what they're saying, what they're thinking while they make decisions that could determine my future!” she responded
