“I need to head to the research building. There is a project I have to attend to.”
Torun raised his brows. “I thought we could celebrate.”
She snorted. “We celebrated yesterday in front of the researchers.”
“I thought we could celebrate as a team.”
“As soon as I check on this project.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “This is really important to me.”
Tycho was already driving. “To the research centre we go.”
She paused and then said, “Wait. Take us to Blind Date Corporation. That way, we won’t need to use a portal.”
Ryma asked, “We were going to use a portal?”
“Yeah, but out of everybody who was in that room, this is the group I trust with what I am going to show you.”
She gave them the coordinates, and Tycho headed for her building. Now that they knew she was the owner of Z-Tech, things made a lot more sense, she could tell. Tycho’s next words confirmed it. “I know you were a developer for the peacekeepers and the teams, but when did you open Z-Tech?”
“When I was fourteen. Susara’s parents were killed shortly afterward.” She sighed. “That is what started all this.”
They pulled up in front of the building, and she got out, squared her shoulders, and headed for the main entrance. The team was behind her, and they went through the lobby, nodding to security on their way to the executive lift.
It was funny to have them all in the lift. “This is the tightest fit I have ever had with you three.”
They chuckled, and Torun pulled her against him. “Why are we going down?”
“Because I picked this location perfectly. A secure spot was needed.” They went down sixty feet, and then, the doors opened to Zera’s private lab.
Chapter Nineteen
“Holy gods.” Tycho stared as they exited, and some of the most exotic tech on the planet was laid out before them.
“Yeah, don’t peak too soon.” Zera went to a wall with a huge metal door and used her hand, eye, tongue, and vocal registry. “Time to wake up, Dainty.”
The door clicked and slowly opened. The vault opened, and the team members behind her stared in shock at the tube and the two dozen recumbent beds with the bodies of Susara on them.
Torun asked, “Zera, what is this?”
“This is Dainty’s true activation. She started to make copies of herself when she activated. They were living bodies but not awake or aware. It wasn’t until she was killed with our parents that we understood what they were for. The oldest body got moving, but she was missing her memories, so I found a mind transfer active and hopped through them. After that day, I kissed her forehead and downloaded her mind once or twice a week.”
Torun was staring. “I have seen you do that. So, Susara is alive?”
“She is. Her heart beats, her body moves, and I just have to give her her mind back. So, we are here today to get me my sister back.”
Ryma looked around. “How many backups does she have?”
“Here, twenty-four. Around the world. A few more.” She laughed. “Before you ask, they age as she ages.”
“That is so odd.” Tycho looked into one of the enclosed beds and looked at the empty shell. “Why couldn’t you just upload her psyche into her empty body?”
“The connection between body and soul was broken. When the doll maker did his work, he shredded through memory engrams, shorted out nerves, and gave her a dying brain. There was no coming back from that.”
She triggered the tank to flush the fluid that the body had been in, and when the body was curled on the empty grill, she had the tube rise.
“What are you doing?”
“Removing the electrodes that have been helping her with muscle tone. One time I had to do this, and she just flopped around for a week. So, now I have a series of electrodes that I put in, and it runs her body through an exercise regimen. She’s still weak, but she will be able to walk with help.” Zera went to a cupboard and pulled out an adorably soft blue suit with rigid struts in it.
Torun asked, “What is that?”
“It’s a walking suit.”
Tycho looked at it. “I have seen those in hospitals for paralyzed victims. They can get them up and around until a healer for their issues can be located. It keeps their organs healthy.”
“And handles waste until muscle control can be regained.” Zera set it down near the body that was sleeping peacefully.
She picked up her sister and carried her to a cleaning station, washing and drying her before setting her in a chair. Zera noticed that she had an audience. “Can I get some privacy?”
The team said, “No.”
She snorted. “Fine, I guess I did invite you down here.”
She sat next to Susara and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She exhaled, and her mind expanded to let the backup of Susara flow into her. The data had already been updated by the machines. This was to restore her soul.
Susara was still for a moment, and then, her eyes moved, and her lashes fluttered open. “Zera! How long have I been gone?”
“Just over a week.”
“How much time did I miss before upload?”
“Two days, including the day that you died.”
“Aw, geez. I am so sorry. Hopper, why are there three team members looking at me?”
“It has been a helluva week. Oh, and all our stuff burned, except for what I put in storage. The house is gone.”
“What? Damn. Is my suit ready?”
“Of course, bossy boots. It’s good to have you back.” She stroked the candy-coloured hair away from her sister’s face. “I missed you.”
Zera took a deep breath and continued the briefing, “Oh, the Blind Date Corporation had been exposed because of a mouthy purple jackass who shall not be named.”
“Zera, I am right here.”
She ignored him.
“How is
