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RECOVERED MEMORY; CLOVIS-43

Showing the history of RECOVERED MEMORY; CLOVIS-43 across 1 version
From 2020.11.10 (Beyond Light) to 2021.07.06 (Season of the Splicer)

Name

  • RECOVERED MEMORY; CLOVIS-43

Description

  • JUNE13/3:46PM
  • "So it's come to this," I say, trying to be cheeky.
  • "Come to what?" Elsie asks.
  • "I didn't bring you back to Exoscience just to take a stroll through a snowstorm," I say.
  • She laughs. "No, I didn't think you did."
  • "I have a gift for you. Through those doors."
  • "He's through those doors."
  • "Exactly." I pat her on the shoulder before we walk inside to find the Clovis AI all alone.
  • "If it isn't the saviors of Europa. Done cleaning up the rest of the colony?" the AI asks.
  • "Just about," I say, nodding to Elsie. The AI knows what's coming.
  • "You don't have to do this, Clovis-1."
  • "It's 43, now. And my name isn't Clovis. Not anymore," I say and look to Elsie. "Do the honors?"
  • "Gladly." She steps toward the main console. Scans in.
  • "But I—" he tries to plead. We're not letting his snake oil words land on slick ears ever again.
  • She enters a series of complex code into the console. Then says the final magic words. "Deactivate artificial intelligence."
  • The light in the giant Exo's eyes goes out. If Elsie could smile, I know it would be huge.
  • "Well then," she says, "can we finally get off this icy hell moon?"
  • Not quite yet. "I've got one last request."
  • ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • "You're sure about this? "This is the last of the radiolarian fluid, you know," she says.
  • Many of the souls we lost at the hands of the Vex and the terror of Clovis were gone for good. But we managed to bring a few back. Got them all off-world. Now it's just us. Soon to part ways forever.
  • I get her apprehension. Elsie finally gets a grandfather worth her time, and now I'm about to get a fresh reboot. She deserves to know why.
  • "When we added Bank E1-815 to your current imprint, all those memories came back to you. About your family. Sisters. Brother. Mother and father. About the pain. The loss. The guilt."
  • "Yeah…"
  • "Elsie, I caused that."
  • "You're not him."
  • "I'll always be the ghost of him. No matter how hard we try to ignore it. And you… you deserve to be free from that person."
  • She bows her head, which tells me she agrees. It pains me to no end. There was a world where we were a happy family. This isn't it. We both know it.
  • I place a tablet in front of her.
  • "What's this?"
  • "It's his journal. Yours if you want it. Lock it away if you don't. It's mostly encrypted, anyway. I read a bit. The kind of person I was… fear driven. Obsessed with legacy. I won't become that. Not again. It's time for you and your siblings to rebuild the Bray legacy the right way. Or tear the whole damn thing down."
  • I can see how badly she wants to. Maybe she will someday.
  • "All right then," she says.
  • I don't really know how to say goodbye. But she does. She pulls me in for the first hug I've ever had. Holds me tight. We share the moment. A reverie of what could have been. A passing glance through the looking glass.
  • Wish I could shed a tear right now. Doesn't matter—I feel it anyway. She does too.
  • "Do me a favor?" I ask.
  • "Anything."
  • "That nickname the other Exos gave me… add it to my imprint? With my number?"
  • She laughs. It's good to hear it one more time. "You really like it, don't you?"
  • "It's growing on me."
  • "Okay then, Banshee."
  • I step into the pod. Doors close. I give her a little wave.
  • Let's see what 44 has in store.

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