Alicechild awoke in an explosion of ‘white pain’. Her eyes opened and the only light available inside the Control Module came from  smoldering fires!

     The forward bulkhead display was gone and only the blackened surface remained. Looking for her status, the Engineer took several moments to realize her Personal Head’s Up Display was not functioning.

     Her breathing was labored and she was having difficulty moving. Looking over to her researchers Hurzex and Gany’s stations, all she saw were the barely recognizable charred remains of their bodies and PBMs.

     Looking to her own body, Alicechild saw the grim picture. She quickly deduced due to her modifications for ‘durability’ allowed her to thus far survive whatever happened. It was then she realized there should be at least one more survivor and she called out in great pain, “H-heeelp! M-mang-gor?”

     Wheezing hard, Alicechild slumped in the chair. She knew it was over. Whatever the reaction was which caused the destruction of the ConMod, no doubt did worse in the Test Chamber. A sudden burst of emotion washed over Alicechild as she thought of the horrible deaths Technicians Joehnz and Amber suffered being closer in proximity.

     Protocol in the event communications were down was the Test Chamber would remain sealed until sufficient scans could be employed to determine the amount of damage or hazardous conditions present. From what Alicechild could see, the ‘damage’ was extensive so no rescue would be attempted in time to save her.

     Judging from the dimming pain, the Engineer didn’t need her PHUD to tell her she was dying. It was a shame she felt for neither what happened to cause the device to react so violently nor what the damn EROS Device was at all would ever be revealed to her. An abrupt copper-colored glow filled the damaged ConMod and Alicechild saw an amazing sight!

     Having passed through the five meter thick Micro-Crotainum bulkhead leaving a molten impression of its shape on the impossibly durable metal composite, the EROS Device floated just out of arm’s reach!

     A fit of coughing threw out a spray of clotting blood and Alicechild knew she was nearly out of time. Though her vision was failing, the Engineer could appreciate the beauty of the Artifact and its simple yet complex design. She was starting to feel ‘cold’.

“Too... bad,” were the last words she could muster.

“Too bad how?”

     A sharp surge of adrenaline caused the dying woman to rouse slightly as she realized the question did not come from her! Fighting to get breath, Alicechild raised her head and put her remaining energy forth to look upon the floating artifact.

“Can you understand me?”

     Nodding and then expelling her remaining breath the Engineer said, “Yessssss....”

     Alicechild slumped down in the damaged chair and felt life leaving her as did the air from her lungs. She was at least pleased to know the EROS Device was not a ‘weapon’, but an intelligent being.

     Her dimming sight was gradually replaced by bright copper light. Initially, pleasant warmth washed over her and then it started hurt... considerably! In an instant, there was a fire within her body that seemed to burn from the quantum level outward... and then it stopped.

     Sitting up in the chair, Alicechild screamed and screamed from the horrific pain only to suddenly realize she no longer felt any! As she tried to get a grip and make sense of what was happening, The Engineer saw her hands and then her body. They were unburned! Gone were the severe radiation burns, shards of Micro-Crotanium flaked from the forward bulkhead, gone was the blood.

     She stood on unsure legs and realized her PBM had been destroyed. Alicechild also noticed the corporate Catalog Number and ID Barcodes etched into her skin were gone as well! It was impossible to remove those markings....

     Looking closely at her skin, the woman had a startling revelation. The red pigment of her skin modified for life under a Blue Giant Star had also been removed! In its place was the original coppery brown melanin pigment received from her DNA donors. The last memory Alicechild had of seeing herself like this was when she was ten ESY’s old and saw her unmodified reflection inside a Genetic Modification Pod for the last time.

“You are not displeased with my ‘repairs’?”

     Standing up Alicechild breathed in deeply of the acrid air and felt ‘wonderful!’ She had always been in outstanding health and maintained top physical condition though it was not required to do so as an engineer. Yet, what she felt now was far beyond mere ‘health’.

     She tore away the ruined remains of her PBM and for the first time since getting fitted for her ‘second skin’, Alicechild was truly ‘naked’. Not a single blemish, scratch nor scar marred the surface of her true skin. Looking to the artifact the Engineer replied, “I am genuinely pleased with your ‘repairs’. Who are you? What are you?”

     With a seemingly bewildered tone the artifact replied, “The others asked those same questions. I find no relevance in them but my ‘name’ is who and what I am. I am that which is and is not. What exists and does not. I am nothing and everything. I am the Trynaught.”

     Unsure as how to interpret the answer Alicechild then asked, “Why have you done this? What do you want from me?”

“I ask the same of you. It was your kind which disturbed me. All I have done is answer your call. That you were initially incapable of understanding is regrettable. Now that we can communicate the question is; ‘what do you want’ Alicechild 88130?”

“What do I want?” remarked the confused woman as understanding filled her mind.

     In order to ‘communicate’ with her, this ‘Trynaught’ had given her an infinitesimal portion of its ‘power’. Through that power Alicechild could see it for what it was; an entity not of this universe, far beyond any living being but also less than the basest lifeform.

     In many respects, the Trynaught knew ‘nothing’. It sought to ‘know’ and experience so upon entering this universe, it waited until ‘something’ came along. In knowing the Trynaught’s desire, the question begged an answer from Alicechild.

“What do I want....?”

     It occurred to her to ask, “Are the others dead?”

     There was a pause and the Trynaught replied, “I am unfamiliar with this. What do you mean, ‘dead’?”

     Moving to the scorched forward bulkhead, Alicechild placed her hand on its pitted surface. She felt the heat from it and realized had she touched it before, it would have burned her hand severely.

“Can you take me into the space beyond this wall?”

     There was another pause and the Trynaught inquired, “What do you want?”

     In less time than it took to think about it, Alicechild stood inside the decimated Testing Chamber. Only the copper glow of the Trynaught illuminated the blackened space. The Engineer could see the sealed door had held and the surface of the Micro-Crotanium walls sagged from what had been a series of explosions and implosions as released energy which had nowhere to go.

     Alicechild then recognized there was no atmosphere in the chamber and she stood naked within a vacuum unharmed! There being no sign of the Biomech Manu’s, the Engineer realized nothing could have survived once the containment fields went down. Only the twisted and melted holding frame remained.

    The Engineer suddenly found herself standing in the once Secure Secondary Monitoring Module. It too was dark and with the light of the Trynaught, she saw the minimal charred remains of the two Technicians Joehnz and Amber embedded in the rear bulkhead wall at odd angles.

     Alicechild felt a sudden jolt of pain in her chest at the sight and said, “They trusted me. Now they’re dead....”

     The glow of the Trynaught increased and it again inquired, “What do you want?”

     With a quizzical tilt of her head the Engineer asked, “What do I want?” An instant later, the same copper-colored glow illuminated the charred bodies and they fell to the smoldering Module’s deck. The miraculously restored Techs began coughing and flailing in pain!

     Alicechild realized there was no breathable atmosphere in the Module. With a thought the pair’s PBM’s reformed, encased them once more and activated for negative environmental conditions. As the pair began to recover, Alicechild found herself back inside the ConMod. With another thought, both Researchers and the Specfor’s bodies were a glow and their PBM’s restored.

     The Engineer looked at her hands and saw no ‘glow’ coming from them. Puzzled, Alicechild turned back to the Trynaught with questions filling her mind.

“Was it you or me who just did these things?”

     The Artifact pulsed with a bright orange glow which the woman took for ‘mirth’.

“These ‘repairs’ of your fellow creatures were not what ‘I’ want.”

     Looking back to her hands Alicechild whispered, “What... I... want....”

****

     Warning klaxons and red warning illumination flashed everywhere in the EXWEPFAC. Director Shasta and Supervisor Ono were hard-pressed to coordinate the gathering of data as to the cause and outcome of the Test Chamber accident.

“Supervisor, what is the progress on the Mech Drones gaining access to the ConMod?”

     Looking at the viz feeds, Ono could only give the same report she’d given ten ESM’s prior. “Director, the Drones are trying to cut directly through the bulkheads. That’s three meters of Chambered and Bonded Micro-Crotanium sir. It’s going to take time for them to cut through.”

     Frustrated the Director snapped, “Why don’t the Damage Control Techs just ‘Wave the Drones into the Module?”

     Shaking her head the Supervisor explained, “Director, the ConMod’s AI is down. Even R&D Prime cannot reboot it. All systems in the Test Chamber are down. We are completely blind as to what happened. The AV feeds cut off an instant after Project Leader Alicechild gave the command to commence.”

     Placing a hand on the Supervisor’s shoulder Director Shasta hissed, “I must know what happened in there!”

     Taking hold of his hand Ono replied, “Well, we know for certain Engineer Alicechild and her Team did not survive. R&D Prime’s models based upon the shockwave which rocked the entire facility suggest an explosion/implosion loop. Somehow two high level containment fields were breached, but the released energy was contained within the Chamber. Though the energy did not escape, the wave resonance from the multiple explosion/implosion events caused the shockwaves.”

     Director Shasta knew the science of the Research Team’s chances of surviving the event and they were ‘none’. He leaned in and gave the Supervisor a kiss on the forehead.

“Aren’t you glad you did not qualify for the project?”

     Looking up at the Director Ono inquired, “So you weren’t trying to punish me by naming Alicechild ‘Project Leader’?”

     This time Shasta kissed the woman fully on the lips then replied, “Punish you? No. Every profile the forty thousand other Project Leaders had the same disastrous results because they all shared the same ‘flaw’ in their personalities... too ‘emotional’.”

     Her eyebrows knitting Ono demanded, “So you’re saying I’m ‘too emotional’ to lead such a high-level project?”

     Nodding the Director remarked, “Yes, that’s exactly what I am saying. Hence you are here with me, not trapped and most likely broken down to the quantum level sealed in a near impenetrable Test Chamber. The project called for someone who was in full control of their emotional state.”

     With surprised mirth the Supervisor pulled Shasta’s hand to her chest and held it there. “You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”

     Placing his dark purple free hand upon Ono’s golden face the Director replied, “All evidence pointed to the possibility. I did have faith in Alicechild and her team being able to make headway with the EROS Device. It was an unfortunate, but necessary risk. If we can at least get in and see what happened or retrieve any surviving data, this fiasco can be salvaged.”

     Giving Ono another kiss Director Shasta reassured her saying, “There’s not much more to do this shift except monitor the progress of the Drones. If nothing else, the Executive Corps at ARES will be pleased to know their investment in the Test Chamber construction was worth all those capital chits they spent.

     I’ll see you after shift. Let’s meet in the CAF 51’s Pleasure Club. I’ve got a compartment reserved. How’s a ‘Roast Fowl Dinner’ sound?”

     Pulling the Director’s hand between her thighs Supervisor Ono remarked, “Wonderful long as it’s actual ‘Cloned Fowl Protein’ and not that replicated ‘Proto-Soy’ garbage. Oh, and there better be cold ‘Stimu-Drinks’....”

****

     Alicechild watched the Director exit Supervisor Ono’s Work Compartment with an unfamiliar level of curiosity. For some reason, neither the pair nor the Facility AI detected her presence.

     Looking to the Supervisor who called up an Entertainment feed alongside the viz feeds of the Mechanized Drones laboring to cut through the Test Chamber Bulkheads, the Engineer assessed her professional rival of the last ten LSY’s.

     With the hood of her PBM down, Supervisor Ono’s thick black hair shone with copper highlights under the compartment’s illumination. Falling in heavy loose curls to her shoulders, the look was made more exotic by the woman’s golden skin. The modification gave her skin the ability to reflect many types of harmful radiation denoting her early life was spent mostly in space.

     Her eyes were also golden and reflected the dancing colors of the e-feed as an old ‘space drama’s’ characters played out their roles. Ono had an excellent physique expected of an MHG-2.3 along with pleasant facial features reminiscent of ‘Pre-Awakening Earth’ Asians.

     It had been no secret Ono disliked Alicechild for many reasons though she had made no effort to give offense. What the Engineer hadn’t suspected was the Supervisor engaging in a sexual relationship with Director Shasta.

“Was it your intellect or ‘interpersonal relationship skills’ which aided you in becoming Research Supervisor?”

     Ono leaped from the monitor chair and stumbled backwards slamming hard against the unyielding bulkhead. Her PHUD showed her vitals as nearly off scale as it confirmed the visual of a tall, naked, brown-skinned woman standing next to the chair.

     Her PBM pumped stimulants into the stunned woman to keep her from passing out from the hard impact. Ono’s PHUD gave a Facial Recognition confirmation and she gasped, “A-Alicechild?”

     With arms now folded across her naked bosom Alicechild queried, “Had I engaged in sexual activities with Director Shasta, would I have been considered to have ‘good interpersonal relationship scores’ and been promoted as you have Supervisor?”

     Ono could not believe her eyes and ears despite her PBM confirming what she saw was ‘real’. “R&D Prime! Confirm presence of Alicechild 88130 in this compartment....”

     Alicechild quizzically looked upwards, but there was no response from the Facility’s Primary Artificial Intelligence.

“It appears, ‘we’ are all who are present.”

     Ono using the bulkhead as support, slowly rose to her feet. Not taking her eyes off the woman who should most certainly be ‘dead’, the Research Supervisor sharply whispered, “H-how did you survive the loss of containment? What happened to your skin? How did you get out of the Test Chamber?”

     The Engineer tilted her head once again and asked, “Are you actually concerned Supervisor? I noticed you made no inquiry of the status of the other members of my team.”

     Ono suddenly felt the need to alert Facility Security as the Junior Researcher took a step towards her. On her PHUD, the graphic for ‘Security Alert’ appeared and then her Personal Display shut down!

     In an instant, the Junior Researcher was upon her! Fearful for her life Ono whined, “What do you want?”

     Giving that same seemingly inhuman smirk which earned her the name ‘Manu Alice’, Alicechild sneered, “Your ‘assistance’ with improving my ‘interpersonal relationship skills’ Supervisor Ono.”

     The Supervisor was suddenly crushed in a powerful embrace as Alicechild kissed her full on the mouth! Though she was a Mod - 2.3, her strength level was not comparable to a 2.6! Yet, her attacker seemed so much stronger than she should be.

     Suddenly, Ono felt the back of her PBM clutched in the Engineer’s hands and heard the impossible sound of it being torn open. Hers was a Standard Grade Personal Body Membrane and it would take someone of at least Modification 3.9 to damage it, let alone tear it apart! She felt it yanked down to the top of her buttocks and then Alicechild’s hands on her naked skin.

     Ono tried to break free of the woman’s grip, but felt her bones protest under the strain. As she grabbed Alicechild’s head and managed to push it back, the Research Supervisor locked eyes with her assailant. A hypnotic copper-colored glow emanated from them and she heard Alicechild say, “What do you want... Karissa?”

     The words flowed into her like warm ‘liquid love’ causing her knees to buckle.  As the PBM fell from her, Ono savagely returned the kiss and pressed herself against Alicechild with frantic strength!

     Never had she felt such passion! No sexual stimulant or Neural Tactile Enhancement program uploaded to her PBM generated such sensation. Merely Alicechild’s hands grasping her rear made her cry out in pleasure!

     The sensation of her body pouring with sweat sliding against another woman was making Ono’s heart race. When Alicechild’s hand slipped between the Supervisor’s trembling legs, an unbridled scream of pleasure erupted from deep within the sexually enraptured woman.

     Ono held on tightly as she uncontrollably humped Alicechild’s hand or any protruding portion of her body! All with every motion causing her to scream savagely as her bestial passion grew....

****

To be concluded....     Go to Part 3   Go to Part 5

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