Clone Girls

"Ugh, my head…"

Ticia slowly woke up with a headache, her head still sleepy.

"Did I drink too much yesterday?… Ugh…"

She tried to recollect her memories of what happened before she got to bed…

"That’s right... I was transferred and then… !!!"

Her memory came back. "Right, the escort mission, then the gas…"

She quickly checked her body, she still had her clothes on, nothing seemed wrong too. She sighed in relief.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, so it wasn’t lethal gas…" She sighed again. "I’m alive…"

She didn’t die. She was  fine somehow. Still, the fact that she nearly died made her heart beat fast. She adjusted her respiration until she calmed down. After a while, and now that she calmed down a bit, she noticed where she was. She was sitting on a bed, which was very soft, probably the softest she's ever laid upon. When she looked around, she noticed closets, a door and a mirror on the wall. There was even a desk with a chair, but there were no windows though. Her plasma rifle laid on a table not far. But she also noticed how clean the room was even though all things inside were white, as if nobody had ever used it before.

"This is… A bedroom?" It was too luxurious and clean to be a cell anyway. This was strange to her, was she still in the abandoned facility? And who brought her here in the first place?

As questions kept popping in her mind, one of her bangs passed through her vision.

"!!!"

Something was wrong, she rushed to the mirror to take a closer look. Her reflection stared back at her with its usual gray eyes.

On a first look, nothing seemed to have changed from the last time she checked, her hair, although a bit tangled, was still her shoulder length hair style. Still, something was wrong.

"Wha- Impossible! How?..."

Her lustrous hair, which she had tainted all black, was back to its original white color with black tips. She had tainted it because it made her stand out. Ticia had never seen or heard of anybody who had the same natural white hair as hers. When she was still a child, people bullied her because of her hair color. she did not know the reason why, and she didn't think people around her knew too. They just bullied her because she was different. Therefore, when she enlisted into the army, she dyed it, and she kept doing it after that. Somehow, she managed to keep her white hair a secret from everybody.

But now, her hair was back to its lustrous white splendor with only the tip of her hair remaining black. She didn't know how this was possible, since she used quite the strong taint. This left Ticia with one more question to her new growing list.

She fiddled with one of her bangs. "...It's real…" She stood there, dazzled in front of the mirror for a while, but then she heard noises from the door. It was opening…

Her instinct kicked in as she quickly grabbed her plasma rifle and pointed it in the direction of the door.

"... What ?"

Surprisingly,  what she saw was a small metallic ball floating in the air entering the room.

"Patient 847 has been confirmed to have awakened. Welcome, Patient 847, would you like to have breakfast?"

"..."

Ticia was on her guard, even though the thing in front of her wasn't human, she did not lower her weapon and kept it pointed at the floating ball. Ticia did not know exactly what model it was but she was sure of one thing, this floating metal ball with eyes was a drone remotely piloted by an AI.

"No answer received from Patient 847. Proceeding with a quick health scan."

Rays of blue light came out of what Ticia thought as the eyes of the AI’s drone. She identified those as the same rays sent during medical check ups when she was injured on the battlefield. She sighed internally. For now it didn't seem to be hostile. Still, she did not lower her weapon. Afterall, the Techno-empire of Philio sent multiple AIs to the battlefield. They were one of the enemies of the Borkian confederation, and she had already met their kind. She remembered how waves of AI controlled robots would rush at her and her comrades. Just remembering the moment when they engaged them. It gave her shivers.

Meanwhile, the AI’s drone  finished its scan.

"Scanning finished. Final results: No anomaly detected. Patient 847 seems to have a slightly higher heart rate. Deduction: Patient 847 seems to feel the emotion called as fear, as a result, Patient 847 is tense. Caution advised: Attending Patient 847 is a priority."

The silence contiued for a while longer, until Ticia finally spoke."...What… are you?…" 

"Answering Patient 847's question: This unit is DD-777-A471. I am the emergency reserve unit in charge of taking care of Cl Installation 3."

"Installation 3? Where is this? How did I get there? Did you bring me here? Also-" Ticia asked multiple questions, before stopping herself in her tracks. Some low quality AIs could not handle multiple questions at the same time and they would overload. Although she doubted it since the drone AI looked as clean and beautiful as the room she was in.

Maybe posing questions once at a time is better. She thought. You never know with those tin cans.

Fortunately for her, the AI seemed to be on the smart side.

"Answering Patient 847's questions in order: Cl Installation 3 is located on the equatorial line of the planet Brelia 7, on the eastern continent. Patient 847 was found in entry 4’s hallway. When the sensors identified Patient 847, they activated the program of emergency reboot. This unit was the only one remaining in working order. This unit found Patient 847 on the ground. After identifying the situation, this unit recognized the cause of Patient 847 unconsciousness being the defensive system's sleeping gas and then proceeded to secure Patient 847 and locate her to a safer place."

"That means I'm still in the abandoned facility if I believe what you’re saying. But something doesn't make sense.” Ticia frowned, weapon still pointed at the flying ball. “Why did you take me in? What do you want from me?"

By posing those questions, Ticia thought she could get more information. Fortunately, I took some lessons in the art of questioning and how to resist torture… Well, seeing how I am treated, I don't think it will come to this.

What she did not expect however, was for the little floating ball to eagerly answer her questions  for a second time.

"Answering Patient 847's questions: Due to Patient 847's corresponding genetic code and the situation in which Patient 847 was found, safety protocols were applied. Safety protocols consist of protecting designated persons."

Ticia nodded, but more questions appeared, what did it mean by her having the correct genetic code? She was about to ask when the AI dropped a bombshell.

"This unit wants Patient 847 to take ownership of Cl installation 3."

"...Huh?"

"Repeating: This unit wants Patient 847 to take ownership of Cl installation 3."

Once again Ticia just stood there, the incomprehension of what the flying metal ball just said was written on her face. When the AI repeated its answer, she annoyingly asked.

"Why would you want me to become the owner of some ruins?"

"Correcting Patient 847, this installation is in perfect condition, it is not a ruin."

That's not what I want to hear! Ticia grew frustrated, but she had to admit that for an abandoned facility, it was way too clean and neatly tidied up.  As if the AI could see her growing frustration, it continued on with its explanation.

"Answer: After proceeding to a scan of the nearby area, no other life form corresponding to the correct genetic code was found. Protocols obligates facilities such as Cl installation 3 to always have an organic owner of the correct genetic code."

"...So this installation came back online because it detected my presence and wanted to make me its owner?"

"Patient 847's deduction is correct."

"What the hell?" Ticia finally lowered her plasma rifle, she believed that the AI wouldn't hurt her. Still, she was confused. Some things did not make sense to her. "I still don’t understand why my ‘genetic code’, as you say, would activate this facility… Just… Why me? What makes me special to you?"

She was only an orphan who grew up in an orphanage and who was later thrown into the street. The only advantages her genetic code brought her was her healthy and strong body and her white hair. …Okay, I might actually have some good genes, but still!

Thinking back, she never fell ill. She also had stronger natural healing than most. And… She had to admit that she had a nice body and a beautiful face, which was the main reason why Felgoron wanted to make her his mistress in the first place.... Maybe she really had special genes?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the drone’s answer.

"Answer: Specific code is needed to activate Cl installation 3 and all other Cl installations made by the creators. Candidates need to possess two genetic traits. The first one is to have natural white hair with black tips. The second is to possess gray eyes. Pre-made protocols require those genetic traits to use Cl installations most efficiently."

"My eyes and my… hair?" Ticia was very surprized by this piece of information. Never had she thought that her white hair, which had caused her so much trouble, would end up saving her life.

"Requesting answer: This unit wants patient 847 to take ownership of Cl installation 3."

"Uhm, could you wait a moment, please?"

"Advise: acquiring ownership of the facility is a priority to move on to other activities."

"...Haaah…" She sighed, it would seem like the AI wanted her to answer right now. Even though it asked for her permission, the AI seemed set on making her the owner. She wasn’t really thrilled about it, but then what. It’s not like she could just go back outside, she would probably be killed by those escort guys, and returning to her old unit was not an option. Besides, she did not possess relatives, nor any attachment to a specific place either.

"Alright." She put down her gun. "Guess I have no choice but to accept." She looked straight in the blue eyes of the drone. "DD-7-something-something."

"Correction: This unit’s name is DD-777-A-471"

"Right, right, whatever, DD-something as you said. I’ll accept your offer."

"Patient 847’s answer has been acknowledged.  Updating Patient 847 to owner status… Please provide a drop of blood."

A trap door opened on the side of the drone, and a small, mechanical arm came out. At the end of it, Ticia saw a thin metallic stem. Under this stem, there was a small tube. Ticia immediately knew what she had to do. She raised her right index finger, and pierced the tip on the thin metallic stem. Just as she thought, the metallic stem was a needle. The tube then filled rapidly with her blood. When the tube was nearly full, the drone retracted its mechanical arm back inside its body.

"Checking genetic code from sample… Genetic code valid… Unlocking all restrictions… All functions unlocked…  Cl Installation 3 is now preparing to begin production."

The floating ball began trembling. Ticia could see its eyes lighting up like a loading function. Strangely enough, she found that cute.

The drone then asked her a new question, and a blue holographic panel appeared in front of her.

"Please insert your name."

"Ticia."  She said, not even touching the panel.

"...Please write your name on the panel presented in front of you."

The AI corrected itself, which made Ticia say sarcastically. "You’re a pretty advanced AI, from what I see, and yet you need me to write it down for you? I could just spell it to you too, you know?" 
Usually, just spelling the name would have been enought to most AIs exept older designs, from what Ticia had experienced.

"Please write your name on the panel presented in front of you."

The Ai simply repeated itself.

"Fine I get it, what a troublesome AI…" Ticia sighed, she then wrote her name on the holographic panel.

"Acknowledged. Owner's name has been successfully registered within the database. Authentication process has been successfully completed. Welcome, owner Ticia."

The drone happily buzzed as the loading animation finished, or at least that’s what Ticia thought.

"Good for you." She smiled a little. "Now then, I still have plenty of questions to ask you, can you answer them?"

"This unit is happy to answer."

The drone blinked its eyes. Ticia nodded.

"Good. Now, could yo-*grumble*" Her stomach made a loud noise. A small silence was made as Ticia became embarrassed, her cheeks quickly changing to a red color.

"Proposition: Would owner Ticia like to eat at the cafeteria within the installation first?"

"... Lead the way."