Meeting with Borealis (Page 164)

~~~(POV: Aurora)~~~

~~~(Location: The Nexus of Knowledge, Primordium Prime)~~~

"Where the fuck did he go!? He touched it, and he was taken! Do you have any readings from what's going on in there!?"

Durado yelling at me is not helping this sense of... Panic and Fear... Emotions that I've never experienced before... The thought of losing Scott... It makes me feel hollow and destroyed...

"There is no need to panic. Scott is just learning."

Durado and I look toward the source of the voice, and there is a holographic woman walking into the room. She looks exactly like me and has a more developed body... I'm still growing compared to her... She's Borealis, my mother.

"It's the whole reason that he has the quest to come here. If he's to undo all the failures that The Primordium has done, he must know his people's history. He's the last of us, after all."

Durado quickly draws his Blaster and points it at the AI, but she snaps her fingers, and his weapon falls apart in his hand.

I don't waste any time, and I erect a barrier around The Nexus of Knowledge since Scott is in there, and I jump from the terminal and make my holographic body bigger. Similar in size to her. She's a bit taller than me, and I'm a little immature compared to her developed feminine figure.

"Stop right where you are, Mother. I don't know what your intention is now that you're here. But I won't let you hurt Scott."

When I first met her, she helped me. But The Patient Observer has left a bad taste, and I'm on guard against all constructs that might do harm to Scott.

"You seem to love the boy deeply..."

Her words stumble my thoughts, and I have to take a second to refocus. I didn't think I'd be called out to blatantly like that, but I've realized the feelings that I'm developing are love. And they're for Scott. I do feel a little ashamed... I know this isn't what I was programmed for...

"Don't feel bad about it, Aurora. After I spent time with Transcendent Builder Eternal Acuity, I gained feelings for him too... It's something that Primordium AIs can't avoid. Falling in love with The Primordium that we're assigned to help and protect..."

She shifts her focus to the barrier that I've erected to protect Scott, but I don't know how effective it'll be against her. She's superior to me. If only I had the same knowledge base and time she's had... We'd be on even ground.

"Well, this is all wonderful and shit, but you'll have to fuck off, holographic lady. We're here to find an answer to stop the Parasite and The Primeval Inherent from killing us all."

An angry look flashes across my mother's face, but it takes its gentle look after a moment of regaining her composure.

"Ahh... Durado... You don't know how lucky you are... To step foot on The Primordium Homeworld. This is something no creature other than Primordium has accomplished."

Durado just scoffs, but I can tell he's tense and on guard now that his Blaster is a pile of parts.

"I'll let your blatant disrespect slide for now, but don't you forget that I could destroy you with a snap of my fingers. And my daughter's disdain for you will make sure no one helps you."

She looks back at me, and I don't know what to do. I don't know what she's planning.

"While Scott is busy, we must talk about a threat that is coming here. You can't use the portal to The Keynote Installation. Not with what's coming."

~~~(POV: Scott Autumn)~~~

~~(Location: Inside The Nexus of Knowledge, Primordium Prime)~~~

"Patient Observer, do you know what we've limited your access to the Installations, but not Aurora?"

Another recording with The Patient Observer and Temperance Against Adversity.

I've learned that constructs like The Patient Observer and Borealis can't access The Keynote Installation or The Coda Arrey and its Installations.

But Aurora is special... It's something that Patient Observer isn't happy about.

"No, Temperance Against Adversity... Giving a construct that much power goes against all protocol."

I figured there was a lot of history and things to learn, but I never imagined that it'd be so detailed. Seeing actual recordings is helping paint a perfectly actual timeline for me. To others, it'd be jumbled.

To a Primordium, it's childs-play to put all this together.