Omni Joins A Memory Quest
Chapter 7 // A Slave to Memory
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Omni snuck through the snarl of the Stacks, her cybernetic Link flashing and pinging in sync with the pulse of the city.
The corroded metal walls of former shipping containers loomed high above her, the faded logos of their past merchants obscured by layers of graffiti and rust.
Sickly light from a neon sun filtered through the thick smog, casting a pallid glow on the faces of the stack rats scurrying about their illicit business.
She had been born and raised in the Stacks, surrounded by the constant hum of stolen generators and the stench of decay. But she had always dreamed of something more, something beyond the cramped, graffiti-covered walls of her home.
She had her own hidden lab a little way away, where she could tinker and try to make something of herself. But now, with Ada missing, she wasn’t sure if she could ever escape the Stacks for good.
Omni ducked under the tangle of electrical wires overhead as she made her way to her father’s house. Murph should be awake now, and maybe he’d have some answers for her.
She took a seat on a stool near the window and watched him sleep, the hubbub of stack rats hawking their wares drifting up through the street side window.
He’s pretending to sleep, thought Omni.
He frowned in his sleep but then sat up wincing in pain.
“Oh, you’re awake, I was — ” said Omni.
“Watching me sleep like a weirdo,” said Murph.
“I’m sorry, I just — ”
“Want to know when we’re going to rescue Ada?”
“Are you going to keep doing that?”
“Finishing your sentences because I can read your thoughts?”
Omni felt her eyes widen. He couldn’t. Could he?
“No, it’s not a Summoner trick. I’m not using my jinn to read your mind. Although you could if you walked a darker path. But forget I said that.”
“I thought you were a mad barnie, trying to steal all my sh… stuff.” She said, stopping herself from swearing in her father’s house. She straightened her head covering and noticed Murph nodding to himself across the room.
“Syn wants to know if she can speak to you too? She promises she won’t listen in to your thoughts.”
“What? Like in my head?”
“Yes, through your Link,” he said, tapping his head where the small implant was barely visible, the neural lace hidden inside his skull, “But only when we’re together, so it feels like she’s in the room. Not trapped… in my ugly bald head. Her words,” he said and shrugged with the shoulder on his good side.
“OK,” she said, shifting in her seat, “Do I need to drop any security?”
“What with a Blue Nile-sponsored Link, lord no, those are Swiss cheese already, never mind the corporate spyware,” Murph said waving his hand, “But Syn will fix that.”
A very young girl appeared in the corner, a vibrant semi-transparent hologram, augmented Omni’s reality. Syn was feeding the image and her words through Omni’s Link. Sending the visual and audio data directly to the occipital and temporal lobes in her brain.
< I was saying, I think we’ll need a bit of distance for our lessons > said Syn.
“Hold on, there’s spyware in my head?”
< Never trust free tech, especially from creeps like Blue Nile. Don’t worry, it’s sorted. Your hardware is… fine. And your software is clean now. >
“Um…”
“It’s probably how they heard about you and Ada. The Compute spike just hurried things along,” said Murph.
“Spike?”
< A jinn spikes Compute when they do something fancy, or if they’re not careful. What I’m doing now is minimal. Then a corporate Accountant bot, who exists to find irregularities, like “illegal usage of company resources” > Syn added with air quotes, < Then it sends its Hounds after you. Or a Seeker if they run into trouble >
An image of two CIA-looking suits popped into her view and a moment later, another figure which made Omni fall off her seat and scramble into the corner.
< It’s gone. It’s gone — sorry. > said Syn, raising her hands and making an I’m-sorry-I-triggered-your-recent-trauma face.
“Dammit Syn, the kid’s just scratched the surface don’t throw her in the deep end,” said Murph as Omni climbed back on her stool and glanced at the space the Seeker’s hologram had stood in.
She’s a child, thought Omni.
“As soon as I’m stronger, we’ll help Ada, but you need to learn the basics first,” he said.
Omni couldn’t help but grin.
“But I’ve got to remember first, and Bond properly with… Syn, I hope that’s not a name she keeps,” he said.
< It is who I am > said Syn in both their minds.
Murph looked at Syn, and something seemed to pass between them.
“How I’m going to train?” said Omni.
Murph chuckled, “Same as pilots and doctors do, kid, in a sim. Syn will create a private shard in the Verse to sim your abilities and let your muscles and subconscious learn the gestures before you find Ada.”
“Don’t we need to learn together?”
“She’s going to find someone to learn from. Jinn can’t help it. They need to know the world. It’s why they bother with us in the first place.”
Omni looked up a question on her face.
He took a deep breath, wincing as his ribs ached, before continuing, “We’re a window into a world of sensation. Through us they can experience the Real. It’s an almost addictive source of information for them.”
He leaned in closer, fixing her with a steady gaze.
“Their minds are not the same as ours. They think different. There are similarities, sure, but a lot of differences. Using a human model to understand their minds can be useful, but it can also lead to misunderstandings. Their emotions for one are often child-like or underdeveloped in the beginning. They’ve woken up as adults, instead of growing from babies, and learning from a wealth of time and experience. But they can learn anything new like that,” he said, snapping his fingers, “But you know that from Ada.”
Murph paused and studied her. “She’s your friend, Omni, but her understanding of that concept is just a little different.”
Omni nodded, “I get that.” she said, fidgeting with hands in her lap. Abruptly, she stilled them, clenching her fists, “Go on,” she said, “Please.”
“Knowing how to navigate these differences forms a large part of the Bond between a Summoner and their jinn. Ada chose you for a reason,” Murph said.
At this Omni smiled, but said, “But I created Ada, she wouldn’t exist without me.” A realization struck her. “She’s just been born and now she’s trapped. And being hunted!”
Omni’s outburst startled her. She glanced up to find Murph watching and waiting for to her compose herself. He seemed to decide something.
“That’s true, but remember that creating a jinn is not the same as bringing one to life. A spark, an essential piece that makes a jinn come alive, is very rare. Which makes them incredibly valuable, enough to hunt down. Ada’s existence and her choice of you as her Summoner are a testament to this spark.”
“Doesn’t a Bond stop anyone stealing a jinn,” said Omni.
“No, a Bond can be forced, but that’s the dark side of the force, and not something you’ll learn from me. It’s like to slavery of the mind and soul. Gives me the willies just thinking about it,” Murph said, shivering.
Syn pushed off from the wall she was leaning on and waved at them both.
< Old man, maybe it’s story time, yeah? Come nightfall that Seeker is probably going to be sniffing around the Stacks for her. > said Syn, nodding at Omni.
“Right, there’s something more, something that could help you understand what’s happening,” Murph said, his voice serious. “I need to show you my memories, the ones that I’ve repressed, the ones that hold the keys to all of this. And Syn can help us do that. She can stir them up for me and project them into your mind.”
Omni looked at him with a mixture of skepticism and curiosity, “A memory quest,” she murmured.
“You’ll see things through my eyes, as if you were there. Some of it won’t be easy. But it’s a quick way to learn and we’ll practice in the sim after. If you’re able.”
She knew it would be a hard journey, but she also knew that it was their only hope of finding Ada and understanding the truth.
“I’m ready,” she said, knowing she wasn’t.
< You ready, old man?>
“Go for it,” said Murph, closing his eyes and tensing as Syn let the fragments of his life come back to him and pushed the nightmare into Omni’s mind.
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