July 23^rd, 2085, 21:20h – Eria’s Cottage, Mistress’ Bedroom

Ruby was eased awake by a NATO doctor in Eria’s bed. “Easy. Easy…” The man held Ruby steady as the woman tried to centre herself.

“How long?”

“Approximately 27 hours. We had to rebuild a significant part of your brain.”

Ruby felt her head, and noticed she was completely bald. There had been incisions, but the scars had been mostly healed post-surgery. “Fuck.”

“I just finished examining your latest scan and felt you were ready to reawaken. My name is Doctor Hardison, I arrived earlier today with an attachment more capable of helping you and the situation.” Dr. Hardison turned to his laptop and typed in a few observations, before calling up the latest scan. “We were able to use your exit scan from ’43 to recreate the damaged parts to your necessary functions, however the connections will need time to integrate. Your frontal lobe cognitive abilities received little damage, but we repaired what little there was. Temporal lobe took damage as well, but we patched that up but it’ll take time to heal. Your memories, however, can’t be reconstructed and took the worst of it. I’m afraid you might have lost certain things, although we can’t determine what.”

Ruby noticed that she did have an extensive number of memories, Eria must have lifted the restriction. “Eria, where is she? Is she…”

“She’s fine.” The doctor paused, realizing that in military terms that could mean a lot of things. “She’s a free woman. You’ll learn more at your debriefing, but she has thus far been nothing but cooperative.”

“I want to see her.”

“After your debriefing.”

“Then let’s do that now.” Ruby struggled to get out of bed, Dr. Hardison had to help her to her feet. “Fuck, was I naked the whole-time you guys were there? And here?”

“Eria left your clothes on the chair by the Salon.” Since its invention, the ‘Salon’ was a machine which appeared like a strange hair blower found in Old World salons that could rapidly grow hair in nearly any colour and style. “How do you feel, motor and cognitive-wise?”

“Like crap, but I’ve been worse. Been through worse.”

“Not like this. Your medical records indicate you’ve taken your share of head wounds, but nothing like this. Doctor’s orders are to move carefully, don’t drive for a couple weeks, and be understanding if you have difficulty recalling information.”

“Trust me.” Ruby laughed slightly, “Got a lot of experience with that lately.”

“The briefing is in Eria’s office, third floor.” Dr. Hardison extended his hand and Ruby managed to shake it properly.

“I’d have been fucked without NATO medical corps fifty times over, thanks again, Doc.”

“It’s what I do. Not every day you get to return a certified dead woman to life, so to speak.”

The doctor left the room, leaving Ruby alone. She caught glimpse of guards standing outside, but that wasn’t a surprise. She dressed in the ‘fashion catastrophe’ that she arrived at the cottage in. Pulling up her naturally distressed jeans, sliding her signed Maelstrom shirt over her grey bra, fitting on her combat boots, while trying to avoid looking in the mirror. To fix that, she sat down in the Salon’s chair and brought up the menu. At first, she was going to restore the look she had arrived in, but instead decided that after everything she’d been through, she’d play around with the colours and style. Settling on a one-sided undercut, long straight hair, all in a midnight violet colour which shimmered in the light.

The process took twenty minutes, as the machine reached down with follicle stimulators and localized anesthetics and began to synthesize new hair which was permanently dyed how Ruby ordered it. It was time enough to think, and Ruby found herself trying to recall the most important and/ or esoteric facts of her life, namely safe combinations, methods of approaching targets, her time with Eria, Mikea, and Toronto Servos- with everything she’d done there…

The Salon dinged and Ruby was immediately on her feet, pushing open the door to find a man in a very different uniform waiting for her. It was a man’s outfit of an undershirt, vest, slacks, shoes, etc. however while the vest was NATO blue, the rest was black and white. The crest on his vest, coupled with the SMG slung down in front of him, meant that he wasn’t part of the taskforce, but personal security for someone important.

“This way, Sky Marshal Aarre.” Ruby followed him up a flight of stairs, which provided mildly difficult. Her body was tired, but while the doctor was extracting the IVs from her body, Ruby noted they had been feeding her nutrients and water, so that wasn’t a problem at least. They reached the door outside Eria’s office, and two men in identical uniforms stood on either side. One of them opened the door for Ruby, but none of them followed her inside.

Ruby looked around the office, it was incredibly well organized and clean, as it should be as Ruby suddenly recalled having to extract every fibre of dust from it. Books lined both the left and right walls; cases stuffed full of books with many titles Ruby couldn’t even understand. There was a large window, overlooking the path to the beach and the lake, partially obscured by trees and the dusk, and a man in a NATO dress uniform looking out over it. A young man, early-twenties, and while Ruby couldn’t see his face, she’d had enough experience identifying people to get the impression that this highly protected person must have recently emerged from a regeneration pod in the last few years.

His voice, she knew that voice. Even before he reached the end of his first sentence and turned around, she knew that voice. “If only… if only I got here sooner, I could have seen fucking Inkeri ‘The Barbarian’ Aarre in cute little fox ears, and a plush bunch of tails.” The man turned, wearing a military uniform covered in ribbons and medals, with two stars adorning his epilates, and the insignia of NATO’s Marine Corps on his right shoulder. When he knew Ruby recognized him, he continued to tease her, “So kawaii!”

“Bitch, I was adorable!” Ruby genuinely laughed. “Fucking Rigel Niagara, they made you a two-star general?! Oh, shit…” Ruby saluted but Rigel waved it off.

“Yeah, there’s no protocol for addressing others during… whatever the hell this is. To every NATO personnel not on this property or below my security clearance, you’re still ashes interred at headquarters. You even have a plaque in the lobby.”

“Then how about I call you Nigel? Because that’s what we kept calling you for a fucking year before your got up the courage to correct us.”

“Rigel is fine, Inkeri.” Both still stood on opposite sides of the desk.

“Goddamn, two-star general… Last time we talked was the night before graduation. We were laying on top of the facility, looking at the unfucked sky, blazed out of our minds… I don’t even remember what we talked about.”

“Neither do I, but I’m sure it was deeply profound and completely incomprehensible. Still, it’s regrettable we got split up after the ceremony. I must say, I figured you had a kinky side but not this kinky. Dolls? I just today learned what those were because of this. Thank you; I really, really needed to know the inner workings of all that. You’re into some hardcore fucked up kinky shit, Inkeri.” Rigel sighed. “Our cohort was probably full of surprises like this, we’d probably have gotten to learn them if…”

“Half of them weren’t sent on that mission that ended in 61% fatalities and 20% casualties.” Ruby sighed as well. “But that’s ancient history.” She noticed two guns on the table, an M1911 and her M1911A1, which was resting on a copy of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain with a NATO blue ribbon bookmark sticking out of it part way down. “Is this when I get my gun back?”

Rigel sat down in a far more comfortable chair than Ruby did and motioned to the two pistols. “They say the M1911 forget to become obsolete. When Eria brought your sidearm to me, it made me ponder why people like us overwhelmingly choose to carry one. Perhaps we can relate.”

“Still, you never thought about getting the A1?”

“The difference is nominal, and besides, check the stamps. Mine was one of the first off the line.” Ruby shuddered slightly as he said that. “Brain acting up?”

“Something Xavier Wolff said to me before some shit happened.”

“That’s as good as any segue into the debriefing.” Rigel brought out a folder, it was clasped shut and marked in bold red letters: ‘FOR SM. INKERI AARRE’S EYES ONLY – BURN AFTER READING’. Ruby had been through enough debriefings to know she should open the folder and start reading while Rigel spoke, it was filled with details of the incident, but she was more inclined towards Eria’s file. “The facts of NATO Security Incident No. 0590-C. Dr. Piper can fill you in on the details of the device’s extraction if you wish, but we’ll focus on what happened after the fact. The Cybernetic Interface Device was created by a Kurdish company, acquired by Second Sun during a liquidation of assets, and sat dormant in storage within a secure Nova Scotian storage facility owned by Second Sun for four years. During that time, an unconfirmed person accessed and reprogrammed five of the devices to have a secondary function which would activate upon detecting only your biometric signature. These devices were delivered to Dr. Piper, who we believe did not know of their secondary function, on May 17^th of this year. The device’s secondary function was active the moment Dr. Piper implanted it into you, but the attack took time to prepare, and it waited until you were dormant to begin its assault. Its goal was to access your long-term memories and broadcast them to a currently unknown location. I would like to hear your thoughts.”

Ruby rubbed her temples, there was still pain and reading was only making it worse. “May 17^th was… on the 1^st of that month I was invited to Xavier Wolff’s estate. During that time, he used a prototype device developed at a Dollmaker house in Montréal to take control of my body. If he wanted to copy my biometric signature, that would have been the time, and that lines up with the timeline.”

“You expect Mr. Wolff as well? Was there anyone else at the estate?”

“Servants, Dolls, prisoners, slaves, Second Sun’s C-Suite including Eria.”

“Did Dr. Piper assist in this other, ‘mind control’ device being implanted in you?”

Ruby sighed, “Yes, however I believe she did so because Xavier was her superior and present. She apologized for her part in it, and I believe she was genuine. Had she not participated, Xavier may have become suspicious of her loyalty. He’s a dangerous man, and what’s happened here is libel to put her in jeopardy. What’s going to happen to her?”

Rigel saw the pain Ruby was in and tried to alleviate her concerns. “Within the past twenty-seven hours, Dr. Piper has provided us with more credible information on Second Sun than our moles have in a decade. Throughout the day, I have been receiving confirmations from NATO Intelligence that her intel has not only proved valid but has filled in some gaps in our knowledge of Second Sun’s operations, both within and outside NATO borders. Her interrogation was less an interrogation and more a volunteered detailing Second Sun’s undeclared acquisitions, involvement in Africa, Mr. Wolff’s psychology, theories on the incident, its military assets within Africa, and current business goals.” Rigel could see some relief on Ruby’s face. “When the intel team began verifying her information, we requested that she formally become a NATO asset, however she declined, fearing for her and your safety. Instead, she has been elevated to the level of TOI [Trusted Outside Individual] and I have dropped all pending charges against her. She has security clearance TOI-2, and this mission has received Top Secret classification.”

“Make it TOI-4 or even 5.” Ruby insisted. “She’s some kind of super genius, she will help you more with it.”

“I will take that under advisement, pending the intel team’s official report. Dr. Piper provided data diskettes that will take time to secure and verify, but there appears to be several exabytes of data on each one.” Rigel leaned forward, hands together. “She is adamant that Mr. Wolff carried out an attack on NATO security last night. This assertion is controversial. You haven’t been privy to any NATO intelligence since May 2^nd, 2041. You possess a much larger knowledge of NATO’s military than anyone within the general public, but your launch codes, knowledge of base locations, specifications of hardware, etc. are all outdated by decades. It’s unconfirmed whether the device was able to transmit what it wanted to find or not, however we do not believe it was. Still, while you still hold valuable NATO knowledge, most of it is invalid today. Anyone attempting to use your access codes would immediately trigger a security lockdown. Do you believe Mr. Wolff was behind the attack, and do you believe whoever was attempted to access the valid knowledge you do have about NATO?”

Ruby was adamant about it being Xavier. “He was the one who acquired the device used to violate me, and now apparently steal my biometric signature. He was the one that orchestrated its insertion. The CEO of a company owns their warehouses and could have easily tampered with the devices, even in full view of their employees and security.” Ruby tried to think straight, trying to suss out the answer to the second part of that question. “As for what he was after, NATO intelligence is still the obvious choice. I have a lot of skills and knowledge of NATO operations, but you’re right, I don’t have any valid keys or anything that would immediately threaten you…” She wondered aloud, “What if it was something else?”

“And what would that be?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea. The most valuable memories I have involve NATO, so yeah- I’d still consider it an attack. Did you find out where the signal was going?”

“To a relay, which had self-destructed before our team arrived. We believe there was likely a network of them, and that after a prolonged period where no data was sent, they destroyed themselves to evade detection. A small team recovered a second relay, destroyed exactly like the first. Both detonated in a way that their electronics were obliterated, and there was evidence that those were hit by an EMP before the explosive blast to ensure they were made worthless.” Rigel had to admit, “Mr. Wolff is not only a powerful man, but also a hero to billions. He is the ‘saviour of ITER’ in the wake of K36, and his fusion technology has transformed how we live, and saved innumerable lives. We cannot act on him unless there is a direct line between him and the attack, which as of this moment does not exist. Not to mention that he has an entire country in Africa, which complicates any strike by NATO. We have no jurisdiction on that continent.”

“Vigilance is a virtue…” Ruby shrugged. “So, what happens to us now? I guess I should thank you, I wasn’t sure if anyone was going to show up last night.”

“Being Sky Marshal Aarre still has its perks.” Rigel sat back down, running his hands over the chair’s shoulders. “Like how our moles in the RCMP tainted evidence brought in against Toronto Servos before they could be used against you.”

“You deliberately invalidated evidence for Ruby Eve? Wait, the RCMP was investigating us?”

“It was hardly difficult for our people on the inside, more of a lunch break diversion than anything. Still, yes, the RCMP has twice attempted to build a missing person’s case against Toronto Servos.”

“I thought you didn’t know what I did.”

“Didn’t need to.”

“Why did you stop them?”

“Because Ruby Eve used to be Sky Marshal Inkeri Aarre; our moles don’t know that, their orders are only to ensure that your business functions as it pleases.” Rigel smiled, “Ms. Eve is an upstanding NATO citizen, patriotic to her core, and whose business contributes more than its required share to the wellbeing of the state and its local communities. If a few… dozens of people become… Dolls, as you call them? If NATO ain’t hurt, NATO don’t care. The human life lost to Toronto Servos is a mere write-off compared to how you helped create the NATO Superstate, plus everything else that came before that, but people really like focusing on the bombastic set-pieces of our careers.”

Ruby sat quietly and gathered her thoughts, before rising to her feet and dropping the file into a standard NATO burn container. “I’d like to see Eria now.”

“She’s down by the beach, with Field Commander Jarl. They’ve been together all day.” Rigel noted the concern on Ruby’s face. “Eria yay Jarl almamáx als almadöt.” He told her that they were becoming good friends but weren’t in love. “Debriefing completed. We plan to be extricated from this place within the hour, whereupon the license of ownership of this land will be transferred back to Dr. Piper.”

Standing to his feet, he stuck out his hand and Ruby shook it firmly. With his other hand he slid Ruby’s M1911A1 and the book towards her. “The holster’s to your right.” Ruby grabbed it from a hook on one of the bookshelves. “Unless something cataclysmic happens, this is goodbye again. At least this time we’re sober enough to say it.”

“I don’t know, I really liked that night. Remember when the sky didn’t twinkle with the death of Humanity’s dream of reaching beyond this world?”

Rigel shrugged, “I think K36 saved us- not the six billion that died, but the five billion that lived got to build a better world. We were freed from the chains of the old one.”

“And they call me callous.”

“Only if you don’t agree.”

Ruby scoffed, laughed, “Fuck you, you little shit…”

“I thought so. Dismissed, your girlfriend’s probably worried sick about you… And you do know, if it wasn’t made obvious already, you could come back. With one stroke of my pen, you and Dr. Piper could have your choice of postings, together. She has more degrees than a thermometer, wherever she goes she’d be running the place bigger and better inside a month.”

“It’s been nice to be back, for a day. But I left because my work for the state was done, and it was time for me to explore what was out there.”

“And make people into kinky robot slaves.” Rigel reminded her. “Slavery is illegal, but since technically all the evidence of what you produce is of cybernetic organisms which aren’t protected by NATO’s constitution… We’re giving it a pass. You kinky, weirding me out a little, bitch.”

“You of all people should know what I’m about. It wasn’t a secret my joining the academy was a sentence, not a choice. You all knew I was fucked in the head from day one.”

“But you still served NATO, better than practically anyone else.”

“And now I want to be Ruby Eve.” Ruby tried to explain, “I spent over sixty years trapped in this cycle of violence and… then got back into another one, but the second time it was my decision to make. I made the decision. Have I not done enough for you to respect that?” Ruby donned her holster and equipped her pistol, while taking the book even if she felt it was an odd present.

“You’ve done than any NATO citizen could ever be asked for, more than a thousand ever could… It was nice to see you again, Barbarian.”

“Likewise, Nigel.” Ruby smiled, stood at attention and saluted Rigel. “General.”

Rigel nodded respectfully to her, “Sky Marshal.”

Before meeting with Eria, Ruby quickly stashed the book in the glove compartment of her car. She hadn’t opened it, but if Rigel felt it was important enough for her to have, she’d take it. She had never read the novel, it wasn’t a staple of Canadian curriculums (and even then, she’d likely have tried to find a summary online). Regardless, it was something else to put on her bookshelf, although it’d be out of place beside the fetish magazines, and vinyl records which packed the thing. She’d place it on top somewhere, to remind her of Rigel and her time at the academy. Maybe he had a fondness for the book and wanted to pass it along, that wasn’t uncommon. He seemed like the type to appreciate Mark Twain.

The night sky was dark, the moon had only begun to wax, but enough light shown from the faint lights of the Earth, and distant (likely dead) stars, to show faint glimmers of the quadrillions of pieces of debris orbiting Earth which imprisoned them on that small spec of dirt drifting amidst the cosmos. The sight helped remind everyone who looked up to see the apocalypse. On January 1^st, 2036, at 00:23 EST the Old World died, nearly on cue as if 2036 intended to make every year before it look like an uneventful, mundane paradise. Within 24 hours, a billion would be dead, coastal cities in China, the United States, Canada, and some inland in Eastern Europe would be obliterated by short-range nuclear missiles, after every ICBM which launched became part of the ‘halo’, what the debris cloud around the planet would be called. The world ending weapons hit low Earth orbit and were obliterated by the debris, ending fear of them forever.

World War III wouldn’t start and end within 20 minutes as had been predicted, but instead see literally thousands of smaller conflicts break out, as all out ballistic nuclear hellfire which kept Mutually Assured Destruction in place was clawed off the table. Some conflicts were over quickly, others raged for years, but five years of Russian and NATO aggression finally ended on May 1^st, 2041, at 22:10:49 GMT+3, by her hand. NATO’s superiority of the northern hemisphere was (mostly, aside from a few relatively southern nations and parts of what was the United States) established. The Third World War ended, with five billion survivors from the eleven billion alive when K36 occurred. In a strange way, Kessler’s Syndrome may have been an apocalypse that saved them, as it made the total extinction of the Human race at the hands of thermonuclear ICBMs impossible. Some said it saved the world, that if it hadn’t happened then it was only a matter of time before MAD failed. Others worried that the planet was still suffering from the effects of exponentially increasing climate change of the late 2020’s, and that everyone was now trapped on a single planet with no escape, not even to the Moon. Environmentalist groups held more sway than ever in many places… and they considered Xavier Wolff a hero for virtually endless, clean energy.

What would have happened if January 1^st, 2036, was like January 1^st, 2035, was something Ruby pondered a lot, along with countless others, it was a ponderance she put aside as she strolled down the beach to see Field Commander Jarl and Eria Piper sitting on a park bench, sharing a bottle of wine. “Should I be jealous?” Ruby asked, hands in her jeans pockets as she approached them. “And does anyone have a cigarette?”

“Not in your condition!” Eria leapt off the table and wrapped her arms around Ruby. “No stimulants, depressants, or anything else but healthy meals for a month! Two, even! Maybe more. Forever? Can you do that?” Ruby embraced her, uncharacteristically nuzzling into her neck.

“Now that the Sky Marshal’s awake, it looks like our mission is complete.” Jarl stood but allowed them space. “Don’t worry about me, Aarre, I get the impression she doesn’t go for men. Even with a prime male specimen such as me in her presence!” He jokingly flexed before saluting Ruby when she let Eria go. “But I’m sure we’ll meet again, both of you. Take care of each other, all right?” He politely nodded to Eria before raising his voice, “Mission complete, return to base!” Soldiers that had been wading in the water or lounging on the sand quickly stopped their recreation and followed Jarl up the path towards the cottage, each one saluting Ruby on their way out.

Eria felt along Ruby’s head, “Have you done something with your hair?” She smirked before kissing her square on the lips. “I need to tell you something, but first I need to test the first of two things. Ready?”

“After what I’ve been through…”

“Order: Say ‘I’m a pretty dolly for my Mistress’ without any sign of embarrassment.”

The words flowed immediately, “I’m a pretty dolly for my Mistress.” Ruby pressed her palm to her forehead, “That’s still in there?”

“Don’t worry, it’s the end of Day Three, you’ll be free of my influence soon. However, I need to tell you something about myself, because I need your help.”

Ruby nodded. “Sure, what is it?”

“Not here, follow me.”

A large amount of the property was filled with trees, and all seemed to be in constant recovery from forest fires, perhaps having received modern treatments against the lasting effects of climate change. Eria, taking Ruby’s hand, led her through some tall grass before her presence illuminated a series of LED lights along a path suspiciously free of pine needles and other debris. It was a path of solid Lapis Lazuli, bordered by silver. Incredible square slabs of the gemstone which led to a circle, with white sandstone benches dotted around it. In the middle was a circle of dirt, and in the centre of that grew a flowering plant Ruby had never seen before. It was six feet tall, with a thick stem of ashen vermillion colour, leaves that resembled flames and rose as they stretched from the stem to the sky, blossoms that were sapphire blue in the centre, then crimson, before gradually turning gold and finally to faint yellow as they spread out, like the heat of an intense flame. The blossom at the top sat like a crown, with colours even more vibrant than the others.

Ruby took a seat but noticed Eria standing before it. Eria bowed her head, knelt by the plant, and quietly said, “I told you I’d be back. You think I was gone forever?” Standing, taking a deep breath, she sat next to Ruby and was silent for a moment. Ruby didn’t break it, allowing Eria time. Finally, Eria told her, “I want you to know about someone. I want you to know about my wife… I love you, Ruby. It’s time I trusted you with this story.”

Ruby quietly nodded. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Eria closed her eyes, “Thank you. Here goes.”

“We met in grade school. I was from a lower-class family, she was from a middle class one, but we lived close to each other, with me basically being ‘on the wrong side of the tracks’. It didn’t matter as children; we became friends almost immediately. I was a bright child, much more so than my peers, I immediately learned to read and write at a level far above them. She was bright too, but in a different way; she was creative, dramatic, and we both loved to read so we’d often pick the same books to do reports on when we could; while it took me an hour or so to read through one, it took her a couple weeks. I got straight A’s and was even considered to be bumped up a grade, but I wanted to stay with my friend, so after a long fight with my parents, I stayed for her.

“One summer she invited me to her family’s cottage. On the same plot of land where we stand now. Not the same building, hers was a rickety single-storey cottage, a far cry from the bougie shit that started cropping up around them. I think that’s why I never felt any prejudice from her, while she didn’t have to worry about money like I constantly did, her family lived below its means and taught her humility when it came to displays of wealth. For her, even with her security, she never rubbed it in my face. Never made me feel lesser, like so many other students. Their cottage was a symbol of that, a luxury I could never afford, but one where I felt at home. Or perhaps that’s because she was always there, and we had all day long for the two weeks I’d join her there (I had to work or help my family, otherwise I’d had stayed the entire summer) to run through these woods, get scraped and bruised, play in the water, watch the canoes belonging to a summer camp nearby paddle past. She always cried when I had to leave and hugged me at the bus station in Huntsville. She said she felt lonely without me, and that her family was difficult to interact with. I told her we’d see each other at the end of the summer.

“After grade school, we went to different middle-schools. Her parents sent her to a special, smaller private school. Not for the prestige, but because she was struggling, and they felt more attention from teachers would help her. I don’t think the private school helped, she hated it. She said it felt more like she was being overseen rather than tutored at times. She had an older brother whose problems her parents could understand; drinking, coming home at weird hours of the night, throwing parties that trashed the place when they left town, usual stuff like that. Meanwhile her problems were more psychological, and she said she only pretended to take the drugs she was given because they made the world feel grey and did nothing to help how she felt. They gave her Ritalin, or tried to, because autism wasn’t a word back then. Eventually, seeing no effects, they stopped making her take it, and she could drop the ruse of doing so.

“As luck would have it, she was deemed well enough to attend a normal high school, the same one I went to. We had fallen a little out of touch by that time, but on September 11^th, 2001, I saw her in the despondent hallways of confused and weeping students. She said she didn’t know what was going on, but we were fourteen, and no one knew what was going on. We made up an excuse that we had family in New York, and it was the only time getting to leave school early was easy, they didn’t ask any follow-up questions. As we walked home, saw businessmen like her father returning home, people glued to TVs in bars, and the only Extra printed by the Toronto Star or any newspaper I can remember. I held her hand. Apparently, she didn’t like to be touched, as doctors had noted, but she liked it when I did. We walked home towards my place but ended up on a hill in Eglinton Park just sitting and talking, not even about the day’s events, just… talking.

“She was so very, very beautiful too. Fiery redhead, waves and curls like you wouldn’t believe, freckles all along alabaster skin, just the cutest button nose, eyes the colour of emeralds, a not overly built or tall form but she had such amazing strength, in mind and body. Pert lips, with a little mole down to the left side like Marilyn Monroe that turned her from perfect to beautiful. I remember being in awe of her that day as we talked, she’d grown since I’d last seen her and was just… spectacular.

“We chose classes that would get us into the same room. We took gym together and in that space we were evenly matched, which felt great for both of us. As we reached Grade 11, at the start of 2004 I decided that I would graduate early and pushed my academic studies even harder. I was still immensely talented academically, while she joined the drama group specifically so she could chew scenery like it was the most delicious cake in the world. She loved making people laugh and had a talent for doing so. I attended every one of her classes’ shows. Every single one. Sometimes with a textbook open on my lap because I was taking way too many credits, but she didn’t care, when the spotlight’s glare left her eyes for a moment, I knew she’d always be looking for my face in the crowd. The productions were terrible, but I genuinely believe people put down actual (small amounts of) money because of performers like her. She had a propensity for going way off script and improvising lines which enraged her teacher, but delighted classmates and audiences, so she got a passing grade. And that was back when failing students wasn’t taboo, I’m glad we’ve broken that post-K36. Without risk of failure, there is no success.

“In 2005 I earned a full scholarship to Yale to study physics. She still had a semester of high school left, not being the academic- I hate the word prodigy, like I didn’t work my ass off for it, but that’s what they called me. However, by then our bond was stronger than it had ever been. We had, secretly, become physically intimate by that point. Even if we were the same age, it still felt taboo, but we both wanted it and I think she was looking for a way to express her feelings to me in a way that didn’t require straightforward words. We emailed and IRC’ed constantly, complete with blurry flip phone camera shots of each other just doing- whatever we happened to be doing when we felt like taking what would become known as the selfie. She managed to barely graduate her senior year, and I drove up to make sure she was late for her graduation ceremony. She didn’t like crowds, she didn’t want to shake hands, so while we ignored her phone ringing, we fucked in the back of my car just off Church St., the safest place to do that. Then I drove her to the ceremony in time to appease her parents’ desire for photographs, but not in time for the certificates to be passed out. They just handed it to her; she thanked me for that.

“Then in July of that year, out of nowhere it seemed, gay marriage became legal in Canada. We never thought it would be, and the entire process is fascinating, but you already know it. I was still working a double-load of credits, she was trying to figure out where to go for university with her grades, so we didn’t give it much thought. She eventually attended what was Ryerson University, what is now Stieb University, taking drama classes and seemed to enjoy them. I finished my bachelor’s degree at a breakneck speed, with professors telling me that my work was already at a graduate level. In 2008, I thanked the universe that I didn’t get into finance, and that I had no investments.

“However, at twenty-one years old, she changed. Not in a way I found distasteful, but I remember one night calling her just to chat, and she had told me she had dropped out, committing her family’s cardinal sin of not getting a university degree (for all the good those would do in the coming decades). She said she couldn’t think straight, and had ‘blown up’ at another student, before crying in a small crevasse of one of the buildings. That there was something in her brain that was now wrong, and that it had quote, ‘tried to kill her’. I should have noted, this call happened only at the allowance of staff at St. Michael’s Hospital’s psychiatric ward, and that someone was sitting by her- let’s be honest, cell, because she had tried to swallow every pill she had in her small apartment. The only thing that saved her was a voice screaming for her to live, so she vomited most of it up and called 911.

“She got worse for her, while I got better. Bachelors at the end of ’08, right into Masters research. I visited her when I could, sometimes working on her fuzzy wi-fi in an apartment closer to my original economic standing. We had flipped in that respect; with my work I had TA and research opportunities banging on my door, I could afford a nice place as I continued work at Yale. She had been cut-off from her family and was working for minimum wage at a pizzeria. She eventually got fired from that. Then the next job she had. Then the next. The next… the next…

“After my Masters degree was completed in ’09, where I wrote my thesis while taking classes, the next time I visited her she was back in that horrid cage. Another attempt, this time on her wrist, and the only glimpse of joy I saw in her was when she saw me walk into her cell. I had snuck watermelon candies in for her, and she hugged me, while I watched the camera that watched her at all times. I asked her what had happened, looking over her bandaged wrist. She had come close, but managed to stop herself again and did the same thing as before, only to have the police arrive. Apparently, they tossed her place, including opening up her closet, taking BDSM outfits and bags carrying toys and floggers and the like, then tossing it all over.” Eria nearly snarled. “She told me something that would come to haunt me. Saying: ‘Life has to win every time, death only needs to win once.’ At least life won again. She actually apologized to me, she felt she had hurt me, because I was crying, but I wrapped my arms around her (something that must have shocked those watching) and told her that she was strong, she could get through this, and at least she had one person in the world who’d help. I even left some cash at the front desk (disguised as a few personal effects from her apartment), so she could keep going a little while longer and buy a good meal.

“I became Dr. Eria Piper in 2012 at MIT. My thesis, and I’ll try to keep the description brief, examined the immediate effects of light its effects on the pre-frontal cortex, frontal lobe, and temporal lobes of the brain. How manipulation of even subtle light sources would resonate with certain areas as observed during an MRI, and then practically applied to helping one alter their perception, with further insights into the potential for entertainment. I immediately moved back to Toronto, got a job at the University of Toronto as a professor and researcher with a team of my own, but not before I found her in her apartment and proposed. We were married at City Hall the next day.

“We moved into a condo, remember those? Horrible things that came crashing down eventually, but they were nice at the time. At that point she was seeking social assistance for her recently diagnosed Bipolar Type-II disorder and was unable to work. That was fine, she had always been generous with me when the situations were reversed, and I made enough as a professor and through research grants to support us. It still required a lot of work, but my entire life from the moment I entered kindergarten I had been working in academics, so it was my ‘natural habitat’. For her part, she worked on creative endeavours, tried to make money on the side to help out. Had an YouTube channel at one point. She’d have ups and downs but was medicating with the right stuff. Still, medication for her condition isn’t a cure, it was her sacrificing a part of herself to mute the ‘demon’ inside her head (as she described it). I won’t deny it was hard for both of us. Still, I love her, and the days were brighter when she was with me.”

Eria took a sip of water from a canteen which had been stashed beneath the bench and cleared her throat. She nearly choked on it but finished her story.

“One night, while she was in a depressed mood, I had tucked her into bed and thought she had fallen asleep. I could still sometimes hear sobbing through the door, on and off, likely as she faded in and out of consciousness. I perused our library for a novel novel to read, when I heard a screaming wail I will never forget.” Eria had to compose herself. “It was like…” She paused. “It was like death itself had risen, and the collective wails of the tortured souls below had all screamed out all at once. I rushed to our bedroom door and tried opening it, but she had locked it. I burst out of our condo, grabbed the fire extinguisher from its nook in the hallway, and with one adrenaline fueled bash obliterated the door handle. I ran to the bed, where she lay, having dropped a knife she had snuck in at some point, with blood gushing from her slashed aorta. I immediately grabbed my phone and pleaded for an ambulance with one hand, while trying to put pressure on the wound with the other. Blood was pooling on the sheets, and when I glanced up for a moment, I saw she had scrawled something on the wall with a sharpie.”

Eria wiped tears from her eyes as she quoted it exactly: “Death won. Go be happy, don’t be my nurse, be free of me. You deserve to be happy, that’s what I want for you. I want to die; I want to die. I can’t live with this demon in me anymore. I’m sorry, please forgive me. I love you too much to burden you with me. I love you. Please forgive me.”

Eria shook, and Ruby wrapped one arm around her. “February 6^th, 2017, at 21:44 hours. The paramedics arrived at 22:10 hours. She’d been dead for twenty-six minutes. I knew her nearly my entire life, and on February 6^th, 2017, at 21:44 hours, she was gone.”

Eria looked up at the thriving plant. “After making my fortune, I bought this land. I tore down the abomination that had been built in place of her family’s cottage. I built something mysterious, gothic, and… dramatic. Just like her. Then I took her ashes, mixed it with the best soil I could buy, with the seedling which would be the first incarnation of the flower you see before you.”

“But not the same one?” Ruby asked.

“This place is notorious for forest fires, as if there’s places that aren’t in this country. But this particular area gets some really bad ones, it’s why the cottage has such an advanced fire protection system ready to go and is not built out of what it appears to be built out of.” She glanced and smiled faintly at the flower. “I designed this flower, it’s the only one ever produced.”

“It looks like fire. The plant’s tendrils practically drip with leaves of scarlet and gold, almost like wings…” Ruby realized. “Like a phoenix.”

“It’s a serotiny, you see the seeds which rest within the blossom? When fire comes, and it will, to ravage the plant, those seeds will fall to the ground and become activated by the heat. As the fire passes, they’ll reach out and join together and after a cool period of winter, will explode into an even greater successor to the plant you see today. It’s happened every single year since I bought this place in 2070.”

“What happens if the fire doesn’t come?”

“Then the plant will die, and there’ll be no heat to activate its seeds. That’s when I’ll mark her grave, but not a moment before. Not one moment before, because she’s a part of every one of the fourteen flowers which have bloomed.” Eria was trying not to weep. “Until then, she still gets to be in the spotlight. She still gets to live.”

Eria looked to Ruby, “I won’t mention her name, we have our reasons. However, it was from a gemstone, though not Ruby. I think that’s where I picked up the mantle of sapphire, it’s my way of honouring her.”

“And your doctorate in psychology?”

“Saw my file, did you? Yep, and my doctorate in psychology. And my understanding of trauma. And my desire to help people understand theirs. Much like we’ve done, or attempted to do, these past few days, along with having a little fun.”

“Would she approve?”

“Of course. I know, even if it was scrawled in her final terrified moments, that she does want me to be happy. She even told me so many times before. She’d consider me barring myself from the world, people, and other relationships to be a terrible thing. We were monogamous, but despite my recent comments I know she is dead. I also know she’d never, ever want me to have put my life frozen when she died. I will always love her, I will always honour her, but I’ve got love and honour yet still to give.”

The two sat in silence for over ten minutes, contemplating everything that had happened and been said.

Finally, Eria said to Ruby: “Final Order: Go to the living room, press on the copy of Jane Eyre for five seconds and use this key…” She placed it in Ruby’s lap. “Go down the steps and into the first door on your left. There is a Doll there. I order you to do what Xavier requested, use your pistol to blow its brains out, then dismember its cybernetic limbs and dump it all into the atomizer on the same level. This is a direct order from your Mistress. Return to me when it is done, and I will free you from my control. Go now, do not speak to me until you have returned.”

Ruby’s body compelled her to obey, and she left Eria at the circle, heading straight for the bookshelf. NATO had left the cottage and hadn’t left a trace. Immediately pressing the copy of Jane Eyre down until the bookshelf slid to the side, she used the key to unlock the basement before pocketing it and heading down the dimly lit dark steps. The first door to the left was bolted shut, and Ruby drew her pistol, released the safety, and racked the slide before unbolting the lock and twisting the knob to enter.

It was pitch black, but she could hear someone in front of her, weeping softly. It spoke, frightened: “I turned off the light, you don’t need to look upon me, Mistress! I face the wall.”

Ruby needed a clean shot at the head. “Where’s the light?”

“You’re not Mistress.”

“No.”

“Then I can get it.” A click as a chain was pulled, and a single bulb illuminated a face looking right at her. A Doll with fiery red hair, wild and gorgeous waves and curls, freckles all along alabaster skin, a cute button nose, eyes the colour of emeralds, and who wasn’t built or tall but was toned. It had pert lips, with a little mole down to the left side like Marilyn Monroe.

Ruby’s subconscious compelled her to raise the pistol, and she did. “Fuck.” She managed to get out through gritted teeth. “No, I’m not doing this!!”

“Does Mistress wish me to die? I will not stop you.”

“SHUT UP!!” The loud sound seemed to bother the Doll, but it still stood still in a plain servant’s dress of grey and white. Ruby’s mind, already exhausted and punctured fought itself as her finger depressed the trigger. Her entire body began to sweat as she fought to hold herself back. Had her thumb not snapped the safety on in the final moment, the Doll would have been killed. Instead, the safety jammed the firing mechanism, and Ruby dropped the gun to the floor. “Fuck! Fuck!” She fell to her knees, slamming into the stone with enough force to bruise them. “What the fuck are you?!”

“Here.” The Doll held out its hand. “Let me help you to the bed. It seems Mistress does not want me to die, if that is her will, then I accept it. Let me help you.”

Ruby felt the Doll lift her and place her on a bed larger and more comfortable than any bed in a prison cell like that had any right to. As Ruby sat up and surveyed the poorly lit room, she noticed a plethora of comforts. A giant pile of books, nearly reaching the ceiling; an advanced handheld games console (by 2028 standards) charging on the wall; a television with no apparent outside connection but a box beneath that no doubt had petabytes of video and music. Posters, all from the 2000’s and 2010’s of games characters and art of fantasy novel covers. There was even a desk with a computer, circa 2025, sitting beside with stacks of paper some blank and others filled with writing. The desk even had one of those ‘gamer chairs’ that were popular in the early 2020’s.

“Oh, fuck me.”

“If Mistress desires.”

“No, it’s an expression.” Ruby looked up at the Doll. “Are you…” No, Eria’s wife died too early. The Doll couldn’t have the brain of Eria’s wife because 2017 was nowhere near advanced enough for that. Then she caught on to the true horror of the situation and asked, “Who created you?”

“A man, I don’t know his name.”

“But not Eria?”

“He gave me to Mistress as a gift. Mistress hated me from the very start. She locked me in a closet in her home… before bringing me here, fourteen years later. I’ve been here, in this room, ever since.”

“What did the man look like?”

“He was tall, 6’4”, very strong, blue eyes, dark hair, tanned skin.”

If Ruby had her pistol, she would have shot something. “Xavier! You motherfucking cocksucker!!”

“Please, don’t scream. I don’t like it.”

Ruby calmed herself, “Sorry…” She thought for a moment. “Mistress doesn’t look at you at all, right? But she brings you things?”

“Yes, I turn the light off and face the wall when she comes by.”

“But she’s never used you?”

“No. I do not know why she hates me, I am so good at many things. I have a whole host of programs.”

Ruby guessed, “But you’re fully autonomous too? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have these things.”

“Correct. Mistress is very nice. I loved the day she brought me that game slate, I love the roleplaying games!” The Doll ran to bring it over, showing Ruby the extensive menu of high-quality titles, this was no cheap knockoff, its software and library were designed and curated by a pro. “See? This one lets you play as a professor, like Mistress. I’ve played all the routes dozens of times. Although I don’t think Mistress fights people with a spinal cord sword, does she?” The Doll carefully set the console down on the bed, it was a treasured possession. “You’re the first person I’ve spoken to in over a decade, I’m a little excited, but don’t worry- unlike a Human my language skills are as sharp as they were the day I was created.” It sat and thought, “May I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“If Mistress hates me, why did she not send someone to kill me sooner? Why did you not kill me? Why does she bring me these things, even if she’s ashamed of me?”

Ruby was about to reach out to touch the Doll, but wondered if it would accept that. “Can I place my hand on your leg?”

“Y… yes, yes. I don’t like it, but no one’s touched me in so long…”

Ruby gently placed her hand on the Doll’s leg and explained, “What Eria- Mistress did to you is horrid, but she doesn’t hate you and she’s not ashamed of you. You were designed to be tortured, and to torture her.”

“I never raised a hand against Mistress, and Mistress never touched me.”

“Didn’t need to. The man who made you designed your likeness to be a perfect match for your Mistress’ wife, who died in 2017. He’s a cruel man, and probably got off knowing that E- Mistress wouldn’t have the heart to dispose of you, but also wouldn’t be able to live with you.”

“I look like her dead wife… That must have been very difficult for Mistress. This makes sense to me.”

“She did send me here to destroy you, but I fought it, and I won. She gave me a direct hypnotic order, but when I saw your face and realized what had happened, I refused.”

“Are you going to?”

“No.” Ruby stood and brushed herself off. “Instead, I’m going to fix this whole thing, and then find a way to stop Xav- the man who did this cruelty. Let me fix this,” She turned to the Doll. “Lazuli.”

“That’s my name.”

Ruby clenched her fist and nearly pumped it but didn’t want to make a show of it. “I figured, that’s the name of her late wife’s as well I’m guessing. Okay, Lazuli, here’s the plan: I’m going to give you my car keys, it’s to the car that’s got a big engine and only two seats. Gather up your favourite things and put them in the trunk, then wait for me in the passenger seat. I’m a Dollmaker, and I’m going to take you to Toronto and fix it up so that you and your Mistress aren’t linked anymore, then I’ll give you a new face, and you can stay with me while you recover from this… nightmare. Sound good?”

“Will Mistress allow it?”

“She will because while you’re doing that, I’m going to talk her into it. Don’t you want to see what the world is like? You’re fully autonomous, you’re capable of being a person- your own person, not… another pawn in someone’s game, like I am.” Ruby tried to cover all her bases, “Oh, and she’s sitting down in the forest, so no worries about running into her. Just fill the trunk with things you want to keep, and then wait, okay?”

Lazuli could process things quickly and nodded. “Okay! As long as it’s okay with Mistress.”

“Like I said, I’m going to take care of that. See you soon, all right?”

Lazuli nodded, before very softly saying: “Thank you.”

Ruby walked down the path to the phoenix flower and saw Eria look up as she approached. As Ruby did, she kept racking the slide of her pistol until every bullet was ejected. “Lazuli’s coming with me. I’ll give her a new face, and a new life.”

“Tabula Rasa.” Ruby’s eyes blinked. Eria explained, “You’re free from my influence. For now.” Eria stood quickly and threw her arms around Ruby. “I love you so much, I love you, I love you, I love you!”

“For disobeying?!”

“For helping me without violence. Violence I pushed you to do, forced you, even.”

Ruby rested her head on Eria’s shoulder, “Fucking academics, this was a test.”

“In a way, yes. The final test, to see if you were capable of change, and that I could truly love you. Xavier did create the Doll, he tortured me and my shame in turn tortured it, all of that was real. But it took you to solve the problem, where I didn’t have the strength to do so. Bonus points for figuring out her name."

"Honestly, the pathway made it a little obvious, even without seeing lapis lazuli on the bottom of the mugs your wife created.”

“She went through a ceramics phase.” Eria nodded. “But congratulations. In the last three days you’ve overcome some incredible feats, intentionally or not. You’ve helped excise my demon, and free a… young woman. Who I’m sure will find another name along with the new face.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Ruby kissed Eria, and they held it for nearly a minute. “I’m taking her back to Toronto tonight. Vacation’s over.”

“Yes, I know. But my offer of becoming my full-time hypnotized slave girl stays on the table… Or a kitsune, with proper biomodification this time! You seemed to really like that, far more than expected.”

Ruby winked, “Who knows what the future will bring, hot stuff.”

“That will not be my nickname.”

“Fine. But if you’ve got a place in Toronto, maybe we could… fuck, I don’t know, go on a date like the common people do? Also fuck.”

“I’ll write down my address, eat it after memorizing it, soldier.”

“Technically it’s officer.” Ruby and Eria laughed, the tension that had filled the air when she had left on her mission to kill Lazuli was gone. “Although… not to be needy, but you did say that if I performed three days of service, you’d give me something on Xavier. Did my disobedience just now void that agreement?”

“On the contrary, the information is in a file within her data banks.”

“Which… if I had obeyed the order, one which you gave me while I was in your hypnotic web, I would have destroyed.”

“Mmhmm…” Eria pecked Ruby’s cheek. “Your reward, for all the work you’ve put into yourself. Now, you’ve got drive ahead of you, you should probably get going.”

“Only if Lazuli’s done packing up her…”

“I’m going to say goodbye to her.” Eria decided and ran down the path. “Give me ten minutes, I assume she’s at your car?”

“Yeah.”

“Ten minutes!” Eria disappeared into the dark.

After ten minutes of soaking her feet in the cool lake’s waters, Ruby walked up to the driveway and paused when she found Eria giving Lazuli a tearful hug outside her car, and could hear Eria’s heartfelt apology. It might not ever be enough, but she had the courage to finally slay her demon. They noticed Ruby and beckoned her forward.

“Lazuli’s driving. She’s proficient in all manner of motor vehicles, and you’ve got brain damage.”

Ruby scoffed, “Is that an order?”

“Do I need to get the sapphire?”

“Fine.” Ruby laughed and got into the passenger seat. “Defense grid is down, right?”

Eria sarcastically shrugged, “I guess we’ll find out.” She leaned in through the open window and kissed Ruby. “But you don’t get to die unless I say so, you hear me, my little thing?” She ran her hand under Ruby’s chin, there was no hypnotic trigger, but it sure did something to her.

“Fine. I’ll keep myself alive, for you.”

“And me.” Lazuli started the engine. “Goodbye, Mistress… I guess this is the last time I call you that.”

“In your next life, I look forward to meeting you.” Eria told her. “I can never undo what I did, but Ruby will help, okay?”

“Let’s get this show on the road. Later, love!” Ruby waved out the window as Lazuli expertly turned the car around and headed down the driveway.

Eria waved, watching them leave. Alone on her property, she set her phone to re-activate the defense grid in thirty minutes, giving them plenty of time. Placing it in her pocket, she walked back to her cottage, closed the passage to the basement, and sat on the couch. However, she was never one to rest. There was a cruel son of a bitch planning something even she wasn’t privy too, and it was time to find out what that was, and end him.