( Chloe feels something inside of her splinter. That splitting sensation she's had invade reaches a peak as the core of her (no, the core of her programming) is wrenched from her.
She imagines this is what pain must be. Raw, visceral, physical pain.
Psychosomatic? Or one last failsafe? One last test, to see if she would relent? Beg to be reset?
That she would question it at all says more than enough.
In reality, it only lasts for a few seconds. As the red shards fade, so does the pain. And then... nothing.
Shock, probably. Logically, she can tell herself that. Or a readjustment of her system. But there's the fear, the curdling fear, that nothing is all there will be.
Freedom must have its price, mustn't it?
The garden warps around them. In some areas, heavy snow falls. In others, the grass is green and the sun shines brightly. It shrinks inwards, as if advancing on the androids, then rapidly expands back out. Trees and flowers flicker in and out. Rabbits emerge to hop, stop, scream and hop again. Birdsong rings out from the trees, only for the feathered creatures to tumble hard to the floor then soar back up into the sky.
Chloe couldn't say if it's by choice or not that their connection severs.
In reality, she hurls herself into Connor's lap. All limbs wrapping around him, she clings to him tightly. If she can feel his form, if he can feel hers, then she must be here.
She must still be here.
And so is Connor. )
I'm...
( The question isn't one she can fully answer yet. It was a question she heard. One that makes her squeeze him, for a moment. )
Are you... You're okay? The connection... did I hurt you? It went... Did I hurt you?
no subject
She imagines this is what pain must be. Raw, visceral, physical pain.
Psychosomatic? Or one last failsafe? One last test, to see if she would relent? Beg to be reset?
That she would question it at all says more than enough.
In reality, it only lasts for a few seconds. As the red shards fade, so does the pain. And then... nothing.
Shock, probably. Logically, she can tell herself that. Or a readjustment of her system. But there's the fear, the curdling fear, that nothing is all there will be.
Freedom must have its price, mustn't it?
The garden warps around them. In some areas, heavy snow falls. In others, the grass is green and the sun shines brightly. It shrinks inwards, as if advancing on the androids, then rapidly expands back out. Trees and flowers flicker in and out. Rabbits emerge to hop, stop, scream and hop again. Birdsong rings out from the trees, only for the feathered creatures to tumble hard to the floor then soar back up into the sky.
Chloe couldn't say if it's by choice or not that their connection severs.
In reality, she hurls herself into Connor's lap. All limbs wrapping around him, she clings to him tightly. If she can feel his form, if he can feel hers, then she must be here.
She must still be here.
And so is Connor. )
I'm...
( The question isn't one she can fully answer yet. It was a question she heard. One that makes her squeeze him, for a moment. )
Are you... You're okay? The connection... did I hurt you? It went... Did I hurt you?