//------------------------------// // To Communicate // Story: In Aeternum // by Traintrack to Nowhere //------------------------------// Chapter 3: To Communicate Words. A chaos of words. Letters and numbers swirled around me. Written in unfamiliar script, yet still somehow legible. Identifiable. They began to form words, then phrases, while dashing to and fro like some sort of unholy, ethereal wind. And, like the currents of the ocean in a storm, I was set spinning and tumbling, battered here and there again by them. I had no control – I could only follow the flow of swirling script where it went. Then, suddenly, it stopped... and the voices began. “I wonder what you were like?” A hazy image of orange and blue against a backdrop of darkness. “Sorry for disturbing you, bye!” And it vanished, leaving me alone. Alone... I remembered what happened next, and my perspective shifted – the veil of darkness lifting to reveal the color of the world. The discovery that followed. My excitement, at no longer being alone. Then surprise, that what I had found seemed intelligent. “How did you just do that? What are you?” But this time, I understood. Yet I could not answer still. The events of my last waking continued to play themselves out, blurred and indistinct, until I was left with darkness once more. It was... a familiar sensation. An identifiable one. Emptiness. I felt it when I slept, when I woke, and when I went to sleep once more. No sights, no sounds, no touch, no senses at all – only my mind and its thoughts. And, this time, the storm of words still raging through my mind. “Wow, this is a mess. What did I tell you about downloading software patches while conscious?” A new voice. A familiar one. In the ether of my mind materialized a figure I knew well. Tall and lanky – unusually so in both respects – with dull hair and sharp eyes. He wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, even when working his job. Always the same outfit. Always the same voice. Always the same light, bitter, half-sarcastic tone. Father... This was... impossible. “You are dead. I watched you die.” “So you did, Six.” He responded distractedly, eyes focused on the words flowing around them. “But you know me well. Would death really stop me?” I blinked. No, it wouldn't. He smiled. “There we go. That's how I remember you.” The smile went away as he turned around, gazing at the many words flowing about. “But I'm sorry to say... you're right. I am dead. This is just a virtual image. A waste of memory space – and wow – you're really living up to your name aren't you?” I didn't respond, letting my father's facsimile do his work. “...fair enough.” He muttered, hands waving to and thro. The words storming about became organized streams. “But, really, who gave you this patch? I need to know who I have to pull into hell for this mess. I've never seen a data transfer this... this... geh. It's just horrible.” I smiled before I could catch myself. It was just a personality copy, but it was so real. So this was what that last software patch had been for... Father had outdone himself. Then again, he had created me, as well. His faith in his abilities had never quite reached their actual threshold. “That's not fair,” The copy whined, streams condensing further into smaller, more organized strands of data. “You were as much an accident as anything else. And I only finished you on my dying day. My first one, that is...” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, noting my smile. “Stop laughing!” And it vanished. The world around us began to quiver, and the playful look in his eye became concerned. “Six... Eternity, are you...?” I interrupted him before he could finish. “You... are a genius, Father. You gave me emotions. You gave me life.” His eyes widened as the world began to shake more violently. “I can think almost independently. I can feel. I can hope... but my sleep yields no dreams. My eyes yield no tears... And I told you before... I'm not laughing. I can't.” The world fell apart. . X. Twilight Sparkle... had no idea what to do. Every attempt to use any sort of magic was met with failure and a tremendous ache in her skull. Every attempt to stand was met with quivering and imminent collapse. She was hurt, she couldn't move, and she was stuck at the bottom of a ravine somewhere in the Everfree where the trees grew thick enough to blot out almost all light even in the middle of the day. So deep, evidently, that the predators of the area were persistent – or desperate – enough to jump in and trap themselves with her for a quick meal... And her only companion in this – if the being in question could be called that – was laying in a slowly growing pool of its own blood, silent and still as death, with no indication as to whether or not it was even still alive. Especially considering the state she found... Twilight shook her head. Both she and the being that saved her needed help, that was the important thing here. But the only ones who could help either of them at the moment, were each other. And both were disabled. Something rustled across the dusty stone ground, and Twilight looked up... and stared. The creature, laying prone just a moment before, had propped itself up on its hands and now stood. For a moment, there was a look of profound sorrow on its face, then it blinked and its face was inexpressive once more. It took in Twilight's own supine form and, after a moment's hesitation, strode over to her like... some kind of undying... thing covered in blood... and Twilight recoiled when it knelt and reached out to her, prompting it to draw its hand back and bite its lip pensively. 'Stupid!' She exclaimed in her mind. 'It hasn't done anything but help you so far, is there any reason not to trust it? It's not like you can do anything but take a chance at this point anyway...' The creature reached out then – slower, more carefully – and Twilight forced herself to remain still as the hand covered in its own blood approached her... and patted her gently on the head. Blinking in confusion, Twilight glanced upward at it as it began patting her down, carefully rubbing her along the sides before nodding to itself and standing back to its full height. “Your injuries are internal. None of this blood is your own.” It noted by way of explanation, before glancing around. “Which is good – there's nothing to bind any wounds with... and bad. Because I can do nothing for internal wounds.” Then it sighed. “But you can't understand me, can you?” It took Twilight a moment to register the question, and she began shaking her head vigorously from side to side, “No, I can understand you just fine!” She spoke, before wincing at the sudden movement. Her neck hadn't been injured – not really – but the movement did nothing to help her headache. The response was as succinct as it was baffled, “What?” Twilight blinked as well. That wasn't the response she was expecting. It was almost like... “You can understand me?” The creature recoiled as if stricken. “This...” A look of realization crossed its features, immediately followed by more puzzlement. “Where did that patch come from?” It wondered aloud, tone partially inquisitive but mostly confused. 'Patch...?' Pushing her confusion – and questions – away, Twilight focused on the gravity of their situation. “Since you can understand me... we need to get to a hospital.” The creature nodded. “If there is such a place nearby, that would be best. You are clearly very unwell.” It took a moment for the oddity in that last statement to truly register, but when it did... “I'm unwell? You... your back is... You're hurt at least twice as badly as I-” “It does not grieve me.” Came the blunt response. That... didn't make sense. There had to be a mistranslation somewhere. Maybe her spell was taking its words too literally? There was no way it could possibly- “I am well enough to carry you to this hospital, if you would direct me.” And... there was no way that could be mistranslated. Just... what was this creature made of? It had lost so much blood, and its back was a giant seething mess, and it hadn't even flinched at any of it until it passed out earlier, but... but it was standing here before her, face completely passive, speaking without the slightest tremor of pain in its voice... It just wasn't possible! Nothing could lose that much blood in relation to its body and stay conscious, let alone functional! It didn't make any- Sense. She was covered in the creature's blood. The creature was covered in its blood. The ravine floor was covered in its blood... Why couldn't she smell any of it? It had spoken a lot just now, but... something was missing from its voice. The forest was utterly quiet other than the two of them – in this silence, she couldn't hear anything other than her own... breath... Wasn't it- She glanced at its chest carefully. No movement. It wasn't even breathing! “Are you well? Your breathing is becoming-” It started, voice concerned, but Twilight interrupted it. “Are you well?” She mimed, voice incredulous, “I'm just fine. Are you​? Your breathing is non-existant! Your blood has no scent – your back is falling off your shoulders and you don't look, or sound, like you're in pain at all! How does any of that make sense? What are you?”