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I’ve seen many sunrises both in media and from the surface of various planets. Sure, planet-side sunrises are nice, but I prefer sunrises from space. Part of it's that I’m still not a huge fan of planets, but seeing the glimmer of a star crest over the curve of a planet, shadow fading into tranquil blues, greens, and browns, has its own beauty.
I see the appeal. ART says from behind my emotional filters. We’d started with just media, but for the past 42,000 hours I’ve been letting it experience the real world this way too.
Yes, it’s gorgeous, Mensah adds in our shared feed, her hand interlocked with mine. I almost miss seeing it everyday.
It’s been 6 hours since ART docked on Preservation Station,
3,391 since I was last here,
17,710 since Mensah retired from PreservationAux,
72,203 since I was granted full Preservation citizenship and no longer required a guardian,
77,059 since Bhardwaj’s documentary released,
78,846 since I officially joined ART’s crew,
87,602 since I met ART,
87,593 since Mensah bought me from the company,
88,969 since I met Mensah,
And 124,000 hours since I hacked the governor module.
In that time, Mensah’s hair has grown out and grayed, though today it’s wrapped in a simple scarf. New lines have formed across her face that deepen when she smiles, which happens more often as the years pass. All her kids are either at university or have settled into their own careers. Amena currently works in psychotherapy.
ART has changed too. Its engines were upgraded to run faster, and a new permanent lab was added. We’ve even coded a few security and hacking tools together. You should’ve seen it bragging to Holism about that. Iris has taken over as captain from Seth and added a new (unofficial) member to our crew, her son Oliver.
As for me, I’m back to my original height. The anonymity those missing two centimeters gave me I can now use code for. I’ve found a length for my hair I’m most comfortable with: short, but not as short as SecUnit standard. I use the human imitation code only sometimes. Despite all the fights I’ve been through, my custom blue jacket has survived with me.
And the logos are gone. It took some very careful datamining and some testing, but finally, the company’s symbols are no longer etched into my body.
The trauma and anxiety it left behind are still there. I don’t think they’ll ever fully go away, but talking through all my problems, giving myself permission to be less than perfect, and having so many people who care about me as a person has helped a lot.
For one wonderfully long second, I place all my attention on the warmth of Mensah’s hand against mine and the gentle code of ART flowing through me. Mensah squeezes my hand, and ART wraps itself further around me.
They’re safe. They’re happy. I’m safe. I’m happy.