Prisoners of Sol - Android Ambassador (6/13)

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There was no sign of Tollu in the murky water, as I felt my long hair billow out and the oxygen-deprived tightness begin to nest in my lungs. I kicked back up to the surface, while the numbing cold twisted its claws deeper into my skin. Despite my growing weariness, I ducked back under the water in a scramble to find the drowning android. There were nothing but foggy blue around me, while I turned 360 degrees and searched for the slightest clue. Coming up empty-handed, I came back up to the surface, and kept inventory of how much energy I’d expended.

“Tollu!” I screamed, though there was no reply from the still and vacant water around me.

Trying to keep my wits around me, I looked for anything out of the ordinary. After submerging myself once more, I noticed a trail of bubbles coming from the surface—that suggested movement. I paddled all the way down to the river floor, and found a thrashing Tollu with its leg trapped in the thick mud. Quick deduction suggested the android, who had no clue how to swim and wasn’t buoyant like humans anyway, had sunk like a stone. It looked up at me with a mix of incredulity and desperation, reaching out with its arms.

The look on its face reminded me of the look, which I saw from our family dog when she was put down: abject misery that resonated in my heart. I pressed my shoes onto the muddy river floor, praying that I would be able to pull myself loose with Caelum super strength, rather than sharing Tollu’s fate. My lungs already burned—no, screamed for air—but I wasn’t going back up without it. I leaned back after bracing myself, and grabbed at its trapped leg to pull as hard as possible.

Unfortunately, that super strength made its limb rip right off its chassis, and I was left holding a detached leg. Tollu was freed that way, I suppose, though I wagered it was not going to be pleased about the damage to itself. More proof that I was inherently destructive, right? I released air with involuntary gasps, and bubbles rose up toward the surface. Panic crept in from a deep part of my limbic system, as my chest seared with pain. I grabbed Tollu with haste, and kicked upward with desperation.

My shoes popped off my feet, remaining buried in the mud, but I didn’t care about being barefoot. The shimmering light of the surface was turning fuzzy, as my vision shrank to a pinhole. It was so cold here, so easy to sink away into a quiet tomb, and there was no describing how frightening of a feeling that was. My strength and conscious focus was ebbing away, forcing me to fight the darkness enveloping me. The moonlight cast a white sheen overheard, giving me something to latch onto. I kicked, straining my nose upward and—

My head broke the surface, and I gasped for air, spluttering and coughing out the water I’d sucked in. I leaned my head back for several seconds, taking deep, ratchety breaths to try to soothe my inflamed lungs. By some miracle, I’d dragged Tollu up to the surface, but I didn’t want to swim to the shore upright and kicking like I was treading water. I was out of gas, fighting my body’s will to shut down. I reached for its arm, and tried to gather enough oxygen to cough out words.

“Human Kendall, is your health in danger?” Tollu asked, much like it had when I was bitten by the alien fire ants.

I treaded water with tired, concrete legs. “C-cold. Can’t…breathe. Exhausted...”

“Did…you know it would put your life in danger when you jumped in to aid me?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Almost…drowned. Still could.”

“I do not see why you would risk your continued existence to rescue me! I have never helped you and it is known that I am not fond of you. This is not logical.”

“You’re…a person. It’s…the right thing to do,” I coughed weakly. “Help me now. I’m so tired...”

“You cannot give up, organic; you can make it. Neither of us have much time before the hazards end us, and I very much do not want to perish. I am sorry for failing to calculate my proprioception and causing this event. Tell me how I may assist your efforts.”

“Okay. Um, climb onto my back and wrap your arms around my neck. I can’t swim like this. You need to hold on to me.”

Tollu clung onto me like its life depended on it, which I supposed it did. I had no way of measuring how much time had elapsed; I could have the grumpy android check with Galcip on the bridge, but that wasn’t going to help me paddle to shore. It likely felt longer to me than it had been in actuality, and Tollu wasn’t acting like it thought its time had expired. Any slight deformity or gap in its chassis could lower how long it was certified to last, and water resistance only held to a certain depth anyway back on Earth. There was no time to waste.

Dig deep. I don’t want to die either! I willed the pylons that constituted my arms and my legs to move, pulling at the water ahead of me with one hand after the other. I kicked my legs up and down with all of my might, striking the water with my toes for extra thrust. The shore looked so far away, but I could feel a burst of speed throw me forward—it was like I was a speedboat skipping through waves. No one had tested how fast humans could swim in this dimension. I drummed my feet into the water with renewed energy, hoping that I could generate enough momentum to crest to the beach.

At least Tollu feels like a paperweight, not an anchor, in these physics. It would pull me down back in Sol.

“Kendall, you are creating a disturbance,” Tollu remarked.

I scoffed in disbelief. “I am creating a disturbance?! You did this! Forgive me if I don’t swim exactly how—”

“No, I mean you are…look behind you.”

Was Tollu talking about the wake my splashing might’ve left behind us? I rotated my head just enough to get a glance over my shoulder, and my eyes bulged with shock almost immediately; disturbance had been a polite word to describe what my forceful kicks had caused. Giant waves dozens of feet tall unfurled in the opposite direction of us, from the volume of water displaced by Sol strength. I watched them crash toward the opposite shorefront, with its abandoned docks and harbor, but there was nothing I could do about that now.

I had to keep going…had to muster every ounce of might I had left with my final burst of activity. My kicks and arm strokes grew feeble, before my lower body sank below the water. The shoreline was still hundreds of feet away, but I was stalling out. There was absolutely nothing left in the tank. I floated forward with an occasional push, adrift like a piece of wood; my movement ceased, despite Tollu’s whirs of protest. I felt my lifeless body sink beneath the waves entirely, before my bare feet touched ground half a second later. My eyes popped back open, through the hypothermic shock. That must mean we were in shallow water.

I pushed ahead on unsteady legs, running and falling forward. My head poked back out, and soon enough, I was only splashing ahead through waist-deep water; oh God, I ached in muscles I didn’t know I had. The final steps toward the shoreline were gargantuan, and I tumbled facefirst toward the slope at the river’s edge. I clawed my fingers deep into the ground, and strained to pull myself up. Tollu rolled off and hopped off on one leg in a hurry, scurrying away from the river with relief. 

I, meanwhile, scrabbled at the edge with my feet, finding the motions just of hoisting my lower extremities impossible. I’d gotten the android out, but was going to falter at the finish line. I strained to generate momentum, feeling my tired grip slip. That was when a metal paw wrapped around my wrist and pulled, giving me a final boost. Tollu…hadn’t left me? My brain felt heavy and confused, even more so than my movements. With the Vascar’s help, I managed to plant my knee on the land’s edge and crawl up to flat ground. 

“Kendall?” Tollu beeped. “You are unresponsive. Please indicate your status.”

I collapsed in a crumpled heap, panting and overtaken by a deep exhaustion. The coldness was almost absorbed into my skin, but I barely registered the discomfort or the incessant shaking. Everything was shutting down, and I couldn’t fight it long enough to croak out a few words. I splayed out on my back and let my head drop, giving in to the master alarms screaming at me to rest.

…

….

…..

I̸ ̸w̸o̶u̵l̷d̵ ̸h̵a̸v̸e̵ ̸b̸e̵e̴n̴ ̶t̸e̷r̸m̷i̸n̸a̸t̶e̵d̶.̵

ERROR: HAZARD WARNING. REMOVE WATER CONTAMINATION. CIRCUITRY IN JEOPARDY.

Ḯ̷̟̜̊ ̵̗͔̠̹̇d̴̥͕͝ͅͅǒ̴̼͇̥̑͒͘ ̶̞̻̿̓̀̊n̷̺̋̃̾o̵͈͇̠̺͝t̴̺̯̄͝ ̵͕̑ų̸̇̍̔n̴̘̈́͊̕͠d̵͔̼̟̦̂̆̍e̶̳̳̞̐̂̿̈́r̶̮͗̌s̸̬͎̣̍̄́͑ͅṯ̶͉̊̋̈ä̷̟́n̵̡̙̺̯̅ḑ̴̡̗͈̔̄̈́̌.̴͔͂

…

W̸h̴a̷t̴ ̴v̸a̵r̴i̵a̷b̵l̷e̸ ̴d̵i̵d̸ ̴I̶ ̵n̴o̴t̷ ̸a̷c̴c̶o̷u̶n̶t̴ ̴f̵o̶r̵?̴

ⱤɆⱠł₳฿łⱠł₮Ɏ Ø₣ ₮ⱧɆ ØĐĐ₴ ₩₳₴ ⱤɆ₵Ø₲₦łⱫɆĐ ₩ł₮Ⱨł₦ ₮ⱧɆ ₣łⱤ₴₮ 𝟭𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 ₴ł₥ɄⱠ₳₮łØ₦₴.

>> Flagging computational error. Requesting maintenance cycle.

[SIMULATION 727,677 COMPLETE. EXECUTING SIMULATION 727,678]…

>> End Scenario

Set calculation matrix to standby.

Check simulation results to assess the probability of this unit’s critical failure without the organic’s intervention.

[PROBABILITY CALCULATED AT 99.9999901%]…

Upload results.

// Query from T-O-L-L-U to Network: See Recent Broadcast. Define Kendall’s motives. Define “right thing.” //

// Output from M-I-K-R-I to T-O-L-L-U: 1) Compassion. 2) Emotional directive. //

// Query from T-O-L-L-U to M-I-K-R-I: Explain. //

// Output from M-I-K-R-I to T-O-L-L-U: You would only understand if you felt it. This is why few units appreciate humans. //

[ATTEMPTING TO QUANTIFY UNIT KENDALL’S CONDITION]…

[ACCESSING MEMORY]…

Audio Playback Segment 10203.295. 

Keywords: [Cold; exhausted.]

Notes: S̵u̴b̸j̸e̵c̸t̵ ̵d̷i̵d̵ ̷n̷o̷t̷ ̶d̸e̸n̴y̶ ̴t̶h̶a̵t̸ ̶h̸e̵r̸ ̶h̸e̶a̸l̷t̷h̶ ̴w̵a̵s̶ ̵i̴n̸ ̶d̴a̵n̵g̸e̴r̴.̷

[CALCULATING APPROPRIATE MAINTENANCE CYCLE FOR ORGANIC]...

[NETWORK DOES NOT FIND HUMAN’S DEATH TO BE A DESIRABLE OUTCOME]…

ERROR: FAULTY MOVEMENT SYSTEM. MISSING LIMB. REQUIRE REPLACEMENT.

[REQUESTING ASSISTANCE FROM UNIT G-A-L-C-I-P]…

[CHOSEN COURSE OF ACTION: PROVIDE ORGANIC WITH IMMEDIATE WARMING AND RESTING AIDS. RESEARCH COMPASSION FURTHER.]

…

A̸͖̿m̵̨̳͊̉ ̶̘͈̑͠I̷̠͙͛ ̵̨͓͝͝a̵̲̖̎͗ ̴̝͛͝S̵͓̃̅e̸̩͋̇r̷̪͆̄v̴̢́i̴̯̇t̷̨͝o̵̤̬̿ȓ̷̰ ̷̬̓n̷̥͔͝o̷̮͊w̴͉͔̋ ̷̲͝t̸͕͋̓ŏ̴̠o̵̙̮̓̋?̵̡͔͂

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A/N - 6! Kendall rescues Tollu, who seems very confused about why she risked her life for it, and tries its best to encourage her; it even pulls her out at the end, when her strength slips. We then switch over to a brief look through Tollu’s eyes, where we see the android is dumbfounded by Kendall’s motives and entirely aware that it would’ve died without her. Mikri chimes in to advise that compassion is the root cause, and a still mystified Tollu requests Galcip’s help to tend to Kendall.

What do you think about Tollu’s final “Am I a Servitor too?” thought and what that might indicate about its fears? Will it show continued gratitude and more kindness for Kendall, and be able to understand what compassion means? How will Galcip take Kendall’s rescue?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!