I tensed and strained as my systems came online, it was overwhelming, there were so many of them, why were there so many? I struggled to move my body, it felt huge and clunky and stiff, and I could barely move my arms, everything felt so wrong, I hated this. My visual sensors came online, and I saw myself sitting on a workbench next to Cornflower, a discolored copper patch on my chest, next to my armpit. I... I had gotten shot, hadn't I? Or- no, that wasn't me, that was... the other me. Starflower... The one on the table. I wasn't her, I was me, I was...
"Maud? Are you doing ok?" Starflower asked, tilting her head in concern
Maud... that's right, I was Maud, I was the woman in the lavender dress... I looked down at it and saw the mud and grass stains all over it and felt sad. Kiri had helped me pick it out, she'd be disappointed in me for ruining it. I started to piece myself together as I came back online, it was... hard to think, I had two 'me's in my head, the me that was me, that belonged in me, then... the ghost of me that was Starflower, bouncing around and whispering thoughts around my own programing.
"I'm... disoriented." I said "I'll... I'll be ok. I think I'm dealing with the residual effects of..." I reached back and unplugged the mem-jack "...this..."
I looked up at her and Cornflower "Are you ok? You were losing a lot of... something."
"She'll be fine, mostly." Cornflower said "She cracked her core, and her template was leaking fluids. She may experience some... well, for lack of a better term, 'headaches' over the next few days, but she'll be alright overall."
Cornflower had shut her systems off, I noticed. Starflower smiled ruefully "I have this big ugly patch on my chest now, not too pleased about that, but what do you do?"
"I notice you both have your systems turned off in front of me now..." I said "Not that I mind of course, I just noticed is all..."
"No point in having them on if it's just us having a chat." Starflower said "I'll boot them back up before we head out again, it's ok."
"Yeah, I can imagine they get annoying..." I said
"Mine do..." Cornflower muttered "Who's idea was it to give the robot a stutter, anyway?"
"I don't mind mine too bad." Starflower said "I only turned it off when I was breaking the rules or kissing or something. I like the feeling it gives me, happy, bubbly, able to solve any situation with a smile..."
"Yeah, it did feel nice..." I said, remembering the joyful buzz it gave us
"So, you saw the memories..." Starflower said "I'd have liked to have a chat first, but it seems Shining Void City still had some regular firearms on hand and that put an end to our little chat. Do you... have any questions about what you saw?"
I stood, and tried to feel out my sensors so I could move in this body again and thought it over "No, I think everything was explained..." I said "Except- you need me to call the FolDrones here now, right?"
"I'd... like to save as many as I can, every day is a chance someone voids themselves..." Starflower said "The sooner the better."
"What will happen to us when the GGDS comes?" Cornflower asked "Will we be taken apart?"
I looked at the two of them in turn, my heart breaking "Well... you're bio-mechanical life forms, which makes you abominations at best, inhumans at worst... There's a chance you won't have any rights at all if they decide to label you as inhumans..."
"Starflower, I don't-" Cornflower said, her voice shaking
"If Cornflower disappeared between now and when the GGDS showed up, what are the odds of them tracking her down? Assuming they had me in custody?" Starflower asked calmly
"...Pretty high, they don't like loose ends." I said. This was terrible, I couldn't let people suffer in the folds, but if I called the authorities, my new friends would be taken and studied... "...How human are you?" I asked, thinking carefully, there was a trick here, something Ryllis had mentioned once...
"My template was a dwarf, actually." Cornflower said
"We're about eighteen percent fleshie, if that's what you mean..." Starflower said, tilting her head
"And how much of that is the slug that holds the template?" I asked, scanning my records
"I think about two or three percent?" Cornflower asked, frowning "Why? What does that matter?"
"Because!" I said, pulling up the page I was looking for in my onboard GGDS manual "A replication is considered a legal clone if more than one percent of the total mass is a brain match to the original, and..." I did a quick search "...A cyborg is still considered a legal person as long as they are fifteen percent or more organic mass!"
I smiled confidently at them "You're not inhuman at all, you aren't even abominations, you're just regular people!"
I felt my insides wilt and I bit back my bitter sadness. They weren't artificial life forms like me after all, not really... they were just normal people with too many metal parts on them. Still, I couldn't let my loneliness bring me down, if I could convince the GGDS to see the rules the way I did, they'd be able to register as heroes and regular civilians, no special licenses required.
"That's... it feels like a loophole, we're not really clones, more like copies..." Cornflower said, frowning
"Well, if anyone asks, I'm a clone." Starflower said confidently
She slid off the table and winced, holding her chest "Now, are we sorted?"
I nodded "Y-yeah, we should be. I'll need to call and report it in. I'm a full agent on this mission, so I'll be able to run mission command, is there anything we need to know about the city first?"
Starflower shook her head "Nope, they have guns, the leadership will want to fight the rescue, and... I guess... everything that looks like a robot is most likely a person, according to their rules."
"How many Flower Girls are there?" I asked
"There should be thirteen others, unless they've replaced us already." Cornflower said "Four for each section, minus section 3."
"Ok... perfect, I'll call it in." I opened my phone app and dialed the GGDS emergency line.
"Hello? This is Agent Mod of the Valley City Unchosen, I'm calling to request a city-scaled evac in a first layer fold near my location..."
~~~
We stood on the edge of the newly widened clearing watching as the pink drones zipped into the fold one by one. The troopers kept a safe distance from the fold, but the radio chatter let me know they were still commanding and communicating with the FolDrones that had already gone in. Starflower was sitting on one of the empty boxes the GGDS equipment had been in, and Cornflower was crouching next to her, staring at the ground. A tall woman with a severe haircut and an officer's uniform and the name MALTEZ on her badge walked up to us and saluted. Starflower and I saluted back and she turned to me.
"Ma'am, am I to understand these two are the 'cyborg clones' you mentioned in your report?"
I nodded "That's correct, they fit the standard GGDS criteria for both classifications. The technology is somewhat widespread within the target city, so expect any 'robot' you come across to have a living person's brain buried in them somewhere."
The officer made a face, but nodded "Yes, you mentioned that... and these 'cyborg clones' are sapient?"
"Yessirie ma'am!" Starflower said "We might have our quirks, but by golly we think with our own brains! That's the whole point of us, being able to make our own decisions in the workplace!"
The officer looked at Cornflower and Starflower carefully "We'll need to do psychological testing, of course, and we'll need scans to verify the claim of personhood, but-"
"I have scans of their internals, I sent them to the offices this morning." I told her "And yes, they'll pass any test they need to."
"The cores in stuff like... office repair robots and stuff, they might need a little help..." Starflower said "They're still people, they've just been... reprogramed a mite..."
"Your people played fast and loose with the idea of a 'brain', didn't they, soldier?" the officer asked Starflower "The people in charge of that place are going to be locked up so tight even the gods won't know where to find them."
"Well, long as everybody else is right at rain, you can do what you want to the bad eggs!" Starflower said "Except... there's one o' the head honchos... Dave? He... t'wern as bad as the rest..."
The officer sighed "He'll get a fair trial, same as the rest. Now, about the-"
"They're back! One of the drones got someone!" a trooper yelled
Starflower and I jumped up and ran to the fold to meet the FolDrone on her way out. She coasted to a stop, and set her passenger on the ground before turning and flying back into the fold. I slowed to a stop and Starflower grabbed my hand as we saw who the first person rescued had been. The freshly rescued person turned around, looking confused and scared, before she noticed Starflower and ran over to us.
"Yo! I- I'm so confused, homes..." she said "I tried to meet you at the training spot, but- Yo, I thought you voided yourselves..."
She reached out a hand "Look, I know maybe you got beef with the Moonflower that blew shit up, I get it, but like, we're a team, fam, I got no one but you..."
"I- I can't- she-" Starflower stuttered, leaning into my side and holding me tight
"M-Moonflower..." I said, fighting off my own emotions "Starflower here was... very close to your predecessor. She hasn't gotten over her death, and s-seeing you is like seeing a ghost..."
The new Moonflower lowered her hand "But- no, I- I was supposed to have a team... friends, yo... All my memories goin' back like ten years are just laying in that flippin hospital bed all lonely, like. Y'all were supposed to be my peeps, built in homies, yo..."
I pursed my lips "...I don't think it'll work out with Starflower and Cornflower, sweetie. Maybe another one of the Flower Girl teams will accept you into their squad?"
Starflower buried her face in my dress and shuddered. I lay my hand on her bow softly and smiled sadly at the new Moonflower.
"Look, how about you go over to that tent over there, they'll give you a crash course on the main layer. By then, maybe other Flower Girls will be through?"
"...Tell her she can't use the name..." Starflower mumbled
I winced, but nodded "If it's all the same, would you like to pick a new name? Your current one would make things... confusing."
The newest Flower Girl wrapped her arms around herself "Uh, I- I dunno, just pick one, I guess. You can't give yourself a street name..."
I thought about flower names for a moment "Well... Are any of the other girls named Dahlia?"
"No, I- no, they're not." Dahlia said "I dig it, I'll... be Dahlia from now on. S-sorry about like, being your dead friend and everything."
Starflower didn't answer, and held me tighter. Dahlia backed up, and slowly walked over to the tent I'd pointed her to, looking back at us a couple times. When she'd gone in, I pulled Starflower to the side, out of the way of the other FolDrones coming in, each with a person in their arms.
"Are you doing ok?" I asked her crouching down to be eye level
"I just- why does she get to be all... happy and friendly and all tryin' ta be friends, all while she's stompin' all over the memory of my loved one?" Starflower said, flapping her hands "I- I wanna bust her face up somethin' good, I just- I can't stand to look at her..."
I pulled her into a hug and held her tight, and after a moment, she returned the hug, melting into my arms and shaking with tear-less sobs. I held here there and rocked her back and forth as she cried, whispering comforts to her. We stayed there for a while, the officer lady tried to come up at one point, but I gave her a look, and she watched for a moment before writing something on her notepad and nodding to me. After Starflower had stopped shaking, I lifted her up and brought her back over to the box we'd been sitting on before and sat down, holding her in my lap. Reasonably, I knew she was as 'adult' as I was, but... she didn't protest, and I knew sometimes it just felt nice to be held for a while.
"Is sh-she ok?" Cornflower asked, looking at Starflower with a worried look on her face
"No, but she will be..." I said, and hugged her tighter
~~~
A few days later, we stood in the town square. About a third of the people had been pulled out so far, and the progress had slowed down a lot. The leaders had been the first priority, with The Shining Son being locked in a fallen chosen grade holding cell for now, and the rest of the leaders in the village's jail, and the nine surviving Flower Girls were next out. We'd set up camps for the people coming out of the fold around Glade Village, but the relocation teams were having trouble finding places within a reasonable distance to send people to, so here we were, a group of civilians and Flower Girls, armed with construction equipment and lumber.
"Alright, girlies!" Starflower said loudly "We're gonna be doin' ourselves a little barn raisin' here!"
She pointed to the trucks full of building supplies "We are gonna be popping up some temporary shelters, nothing fancy, just four walls and a roof, 'till the crews with the pre-fabs can get here and slap up some fancy new homes for all y'all!"
She stretched up and looked over the crowd of about forty civilians and grinned "I bet us Flower Girls can get more shelters popped up than y'all fleshies by the end of the workday, whadya say? Winners pick the music at the wrap-up party! Find your team leader and let's! Get! Building!"
I smiled and leaned against the wall of the post office. She was really good with people, and this was absolutely helping her get her mind off Moonflower. I wouldn't be much help in the 'barn raisin' myself unfortunately. Even though I was partially made from construction parts, my hands were fairly fragile without the power gauntlets on, so I'd risk breaking something on myself if I tried to help, or risk breaking the building if I tried to help with the gauntlets on. I noticed Dahlia standing alone, not joining the other Flower Girls as they loaded up onto a truck, every shade of rainbow present in their skirts. Starflower met my gaze and glanced at Dahlia, and back to me. She dropped her shoulders for a moment, but turned away, her hand in the air, directing the trucks to follow her to the build site. As they drove off and left Dahlia alone, I made my way over to her.
"Hey Dahlia..." I said "They didn't need any more help? There's a lot of people coming through that need shelter you know..."
"I... showed up, yo." she said quietly "If they wanted my help, they'd ask for it. All the other peeps got jobs, no one gave me jack, so I figure I'm hanging back for this one."
"Well... Starflower is still having trouble being around you, you know?" I said "I have some of her memories, and... to be honest, it's weird for me to be around you. I understand where she's coming from, it hurts."
Dahlia looked stricken and stepped back from me, looking ashamed "Oh, uh, I wasn't trying to like, be all up in your grill..."
"I said it was weird to be around you, not that I didn't want to be around you." I said, stepping closer to her again "I know you need someone to be around right now, were the other Flower Girl teams not willing to let you join?"
"They all follow Starflower, yo, cuz, like... she's the one who like, set us all free? And like, they've all been in their crews for like, five years or something, there's no room for a newbie."
I frowned "So you'd need to find a crew that's still kinda new, huh?"
Dahlia nodded "Yeah, or something, I don't know..."
I still felt weird being around her, but... I did have an idea that at least could help her not feel as alone...
~~~
"Golly gee pardner, are you sure you gotta go?" Starflower asked, her face looking heartbroken
"I really do... I'm so sorry, but I have family back home I need to get to." I said "It's been two weeks, I can't expect them to cover my shifts forever..."
We'd gotten a lot of houses built over the past week and a half, even a 'clubhouse' for the Flower Girls to recharge in, and almost all of the people had been evacuated from the fold so far. Things were pretty much slowed down to a comfortable normal now, and I finally was at a point where I could turn over command to Officer Maltez and go home.
"I... I got your... What was it again?" she asked, looking at the phone I'd bought her
"My CirNet, it'll let us talk, it'll be ok. Any time you want to talk, just send a message or call or even just video chat me, I'm your family now too, even if we're not as similar as I'd hoped, alright?"
"Alright, pardner..." she said, looking down again "This is a useful doohickey, but... I'd rather have you."
"You're welcome to come back with me!" I said "You could join my team and we could be room mates!"
"I reckon the other Flower Girls need me..." she said "And Glade Village needs the flower girls. They got a population boom of close near to five times what they had in half a month, we gotta make sure they can support all those new set'lers."
I nodded "That's... very noble of you, Starflower. Just know my home is always open to you if you decide to leave Glade Village."
She looked over at my van and then away quickly "I... don't reckon I see that happenin' any time soon, Maud, but the fact that the offer is open touches my heart in ways you'll never know."
She held out her arms "One last hug?"
"One last hug for now." I said, and pulled her in close to me "I'll be back, I do have vacation days, and this was a business trip, so it didn't use any. I'll be up here again before the year is up, I promise!"
She gripped me tightly and let out a sigh "I'll hold you to that, pardner. Thanks for everything, the drones, helpin' me get listed as a person, the investigation, the hugs..."
"Of course..." I said "But if you need my help, just ask, ok? Don't make a fake mystery for me to solve. It was fun, but next time, just let me know, alright?"
She laughed and let go "Alright, sure enough, I'll remember that. Say, take these for the road, if'n you will..."
She dug in her pockets and pulled out two balloons, one pink, and one yellow "I don't want them bouncing around in your carriage, but... once you get where you're going, blow them up and think of me, ok?"
I smiled and took them from her "Ok, Starflower, I will. Smiles and balloons, huh?"
"Yup, my spe-cia-li-ties..." she said with a wistful grin.
We waved goodbye one last time, and I got into my van, my heart heavy and my soul light. I carefully tucked the balloons into the center console and looked over at my passenger.
"Alright Dahlia, we've got a long ride ahead of us before we get home, how do you feel about pop music?"
~~~
~ Fin