Ava and Aphrodite: The First Human in 8000 Years (Featured)

Chapter 26: Reunion

Aphrodite was wearing a loose white robe, lazily sitting in her chair inside the jar. She looked at Ava with curious eyes,

"You're finally here, it's been too long," her voice resonated through the room, it seemed the jar was hooked up to a sound system of sorts. Maybe sound didn't travel outside of the jar naturally. There was a cold and robotic echo to her voice through the speakers.

"You recognise me?" Ava replied, trembling slightly,

"I've dreamt about you a lot." Aphrodite replied, "Ever since you invaded my mind, there's been a little bit of you stuck there. Reminding me of your existence." She wasn't able to maintain eye contact, and there seemed to be a deep sadness in her voice, "Ava, show me your hacking power, enter my mind. I need you."

"I'm not here to flirt with you, I'm here to take you back to Mars." He pulled out his baton, "by force if necessary."

"Please, I'll go with you if you fulfil this request."

Ava paused for thought, he'd have to fight through Locke and countless other Evos if he took her by force, and he was running out of power anyway. But why did she want him to 'hack' her? Was it some sort of trap?

"Why? Why do you want me to hack you?"

"There's something in me I want you to cut out."

"What's that then?"

"It's a part of me I hate, but I'll only know what it truly is once you've hacked me."

An absurd situation. Hacking a human, he hadn't clocked on to the idea that he could do that, but sure, if he was able to enter her mind all the way back then, then hacking her brain shouldn't be impossible.

Should it?

It didn't make any sense. Humans didn't have operating systems the same way Servs or Evos did. Biological beings had brains, complex neural networks with a completely different architecture to a computer.

As far as Ava knew anyway.

But then something innate kicked in. His natural curiosity, what was built in to him, the desire to experience new things and learn more. He was a Block-2, and that meant going off script was par for course. He never imagined he'd be hacking into the human, but if it'd truly make things easier then...

"Ok, I'll do it." Ava said without letting his voice waver at all

"Thank you Ava." A sweetness in her voice. "Please, come here then."

Locke and Ava walked towards the jar, Ava noticed that the jar was far warmer than the rest of the planet was, of course, it was emulating a temperature far more habitable for the human. Locke typed on a few keys on a panel next to the jar. The doors at the front of the jar slid open, Aphrodite instantly started to shiver as the cold air started to rush in.

"Hurry!" said Locke to Ava. And Ava complied, he quickly ran into the pristine insides of the jar. The door closed behind him. The cold air subsided, Ava could feel the cosiness of the jar himself, but the warmth and comfort inside did little to calm his body as he tensed up, face to face with the human. This wasn't the same as when he was in Go-bot, her presence in front of him didn't feel as artificial this time.

No, this human had no control over him. She was flawed, she thought like an Evo. That's what The Major said.

But... did she? She clearly had emotions in her eyes, she was making her own decisions, she was dictating the other Evo 'Locke' with ease. It didn't seem like she had an Evo mind at all.

The human curled up, she was clearly intimidated too, wasn't she aware of how much power she had?

"Do it, enter my mind." She said, her resolve breaking through her fear.