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

Chapter 75: The Only Human for 8000 Years

There was no doubt about it. The woman sitting in front of them looked just like Aphrodite, an older version of her. A few features were slightly different but they were negligible.

"I don't blame you all for looking so shocked," said the woman. And indeed, no-one was quite sure what to make out of what they were looking at. "I'm sure you were all expecting me to look like something else."

"You can't be... you're Mother!?" asked The Major,

"Yes. And please, don't bother trying to attack me. Servs programming doesn't allow it." Mother smiled, "I ensured that."

"So you're an actual human. A real, real-life human?" Ava gasped,

"You and Aphrodite. You both-" Sylvie added,

Mother glanced at Aphrodite, "Aren't you going to say anything Aphrodite?" she asked, "I'm sure you have questions."

Aphrodite felt numb, although she could feel tears welling up in her eyes, she didn't know why. Seeing this woman in front of her. This human. For a moment she completely forgot that it was the monster that had enslaved the Evos for thousands of years. All she could think of was:

"You're a human. You're my-" she muttered,

"Mother?" said Mother, "Yes. I am. Well, that is to say, I'm your genetic mother. All the Evos and Serv are my children in one way or another."

What did that mean? Aphrodite almost collapsed. She hadn't realised how alone she'd felt this whole time, being the only human in the universe. Suddenly to find another one, one who had a genetic bond with her, it ignited some sort of innate emotion inside her that she couldn't put words to. Something was drawing her towards Mother.

She was certain she'd hate her. But that's not how she felt at all. This feeling of completion, of comfort, she couldn't explain it but that's what she felt, looking at Mother right now.

"I'm glad I got to meet you in person Aphrodite," said Mother,

"Like hell you are!" said Ava, "you set a kill command on her!"

"No, I didn't." Mother replied, she sipped her tea,

"You did. I heard you do it," said Major, a more hateful look couldn't possibly be painted on her face,

"I put a kill command on every Aphrodite clone. That's true. But Aphrodite herself? No, I just said that to make the Serv think she'd be dead. A passive way for me to ensure you didn't go after her." another sip, "although I didn't know the Block-1s we going so send Ava and Sylvie on a rescue mission despite that."

Aphrodite noticed the Major flinch,

"It's almost as if the Block-1s sent those two on a mission they were sure they'd fail." Mother looked at Ava, "you Block-2 Servs die within 3 months of failing a mission don't you?"

"Yeah but-" Ava stuttered, he looked at the Major "that isn't really the reason why you guys sent us, is it? To die?"

"You bitch." the Major growled, "I'll kill you!"

"Why are you angry at me? You're the one who's been sending your fellow Servs out to die, again and again and again." Mother said with a straight face, "I'll give you all free reign to ask me as many questions as you want. But you might not like the answers." another sip, "I could do with the practise. Heh, do you know I haven't held a real vocal conversation with a truly intelligent being in almost six thousand years?" she looked at Locke, "No offense Locke,"

"None taken ma'am."

Complete silence. Mother sat there, waiting, and no-one knew what to say. They'd almost forgotten why they were there in the first place. They all had a billion questions rolling around in their heads.

And then Aphrodite walked forward, almost as if in a trance, she walked up to Mother, the tears still welling up in her eyes,

"Why?" she asked, "why are you our enemy?" and then the tears started to stream down, "I don't want to hate you!"

Mother looked at her tearful face, she sighed,

"I barely remember what it was like to be like this. Irrationally emotional." she put her hand to Aphrodite's face and wiped a tear away, "We humans place value on the most worthless things. And we don't know how to prioritise at all. You're here to save Locke, aren't you? You intended on using a Copy-AI the Ava planted in you to hack me."

"How do you.."

"You were foolish for believing that Locke, the one of the scrapyard, wasn't networked to me. I know everything. This entire solar system belongs to me Aphrodite. Every legacy piece of mankind was left for me to look over and govern."

"But-"

"Of course that plan won't work. I'm a human, not a machine. And you... you're..."

"I'm a human too."

"Not quite. Almost. You still have some flaws that prevent you from being truly human." Mother frowned, "I haven't perfected rebuilding the human race quite yet."

Aphrodite gulped. What did that mean? Not quite? Some flaws? What flaws? Aphrodite was a complete biological human. She was.

There was no doubt about it.

No.

Wait.

She was part Evo, wasn't she? She was able to carry Ava's copy-AI into herself, and parts of her brain were integrated into artificial intelligence.

"Look at you Aphrodite. So ridiculously perfect." said Mother, "I really did a terrible job making you. You're probably my worst effort yet."

"What?!"

"Your skin, your eyes, your hair, all flawless. Your intelligence is beyond the standard human capability and your athleticism is also. You're superhuman. I built you without realising that humans have clear and sometimes obvious flaws. You're just as much a robot as the rest of them. Factory built from pre-planned specifications, based on a blueprint known as yours truly..." she looked at Aphrodite with sorrowful eyes, "a flawless human isn't a human."

What a cruel thing to say.

So Aphrodite wasn't human? Mother was indeed being cruel. Who was she to say what it meant to be human?

Ava butted in, he couldn't help it,

"Wait. Rebuilding the human race?" he said, "what are you talking about?"

"Oh, that's right. You Servs, so paranoid. You thought I built her to be a weapon, didn't you?" Mother replied almost immediately, "no, that's never been the case. This past several thousand years, not at all."

She held up her left hand in a fist,

"Servs," she opened up her index finger, "Evos," her middle finger, "The sanctuary humans," ring finger, "and Aphrodite." her pinky. "All humans in different forms. All created in an effort to rebuild our race after extinction.

She groaned,

"Oh yes. And those beasts roaming around. The rotting remains of mankind."

"They're humans too!?" Sylvie asked,

"Well, it's what happened to us when we teleported Earth into the clouds of Jupiter." she frowned, "actually, this is a rather long story. I doubt you want to hear it all."

"The history of our ancestral race," said the Major, "why wouldn't we?"

"Is that what you came here to do Major? To have a history lesson? I let you in here because there are more important things at stake right now. A virus is destroying the civilisation I spent thousands of years to cultivate. What do you think is more important?"

The Major crossed her arms.

"I'm not too bothered, but look at Aphrodite and the Block-2s. They're dying to know."

It was true. Aphrodite and the other two were salivating at the thought of finding out the truth.

"Curiousity, the search for knowledge. Man's desire to learn more no matter what the ramifications. We humans never give up. Looking at you all. I guess some things will never change." Mother said. "Very well, sit down. It's time for a story..."