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Sora takes half a step forward. “You—”
“I will handle this,” Pribadium!One insists. “You have done quite enough,
Mr. Shimizu.” She looks at her alternate self. “You were killed in a
streaming dead zone,” she explains bluntly. “You were on a manned mission to
explore and investigate a dimensional barrier. There is a gap between your
memory and the moment of cessation. It is not entirely clear how long,
though. Your consciousness may have been transmitted to the afterlife
buffer. You may be a duplicate. I am sorry for your loss.”
The other Pribadium blinks as she looks between the two of them. “What is
the last thing I should recall? Because I don’t remember any of that. I
don’t know this dimensional barrier, I don’t know him, and I don’t know
you.”
Pribadium!One winces. “I’m Pribadium, an alt of you.” She gestures towards
her own face. “This is how we originally looked.” She stops for a moment to
think. “Well, it’s not exactly how we used to look, but it’s fairly
close. Who do you think you are?”
“I’m Pribadium,” the dupe contends, almost combatively. It doesn’t
seem right to think of her as Pribadium!Two since so much has evidently been
lost. “I don’t recognize your face at all. I don’t know what you mean by
alt. I’m the only me that has ever been.”
Pribadium!One points to a nearby mirror. “Do you recognize
that face?”
The other Pribadium walks towards it and touches her own chin and cheek.
“Yes, this is the Stonehenge model. It explains why I have a British accent
I suppose.”
“What did I do?” Sora questions. “Did I pull the wrong backup? I grabbed the
second most recent one. I assumed the most recent one was you. It was
time-stamped earlier today. There were no other iterations. How did this
happen?” He is distraught.
Pribadium!One sighs. “There should have only been two, and you’re right, the
most recent one would have been me. If you had pulled the wrong one, what
should be happening is that she thinks she’s me. But she doesn’t think she’s
either of us. Her mind has been entirely corrupted.” She clears her throat.
“Pribadium!Three—that’s what we’re going to need to call you—I need to run
some tests on you. Do I have your consent?”
Pribadium!Three stares at who she perceives to be a stranger. “I will
run the tests. I don’t trust you, and I don’t need you.” She strips off what
little clothing she has on, climbs into the nearest medical pod, and begins
to operate it herself. She programs it for a full diagnostic run, which will
include periods of unconsciousness. “I’m locking you out of the pod, but I
would like you to leave the room as well.”
Pribadium!One starts to pull Sora away when he doesn’t move immediately.
“I’m sorry,” Sora desperately apologizes to the mysterious duplicate in the
pod.
“It’s okay,” Pribadium!Three replies. “Je pense, donc je suis.”
Sora’s eyes widen, recalling that as the phrase he used for her as well.
Still, he allows himself to be dragged out of the room. “Did you hear what
she said?”
“Yes, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s only a coincidence,” Pribadium!One is
not sure she believes that, though. She opens her mouth to continue, but he
interrupts.
“Don’t say what you’re going to say. I know, I was rash and impulsive. I’m
sorry.”
What’s done is done, so they just wait out in the corridor for
Pribadium!Three to finish. She comes out half an hour later. “I know what I
am now. I’m not Pribadium.”
“Who are you then?” Pribadium!One presses.
“I’m the universe.”
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