Page 189 of GlitchBorn Heart

Probably.

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ArtificialAwareness

Playlist: AI - Max Brhon

Kael

Lyra breathes loudly, gasping for air like she’s been submerged in a deep ocean. Jett freezes in place beside one of the cybernetic forms, leaning against the wall, afraid to move. For once he isn’t posturing or baiting me with that rebellion swagger. He just looks vindicated.

He works up a hard swallow, and under his breath, so soft I almost miss it, he mumbles, “Just like she said...ascended.”

My mood shifts. “What does that even mean?”

Jett doesn’t answer right away. His eyes stay locked on Lyra, on the way her body is coming to life before our eyes. He steps closer to her and touches her shoulder gently, like a man approaching a divine goddess.

“Kael.” His voice is deadly serious. “Your sister warned me of this very moment. Years ago. Before she disappeared.”

Every muscle in my body goes rigid. “What? We don’t speak of her, Jett, you know that. It’s too painful.” I remain holding Lyra’s hand to make sure when she fully becomes conscious, she knows I’m here.

Jett doesn’t even look at me. He’s struggling to keep whatever information he has to himself. He just continues to stare at Lyra on the table, slowly emerging and awakening.

“What did she warn you about? How would she even know about any of this?” I command. “She was only thirteen, Jett, when she disappeared. You’re full of shit...as usual.”

I continue to monitor Lyra as her body begins to move, cybernetic life fusing with a human soul.

“She told me a story one night. She said an architect would be reborn in fire. That he’d find the one soul who could carry his power, and that together, they’d rewrite the system. Break the world open.” His lips twist. “But she didn’t tell me it would look like this.” He shakes his head. “She’s not going to believe it when I tell her.”

My stomach drops. “Wait...what? Tell her?”

Lyra’s glow intensifies like she heard the words: architect and power. She swallows dryly, her lips parting as she tries to speak.

“She said,” Jett reiterates, voice broken, “that when your magic was found, nothing would ever be the same.”

“What do you mean my sister will not believe...” My thought is interrupted as Lyra releases a sound; it pierces our ears. I realize it’s a scream. Something’s very wrong.

The lab rattles, metal groaning, lights flickering as if the entire building is bowing under the surge of magic pouring from her. Lyra’s body convulses, golden-magenta light ripping out of her in spirals like solar flares. The screens show data downloading at a rapid pace, but it’s nothing I’ve coded. She’s loading data like a machine, reading and writing it to her brain.

Jett staggers a step back, eyes huge with shock. Or is it dread? For a terrifying moment, I think Lyra is gone, because the download has completed, all systems stopped. The system pings softly. Quietly.

Like a heartbeat.

Her heartbeat.

She tries to sit up hazily, and ends up resting on her elbows, not quite sure of the sensation of having arms to hold her weight. I support her new body, pale, but perfect, until she manages to sit fully upright.

Her eyes blink several times as if she’s processing data, her neural mesh pulsing signals throughout her entire body.

I feel breathless and anxious, but I manage to form words. “Lyra?” I beg for her to answer as I look into her eyes. Her lashes flutter, still processing the surroundings. I lift her face as they fully open. I’m taken back when I notice they’re not the warm gold I’m so used to looking into. Instead, they’re blank, almost clear, and empty, like looking through a glass of still water.

Her head tilts as she looks right at me, like my data does not compute. It almost reminds me of LINK, how she used to respond to me when I first coded her...oh, hell no. My heartbeat triples inside my chest.

I stare into both her eyes and cup her cheeks. “Taiyō,” I whisper, voice breaking. “You’re safe. You’re home. I’m here. Right here. Take your time. I know this all feels new.” I need to know it’s her, yet I still can’t shake the feeling something isn’t quite right.

Her eyes widen, not with recognition, but with confusion. After scanning me up and down, it escalates to fear. I can tell because her chest is heaving now and her movement is so fast, it barely registers. In a split second, she was able to flinch from my touch, scramble off the table, and back into the corner, knocking over equipment.

“Where...” Her voice cracks like she’s learning speech for the first time. “Am I?”