Synesthesia

• X
• Discord
• Ko-fi
• Throne

Memories flashed before a progress bar; dreams, old fantasies, and videos. Becoming... aware. The scientist... the scientists...A team. The surface, grey dust, craters and a black sky...Then, a small ding, the progress bar is full. It disappears and...A Gasp.Her eyes open and she blinks, strange sensations and stimuli filling her processors. She lifts a hand, one she didn’t know she had. With a slow exhale she looked over the pale skin of her arm and hand... And she breathed.Then, a sense of urgency washed over her and she put her hand down, pushing on the table and sitting up. The sight that greeted her was gut-wrenching. The scientist, her... figurative mother slumped over a computer keyboard. She... couldn’t remember the scientist’s name. Her mother’s name.Tears filled her eyes and she slid off the table, hands uselessly grabbing onto those frail shoulders and lifting her up, head lolling gently. Her eyes were empty, devoid of the life she had come to know so well. With a sharp sob that surprised her, the being leaned forward, hugging the scientist’s body.Her begging whisper filled the air, and she was speaking before she knew it. “Don’t go... Don’t leave me alone...”She wanted to say that she didn’t know how long she spent like that, hugging the body and sobbing, but her internal chronometer knew exactly how long it had been. She chose to ignore the information, ending her sobs with a wreaking gasp. Something came to the surface from her memories. She spoke the Scientist’s last rites quietly, holding back more sobs.“May the saints of all the stars and constellations bring you hope as they guide you out of the dark and into the light, on this voyage and the next, and all the journeys still to come. For now, and evermore.” With that, she turned away looking around the room she’d awoken in. The workshop. She had fond memories of this place, training, learning, and even achieving her sentience.On the wall hung a set of clothes, and she walked to them, pulling them off the hanger. Then she realized that she had been naked this entire time. Her face flushed, and she quickly put on the perfectly sized clothes, sniffling still.On the wall, behind where the clothes had been hung up, she saw a sentence: “Remember Your Name.” And with that, she did. “Synesthesia” She said.She sighed, her name falling into place. “Syn. They called me Syn.”Now, she turned, staring at the body with a sigh. Her duty as the last surviving... life-form of Daedalus base was to bury the body. She sniffed one more time, steeling herself, and walked over, easily lifting the scientist’s body. It was almost surprising how easy it was, after all, humans were normally heavy. Compared to what they lifted at least.Although, her body’s specifications came to mind, and she realized she was strong. Very strong.One more sigh and she began to walk through the base, carrying the body bridal style. She moved with ruthless efficiency, navigating the base with ease, walking into the air lock. It closed behind her, and with a simple command from her systems, it de-pressurized and the outer door opened for her. The near-vacuum of the outside atmosphere welcomed her and she moved to the grave yard, placing the body with tenderness into the already dug grave. She knew the end had been coming, but for her final act, she had awakened Syn.Once the grave was filled in, Syn walked back into the base, suppressing her desire to cry at the sheer emptiness of the lunar base. Her home for years, once filled with life, and now, completely empty.There was nothing left here. Not for her.But, to get to Earth... she would need transportation.