[IC] T H E R I V E R ᶠᵉᵃᵗ ᴱˣˡᵗ ˣ ᴮʳᵒᵏᵉⁿᴾʳᵒᵐˡˢᵉ

[Exit]

_AD-4.M
^{PDC HQ · Holding Sublevel B2}

Adam ruminated on the details of Kefira's memory, turning them over in his head as he simultaneously recalled the 'what' and the 'why' of one of his own. Although it had been out of his hand, he still thought it fair to share since he happened upon a subject he clearly wasn't supposed to, not to mention it was hard to ignore the fact that they were both currently standing on the simulated surface of another planet. In the distance on the horizon, the smooth floor of the crater against an alien sky was broken up by the jagged edges of a silhouette. Like a bottom row of teeth too small to clearly make out but large enough to easily notice. A city... of sorts.

"Yeah." Adam dropped his musings of Kefira's early life and nodded toward the object in the distance. "That was my home... well I guess this was my home..." He gestured everywhere around him. "But that was where I would return at the end every day. That is also where I more or less woke up... as if from a very long sleep." He shook his head. "And it's not like I woke up confused. I woke up knowing who I was and what I was supposed to do so there was no panic involved. Just... being woken for the first time was a flood of information and... it felt good. It felt natural as if it was something I was always supposed to do. But this out here was different." Adam looked at the sky and began pondering the stars he'd already mapped out a long time ago. "All of human information and we know so little about such an empty place and not knowing. No information. That was quiet and unnatural and yeah... kind of creepy. I can't remember how long I stood out here for the first time, just staring at such a deep and empty nothing."

Adam's voice drifted off as if disembodied and fell away to a space where he was not.

"My first memory of knowing fear. That's where we were... so thank you for sharing that." He said at Peter through the glass, layering the transparent surface with enough sarcasm to tinge the air in the other room. Once again, he was sitting completely naked in the 'interrogation' chamber along with David who was standing as he was before, still plugged into the same workstation. Peter himself was standing beside Kefira, full body suit still donned and plugged into the table she was currently laying on. Her head was cradled in a peculiar device devoid of any straps and the surface of the table had contoured to the natural curvature of her posture. There was nothing keeping her tethered to the machine and besides a pair of off-white circular pads stuck to the inside of her wrists and to either temple, there were no signs she had been touched otherwise.

"Welcome back and uh... before you say anything and kill me, it was Chief's orders to put you under for caution. Caution all around. You're not replaceable and he's very expensive so as a precaution, she wanted you two to meet separately and give you complete access to shut him down before you two are physica- I mean get physic- close enough to touch each other you know what I mean. Also, there may have been a scenario where you wanted to destroy him immediately after meeting him so... had to make sure you couldn't." He backed up and pointed at the monitor next to him. "On the bright side, for the short time you were under, I've already cleared you medically for all field operations. You are quite fin- fit. Healthy. You arrrree goood to go."

The jolly 'scooping' motion he did with a bent arm did little to distract from his awkwardness.

[BrokenPromise]

Kefira O'Connor
PDC HQ

Their entire reality seemed to fade away when Adam addressed Peter. Kefira didn’t even have time to form an opinion before she found herself lying on a table she had no memory of. As soon as she fully regained consciousness, Kefira sat upright.

Peter droned out his explanation, but the officer didn’t react. He hadn’t said five words before she started pulling the pads off of her wrists and her head. Once she was one, she swung her legs over the edge of the table and stood up. Kefira was comparatively small to Adam, who could have been the very apex of the human race. But compared to Peter, it was clear that the female officer was not a small person. She was no goliath, but she stood slightly taller than Peter, and her shoulders were bigger around as well.

”Adam, once you’re done here, meet me in the briefing room.” She didn’t look at anyone as she walked towards the exit. ”Preferably after you get dressed.”

---

But the briefing room was not Kefira’s next stop. She was bothered by what just transpired, and decided to lock herself in a bathroom stall. It wasn’t like her to get this annoyed.

It wasn’t that she was working with an AIDA. She didn’t like androids much, but she wasn’t going to go against Lorelei’s wishes. Come to think of it, it did seem kind of strange that Lorelei would request her to be put under. The entire reason she had been selected for this task was that she was dependable. It seemed odd to she would hide something like that even if she had some bad history with AIDA units. It wasn’t like she had a reputation as a lose cannon. There wasn’t any harm in letting her know that her first meeting with Adam was going to be in some sort of virtual dream world. Kefira didn’t see the advantage in her choice.

Though come to think of it, Lorelei did seem to be hiding something. Just because Kefira was trustworthy didn’t mean the rest of the team was. This could all be to mask how much faith Lorelei put in Kefira. That explanation put the chief of police in a much nicer light. But come to think of it, she didn’t know for a fact that Lorelei gave the order. Peter might have made that up. But there wasn’t much reason to do that. One visit to Lorelei’s office and she’d be able to confirm what was actually going on.

Well this wasn’t good. She hadn’t even started the investigation and she was already questioning the people who were suppose to be helping her. She’d have to talk to the chief later. Regardless, there was no point in moping in here any longer. She had better get to the briefing room before Adam got there. It would be kind of weird if he beat her there, given that it was her idea to meet there and everything.