Page 47 of Human Reform
“Come in,” I said, gesturing to the empty chair beside my desk.“Though I’m not sure how much genius you’re witnessing right now.”
Sage entered with that effortless grace all the cyborgs seemed to possess, taking the seat with a sigh.“So…” Her striking eyes met mine.“Care to explain why our resident stoic is suddenly even more robotic than usual?Because the Daxon I just saw out there is definitely not the same one who couldn’t stop smiling this morning.”
My stomach twisted at the confirmation.“How bad is it?”
“Bad enough that Tegan asked if he’d been reprogrammed,” she said, her tone softening.“What happened, Alora?”
I swallowed hard, my eyes burning with fresh tears I refused to shed.“He implemented my patch prototype.Against my explicit warning that it could cause memory loss.”
Understanding dawned on Sage’s face.“So he doesn’t remember?—”
“Me.Us.Anything from the past three days,” I finished, my voice cracking despite my best efforts.“It’s like I never existed to him.”
Sage cursed under her breath.“That self-sacrificing dummy.Why would he?—”
“Because he thought he had to choose,” I said, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice.“Between me and the colony.”
Something flickered across Sage’s face—guilt, remorse, regret?She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.“About that.I may have… contributed to his decision.”
I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
“When I pulled him aside earlier today, I threatened to report him to Helix for being emotionally compromised.I was worried he’d put you above the colony’s safety.”She ran a hand over her face.“I didn’t think he’d do something this drastic.”
“Great,” I said flatly, even as my mind whirled with this new information.“So he thought he had to prove his loyalty by erasing me?”
“I’m sorry, Alora.I was wrong.I shouldn’t have pushed him to choose.”
I sighed, too exhausted for anger.“He didn’t choose, though.He tried to have both.”I gestured to my screen where his backup glowed.“He created a neural backup before implementing the patch.He never intended to lose me permanently.”
Sage’s eyes widened.“That’s… actually brilliant.”
Despite everything, a flicker of pride warmed my chest.“Yeah, it was.”
“Can you restore it?”
“I think so,” I said, my voice stronger now.“I’ve developed an integration protocol that should work.But I need to convince him to let me implement it, and I need access to the central processing hub again.”
Sage nodded decisively.“Consider it done.I’ll get him there in twenty minutes.”She paused, meeting my eyes.“You should also know… when I confronted him earlier, he said something.Something I think you should hear.”
My heart leapt into my throat.“What?”
“He said he would delete himself if you asked him to.That he was in love with you and would do anything for you.”A small smile touched her lips.“Those were his exact words.”
The breath left my lungs in a rush.Love.He’d used that word.About me.
“Then I need to get him back,” I whispered.“The real him.”
Sage stood, squeezing my shoulder.“Twenty minutes.Central processing hub.I’ll have your brooding hero there.”
As she turned to leave, I called after her.“Sage?Thank you.”
She glanced back, a genuine smile lighting her face.“Don’t thank me yet.Save that for when you have Daxon looking at you like you hang the moons again.”
When she’d gone, I returned to my work with renewed determination.Daxon loved me.He’d said the words.And I was going to make damn sure he remembered them.
TWENTY
DAXON
