Remembrance and Revival
August 20th, 3573. The night after Emily Gates had been saved from the worst of the Red by an unlikely ally. That Red with a coat of Gold that had aimed her fire at an unlikely foe.
A whole day had passed since then, and she even managed a whole night with her own daughter with no issue. Helped her discover her own origins, explored what might be her destiny, even bonded with her over memories of better days. Once dark and hidden memories, some of them. Nonetheless, Charlotte seemed satisfied with the research so far, and both were just about ready for bed anyway.
Doubtless her daughter would keep snooping later, though. Perhaps a little surprise for her efforts was in order? She would have Artemis remind her in the morning, but Artemis was more prone than ever to ruin the thrill of the search now that Charlotte was its owner.
...right. Charlotte wanted to build a body to house Artemis.
Mum slipped under the covers of her bed in the lab. Couldn't exactly blame her daughter... She herself considered it once upon a time. Heck, she even had one built for Zak'yanna when it was needed.
Sigh... it felt like just yesterday Zak'yanna was sneaking up on her from behind for a surprise hug. One of the many thousands she used to pretend annoyed her, but would always enjoy receiving. Zak' saw right through her every time, but that just made it all the better.
Mother Gates fell asleep remembering those better days, where the two of them would hug, raise their lab-grown children, hug, save another world, hug some more... She dreamed vividly of those days, raising Sophia and Charlotte as one small but happy family. She dreamed vividly of the days before and the stories thereof she would tell her daughters. Of meeting Zak'yanna at Chor's Compass, of the Dyson Sphere sabotage mission they ran together, of each exchange they had remotely in that galaxy, of each time Zak'yanna hugged her until she liked it, that moment where Zak'yanna saved her life and gave her the edge she needed against Yug'veer. She dreamed of the days she spent recharging Zak'yanna to a functional state after the Red Witch spirited half of her away. Dreamed of the days she spent hugging the battery that housed her, until she eventually returned.
She dreamed of a date with Zak'yanna, at an old restaurant that served food of Latin American origin, with Zak' smiling in front of her, as she took a bite of a taco, for the first time in her... Wait, no. Zak'yanna wasn't here for that. Neither... neither have they ever kissed??? At an old apartment????? ...okay, they've both enjoyed sunsets before, but not like this??? And what was this rally--
...She remembered this rally.
She remembered this exact rally.
Enough to know that it was not Zak'yanna who sat beside her that day, watching speakers rant and rave one by one about a future and world without Y-chromosomes. That it was not Emily Gates herself shouting into that microphone at one point before the main speaker. That it was not Soleil Beaulieu who smashed that woman into the microphone stand and started a fatal riot that would kill the one person closest to her now frozen heart that day. That person, who was not Zak'yanna as she dreamed, but still shielded her body from the stampede that ensued. The dream was all so wrong, so incorrect.
And yet, at the same time... it was as true as the once lost memories it was born from. At the same time, the absolute rage and anguish she felt when seeing this false memory was just as strong and true as reality once was for her, but could no longer be. At the same time...
Perhaps it was not a false memory, but a parable, finally understood?
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Four hours after falling asleep, and a half hour after waking up, Emily Gates strode to the research station she and Charlotte were in earlier. Her attention was away from that data terminal, though, palm firmly planted on a desk she once made heavy use of for genetic experimentation purposes. She glared down at this desk, a figurative fire in her eyes.
"Morning, Miss Gates," spoke Artemis at 1:34 AM. "I estimate that you wish to continue your research into finding a solution to The Red that you yourself can apply to those affected by it?"
"Correct," answered Mother Gates, fingers clenching as if digging into that desk. "But not quite yet."
A deep breath from the mother. And exhale, with a small burst of flame.
"Do you still have all my research on my secret project?"
"Which one, Miss Gates?"
Right. "Frauenwelt."
"Affirmative, Miss Gates. ...It has been five years since you last worked on this project. Where would you like to resum--"
"Destroy all research under that project."
A long silence. "My apologies, Miss Gates. Would you be inclined to repeat yourself for confirmation?"
"Destroy ALL RESEARCH under Project Frauenwelt, and shred any trace of it such that neither I nor anyone else can EVER RECOVER IT."
"Is that enough confirmation for you?"
An even longer silence. During that silence, Gates's research terminal shined bright behind her as file after file was scrambled, encrypted, and summarily deleted from the system. She could see a faint reflection of this happening in the glass pane in front of her. Years of research into perfecting a fluid that turned man into woman within minutes... into shaping the man's brain chemistry such that they would see this change as one that was meant to be... into the possibility of enabling such newly-transformed women to reproduce with one another without intercourse...
All of it, destroyed. Once... and forever.
"...Project Frauenwelt's destruction is complete," echoed Artemis. "What would you request I do with your current supply of Pink Shot™?"
"Whatever you want," answered Gates, who turned around to face the data terminal. "Burn it, sell it, give it all to Charlotte, I don't care."
She swiped the results of her project's destruction aside to uncover where she and Charlotte had left off on their research, pulling together everything she could find about The Red.
"Not when I have an old energy woman and multiverse to save."