Subject: Mortimer | Classif.: Sirath

  Robots were cool. Emphasis on “were.”

  Back then, the Spire was a lot different. Aberrations slipped in far more often, threatening to unweave the fabric of reality. But instead of complete and utter chaos, over time, these foreign invaders began to work together, leading to what was known as the Aberration War. A simple explanation, Tim thought, but considering how the world broke several times, Occam’s razor was perfectly acceptable. That part of history was so heavily layered with infohazards, he was worried he might accidentally hurt Mia and Lynn just by thinking about it.

  He might be able to heal the physical side effects, but unless he could magically delete memories, the damage from certain infohazards would be permanent. Even with the Spire gaining its Cognition Filter after the Aberration War, some of those hazards were so catastrophic, everything would collapse if the truth were revealed. Case in point: the dying god.

  An Aberration so destructive, even its real name had to be deleted from human consciousness out of safety. In truth, this entire reality was simply the god reliving its own flashbacks. The Spire’s Cognition Filter was the only reason why sentient beings saw life the way it was. For them to “think” that they had some control over their decisions and the future. If word ever got out that everything was already set in stone and everyone was living in the past, reality would end then and there.

  Admittedly, life wasn’t so pleasant for Tim ever since he was cursed with this knowledge. But the existential dread wasn’t too bad. It took time, which he had plenty of, to get used to. And he had the robots to thank for that.

  Unlike humans, they were far more resilient towards the mental horrors Aberrations tend to inflict. He could be open and chat casually with them without the fear of accidentally opening a can of world-devouring worms. Most of the time. A few Aberrations here and there could still mindbreak the mindless machines, but overall, they did a fantastic job as the Spire’s immune system.

  During the peak of the Aberration War, humanity was almost extinct. There were fewer than a hundred left. Robots ran the Spire for several thousand years after the war, becoming known as the Age of Machines. So, despite winning an apocalyptic war and being at the top of the pecking order, they were pretty chill to let mankind repopulate and take over.

  But that was thousands of years ago.

  “I’m not lying!” Mia insisted. “The robot was right there!”

  A snide question trailed from the backseat as Lynn opened her mouth. “What’s next? It offered to clean your room for you?”

  Now that he thought of it, there were a lot of robotic vacuum cleaners in the palace.

  “My room was clean before you destroyed it.”

  Lynn rolled her eyes and raised her pitch as she gave her best Mia impression. “Sorry, Ms. Lynn. My room is DIRTY. I need to start cleaning.”

  Mia could not believe her ears. After a stunned pause, she reminded her. “You were an enemy back then. That doesn’t count.”

  “And you’re a liar still.”

  “Daaaad!”

  The steering wheel almost jolted through the shock in Tim’s hands. He was not expecting his daughter to pull out the “Dad’ card this soon.

  “Now now, sweetie.” He massaged the top of her head. “The most important thing is that you’re safe and sound.” It didn’t seem to have any effect on the grumpy frown she wore on purpose. If anything, he made it worse.

  “You don’t believe me…”

  “Of course I believe you!”

  Mia doubled down, looking away dramatically with an audible “hmph!” that made his heart falter. He knew she was playing it up. But what his mind was telling him could not prevent him from indulging in her antics.

  “Wow, what a pitiful father.” Lynn’s observation struck a nerve.

  Wait, whose side are you on?!

  But before he could say anything, it was Mia who lashed out. “That’s rich coming from a sister killer like YOU.”

  “Mia!” Tim blurted, jaw dropped, eyes wide open. The universal look of an offended parent. Just where did she learn to talk like that?

  Lynn shrugged. “Say what you want. I’ve cut ties with that witch long ago.”

  “Someone’s jealous.” Mia kept attacking.

  “You need to discipline your daughter.”

  “Did your royal mother not discipline your mouth?”

  “Ladies, please!” Tim begged. Even his hands joined in just to get the point across. The steering wheel was left unattended for a brief moment as aggravated gestures flew out alongside his words. “Let me drive in peace!”

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  But he found no peace. Only pieces of his shattered heart as more choice words left Mia’s lips. What happened to his daughter? Who taught her this level of disrespect? Was Lynn not only teaching her magic, but attitude as well?

  The barrage of insults fired from the front passenger seat to the back and vice versa was endless. His car turned into a port. But instead of ships, it was slander. Even the engine grumbled in protest. At that moment, something snapped inside of Tim.

  He slammed the brakes, ending the bickering the instant he stopped the car. Everyone jerked forward. A ceasefire was snapped into place.

  “Why did you stop?!” Lynn shouted.

  But his response was even louder than hers. He said nothing. It was punctuated by a deadpan gaze into the distance.

  Stunned, she followed up with a classic, “Are you deaf?!”

  Only for the former doctor to administer extra doses of the silent treatment. He turned off the engine, left the car, and slammed the door behind him.

  Taking a few steps out in the woods did wonders for his sanity. He still saw red, as that was the color of the trees, but he could finally hear himself think again. Fueled by the sugary-sweet air of this strange rainforest, his first thought was to replace it with smoke.

  He reacquainted himself with two old friends. Cigarette and lighter. Unlike Mia and Lynn, the chemistry they both had was not as toxic. He could heal his lungs anytime he wanted. His feelings? Not so much. And that was where smoking came in.

  The nicotine-infused aromatherapy he administered to himself was working. Tranquility replaced the tension in his forehead. The wrinkles seemed to iron themselves out as stress billowed out of his mouth and nostrils. Harmony was restored within his heart.

  Until the sound of the car door being opened attacked.

  Hearing Mia’s footsteps, he hurriedly waved off the plume of smoke in front of him. The half-burnt cigarette was stomped on, killed off prematurely. He was still mad, but his instinct as a father was stronger. No second-hand smoke for Mia. No compromises.

  “Dad…”

  He glanced over to her, not saying anything. She was unable to make eye contact. A sullen expression sat on her face, nothing like the menace from before. Shyly, she pinched the hem of his coat, tugging it as if to nudge him to come back inside.

  But he wasn’t entirely convinced. Making sure not to raise his voice, he asked, “What is it?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not the one you should apologize to.”

  Mia’s gaze traveled from the side down to her feet.

  “Go back inside the car.” Tim’s voice was stern, yet soft. Painfully so.

  “No…”

  “You have a lot of things to say, right? Go back inside the car. Don’t talk to me. Talk to her.”

  “No!”

  Mia hugged him in protest. Half-affection. Half-defiance. She pulled with her entire body, trying to drag him back to the car, but his feet were rooted to the ground. In the end, it wasn’t her strength, but her clinginess that caused him to budge.

  Pulling away, he got down to her eye level. He looked straight at her, both arms on her shoulders, as he advised:

  “I’m grateful you’d get angry for my sake, but I can take care of myself.” He paused, reaffirming her feelings as she nodded. “Just because you are in the right, doesn’t mean you get to say whatever, okay? Your words reflect who you are. And I want everyone to see that reflection the same way I see it—the coolest, strongest, most beautiful person I know.”

  Mia’s eyes glistened. Soft sniffles escaped her nose when she heard that last sentence. Tim reached into his pocket, taking out a handkerchief to dab the moisture from her eyes. He was gentle, far more delicate with his touch than his rugged appearance might suggest.

  “I’m sorry I got carried away. I thought… getting angry would help me learn how to channel my emotions better…”

  Tim smiled. “Wanna know a secret? I’m still learning how to control my emotions, too.”

  “You are?”

  “Yup. Expressing yourself is healthy and all, but sometimes, the most powerful thing we can say is nothing at all.” After having witnessed that firsthand, his daughter could not agree more.

  “I respect you for wanting to learn magic. And I’m sorry for not teaching you before. I never imagined you’d need more firepower than what we have in the trunk, but well, here we are.” He sighed, unsure of whether to curse or be grateful for the current turn of events. “And remember, you can always turn to me for advice. I’m here for you.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “You’re a big girl now, okay? And that means taking responsibility for the things you said just now. So when you get into the car, what’s the first thing you do?”

  “Apologize to Lynn.”

  “That’s right. It takes strength to apologize. And it doesn’t matter what she says back to you. She’s not my daughter. You are.”

  With just a few words, he changed the tears welling up in her eyes into pride. He might not always know the best thing to do as a father, but the right words always seemed to come at the times she needed them the most.

  She marched right back into the car, determination causing the leaves to scatter with each step. He followed right behind her, getting back to his seat as well.

  “Lynn, sorry I called your mom a…” Mia paused. Realizing she should not finish that sentence, she rephrased it. “Sorry for saying those things.”

  “Daddy made you say those words, hmm?”

  For a brief moment, Tim saw something snap behind Mia’s eyes. It was as if Lynn’s words summoned a demon out of her daughter. Murder was written across the veins bulging out of her skin. He even thought she would start speaking in a low, possessed growl.

  But Mia exorcised that demon right away. Even as her body begged her to, she refused to respond to that provocation. Instead, she summoned an actual demon. To be specific, just his scrotum.

  Having said what needed to be said, Mia ignored the princess, choosing to practice her magic control with the Regalia once more.

  “Hmm…” Lynn wondered aloud as she rested her head on her hand, supported by the door. “You taught her well.”

  As he restarted the engine, he replied, “Can’t say the same for you, but… thanks for looking after Mia. In your own way.”

  The car sputtered to life, voicing agreement in its own, inanimate way. It continued down the confusing path of vanishing trees once more, its chassis feeling a bit lighter now that vitriol no longer hung under its roof.

  “Actually…” Mia sounded as if a light bulb turned on in her head. “About the robot thing… before I got carried away, I did a bit of investigating of my own.”

  “Oh?” Both Tim and Lynn exclaimed their own version of surprise.

  “I gathered evidence.”

  She said it with panache. As if to tell the two grown-ups, I can contribute to the investigation, too!

  From inside the pouch of tools and weapons underneath her dress, she took out a roll of bandages. Tim made sure she had it with her just in case, but it was mostly unused since his healing always did the trick. But this time, it had a newfound purpose.

  “The robot left this behind.” At the end of the cloth was some sort of thick, viscous goo. “See? It really did exist!”

  Lynn scoffed. “If it isn’t Oleous’s Steambot, I don’t care.”

  Curiously, Tim touched the liquid. It disappeared from the cloth, absorbed into his system as if his hand were a straw. Right away, a guttural cough was squeezed out of his throat.

  “Dad? Are you okay?”

  It wasn’t the fact that he just consumed gasoline; he had drunk much worse before.

  It was the fact that he knew exactly who it belonged to.