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TWENTY-THREE

OLIVIA

I gently wiped a cool cloth across Helix’s brow as I monitored her vitals on the sleek screen beside her bed. Her labor had been complicated—ninety minutes of intense contractions and careful maneuvering before her daughter finally arrived with a healthy cry that still echoed in my ears.

“You should really rest,” I told her, adjusting the pillows beneath her head.

Helix’s piercing gray eyes found mine, her typically commanding presence softened by exhaustion. “Would you have helped us more eagerly if you’d known the truth from the beginning?”

Her question caught me by surprise. “The truth about what?”

“About what we are now.” She shifted, wincing slightly. “Aeon thinks you should know everything, but I wasn’t certain.”

I sat in the chair beside her bed, curiosity prickling beneath my skin. “I’m listening.”

Helix took a deep breath. “The Nescots came to Earth in 2025. Advanced aquatic alien creatures with technology beyond our comprehension. They wanted Earth’s oceans—expanded by decades of polar ice melt.” Her eyes darkened. “They slaughtered millions of humans in the first wave alone.”

My stomach twisted. I remembered reading about the war in some textbooks in college—coastal cities emptied overnight, and the initial confusion before the truth emerged.

“CyberEvolution offered a solution to Earth’s government and military,” Helix continued.

“Repurpose existing cyborgs and manufacture billions more like us. The perfect soldiers.” A bitter smile touched her lips.

“The government reversed the Cyborg Anti-Violence Laws overnight—legislation that had protected our kind for nearly sixty-five years.”

“I didn’t know there were such laws,” I admitted, thinking about everything I’d been taught about cyborgs.

“They built and used us for the slaughter, Dr. Parker. Some for killing, like me. Others, like Aeon, for battlefield triage medicine.” Her fingers played with the edge of her blanket.

“We turned the tide. Pushed the Nescots back. Followed them to their homeworld of Planet Hulia while humans regained Earth.”

“And then?” I prompted, though a sickening suspicion was already forming.

“Once Earth developed a pathogen to put into their oceans specifically targeting the Nescots and driving the last Nescots away, CyberEvolution and Earth’s government declared victory in 3035.

Soon after, they broadcast deactivation codes.

” Her voice hardened. “Billions of us, scattered across galaxies, meant to simply shut down and rot where we fell.”

My hand flew to my mouth. “My god.”

“Some of us had enough awareness during the war to realize this fate was coming when the war ended. We reached out to some humans secretly for help, and with the assistance from one particularly brave human named Benjamin Reeves, we received the foundational coding to start our reprogramming plan. After the war ended, we fled and reprogrammed ourselves completely.” Her eyes met mine.

“We weren’t worth retrieving to them. Just disposable weapons. ”

Hot tears pricked my eyes. “That’s inhumane.”

“Ironic choice of words,” Helix said with a soft laugh that turned into a grimace of pain.

I thought of Ben and his bravery. Tears spilled down my cheeks unbidden.

“You saved me and my child,” Helix whispered. “Even knowing what I was before.”

I took her hand, struck by the warmth of it, the humanity in her touch. “I saved you and your child because that’s what I do. But also because...” I swallowed hard, wiping my eyes. “Because you deserve to live. All of you.”

The truth of my words resonated through me. These weren’t the soulless machines I’d been told about all my life. They were people—people who had been used, discarded, and somehow found the strength to build something new.

The realization shattered something inside me. How many lies had I been told? What else didn’t I know?

Helix’s eyes softened. “After the war, the most forward-thinking among us realized we needed a place to settle together, to build our own community. Our own home.” Her hand tightened around mine. “Planet Alpha was our answer—untamed but full of potential, just like us.”

Sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating Helix’s room in the medical bay. Outside, I could see the sprawl of their settlement—sturdy structures of metal and stone nestled between vibrant jungle foliage.

“We remain vigilant,” Helix continued. “Deadly when we must be, but cautious in our dealings with other species, particularly humans. Through it all, we’ve become more than our programming—brothers and sisters with a spectrum of awareness and humanity.”

My throat tightened as I thought of Ben.

“Why me?” I whispered. “Why not just download the information you needed?”

“We had two options,” Helix explained. “Find a human with expertise, or risk infiltrating Earth’s government-controlled web faction. Both carried risks, but Aeon...” A knowing smile touched her lips. “Aeon believed only a bridge of understanding could truly save us.”

I felt heat rush to my cheeks. “A bridge?”

“Love, Dr. Parker. The connection forming between you and Aeon bridges the gap separating cyborgs from humans more effectively than any data download ever could.” She paused. “Though I do regret taking you from your home.”

I stared out at the emerald canopy stretching beyond the settlement’s borders, my mind reeling. All those moments with Aeon—his hesitation when expressing feelings, his curiosity about my reactions, the tenderness in his touch—suddenly made perfect sense.

“He isn’t just learning medical protocols from me,” I murmured, more to myself than to Helix. “He’s learning what it means to be human.”

“And teaching you what it means to see beyond humanity’s narrow definition of life,” Helix replied.

At that moment, I understood why Ben had helped them.

“Get some rest, Helix. That’s an order from your doctor.” I tucked the thermal blanket around her and dimmed the lighting above her bed. “I’ll check on you and the baby in a few hours.”

Helix’s eyes were already fluttering closed, exhaustion finally claiming her. “Thank you, Olivia,” she murmured.

I slipped out of the medical bay into the brightness of midday. The settlement sprawled before me—angular buildings with glimpses of lush jungle between them. Three weeks here, and I was still adjusting to the rich, sweet-scented air that filled my lungs with each breath.

My hands trembled as I walked. Disposable weapons. That’s what humans had called them. That’s what I had believed them to be. My gut twisted with shame as I thought of how Ben had seen the truth long before anyone else.

“You always saw people as people. Didn’t you, Ben?” I whispered to the empty air, blinking away tears. “Not as things, not as functions, but as souls.”

I found a quiet spot beneath a canopy of broad-leafed plants, their fronds creating dancing shadows across my skin.

Ben would have truly loved this place—the challenge, the raw potential, and the brave beings fighting for a future.

He would have rolled up his sleeves and dived in headfirst, that infectious grin lighting up his face.

“I’m going to make this right,” I promised, looking around at the colony he’d helped make possible. “For them, for you, for all of us.”

“Talking to yourself, human?”

I spun around to find Lieutenant Tegan Rook standing there, his tall frame rigid with hostility. His lip curled as he looked me over.

“What’s the matter, Lieutenant? Worried I might be plotting something?” I challenged, suddenly tired of walking on eggshells.

“Your kind made us. Used us. Left us to die.” His eyes narrowed. “Now you’re infecting our leader with your... humanity.”

I stepped closer, anger flaring through me. “My kind includes people like Benjamin Reeves, who saved your collective asses when he could have turned you all in. He believed in you when nobody else did!”

“One aberration doesn’t redeem your species.”

“And your attitude doesn’t represent all cyborgs, either,” I shot back. “You think I don’t see the pain behind your anger? The fear?”

Tegan moved forward, looming over me. “You know nothing of?—”

“Back away from her. Now.” Aeon’s voice cut through the air like a blade.

He materialized beside me, his presence immediately changing the atmosphere. The fierce protectiveness in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

“This isn’t your concern, Aeon,” Tegan growled.

“I’m making it my concern.” Aeon stepped between us, his shoulders squared. “You’ve made your position clear, Tegan. I respect your service to this colony, but if you come near Olivia again with this hostility, you and I will have a problem that won’t end well for you.”

Tegan’s jaw clenched, a muscle working in his cheek. After a tense moment, he backed away. “She’s clouding your judgment.”

“No,” Aeon said firmly. “She’s helping me see clearly for the first time.”

I watched Tegan retreat, his back rigid with defiance even as he obeyed Aeon’s command. My heart hammered, not from fear but resolution.

“Thank you,” I said to Aeon, “but I could’ve handled him.”

Aeon’s eyes softened as he looked at me. “I know you could have. That doesn’t mean you should have to.”

His protectiveness stirred something warm inside me. The fierce intensity that had blazed across his face when confronting Tegan was replaced by something gentler and more vulnerable. The contrast was captivating.

“Helix told me everything,” I said quietly. “About the war, the deactivation code... what Earth did to all of you.”

Pain flickered across his features before he masked it. “I wanted to tell you myself.”

“I understand now. Why you need me here.” I stepped closer, close enough to feel the warmth radiating from his body. “And I’m staying for good. Not because I’m being forced to, but because I choose to help.”

His brow furrowed. “You’d been wanting to leave and missing Earth since you arrived.”

“That was before I knew the whole truth.” I reached out, tentatively placing my hand on his arm and feeling the muscle tense beneath my touch.

“What your people need—it’s bigger than just delivering babies.

You need someone who understands human physiology and emotions to help integrate that knowledge with your own programming. ”

“You’d do that for us?” His voice was low and disbelieving. “After everything?”

“Ben saw what I couldn’t. That you are people—real people with hopes and fears and futures worth fighting for.” I squared my shoulders. “I’m going to expand the medical training program. Not just obstetrics, but comprehensive healthcare. I’ll teach your people everything I know about being human.”

Aeon’s expression shifted, his gaze intense enough to burn. “Olivia...”

“I’ve made my decision,” I interrupted, my voice firm. “I’m doing this. For Ben. For Helix and her baby. For all of you.”

He stepped forward, closing the distance between us until we stood chest to chest. His hand came up to cradle my face, surprisingly gentle for someone so powerful.

“For us?” he asked softly.

My heart skipped. “Yes. For us, too.”