Dyllys

Faran and Dyllys were in the galley when Parris and Esper found them. Faran didn’t know at all what to say to the man. Parris merely grabbed something to drink and sat down to regard his new passengers. Faran examined him. Parris was older then he, but not by much, probably just a handful of years. Faran guessed him to be in his thirties. Parris displayed with his every action that he was in control. Faran could see it in his hazel eyes, as surely as he could see the spark of life in Dyllys’s icy blue. His hair was copper which he wore short and spiked. His face was covered partially by a closely trimmed goatee and mustache that made Parris look even more intimidating.

“It seems I have a little time for us to exchange stories, though I am sure you two will be doing more exchanging than I.” Parris looked at Faran when he talked and Faran felt his heart beat erratically out of fear.

“Thank you for rescuing us back there,” Faran said.

Parris waved his cup in the air and shook his head, “Seems to me you did a fine bit of that yourself, my involvement was merely to retract a gun and speed away. Rescuing would not be something to thank me for. Not killing you would have been more appropriate. But I’m sure my intent was merely selfish, for your death most likely would have caused my own. Your Bellezza seems most protective of you.”

Faran looked at Dyllys and then back at Parris. “Yes, well oddly I’ve only known her for a matter of days. She thinks I’m someone else and won’t leave my side.”

Parris leaned in at these words, his interested peaked. “Master not by choice you say? I can fix that problem if you wish.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well you may have noticed I have a dislike of said Davenport Electronics, mostly because of their God complex. You see they have this insane idea that they can create life and master it with their will. Not even God created such a thing. To create life with no free will, I call that a hideous crime, even worse than the fact that they make them unable to feel.

“You may not have noticed that Esper doesn’t take commands from me seeing as we have only just met, but she doesn’t, do you Esper?”

“No chance of that Parris,” Esper replied.

“Then who is her master? How is it that you two are together?”

“That really is the question now isn’t it? Well, lucky for me I have a way with programming, and well, I discovered a way to make the AS series masterless. Esper does what she will; just so happens that what she wills is the same as mine. She is my partner. If you are so interested, I could make her free of you,” Parris finished gesturing towards Dyllys.

“You make it sound as if I am the bad guy here,” Faran huffed.

Parris leaned closer to Faran. “You make is sound as if your Bellezza is a burden to you. It’s when people treat them as less than human that they become such. I have a mind to set her free from you and then toss you overboard.”

Esper grabbed Parris’s shoulder and eased him back into his chair. “Can we at least hear their story first Parris, before you dispose of the boy.”

Parris waved his hand for Faran to begin. Faran looked at Parris, his words failing him. It was instead Dyllys that spoke, her soft voice ringing through the galley like a song.

“Faran is trying to help me remember. I want to remember those memories of before I was Dyllys when I was She. He took me to a doctor. He wanted to see if he could fix what was wrong with me. They say I am dying, but I do not believe that is so. How can a nonliving being die?”

“What does she mean memories of She?” Esper asked.

“Dyllys wasn’t always an android. She was a human like me and Parris. Someone wanted her body more than her mind and turned her into this eternal doll. She is dying, her organic structure is decaying. I don’t know how long until she dies, but I wanted to help her remember who she was before she dies,” Faran supplied.

“Emanuel Salazar. I had heard the rumors of such a thing, but I never thought it would be true. For her to still be alive.” Parris was staring intently as Dyllys captured in the depth of her icy blue eyes and then suddenly he turned to Faran. “You were right not to hand her over to Davenport Electronics. She would be dangerous in their hands; they could make a much better weapon than the ones they are producing now. The AS androids are far inferior to Dyllys, there, possibly because of her origins. Maybe it was because Emanuel Salazar was a genius when it came to androids and he refused to hand over any of his research to DE. Whatever it is, if DE ever got their hands on her, this galaxy would be far less tolerable than it is now.”

“Why does everyone I talk to have such disdain for the Ordalis?” Faran asked.

“We have a believer amongst us Parris,” Esper said. “Maybe the airlock is the best solution for him after all.”

Parris held up his hand for silence. “Now, now Esper, give the boy credit. I’m sure he’s only seen the friendly side of the Ordalis. If he ever experienced the totalitarian side of the Ordalis he wouldn’t say such things. The side that would crush a human’s free will as effectively as they control an android. What planet are you from, Boy?”

“I’m from Radden. I immigrated there with my parents five years ago.”

“And before that?”

“I have never stayed on a planet for more than five years. My father helps with the first stages of reform on newly adopted planets.”

“Well that explains a lot. You are from the upper class, used to spouting the ideals to those less fortunate. I won’t try to convince you that the Ordalis is evil, Boy; I will let them do that for themselves. Just don’t talk about them with starry eyes when you are on my ship.” His words had finality to them. The subject was closed.

“You said you could help Dyllys,” Faran quested.

“Not in the way that you are looking for, Boy. I haven’t figured out how to get them to feel emotions, though I have had an interesting time trying. I can, however, let her make her own choice as to what she does. If you are to stay on this ship of mine I really would have it no other way.”

“Stay on the ship? I don’t want to stay on your ship. Dyllys and I just want to go back to Tossu.”

“That is not an option, Boy. The DE would be all too happy to come calling to collect you again. I really can’t be having that.”

“That’s ridiculous. You can’t keep us forever.”

“Don’t look at me. You are the ones that boarded my ship without permission. It was your choice to come here, not mine. My choice is to not go back to Tossu, and seeing as this is my boat, that means it goes wherever I want it to. Esper and I like to keep a low profile. We don’t port very often. We don’t need to. If we do chance to port, then it will be your decision whether to leave or not. Until then, welcome aboard the Salvatore.”