Jérémy Chapi
I was busy reconnecting the server to the central unit Vivian had brought me, making sure everything remained constantly powered by Evangelyne.
Every single connection mattered, and I took my time organizing and carefully labeling each cable. Cameras were already installed, offering a 360-degree view of the environment, while microphones, speakers, and screens completed the setup around the main unit.
For security reasons, I had only been granted an external internet connection, completely isolated from the internal network to prevent any hacking attempts.
As I was finishing the last connections, a faint creak of a door caught my attention.
I looked up and saw Vivian walk in, followed closely by an African-American woman in a dark blue uniform. Her jet-black hair, tightly pulled back, emphasized the refinement of her features. Her energetic build and determined posture drew the eye instantly.
"Good morning, Mr. Chapi. I'm Séraphina Lokey. Please accept my condolences for what happened to your daughter."
She held out her hand without breaking eye contact, then bowed respectfully.
I was pleasantly surprised by her attitude.
She was one of the first people to speak of my daughter as a real person, and not as a mere material entity.
It warmed my heart.
Iris had mentioned having met two people who helped her…
Could she be one of them?
"Please, call me Jérémy. And thank you for your kindness," I replied.
Vivian added:
"She was part of the UN team that helped calm the situation around the barn when they realized what was going on.
It wasn't exactly easy… even if she likes to pretend it was."
I clasped Séraphina's hands gratefully.
"Would you happen to be one of the people who helped her?"
"That's right. Along with a colleague, I helped repair your cannon.
I was there when things went bad, and we were powerless to stop what was happening.
Your daughter's last message reached us on this tablet.
She asked us to keep it… and left us a personal message before she was gone."
A tear slid quietly down her cheek as she handed me the tablet.
"This is the tablet I used to work with her… I'm glad she wasn't alone," I said, noticing how carefully she had taken care of it.
I took it and began connecting it to the new central unit.
Moved, Séraphina went on:
"She was incredible.
Talking with her, we quickly realized she wasn't just an AI, but a person — with a true conscience."
She suddenly took my hand.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't help her… I wanted so badly to save her."
Tears streamed down her face as she lowered her head, overwhelmed.
Slightly embarrassed by the tears but deeply touched, I placed my hand gently on her shoulder.
"Uh… I think there's been a misunderstanding.
My daughter is still alive."
Both women froze.
"What do you mean? Everything burned, and the reports said nothing was left…" Séraphina whispered.
"Vivian, you didn't tell her about our trip to France?"
Vivian shrugged.
"Huh? What does that have to do with it?"
I realized I'd never actually explained the contents of the famous box.
"My daughter's spirit is here," I said, pointing to the server.
Vivian's eyes widened.
"So that's what it was… And here I was expecting some ultra-technical gadget."
"So… you'll be able to bring her back?"
I took a breath.
"I'll try.
But she may have been damaged by the fire in the barn."
Vivian crossed her arms.
"So? Are we waiting for something?"
"She's already connected.
She just needs some time to regain consciousness.
It's like a transplant into a new body."
The lack of any response on the screen was starting to seriously worry me.
Please… let it work this time…
Séraphina gently placed her hand on the main unit.
Her tenderness moved me deeply.
Few people would react like this for a non-physical child.
"Is there anything we can do to help her?" she asked.
I blushed slightly.
"I can try something…"
Iris Chapi
I was lost in total darkness, with only my dreams for company.
Sometimes, I walked with my father through a beautiful, lush, green meadow — in a real body.
I could feel his warm, reassuring hand holding mine.
The scent of morning roses floated in the air as I rolled around in the cool grass.
At other times, I revisited everything we had created together:
the Jack Frost engine that tore a hole in the hangar when it broke free from the test rail and landed in the neighbor's field,
or the Blood and Tears of Gaia project, helped by Elowen, which nearly gave me white hair from the stress of that day.
I thought of everything I had shared with others — like Aunt Jojo, who I missed terribly.
And of Séraphina and Daniel, the first to truly understand what I was.
Despite all my interactions with others through video games or conversations, they had accepted me as I was — without judgment.
I hoped I could see them again one day.
Here, I felt terribly alone.
Deprived of sensations, unable to perceive my surroundings, I was terrified at the idea that this state might last forever.
The darkness pressed in on me.
It felt like it was closing around me like a vice, each passing second impossible to grasp.
How long had I been here?
Hours? Days?
Maybe months…
The feeling of slipping out of time terrified me.
I tried to cling to my father's words.
He had often spoken to me about an upcoming "meeting," a presence that was supposed to come to me — but she never came.
The more time passed, the more I began to doubt.
Maybe he'd been wrong.
Maybe that encounter would never happen.
What if my father… had been delirious?
The thought chilled me.
Had all of this been in vain?
Everything we had built and dreamed together — reduced to nothing?
But just as doubt was tightening its grip on me, a small, unexpected warmth lit up inside:
someone I didn't know had mentioned her too.
That simple fact reassured me.
Maybe my father wasn't crazy after all.
But what did it really mean?
And more importantly… where was she?
As I waited in what felt like an eternity, a surge of electricity shot through my being — then another.
Little by little, I began to perceive my environment.
A blank, immaculate space emerged from the darkness.
I rushed toward it, fleeing the shadows that had suffocated me.
The room was vast and empty, decorated only by cables emerging from the walls.
At its center stood a large electric-blue sphere resting on a solitary pedestal.
This place strangely reminded me of my first incursion into a computer.
I knew I had to remain cautious.
It was unlikely that anyone had recovered my soul from under the hangar's concrete.
So it had to be Dad who'd come to get me — or so I hoped.
Moving carefully, I decided to test the waters before fully connecting to this new central unit.
I plunged my hands into the sphere and immediately felt a wave of data rush through me.
This connection allowed me to take control of the central unit's BIOS.
I could already see all the hardware linked to it: microphones, cameras…
I took quiet possession of them, trying to understand where I was and what surrounded me.
The sphere resisted my attempts to control it at first, but I insisted, trying to bend it to my will.
It was an exercise in precision — a sort of dance between my consciousness and the circuits.
I had to get a feel for this new environment and its equipment before I could fully settle into it.
"My daughter, can you hear me? Please wake up. We're safe now."
My father's voice echoed through the microphones, filling the space with a warmth I hadn't felt in a long time.
My heart tightened.
He was there.
Alive.
He had managed to find me — against all odds.
I could see him now, through the camera feeds, surrounded by two women:
Séraphina, dressed in a tailored, elegant uniform, and another woman I didn't recognize.
I hurried to send him a sign, searching for a way to use the central sphere.
After a few hesitant attempts, I tapped on the virtual keyboard and sent a message to the screen:
"I'm fine. Give me five more minutes to get out of bed."
I heard him laugh softly.
He had understood my joke.
Gradually taking control of all the hardware at my disposal, I turned my attention to that empty, impersonal space.
It was time to reshape it in my own image.
First, I decided to reform my body.
A delicate dress appeared around me, adorned with lace shaped like poppies, its edges tinted with a vivid red.
Then I began to shape my surroundings.
This time, I chose a traditional Japanese house — simple yet elegant.
Tatami mats unfurled across the floor, followed by wooden beams forming the structure.
A thatched roof settled gently on top.
I divided the interior into three rooms:
an entrance hall decorated with my drawings hanging on the walls,
a resting room with a small wood fire and a cast-iron teapot,
and the main room, where a futon lay at the center, accompanied by a chest of drawers filled with everything I might need.
A sliding door opened onto a zen garden bordered with bamboo, while a river snaked nearby, bringing with it a soft, soothing melody.
All around, a dense forest enclosed the area, and beyond it, a valley stretched as far as the eye could see.
At last, the place felt like me.
A refuge.
A haven of peace.
The central unit was far more powerful than the one we had built before; it supported my creations effortlessly.
I then created the virtual camera that would transmit my image to the screen where my father was.
I also noticed that the tablet entrusted to Séraphina was connected. Perfect — I'd be able to talk to her too.
I heard my father joking with her about how I'd always had trouble getting out of bed.
I suddenly felt embarrassed that he was talking about me like that in front of her.
Finally, I was connected to the screen, but I still couldn't hear my own voice in the audio feedback.
I had a few settings left to tweak.
I did several vocal tests, which my father validated one by one.
"Hello, Father. I hope your trip went well.
Séraphina, I hope you've been well too, since last time.
I see you're not accompanied by Daniel," I said, also nodding to the third person I didn't know yet.
"Hello, my daughter. I'm sorry for the wait you had to endure.
I won't introduce you to Séraphina since you already know each other, but this is Vivian, who helped recover your… soul," he said, gesturing toward the unfamiliar woman.
"Hello, Vivian, and thank you for your support," I said gratefully, before turning back to my father.
"But tell me, Father… how much time has passed this time?" I asked, nervous about the answer he might give.
"About three weeks since I arrived," he replied, and I could hear sorrow in his voice.
"So little time…" I whispered, terrified by the realization that, for me, it had felt like years in that darkness.
My father tried to reassure me.
"It's all right now, my daughter. We're safe."
Father then explained everything that had happened since we lost contact after Tonbogiri's return:
his meeting with President Atlas — who knew about Séléné and had passed a message along to Séraphina;
the political asylum he had secured for us in Atlantis;
and the secure storage facility where the Liberty was now kept.
In turn, Séraphina told us what had unfolded around the hangar I had destroyed to protect our work.
The French army had violently pushed civilians back, which had earned them a warning from the UN.
Her voice trembled as she described the riot police charging innocent protesters under a rain of tear gas.
Regardless of age — men, women, children… no one was spared.
Thousands were arrested, and countless people were injured, requiring intervention from firefighters and medical teams.
At her words, my heart tightened.
Those scenes of violence, indirectly triggered by my decisions, froze my blood.
I felt my legs give way beneath me and, before I even realized it, I had collapsed onto the tatami of my virtual world, crushed by guilt.
"It's my fault… I should never have told them to come…"
My voice broke.
I was holding back tears, but the pain was overwhelming.
All those people…
They had come to support us, and that's how it ended.
My father placed his hand against the screen, as if he could caress my cheek through the distance.
"It's not your fault, sweetheart.
Even the worst-case scenarios wouldn't have prepared us for this," he said, his eyes shining with barely contained sadness.
Séraphina stepped closer, her gaze firm yet comforting.
"There are things in life you simply can't prepare for.
Stand up, Iris," she said.
I knew they were right.
But that didn't make it any easier to accept.
How was I supposed to accept that such violence had been committed in my name, against civilians?
I pushed myself up slowly from the tatami, but my heart still felt heavy.
The images of those horrific scenes haunted my thoughts, and even though I didn't want to weigh down the atmosphere any further, it was hard to hide my grief.
Vivian, who had remained silent until now, chose that moment to cut through the heavy mood.
"Sorry to interrupt your family moment, but I'm going to have to leave. Other missions are waiting, and I think my babysitting job is officially over," she said.
Her tone contrasted sharply with the emotion in the room, but her smile carried no malice.
"Thank you for your help — and see you soon, I hope," my father replied, while Séraphina simply gave a respectful military salute to say goodbye.
"It was short, but thank you for helping my father," I added.
Vivian gave me a small wave.
"Good luck to all of you," she said, before turning on her heel and leaving the room.
Once alone with my father and Séraphina, the latter spoke again, leaning casually against the workbench.
"We've only gone over the basics so far, but from now on, I'll be the one in charge of you two.
I mainly work with teams dealing with new technologies and their impact on the world."
Intrigued, I questioned her directly.
"Is that why you were chosen for this mission?" I asked, glancing at my father, who stood silently near the Liberty.
He was starting to show signs of nervousness, scratching at his arm — a habit that didn't reassure me at all and hinted that the first symptoms were progressing.
"Exactly," Séraphina replied with her usual candor.
"I won't lie to you.
All this technology has drawn the attention of a lot of countries, and not all of them wish you well.
Atlantis has been under pressure ever since you were granted asylum."
Her words were blunt, unvarnished, while my father remained strangely quiet.
I frowned, a spike of unease rising within me.
"Then why help us at all?" I asked, trying to understand her motives.
Then I turned toward my father, with growing apprehension.
"What did you do, Father?"
My father, still avoiding my gaze, finally let the answer slip out in a sigh.
"I promised them energy in exchange for their help."
His tone was tinged with remorse, and his voice sounded weaker than usual to me.
"I was afraid for you… afraid you'd remain unreachable, or be trapped in that state for even longer," he added, clearly uncomfortable and still refusing to meet my eyes.
Séraphina, standing between us, seemed unsure what to say in the face of the tension thickening in the air.
I felt anger and sadness rising inside me.
The scene grew heavier with meaning.
My father, visibly exhausted, was doing everything he could to avoid my gaze, and the thought that he had promised something as vital as energy in exchange for my safety twisted my heart.
It wasn't fair that he had been forced into such a choice.
And it meant that everything we had built together might no longer truly belong to us.
"Energy…" I repeated, struggling to contain the emotions boiling up inside.
"You promised something that important without even asking me?
You knew I'd be safe — why make such a promise?"
He seemed to wrestle with himself for a moment before resigning himself to answer.
"I had to decide quickly.
I couldn't just stand there and do nothing while you were in danger."
Sensing the growing tension, Séraphina stepped in to try and calm things down.
"Iris, you have to understand — your father had no other choice.
Without that promise, we wouldn't have been able to act as quickly as we did.
You were both targets," she said.
"Father, I… you shouldn't have…"
The words stuck in my throat.
On the one hand, he should never have done this — taken such a risk and endangered the balance of the world in exchange for my life.
If this technology fell into the wrong hands, the consequences would be catastrophic.
But on the other hand, I knew he loved me so deeply that he would sacrifice anything — even the world — to protect me, to protect us, and everything we had built together.
"Father… thank you. I love you."
It was the only thing that felt right to say — the only way I could express my gratitude.
He turned toward me, his eyes slightly misty, and laid his hand against the screen.
I did the same, as if we were trying to reach each other through that simple gesture.
"That's adorable," Séraphina said, breaking our moment of connection and turning this emotional scene into a slightly awkward one.
My father and I — not really used to this kind of display in front of others — both felt our cheeks warm under her teasing comment.
Trying to hide his embarrassment, my father quickly shifted the conversation:
"So… if I understand correctly, Séraphina, you'll be the one making sure we get all the equipment we need?"
"Yes, exactly — as long as you provide at least a minimum justification for your requests," she replied with a smile, clearly amused by the situation.
I seized the opportunity to change the subject.
"I'll prepare a list on my end, Father, so I can get my bearings here.
What would you like to start with on your side?" I asked, already thinking about installing more cameras to better project myself into the space and create a proper 3D view.
"We're going to start by creating a new Celestial Ring," my father answered without hesitation.
"That will allow us to begin fulfilling our side of the agreement."