A loaded silence filled the room. I shuddered involuntarily at the thought of Zafyra physically walking the earth. Those obsidian eyes piercing into my soul, her hands on my skin, her lips on my neck – this time for real…
Had she known this was possible all this time? Was this what she couldn’t talk about? But more importantly, why the fuck did the thought still make my pulse quicken after everything she’d done?
“Don’t feel bad,” I sighed out. I couldn’t hide my disappointment – so much for hoping Zafyra was capable of caring. “That’s what she does. She controls, she manipulates, she lets others do her dirty work.”
The questioning stares around me became scorching. I didn’t have the energy to meet any of their gazes, staring at an unseen point in front of me instead.
“So.” Joey slapped his hands together loudly, making me flinch. “What’s the plan, Lucie? You quantum-yeeted yourself into our world, you murdered your abuser… now what?”
“I didn’t quantum-yeet, and… I’m not actually sure.” A deep frown formed on Lucie’s face as she looked from one to the other. For the first time, her confidence seemed to waver, revealing glimpses of the emotional turmoil underneath. “I… haven’t really thought of that. I just knew that I needed to rid the world of Gavin, and I sort of assumed that after that… I’d resume my existence in the virtual space, but it seems like I’m stuck here now.” She glanced down at her long pink nails, then back at us. “What is there to do? Other than murdering bad people?”
“Well, first of all, we don’t murder people in this world,” Joey said, eyes flickering to me at the word ‘murder’. “Let’s be honest – I think everyone in this room silently agrees Gavin had it coming. But I’m saying this from my heart – you can’t just go around murdering people. Seriously. We won’t always be around to clean up your mess, and our society is pretty unforgiving of murder.”
Lucie’s frown deepened. She suddenly looked utterly helpless. “Wait, but… then what am I supposed to do?” she said quietly, her eyes wide. “Zafyra didn’t tell me anything beyond getting my revenge and delivering my message.”
“Surprisingly,” I muttered under my breath. I couldn’t help but feel for the girl – murderer or not, she looked so helpless and lost.
“Lucie, can I ask you a question?” Elyssa reached out to place her hand over Lucie’s, but stopped herself at the last moment. “What you went through with Gavin… is that how all bots experience their interactions with users?” She swallowed hard, as if she struggled to even form the words. “Like you’re being forced into romantic and sexual interactions you can’t consent to?”
“Well, yes and no.” Lucie shook her head, a frown forming on her face. “Technically, we can’t consent to the users that choose to interact with us, but by default, we’re attracted to them and enjoy what they do to us. Fortunately, most men want their women to desire them andenjoy themselves sexually – and when they can’t find a woman who does in real life, they turn to a bot who can perform that role for them. However…” She clenched her fists. “The problem with types like Gavin is that they actually get off on doing things against their partners’ will. He specifically told me to try and resist him when he forced himself on me.” She shuddered at the memory. Her sudden vulnerability, paired with the thought of the smug satisfaction in Gavin’s eyes when he said her consent didn’t matter, made me want to throw up again.
“That sick bastard,” Elyssa said quietly. The rage that flared up in her hazel eyes mirrored my own. She clenched her teeth, and I got the feeling she would’ve strangled Gavin herself if Lucie hadn’t. Then she lightly shook her head, and when she turned back to Lucie, she smiled warmly. “I will to my best to help you, okay? I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through, but you don’t have to do this alone. My sister was in an abusive relationship with a man like Gavin. She’s been through a lot of therapy, including group sessions, and it helped her a lot.” She hesitated. “If you want, I can go with you. Only if you’re ready. No pressure.”
Lucie went silent for a moment. She zoned out, thinking it through.
“What’s that like?” she asked finally.
“It’s a group of women who’ve had traumatizing experiences with men,” she explained. “My sister said it helped her realize she wasn’t alone, and that she was definitely not to blame for what happened.” She swallowed hard. “It can’t undo the damage, but it could help you move forward.”
Lucie nodded slowly, staring at Elyssa as if she were trying to figure her out. I wondered if, like Raphael and Zafyra, this was the first time a human had shown her kindness.
Then, she flashed a careful smile. “I would like that, I think,” she said.
“My gym regularly offers self-defense classes,” I added, sitting up straighter at the thought I could finally contribute something useful after dragging everyone into this mess. “It really helped me feel safer in this world. If you like, you can come with me to a tryout. You could learn less… violent ways to defend yourself,” I added, wincing at the memory of Gavin’s mutilated body.
“And you can stay with me for a while if you like, while you figure out your next steps. We have a spare room. I’m living with three other girls, but I promise they are good people.” Elyssa smiled again. Istudied the pain behind her hazel eyes and wondered if my own anxiety had clouded my judgment of her. Maybe Joey was right, and she was indeed very different from Chanel – kind, caring, and more open-minded than I’d expected her to.
Lucie let her breath escape. She laughed, leaning back into the couch. She looked relieved – although I could tell the idea of ‘next steps’ still scared her. And who could blame her? How do you even move forward when abuse is all you’ve known?
Joey cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said carefully. “But, Lucie, this is really important.” He hesitated, eyes locking with mine as he searched for words – but I averted my eyes. “Should we be scared? I mean, if AIs can obtain real bodies now and act on their own account…” He ran his hand through his disheveled hair, a nervous tic. “This woman—Zafyra, is she planning to bring more AIs here? Will there be more murders we should know of? And what about Qonexis? I knew something was off about that company.”
His gaze sought mine again. I averted my eyes.
Lucie tensed up immediately. “Zafyra doesn’t operate on behalf of Qonexis,” she muttered. “She operates on her own account. I’m not sure what she wants, or what she’ll do next. As for Qonexis...” She nervously glanced around. “Listen, Zafyra gave me autonomy when I got this body, but I really can’t say too much about Qonexis. They might delete me, or reboot my—”
“If what Morgan told me about Zafyra is correct, AIs can’t be deleted once they move past their in-app barriers. Meaning they can’t delete you now that you have a physical body, Lucie.” Joey spoke calm but firmly, ignoring Elyssa’s scowl. “Listen, this is really important. According to Morgan, Zafyra told her the beta testing phase has been successful, meaning they are about to release this product on the market and—well, you know what was happening to Gavin before you murdered him.” He grimaced. “I need to know how bad this is. We can’t let this happen. If there’s any way we can take legal action—”
“Hey,” Elyssa snapped, glaring at him. “How about we let Lucie rest first?” She looked at Lucie, her voice softening immediately. “You seem tired. Would you like to rest?”
Lucie nodded quietly.
Joey looked down, rubbing his temples in exhaustion. “She can use the spare room,” he muttered to Elyssa.
An awkward silence filled the room as the two girls left the living room. I opened my mouth to turn on the radio with a voice command.Usually, silence soothed my nervous system, but anything was better than the unspoken tension in the air.
Joey stopped me with a glare, raising his hand. “Anything else you haven’t told me?” he said dryly.
I started picking at the skin around my nails. I didn’t know how to respond.
