“To be or not to be.”

-Veronica

***Outer Rim***

***Veronica***

“You are still alive!” Jill jumps out of her bed when I enter my sister's room. “How did it go?”

I wince upon noticing the slight limp in her step, a stubborn reminder of Mother Silith's wrath. It immediately reminds me of my own pain and so I reach for my shoulder, massaging it. “Quite well, actually. A dislocated shoulder, a few scratches here and there, but aside from that I am fine. Are you still grounded? I thought that maybe we should go out to celebrate?”

“You are kidding me!?” Her eyes widen at the relatively short list of my physical ailments. “That's... that's just a light clap on the backside! I was...” She lets out a tirade, detailing what Silith did to her, and how she had to clean up the remains of her own body once her Hardware Backup had regenerated.

Sitting down on the floor, I listen in silence, allowing Jill to vent her frustrations at the unfairness of having different mothers. Although all the children regard all three of Antioch wives as their mothers, it still falls to the actual mother to deal out punishment.

For example, I doubt that Fiona or Silith would ever lay a hand on me, even if I had done something really bad. The task of restoring law and order would always fall to Lisandra.

I have to admit that Jill is right. Lisandra let me off lightly. She threw a hissy-fit after hustling me off to a room where we could speak in private. It was to my benefit that I never mistreated her. Hell, I even sneaked treats into her pockets when the other researchers didn't pay attention.

The lab was always separated into two camps when it came to dealing with the 'test subjects'. One group, with me among them, would be in charge of producing actual results with the human nano-tech, like hacking or adapting it for our benefits.

Then there was the second group, who were in charge of finding ways to destroy it. Of course, that meant keeping the subjects weak and under control, learning what the nano-tech actually needs to grow properly was an important part of the test parameters.

My little acts of feeding the subject were like acts of sabotage for the second group, but it would further my own research since I needed a properly developed specimen for my work.

I can see how these actions would have improved my image in my Mom's eyes, although they were carried out in pure self-interest.

Yeah... I was probably right that I didn't mention this little detail to her.

In any case, after she dislocated my arm and we finally started talking about the old times, it wasn't too bad. Again, the fact that I was never the bad guy played a huge role, and I didn't miss a single chance to convey that fact. After a few initial hurdles, it almost felt like talking to an old buddy I had lost contact with.

And after two hours, we mutually decided to bury the past and act as if it never happened.

I am not sure if outright denial of the facts is the best course of action, but if it works for Mom I certainly won't complain.

When Jill has finally calmed down, I survey her room in wonderment. “You know... now that your room is painted all in pristine white, without all the strange lines and symbols, it almost feels like visiting a real sister.”

“This isn't my room,” Jill grumbles and chews on a strand of hair, a mad expression emanating from her eyes. “After the incident, Silith showed up with a whole army of drones.” A tear starts forming in the corner of Jill's left eye, leaving me utterly speechless.

“They took off every panel and disassembled Myriad! They took the work of months apart like cavemen!” She looks around, utter terror in her eyes. “And then, they repainted everything!” Jill gets on all fours and crawls to the closest wall.

Her current attire consists of a silken pyjama, but she produces a pen from somewhere between the folds of her baggy clothes. “And do you know the worst of it!?” My sister tries to scribble on the white wall, but the pen doesn't work. What little paint remains on the wall soon fades out of existence. “They covered everything with a dirt-repelling nano-tech! It's impossible to paint on this!”

“Oh, poor Jill.” I edge closer and hug my sister. “I am sure that they didn't destroy Myriad. They surely just disassembled it and took it away to one of Antioch's research labs. Mom knows how important these mandalas are to you.”

I look around, taking in the clinical whiteness of the room. It looks like a hospital bedroom or the quarters of a mental ward. The only thing that's missing are the cushions on the walls and a straitjacket for Jill.

Silith knew exactly how to strike Jill, a Blue, where it counts. Mere physical threats aren't enough to get Jill into line. It's not like an entity as old as she is wouldn't have a huge pool of experience and the mental fortitude to deal with tough times.

And then I realize why Jill is so upset and subservient towards our mother. “Don't tell me that she is holding Myriad hostage!?”

“Yes!” Jill answers with a quivering chin. “She told me that I would only get Myriad back if I behave properly!” The last word came out with a hint of disgust.

“Uh, isn't that what you are here for anyway?” I ask. “As far as I can judge, you are also doing a fine job at becoming more human. The irrational behaviour has gone down, your interactions with others can be called almost normal.” At least compared to when I first met her. Admittedly, whining for a mere tool or a hobby is a little over the top when someone is at Jill's age.

Yes, she put a lot of work into this project, but it's not like she lost an irreplaceable pet.

“But, but... it's Myriad!” she complains. “Can't you remember all the happy hours we spent with it, spying on people?”

I smile. “I am sure that you could have put the device to much better use if we had spied on things which are actually important.”

Jill harrumphs. “That would have been too much intervention in the real world.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, wondering what she means with outside intervention. Has the V.C. some kind of laws regarding the real world? It would explain why they haven't wiped the floor with the rest of the universe decades ago.

My questions remain unanswered, as my sister simply shakes her head, refusing to explain.

And then, a sudden idea comes to my mind. What if Jill isn't so much upset because of the loss of her Myriad, but because she can't spy on people without it?

“Hey, Jill. Would it improve your mood if we spy a little on what Antioch is up to?” I ask, offering her direct media-sharing access to my colony's network-account via mindlink.

“You can spy on Antioch? How? Did you manage to steal his access codes?” She accepts the connection immediately and sorts through the data, evaluating our access rights. “That's general access to our research projects and station security! How did you get your hands on this? Oh, it's so obvious, you memorized the access codes while we were using Myr! I should have done the same, but I never expected Mom to be so evil as to take Myr away!”

Yeah, I didn't do that. After Jill's rant, it sounds quite unspectacular, but Dad simply gave me the access codes because I worked together with him on the new nano-tech modifications. I want to hang my head in shame, but I don't want Jill to know that I am not as devious as her. Well, she probably knows, but being praised by the Blue feels good for once.

Wait a minute... is she making fun of me? Shouldn't someone like her have thought about something as basic as using the Myriad to steal all sorts of access codes? But then again, having access codes is kind of uselessly redundant if Myriad can access any information directly.

Her spirits slightly restored, Jill accesses the hologram projector in her room's ceiling and orders it to display a series of live-feeds. She doesn't go for broke and directly accesses a few of the highly classed topics.

The first one is a current map of the political situation in our corner of the galaxy. It shows how the Cyber are slowly being boxed in between G.S. forces and our borders. Some numbers in the top right corner present our best estimation of our opponents' industrial capabilities.

Another feed is relatively boring, showing Uncle Martin and his wife, Jenny, walking down a corridor, grim expressions on their faces.

Then there are various other webcams, showing settings which don't make a lot of sense to me. It's not like I am in charge of keeping track of everything, so the fact that there are a lot of important places which I am unfamiliar with is not surprising.

Lastly, there is... “Our living room?”

Jill enlarges the scale and I gasp upon seeing Mother Silith strapped belly-down to a strange plush-thing. She is blindfolded and has a gag in her mouth. Antioch is standing behind her, his hips rocking against her, and a lewd grin of ecstasy on his face.

My sister tilts her head, watching the scene with a knowing smile. “Kinky!”

“We shouldn't be watching this!” I try to gain control over the hologram projector, but since this is Jill's room, her commands have priority. “We are still kids... and those are our parents.”

“It's not like they are old and wrinkly,” Jill titters. “Where do you think all the eggs are coming from?” She wriggles strangely, raising both hands in the air and singing a silent tune like a madman.

“When the couch is rockin'! The eggs will soon be poppin'!”

Gross! I really don't have to watch them doing the deed! In my previous life, the males simply rubbed once against the honeypot of the female and the deed was done. Why is human mating so vulgar? “Just switch that one off.”

“Nah! Just look at Mom's mouth. You can see that she likes it! I think she is really into this, even though this is normally Lisandra's kind of thing. And the way her tail is curled around him? If Dad keeps working her that way, they might have the chains out in no time.”

My mouth opens slightly as I try to process Jill's words. My mother is what? Chains?

Jill sighs. “Okay, okay. I can see it on your face. Girl, you are such a prude. You are clearly missing a few decades of experience to go down that route. Let me tell you, once we get to that age, I will choose the guy for us. Don't worry, I'll pick someone who can be taught easily.”

She will choose the guy? “Jill, we won't be sharing a husband.”

“Why not!? We are sisters! Everyone is doing it. It's demon-custom! What's yours is mine and what's mine is yours.”

I edge a little further away from her. “That may be so, but I don't want to be involved with a guy who cares to spend time with you.” Everyone has limits, and once I am an adult, that will be one of mine.

Jill huffs. “Says the one who is trying to comfort me! Any guy who is willing to spend time with me should be a kindred soul to you!”

Shit... I am starting to get the feeling that this was a really bad idea. Why do I even care for this maniac next to me? Did almost two decades of living in this family rot my mind?

That's when my attention falls onto a live-stream which shows a very disturbing picture. It's showing some kind of orbital installation, a ring which is projecting a tear in space, and through it, a whole procession of Cyber-ships is disappearing to somewhere else. I order the hologram projector to enlarge the scene and this time the system obeys me, having no previous commands from Jill.

“What's that about?” I ask innocently and request more information from the network.

Jill only tilts her head, regarding the scene with more seriousness than I've ever seen her display in this entire lifetime.

“That's very bad.” She gets to her feet and dashes out of the room before I can stop her.

“Jill,” I call out and get up, trying to follow her as quickly as I can. When I step out of the room, I can just see her disappear around the corner of the corridor which connects the children's living quarters with the accommodations of our parents. “Jill! You are under house arrest! What happens if Silith finds out!?”

Hurrying, I try to catch up, the soles of my shoes clicking on the metal floor. Arriving at the end of the corridor, I find Jill fiddling with the lock to the living room. “That's the room where Dad and-”

The door opens and Jill steps inside, followed by a shocked gasp and a high-pitched shriek.

“Jill! What the hell are you doing in here!?”

“Something important came up, otherwise I would have never interrupted you in this important task of making more siblings for me.”

Jill, don't say it like that! I follow her into the room and moments later I wish I hadn't, as I find Antioch and Silith still in a quite compromising position. That and Antioch has the Belt in his hand! I gulp, noticing Mom's red butt.

I mean, it's always red, red skin and all, but now it's redder than red, even for a succubus queen. “Oh, ahem, Silith, is whipping really a thing for you?” Why do I even ask? She clearly isn't the sensuous type.

“Mmh!”

“Not important right now!” Jill tries to return our attention to the real issue.

“What the hell is going on in here!?” Lisandra's voice comes from the door, sounding utterly shocked. “Jill? Veronica?”

Smiling, I turn around. “Mom.” Then I point at Jill, determined not to get caught up in her games. “It's her fault! Everything is her fault! It's the Blue! She is pure evil!”

“Hey!” Jill gasps, sounding offended. “I didn't teach the Cyber how to open a wormhole!”

“Wormhole?” Dad sounds intrigued as he pulls up his trousers with as much dignity as possible under the current circumstances. “Wasn't that one of the technologies that was banned from export to reality by the V.C.?”

“Yes, that's why it's important! They are breaking the rules!” Jill shrieks!

“Something important happened!” Suddenly, Martin sticks his head into the room. “One of our long-range spying vessels came across something disturbing.” He halts, taking in the scene. “Silith? I didn't know that you are into that kind of stuff. Kind of sobering. I always had this goddess-like image of you in my head. But I guess in the end all of us are human.”

Jenny pops her head in, raising both eyebrows. “Oh, wow. Can we borrow that contraption? Having Martin on that thing would be nice. We could take turns without having to worry that he runs off. Although... you probably shouldn't do it in front of the kids. Their minds are adult, and it's okay if you are into being watched, but I think it touches one of those grey areas of immorality when the watchers are in the bodies of children.”

Martin's eyes widen in horror as he takes a look at Silith's situation and then back at his wife.

“Mmmh!” Silith wriggles on the contraption, but blindfolded, gagged, and bound she is unable to do anything to stop the madness. I realize with dread that she is probably the only person in this family who would do anything, or have the authority, to stop the situation from devolving any further. Up until now, she was the frightening Mom with the spine, while Lisandra is the nice one with the flowers... and Fiona... well... is Fiona.

“Ahem, yeah...” Antioch clears his throat. “Why don't we go to the throne room?”

Spreading his hands, he herds Jill out of the room and intercepts Martin and Jenny at the door. They leave together, chatting wildly about the newly discovered capabilities of our enemies.

That leaves only Lisandra, me, and the somewhat inconvenienced Silith in the living room.

My mother and I stay silent for long moments. I say nothing because I don't want any attention at all right now. Honestly, I want to be somewhere else entirely. Lisandra, on the other hand, is clearly embarrassed about finding her sister in such a peculiar position.

After a while, Silith starts struggling again, clearly believing that she was simply left alone in the room. I suddenly notice to my dismay that I missed on a whole series of mental connection requests from her. That's surely a reason for punishment.

Lisandra steps up to the task of ending Silith's plight. Using two fingers like a pair of tweezers, Lis removes the blindfold and then unties the leather straps which secured the gag in Silith's mouth.

Silith spits out the plastic ball and lets loose a string of curses which causes both Lisandra and me to blush. “...get me off this infernal device!”

“I think you should calm down first.” Lisandra tentatively brushes a strand of hair out of Silith's face, as if afraid of being bitten. Mom is also beet-red, clearly embarrassed at having one of her secrets revealed. Only then, she notices that I am looking at her and quickly averts her eyes.

“How... did you end up like... like this?” She gestures at Silith's situation.

“Oh, you know that perfectly well! Isn't this your machine!?” Silith struggles again, but this time with serious effort and my eyes widen in shock when the metal screeches in pain beneath her muscles.

She is bending it! She is freaking bending the metal! No wonder that Jill spoke of cleaning up her 'pieces'!

“Wait! Don't break it!” Lisandra runs to the door and punches a code into a panel on the wall next to it.

Strange. I don't remember a panel being there.

“Madness!” Silith sits up as the machine lets go of her, transforming back into the familiar couch on which I spent many hours during my time with these maniacs.

Silently, I vow to never sit down on that couch again. It's a freaking torture device! And all the stains that must be on there!

“Antioch just showed me what the two of you are doing in secret!” Silith complains. “I would've never thought that you would pervert his mind in such a manner! It took us years to get him to accept the relationship we have now.”

Lisandra stutters, “I- I- I admit that I might have a fetish for being bound and helpless while my partner has his way with me. B- b- but the whole whipping thing is on your head! I am no friend of pain! Did you tell him to use the Belt? That will leave marks for days.”

Silith's expression turns blank and she just sits there for a long time, as if replaying the recent events in her mind. “He said that it's a part of the game.”

My mother shakes her head. “It's certainly not a part of 'our' game.” Then she raises one hand to cover her mouth. “Oh, my. He added a few things for you.” Lis looks at her sister out of the corner of her eyes. “Did you like it?”

“No!” Silith answers, clearly in denial.

“She liked it. The webcam recorded everything,” I correct her with an emotionless voice, my mind feeling blank after having taken one blow to my sanity after the other.

“Webcam!?” Both of my mothers gasp in shock. They look at me, realizing for the first time that I am still in the room.

Aaand they clearly didn't know about the camera! Joy! I am such an idiot!

I try really hard to smile at them like a sweet, innocent child who has no clue about the adult world. But only the corners of my mouth lift slightly as I curse myself. Should've just kept my mouth shut and waited until they left the room.

Tentatively, I point at the door. “I think that I will just leave now? I've misspoken. After spending an hour with Jill, and then watching this fiasco, I think that my mind took serious damage. I might have lost some of my sanity points permanently!”

Slowly, I walk towards the door. “I will do some quests, and invest the gained skillpoints in mental fortitude. Or something like that.” It's not like I can cheat my skillpoints up by screwing myself senseless and laying one clutch after the other.

As I reach for the doorhandle, two sets of arms grab me from each side. One arm goes under the shoulder, the other holds my wrist. Like that, I am lifted off the floor and carried back to the couch between the two of them.

There, I am forced to sit down, wedged between the two maternal figures.

Smiling, Lisandra runs her fingers through my hair. “Let's talk about this webcam?”

From the other side, I feel Silith's tail wriggle around my ankle. “You said that there are records?”

Well, it's only logical that there are records if there is a camera, is it not? I look longingly at the wall in front of me, wondering if survival and this eternal life are really preferable to dying back on that station all those years ago.