That was what she’d been trying to explain earlier, about how he needed to believe this body belonged to him, and it would naturally do as he wished. Awed, he raised one limb, then the other, overwhelmed by the sheer satisfaction of it. Qalu was practically vibrating with excitement, and her eyes widened as his insides emitted a horrible sound.

“You’re hungry. I’ve been nourishing the prototype via nutrients in the tank, but you’ve never actually eaten. You must feel hollow.”

“Correct,” he replied.

“I’ll get you something to eat. Since you won’t have preferences yet, I’ll bring a few of my favorite dishes for you to try. It’s going to be so exciting to discover what you enjoy!” Her pleasure was genuine and unfettered.

It was a bit strange to imagine anyone taking this much delight in offering him various nutritive packets. While she was gone, he managed to get off the surface he had been lying on, landing on his lower limbs, only to find them awkward and ungainly. Helix took a few steps and promptly toppled over. Grimly, he hauled to his feet and repeated the process, falling five more times before he made it to the next room, an open space with technology similar to what they used on Barath. The interfaces were different, the Tiralan used an entirely different symbolic system. Luckily, he could read it.

This room was sparsely furnished, geometric shapes and clean lines. Darkness showed through the view panels and everything was washed in warm light, gilding Qalu’s bronze skin. Her scales held a flicker of heat, red tones, and—he had no idea why he was noticing any of that. How exceptionally odd. She made musical sounds as she presumably gathered sustenance.

The less Helix thought about what his body should be doing, the easier it got. An inkling stirred, that if this was not a delusion, one day this form might be much more intuitive and capable than the mech unit had been. He stumbled up to the meal service unit, and she nearly dropped the container she was holding. “You’re walking. Already! I’m so proud of you.”

It was baffling how pleased he felt when she praised him.

This felt like a momentous occasion, though Qalu couldn’t have said why.

Possibly because it heralded the beginning of her glowing reputation as an incredible innovator in the field of biosynthetic life science. She sang as she put together their meal, creating some with the manufacturer and preparing other dishes with her own hands out of fresh ingredients. Typically, she didn’t take that much trouble over her own food, eating whatever was most convenient, but since this was the first food Helix had ever tasted, it ought to be special.