Finally, she settled on an incomplete answer. “Caring about my thoughts, showing interest in my well-being, asking if my needs are met. For some, it also involves physical contact, but I will not ask that of you.”

“Thank you.” With precise motions that she couldn’t help but admire, considering how new he was to all this, he finished his food. “Can we begin the assessment? I wish to restore as much of my former capacity as possible.”

“Certainly. This way.”

She hurried ahead to the lab and switched on all the equipment as Helix joined her. Already, his movements were smoother and better coordinated, and he was distractingly attractive. Just from looking at him, no Tiralan would ever guess what she had achieved, and that sent a flicker of delight through her.

“Shall I sit?” he asked.

“Please. Just let me attach sensors here and here, like so. This will be quick.”

Or it should have been. The scans took no time at all, but none of the data explained why he couldn’t connect to the wider network. Theoretically, his internal processor had the ability to send and receive, but that function was disabled currently, no explanation as to the cognitive connective failure.

What’s causing this?

The rest of his systems were operating within normal parameters, and his vitals were excellent. He tolerated a whole battery of tests, where she gauged his internal knowledge base, establishing gaps in his awareness that seemed mainly limited to personal details. He knew the history of the coalition, which worlds were founding members, and he could even quote random bits of Tiralan poetry, but when she asked, “Why did your ship crash?” he went silent.

“Unknown,” he finally responded.

“Unfortunately, I can’t resolve this connection issue immediately. I’ll keep working on it, but in the meantime, you can use any terminal to access our network.”

“With these?” He regarded his forelimbs with a weary expression.

“It should get easier.”

“I certainly hope so. It is quite exhausting to exist in meat space.”

“Try not to focus on the challenges. Here, watch how I activate this.” She demonstrated the portal, bringing up some examples of modern Tiralan art. “This is one of my favorites, ‘Portrait of a Young Femme.’”

With impressive quickness, he duplicated her motions, working the holo screens with rapid dexterity, sifting through hundreds of masterpieces in the time it took for his eyes to flick back and forth. In all honesty, it was too fast for her to even process the images, let alone know what he was looking at.

“Yes,” he said.

Despite her intention to remain an unmoved and reliable mentor, her head tendrils fluttered at the intensity of that single word. “Yes what?”

Helix gazed at her as if all his hopes hinged on her reply. “I am interested in art. Will you provide the means to create it?”

[  4  ]

For nearly half a span, Helix immersed himself in art.

It was pointless and liberating.