But on consideration, it made sense that Qalu would model her work after her own people. Am I attractive for a Tiralan? He had no way of calculating that.

“Are you pleased?” Qalu asked.

“I am… informed,” he replied.

“Do you truly feel well now? I can safely increase the dosage once more, if you don’t.”

“I am not hurting.” It was such a novelty to say that, and this new body must certainly have all sorts of requirements that he’d never experienced. The fascinating possibilities were almost enough to divert him from his missing memories. Almost. “I have some lost time and cannot recall how I came to crash on Tiralan.”

“I’m sorry. I feared there might be some corruption in the transition. I’m glad you didn’t lose all your memories, at least.”

Regret offered no solutions, but it seemed querulous to persist. Perhaps he could retrieve the memories on his own, somehow. “Indeed. Pardon the query, but in my current state, I cannot scan for information. As I recall, the Tiralan choose their gender on attaining maturity. May I ask your choice?” In fact, there were multiple options.

“I am femme,” Qalu said. “Though I’ll note there are those who opt to remain in their neutral state.”

“Understood. Will I be able to choose?” That was an intriguing prospect.

“Of course. Your body is fully Tiralan in every respect.”

Qalu thought, perhaps, she could have been more forthcoming, but Helix had more than enough information to process. The fact was, she hadn’t precisely applied for permission to save Helix’s life. Her work was experimental, even on Tiralan, and the scientific coalition didn’t even know that she’d perfected a prototype. The organization thought she was still at the theoretical stage with her work. Her research qualified for an annual stipend, but she had to tolerate significant oversight. This was an unprecedented opportunity for advancement that had literally fallen from the sky. While it would be safer and more prudent to advise the coalition now, she didn’t know how they’d react to learning she’d found an AI in a failing ship, and that she had made an executive decision to transfer the intelligence. The coalition might deem Helix dangerous and order termination.

I cannot permit that to occur.

Aloud, she added, “Had you selected pronouns before?”

“It was an arbitrary choice, as my prior existence was esoteric. Feel free to use ‘he’ for now. I will inform you if my status changes.”

Qalu nodded, trying to determine how she would explain his arrival to her clan; fortunately, they didn’t share this residence, but they lived nearby and multiple kinfolks would visit before long, and all of them would have questions. Prevarication wasn’t her strong suit either, so if they pressed forcefully, she might reveal the truth.