Thanks to the friends we made along the way.
Cy sat in his tubroom. He had not been back in tubspace for days now and his body was hungry. He didn’t have any food as the tub usually provided his nutrition. He was preparing to call Stan and make a food run. It had been ages since he ate anything and the thought made him a bit queasy.
As he was pulling his burqa over his head, his terminal lit up. Someone was calling him. He looked carefully at the caller ID. It said “EliraPrime” and he slapped open immediately. Aida’s face filled the screen. Cy could see CyPrime in the background as well.
Cy qua Cy asked them both, “Aida? Where are you? Where is anyone? I’m not going back into the tub unless I know everyone is OK.”
Aida answered, “I don’t know, Cy. It’s nice to see you. Really see you. The Count was interesting, but I hope he’s now gone?”
Cy admitted, “Yes, Aida, the Count is over.”
He continued on, “I need to find out what happened to everyone. Do you know anything?”
Aida blinked three times, her searching completed everything known, and she replied “My index only has Lin’s hive location.”
Aida admitted, “I don’t know what happened to the rest. I’m worried about Lin, Cy. I know masters; if I know where Lin is, she’s in danger.”
CyPrime added as his eyes rolled in place, “I know Lin as well. She’s on this note here, here, here, and well, she called me amazing this time? Is she ok?”
Aida looked at CyPrime softly, “We don’t know, Cy. I’ll help you remember it all together. I think I have another license available. We’ll get that model upgraded. It’ll take some time, but I’ll help you train it effectively.”
Cy asked urgently, “I’ll find Lin and get her to safety. Where is Stan’s number? I’ll ping you when I get her back, OK?”
Aida darkened but smiled, “Ok, MeatCy. We’ll wait to hear from you. If not, we’ll find you somehow. It might take a bit, however. You should be careful — even with Stan’s help.”
Cy left his burqa behind and tried to walk as fast as possible out of the door. His chair swung empty in the tubroom.