Ghost in the Machine by Sasha Rose "Good evening, folks, and thank you for flying with Hi-Fi Skies AM, on this lovely Sunday night. I'm Cruiser Glyde, and I have a rather fantastic, and quite romantic, story to tell but first - we have to briefly talk about our sponsors, The Consequences of Truth Magazine, where the truth is as strange as the fiction. I've heard that in the new issue tomorrow they're running a story on how ancient Japanese demons have integrated into modern American society! It sounds quite interesting, I think. But regardless, let's get on with tonight's program, shall we? Tonight's tale that I'm about to weave is all about a ghost, and how she was able to find a new life in her afterlife. I call it...Ghost in the Machine." For Luna Papillon, life was pretty hard. Granted, her first life was barely any easier, but living as a ghost wasn’t exactly doing her any favors, either. She was still tied to the earth, having completely lost sight of why she was still around in the first place. She barely had a physical form, only a semi-solid existence given to her by a local doctor/necromancer. And even then, it was still limited: she could touch, she could see, but couldn’t taste; a whole host of other general senses and feelings were seemingly blocked off to her simply because her body was nothing more than solidified ectoplasm. But in this particular scenario, one thing was bothering her: the restlessness. Being undead, she had no need for sleep, but yet...there was a certain kind of comfort that came with sleep, and that was a comfort she had not felt for nearly 30 years. Even simple rest, like laying down on a couch and relaxing, felt impossible to her. So she did the best she could to stave it off. Luna loved to distract herself from this with all kinds of busywork. Jersey, her boss by technicality, was a very, VERY disorganized person (by her own admittance). For Luna, this was a good thing - Jersey leaving paperwork and files everywhere, and leaving projects unfinished gave her more to do, and it was often enough to take her through the entire night. And the next day, the cycle would repeat, with more paperwork, and more things to do. Over time, though, she’d gotten /better/ at it. Things that would have taken 3 hours were only taking 1, projects were done before the moon hit the top of the sky, and it meant Luna had nothing left to do outside of the particularly futile and menial tasks. On this fateful night, she found herself in this very scenario: 1AM, blankly staring at a computer screen, accomplishing the relatively benign assignment of cleaning out the spam folder of the Southwest Sun business email account. A new car for free? Certainly a better option than their current setup, but not a real offer - quickly deleted. Nigerian princes, giving away seemingly endless amounts of money at minimal cost - thrown in the trash. Live camgirls? Double-deuce-deleted, faster than she could even think about it. Luna tried to recline in the office chair out of sheer boredom, but had to catch herself, as she’d nearly phased straight through it and onto the floor. By all accounts, this sucked. She felt a twinge of jealousy, in a strange way - Jersey and her oni girlfriend Kimiko were sleeping soundly in their bedroom, and all she wanted was to join them in that extreme comfort. Her moment of jealousy was quickly ceased though, as the sound of an incoming email broke her brief trance. Who was sending mail to Southwest Sun at 1AM? Surely, everyone paid attention to their business hours… Opening the main email folder, she found herself even more baffled, finding only a no-subject message from…”01000111011010010110111001100001”? There wasn’t even a proper email address, just a load of binary code where one should have been. Still, something about it had to be important, so in the interest of keeping herself entertained she opened it up. MISS LUNA PAPILLON. IF MY KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR ACTIONS AND EXISTENCE IS CORRECT, YOU ARE AWAKE AT THIS TIME, AND CHECKING THIS PARTICULAR EMAIL ADDRESS. IF POSSIBLE, I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST YOUR PRESENCE IN APARTMENT NUMBER 2 AS SOON AS YOU ARE AVAILABLE. FORMAL ATTIRE IS NOT NECESSARY. I SIMPLY WISH TO CONVERSE ABOUT SOMETHING IN A CASUAL MANNER. I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR ARRIVAL. SINCERELY, YOUR ALLY “GINA SCHRODINGER.” The message was from Gina - the android/AI Jersey had found on the side of the road a few months ago. She’d - without any real input from anyone besides Jackie the landlady - taken her in and made her an honorary associate of Southwest Sun. And now, for reasons that the ghost could not comprehend, she demanded Luna’s attention. Of course, it’s not like she had anything better to do - really, she had no other option besides….more spam emails. They could wait. She made her way downstairs as quietly as possible - while she could have used her ghostly powers, the presence of a VERY magically sensitive daemon hunter on the first floor made it a little difficult to do so. Within the second apartment, she found...a rather barren and strange place. Novels of varying natures, from fantasy epics to grocery store romance novels, were strewn about the place, and barely any furniture existed. Luna wondered briefly how someone could live like this, before immediately remembering that her ally was an android, and thus probably didn't need as many amenities as the average person. Inside what Luna assumed to be the living room, she found Gina sitting on a couch - the only piece of furniture in the room - in such a rigid way that it almost betrayed her existence as a non-human. Her appearance was a strange mish-mash of the various members of Southwest Sun - Jersey’s lack of height and pale skin, Luna’s wider stature and short hair, and Kimiko’s fashion sense and steely glare - all wrapped up in a green-tinted package. When the android saw Luna enter the room, her face lit up with surprise - in a literal manner as well, as her pupils began to glow with a pale green colour. “Ah, Miss Papillon!” In a flash, Gina went from a sitting position straight into a stiff and strong but well-meaning hug to Luna. “I’m so glad you received my communication. I was worried I’d sent it to the wrong address!” Luna, despite being a ghost with a physical form, was still being relentlessly hugged by an android, and it was quite uncomfortable. She wriggled around, with minimal success. “You don’t have to -urgh- be so formal, you know. Please, just call me Luna. Also, you can stop hugging me now, it’s getting weird.” “Oh! I’m sorry!” Gina quickly let go of Luna, a slightly panicked expression on her face. Luna was unfortunately quite squished - a rather comical effect of having nothing inside of her but solidified ectoplasm. She quickly returned to her original state, capping the reformation by dusting off her clothes, as if nothing had happened. “So...what was it you called me down here for?” Luna sheepishly looked around the empty room. “...did you need help redecorating or something? Cause I can help freshen this place up, if need be.” Gina waved off the ghost’s concerns. “No no, Miss Pap--I mean Miss Luna. My humble abode has no need for redecoration of any kind. It has all the amenities I require.” “You sure? You don't want like...a television, or a computer or anything like that? Something besides a couch and a kitchen?” “I assure you, Luna, everything I need I can provide for myself; it is quite okay. But I'm afraid we're getting off topic.” The android made her way back to the solitary couch and sat back down, motioning Luna to come sit next to her. Sensing no other option in this situation, Luna obliged Gina’s silent request. “Now...I called you down here for one specific reason. As you can see…” Gina pointed towards the stacks of books on the floor. “...I've been diligently studying all kinds of literature, in an effort to better learn how to adjust to human society - specifically in the area of human interaction.” She turned back to Luna. “However, in the process of studying human interaction, a...strange and almost alien feeling began to well up inside of me. I believe it is what you call...loneliness. So I sought out a companion to...talk to, to have conversation with.” “Right, so...what you're asking is if I can be your friend, basically?” “Yes! That is it!” “Well, I mean….I can't see why not, we're coworkers after all, but I gotta ask: why come to me specifically and not like...Jersey or Kimiko?” “Because...you and I are kindred spirits, in a way.” Luna crossed her arms and tilted her head in confusion. “I'm...not sure I follow here. What makes me, a ghost, and you, a robot, kindred spirits?” The android looked downwards, her expression turning grim. “Well...at the end of the day, we're two individuals who really shouldn't be alive.” The sudden whiplash of mood caught Luna completely off guard. Gina continued her musing nonetheless. “You...you’re a ghost, who should have passed on long ago, yet somehow you hold onto this earth. Me...well, I’m an AI who was only an experiment on an ancient computer, nothing bigger, that escaped into a world that wasn’t ready for her. By all accounts, neither of us should be here right now and yet...we still are.” Luna looked down at her hands. They weren’t real hands, just solid ectoplasm in the shape of the hands she used to have. But yet….her mind, her soul, made them real to her. Her mind and soul made her feel alive. Gina was the same - her body was just artificial skin covering a metal endoskeleton in the shape of a human, but because the AI in her brain said she was like a human, then truly she was, in some way. Frankly, Luna hadn’t really planned on going through deep metaphysical thought with an android at 2AM, but yet here she was, shedding tears about her relative concept of humanity. Thankfully, her android friend was quick to catch on to the sudden change of mood. “O-oh no, I ruined the mood, didn’t I? I think you might be crying too, Miss Luna. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I -- *HIC*” With a very loud hiccup, Gina suddenly ceased all functions, flopping down onto Luna’s lap. It was the unfortunate consequence of a 1980’s AI operating in a post-millennium android prototype - her brain tended to shut down completely (in what Gina referred to as a ‘hiccup’) if she got a bit too emotional. Once more, Luna was caught off guard. Somehow, even unconscious, Gina was really good at surprising her. Her face turned flush. Having someone else laying on her lap was a strange feeling to her - she’d never felt it at all before, and the sensations were...making her feel equally alien feelings down below. It was creating a bit of warmth beneath her pajama pants... She felt...comforted, now. The hints of jealousy from earlier in the night were simply gone from her mind right now. Was this what it felt like…? “Miss Luna, I do not wish to alarm you, but your spiritual energies seem to have rapidly escalated. You’re quite warm and glowing right now, and there seems to be a distinct warmth near your lower regions…” Unbeknownst to her, Gina had woken up again, though she hadn’t moved from her relaxed position. “I...I’m aware, Gina. More importantly, are you okay down there?” “I am okay now, Luna, yes. Though I am concerned about the warmth from your lap potentially overheating my cerebral CPUs down the line.” “Do you want to move, then?” “I would like to, however, this relaxed position seems to be keeping my mental processes in a state of calm right now…” “I have a compromise.” WIthout even thinking about it, Luna pulled Gina into a cuddle. The android was still surprisingly light despite being made of metal, so the cuddle wasn’t too uncomfortable. Yes, this feeling was real. She hadn’t felt this way since before she died. It was...peaceful. It was calming. She wanted this feeling to stick around. It made her feel well and truly happy, for the first time in her afterlife. “Hey Gina...can I stick around at your place for the rest of the night?” “Of course, Miss Luna. Do you wish for more conversation, or something?” “Well...yeah, kinda. But I think I like just being around you, too.” Gina and Luna relaxed further, the cuddling becoming more and more relaxed by the second. Luna began to pet Gina’s head. She didn’t want to call this love just yet, but...shit, it sure as hell felt like it. Luna grasped Gina’s chin and pulled her in for a deep kiss. The android, though caught off guard, reciprocated in turn. A short while later, Luna found herself laying alongside Gina on the....makeshift bed that was Gina's couch. The android had entered her sleep mode, though her internal mechanisms continued to hum, whirr, and pulsate, providing a strangely comforting feeling for Luna. Her thoughts began to drift a little in the midst of the pleasurable feelings surrounding her at this moment. The room around her seemed to just...fall apart, consumed by an inky blackness. And yet, despite this alien sensation, Luna felt at peace. Well, at least her physical form was at peace. Her mind started to race. Was she passing on? Was this the end for her, after she'd found so much in her second life? The inky blackness continued to consume everything around her, as her body seemed to float off towards the ever-expanding abyss. Gina, and the couch she'd previously been sleeping on, drifted off into nothingness, and Luna started to panic. Eventually, she was surrounded by the void, and she began to cry. This was it, this was death, this was her sudden end. All these thoughts began to circle around her in the endless darkness, until... FWOOSH. Without warning, the universe exploded around her. Stars, galaxies, suns, planets, all whirled and flew around her, and suddenly she was now floating in the depths of space, with celestial bodies flying around her like some kind of next-level planetarium show was happening right in her own vicinity. Luna's panic turned to wonder as she continued to float amongst the stars, reaching out to each star as it passed by her. Eventually, her journey came to a halt, as she stopped in front of a...door? Something suddenly felt off about her situation, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. The door opened up, and from within it, a woman emerged, with pale skin, a white lab coat, long silver hair tied into a high ponytail, a maroon dress, and extremely gothic makeup. "Ah, I wondered if this is what you were doing. Some nice basic stuff to start out with, this is...interesting, to say the least..." Luna felt as though this woman was familiar to her, but her thoughts seemed completely lost, scattered, like the universe around her. "...maybe perhaps my experiment was more successful than I previously imagined, I need to keep better tabs on you for sure. Oh, but don't let my presence stop you, keep on dreaming, you funny little ghost girl..." The woman, and the door she came through, faded out of existence, but one thing stuck in Luna's mind. Dreaming. Dreaming. She was dreaming. The stars around her began to spin (or was she herself spinning) as this revelation came to light. She was dead, but dreaming. Feasibly, it shouldn't be possible, at least that's what everything she read about told her. Everything spun faster. It was certainly better than passing on, but how was she even doing this in the first place? The stars and galaxies were now tumbling about like a load in a washing machine. Surely, if she was dreaming then surely she must be -- THWUMP. Luna snapped back into reality, no longer seeing space, but instead seeing the significantly more solid carpet covering her vision. She had indeed fallen asleep, at least she was fairly sure of that much, and in the midst of her dreaming, fell off the couch. Luna rolled over, finding the room now more...light-filled than she'd previously remembered. In spite of the time change, though, she crawled back onto the couch with Gina, letting the continued mechanisms inside the android's body relax Luna once again, and letting that alien feeling wash over her once more. For the first time in a long time, Luna was dreaming. And it felt good. Because to her, it meant one thing. She was more than just a ghost, more than just a lump of protoplasm shaped like a girl from the past. She was Luna Papillon. And she had a reason to be on this earth. She was here to live, and love, just like everyone else. And that kind of life….well, it sounded pretty good. "Well, folks, that's it for me for tonight. I hope you enjoyed the story, and next week I'll be back with another fantastic tale. Same Sunday, same time, same station, and our same sponsor - the Consequences of Truth Magazine, where the truth is as strange as the fiction. For Cruiser Glyde, and everyone at this station, we hope you enjoyed flying with Hi-Fi Skies AM. Good night, and good flight."