Last spark from the ashes

“Hmm.” She nods; she’ll remember the names. His love for them is something to see. Really is the kind of thing they’re out there to protect. Except Hughes is out in the line of fire, too. That’s… still something she’s glad to avoid with her brethren. She knows war and its costs very well. But it’s been a long time since she could put a name to anyone in Hughes’ position.

Her head snaps up when Hughes calls her out, staring at him fiercely. But she doesn’t deny it. Can't, really.

“Worrying isn’t going to fix anything, Hughes,” she points out. Still, she’s stopped shoveling food into her mouth; she lays down knife and fork for a while.

“Exos used to get rebooted once in a while,” she says quietly. “Reset, memories wiped. Happened to everyone at least once. That’s why we don’t remember our origins. I wind up mentioning that to most people here. Thing is – they didn’t wipe everything. Stuff gets left behind. Fragments. Trace memories.” She wishes she had a power pack right now. It’d make talking easier. She sighs wearily.

“Like I told you earlier, the reincarnation process – getting remade mind and body – that stirs things up, rearranges them. Does funny stuff to your head sometimes. And I estimate I’ve been through about three dozen reboots. That makes for a lot of clutter. So I don’t honestly know what’s going on in here, but I am sure it’s meshing pretty badly with human senses.” It’s the only sensible explanation for what she experienced earlier. New sensations contaminating the old.