Memories Of Ice

Three years ago, at the Fyre mansion home in Raryst. Anya was sat out in the garden. Unlike most of Raryst, nature thrived in this garden, due to the heat shielding that surrounded the home. Anya smiled and stared at the sun.

"Anya!" A familiar voice called out, Anya turned to see her father, Bryan Fyre waving over from the kitchen door. "I need your help in the lab" He smiled.

"Alright" Anya rolled her eyes and smiled, while standing up. "Coming!" She yelled back, as she made her way to the kitchen door. As she walked inside, she closed the door behind her.

"Honey, I'm on the verge of correcting the issue I had with the miner droids, I think we have managed to create an actual Artificial Intelligence!" Bryan smiled.

"That's great dad, but it's my day off, remember?" Anya joked, as the two of them made their way to the elevator in the centre of the house. The house had a pretty rustic farmhouse look, but with small touches of high technology dotted around.

When they reached the elevator doors, they pressed their thumbs on a small pad, and a small laser did a retinal scan.

The doors slide open to reveal a blinding white elevator, the two of them walked in and the elevator began to go down.

"So, have you given it any more thought?" Anya asked.

"Given what any more thought?" Bryan asked.

"Me, going to the Academy" Anya sighed.

"I told you I'd think about it" Bryan shook his head.

"You've been thinking about it for months now, dad..." Anya sighed.

"Yes, there is a lot to consider, Anya" Bryan shook his head.

"Like what?" Anya asked.

"How to keep you safe, you're a Fyre, people don't like us..." Bryan explained.

"What about Victoria Iryn, she will be going to the Academy, she's already been accepted and will be allowed in when she's the right age" Anya said, folding her arms.

"You really want an answer, huh?" Bryan frowned.

"Yes, yes I do" Anya nodded.

"No, you can't go to the Academy, and that is final" Bryan said as the doors began to open. Anya banged her fist against the wall and walked angrily over to the door.

"I hate you, dad" Anya growled, but as she finished her sentence, a steel spike shot through her from the other side of the door.

"ANYA!" Bryan screamed in horror. The doors began to rip open and Anya fell to the floor. Bryan looked toward the door to see a steel skeleton of one of the Droids, he fell backward in fear.

"No!" Bryan shouted. The Droid stood in front of him and looked down.

"Threat has been eliminated, awaiting orders" The Droid said as it stared down at Bryan.

"...What?" Bryan said, looking up in horror.

"Threat has been eliminated, awaiting orders" The Droid repeated. Bryan slowly stood up and frowned.

"Return to the lab..." Bryan said, as a tear rolled down his face. The Droid made its way back to the lab. As soon as it left the elevator, Bryan ran over to Anya and knelt down beside her.

"Anya!" Bryan shouted. "Wake up! Please!" He cried, as he grabbed her lifeless hand. Bryan broke down into tears as he mourned his daughter. After a few seconds, Bryan stopped, he looked at the Droid laid lifelessly on a nearby bed, then down at Anya.

"I... couldn't, could I?" Bryan stuttered. He picked up Anya's body and walked over to a neighbouring bed. He placed Anya on the bed, and began hooking up several wires and pipes to Anya, and then to the Droid.

Once he was finished, he booted up the console between the beds and typed in the command 'Transfer data' then hesitantly pressed the accept button, as soon as he did, the pipes and wires began to electrify as the process began.

About an hour later, Bryan was laid on the floor, asleep. The Droid sat up and looked down.

"Father..." The Droid said, before standing up and kneeling down. "Dad, wake up!" It added. As Bryan opened his eyes he recoiled in fear. "Dad, what's wrong?" The Droid asked.

"A... Anya?" Bryan asked.

"I feel strange Dad..." The Droid sighed.

"Is that really you?" Bryan asked.

"Of course it is...?" The Droid laughed. Bryan looked up at the table where Anya's former body was laid down. The Droid noticed and looked up.

"Wha..." The Droid gasped. It stood up and took a closer look.

"No... no, no!" The Droid began to panic. "NO! THIS IS NOT RIGHT! NO! PLEASE! NO!" The Droid shouted as it began to smashed the lab apart.

"Deactivate!" Bryan shouted. The Droid froze in position, Bryan sighed deeply and moved The Droid back to the bed. He returned to the console, and frowned. Bryan added a lock to Anya's former memories, that could only be activated by a certain keyword.

Over the months that followed, Bryan changed the Droid to look more human, and to look more like Anya had once done. The real Anya was buried in a quiet ceremony, the outside world had never really known she had existed, as the was kept isolated at the manor for all those years.

Bryan told the Droid version of Anya that she was and always had been a machine, to keep her safe from the trauma of what had happened to her. Eventually, he sent her to Pyre Academy, where her former self had always dreamed of going.

He did this not only to respect her wishes, though, over the years, he had begun to accept Anya's death, and found the Droid version of her a mockery. After all, it was the same Droid that had taken his real daughter's life...