[Kardian’s point of view]

Nataly took the reveal of this apocalyptic world much better than I thought, but maybe her experiences on Planet 6 played a big role in this. From what she said, it didn’t seem as though she had any family or friends on this world, which meant that she wasn’t in a hurry of heading out to search for someone... similar to me, in a way.

Still, we couldn’t know for sure if what she spoke was the truth or just a very good lie. Even if she didn’t have anyone on this planet, this didn’t mean she didn’t desire to return to Earth to her daughter, but that in itself could have been impossible. After all, the law probably wouldn’t take kindly of Xerya’s existence, who was, for now, a crucial element in our survival.

Maybe... maybe I thought too much about this. Maybe I was afraid of the bad outcomes and my experiences back on Earth made me slightly distrustful of others. Even though I had lived on Planet 9 for so long already, I had yet to make any significant friend, not to mention a lover. I was just as alone as I was back there, and for this there was no one to blame but myself and my lack of initiative. In a way, befriending Xerya was probably the best thing I had done in my life. I spared the world of another Nano-Z and maybe, in some twisted way, granted it the hope for something better.

“For now, Xerya will control your body until she makes the final adjustments, but... we won’t shut down your brain cage.” I told her as I took a step away from her.

“So, basically, I’m a prisoner in my own body?” Nataly asked.

“In a way, yes... but I hope you understand that we’re not doing this deliberately. Once we feel like we can trust you, we’ll let you control your body again.” I pointed out.

“And what if you get the urge to do something... inappropriate to my body while I’m waiting to prove myself to you two?” she raised an eyebrow.

“That won’t happen!” I declared her with a firm tone of voice.

“And why not? I mean, you are a man. What’s stopping you from ordering your AI to stop me from retaliating? I mean, you are already doing that, right?” she asked raising an eyebrow.

“Because first of all... I can’t order Xerya to do anything. She is my friend not my tool or servant. I can make suggestions and I can ask for favors as I would from any friend, but I can’t order her.” I explained, and hopefully, I made it clear to her that as long as we were friends, Xerya had no reason to think about turning against us.

“Sigh... Guess for now, all I can do is believe in you. Well, not like I can do anything about it either! Hahaha! What am I going to do? Call the undead police on you for taking me hostage during an apocalypse?” she laughed.

If she could joke even in these conditions, that meant I had nothing to worry about, or so I hoped.

“We’ll roam around for a bit, hunt some Nano-Z, maybe search for some supplies and then we’ll head to Resonance High. During this time, we’ll have enough time to chat and get to know each other better. Then again, it’s not me who you need to convince but mostly Xerya, and... this is just a tip, but as long as you will treat her as any other ordinary AI out there, I don’t think you’ll be able to do much...” I let out a sigh “I’m going to head up to the rooftop now... I need to catch some fresh air.”

Nataly didn’t say anything, but once I was out of the room, Xerya was the one to ask me “Was that alright? To let me be the judge for when to give her body back?”

“Why not? She is technically under your control. You were the one who repaired her body and saved her. I think I did my best just by convincing you to give her a chance... The rest is up to her...” I told her as I walked up the stairs.

“I will take note of your opinion and make an appropriate judgement, but in order to avoid possible conflict, I will share with you my choice and the reasoning behind it. Insight at that moment might end up being critical in either strengthening my resolve or even changing my mind.”

“That sounds good... By the way, do you think this... whole apocalypse will end someday?” I asked her.

“Evolution is a part of the Zombolik programming. Unless all creatures infected by the Zombolik Virus are completely exterminated from the face of this planet, then it is possible that this Apocalypse will change once the human camps stabilize enough to begin retaking the nearby areas and the Nano-Z will reach a form of evolution capable of suppressing their desire to hunt and kill the uninfected.” she explained.

“In other words, it depends on a lot of factors that might end up changing any moment now?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“Affirmative. Even I don’t know what a Nano-Z is supposed to evolve into once they passed the third stage.”

“Wouldn’t it be funny if it was us?” I laughed.

“Questionable, but not improbable.”

“Heh, imagine that.” I said and then took a seat near the door on the rooftop. “Sigh... It’s a good day... I wonder how long it will last?”

“I am not connected to any weather satellite; therefore, I am unable to give an approximate forecast.”

“Understandable...”