Linear System Substitution Novels & Stories

"But the mother? The mother is just a delivery system. And systems get replaced." "Kai..." I gasped. "Kai is busy." Elinor stood over me. She looked like a giant. "He’s at the hospital, trying to save a ghost. Marcus is at the plant, trying to save a server. And I’m here, doing the real work." She picked up the silver knife. "It’s time to deliver, Evangeline." She knelt beside me. The blade caught the light. "One last question before the lights go out," Elinor said.

A pause followed. Then Anna stood again. Walked a few steps toward the window. Then stopped. Outside, life was moving normally. People walking. Cars passing. No sign that anything inside this room had rewritten what she understood about herself. She spoke softly. “So if I had not met you…” Adrian did not answer immediately. Then said, “The system would still require a stabilization node.” Anna turned slightly. “…so someone else would have been chosen.” Adrian paused. Then said quietly, “Probable substitution pathways exist.”

Is there where he’ll give me the news of my expulsion? “Sit” he motioned to the seat opposite his. “You do know that exams starts in a week right?” he asked and I nodded before he continued. “And you do know that there is nothing else I can do to keep you here after that?” I remained silent “Even if I want to” he added, earning another nod from me. “You have until the end of the week to pay off your tuition or it’s over” he said in the usual dismissive tone he used whenever I was here.

I closed my eyes and said coldly, “Justin, ever since Stella passed, all you’ve done is push me farther away. You knew it, didn’t you? But you still didn’t stop. “You’ve never been treated like a substitute by the person you loved most. You’ve never been abandoned so many times like I was. “You hurt my body, trampled on my dignity, and wouldn’t even spare the people closest to me. So, what right do you have to ask me to come back now? “I don’t want anything to do with you.” As I spoke, Justin’s eyes turned red, tears slipping silently down his face. I watched as he clutched the front of his shirt, like that could ease his heartache.