27. Lilia She was the pinnacle of all their years of research and development on Earth and in the Moon base: code-name project Blue Parrot; the ultimate cyborg interface of Machine, Computer, and Human. Her body was shaped like a typical miniature fighter jet, roughly a flat aerodynamic triangle, with a shorter nosecone, a wingspan of about 18 feet, and a length of about 20 feet. Her hull was constructed of an anodized titanium-cobalt alloy that gave her a shiny blue color. The fleshy human arms and legs she was born with had been completely removed, and all the neurons had been re-purposed to interface with the mechanical aspects of her new metallic exoskeleton via an A.I.-powered computer, much like her siblings’ arms, but operating at a much deeper level within her mind. The cranial implants emanating from her helmet pierced deep into her brain to interact with key fundamental neurological circuitry. The system was designed to control her, as much as it was built for her to control the cyborg mechanics of her new body. Parked in the research lab, she stood upright on her tail-end. Most of her fleshy body was encased in the metallic hull. Her face was behind a half-dome of glass just below the nosecone, at the top of the triangular wings. She opened her eyes and smiled wide. The half-dome of glass opened immediately and quickly and she yelled out “¡Mama‼” She lifted off the ground, and vent-flaps that looked something like window-blinds in her wings near her main fuselage opened and closed rapidly and repeatedly. The tips of her wings "flapped", and her altitude control "flaps" and her rudders all fluttered rapidly back and forth in full movement. She flipped over three times, then spun around three times, saying “look mama, no hands!” Then she landed back on her tail-end and started giggling and laughing out loud, saying “ha ha!, I made it reset again!” “She’s talking about the A.I. computer that was designed specifically for her, to interface her brain and the hardware. It’s not EVER supposed to "reset", but she somehow figured out how to make it do just that when it tries to control her” the old man said to the company he just escorted into the lab. He looked up at Lilia’s face “Lilia, honey, please save your power, we still have over an Earth week before we see solar recharging again.” He turned back to the group. “They intended to keep her as a slave-warrior, train her to be a fighter, keep her under complete control using brain-implants. But the A.I. unit that interfaces with her had to be trained from scratch on her specifically. Somehow she managed to train it on her own, beyond what the research team thought possible. They were looking into it for years, but trying to decipher what an A.I. unit is "thinking" is time-consuming and tedious, and this A.I. is basically one of the most advanced and complex designs yet. It’s not like they had a large team of college interns to do the legwork. They thought they were getting close to understanding how she did it, when the Chinese sent a probe and that caused basically widespread panic here, and they shot it down, but then the kids took over in the chaos. That was just days after they kidnapped me and sent me here to try to help with the neuro-interface problems that were developing in the kids as they grew.” As the old man talked, Jasmine stood behind Jazmin and wrapped her arms around her in a deep hug and embrace, as Jazmin’s eyes filled with tears. She came to America to give her kids a better life. ANY life … But now they were slaves butchered by weapons manufacturers. The old man continued “then the next year, the U.S. sent an armed probe to investigate the downed Chinese one, and it attacked the base after destroying the small communications satellite they had set up in the Moon’s orbit to talk with Earth. The original control crew tried to regain control of the base during the attack, but a couple of the older kids, ah, took care of them. Ironic that the weapons the manufacturers had created attacked the creators. “Lilia here is what this entire project is all about. The other kids were mostly stepping stones to perfect this final goal. And as you can see, the technology behind the anti-gravity pod you came here in is embedded in her being. You saw how it can fly and travel through space. You saw how it can defend against missiles. I’m guessing you don’t realize its full destructive capabilities. This entire underground Moon base was constructed in this mountain by hollowing out this cavern using gravity — miniature black holes, just like the ones that defend against missiles — that crush the rock to "nothing," then release the sub-atomic particles elsewhere. It’s a powerful tool, but also a deadly weapon for which there is no defense once deployed. I even found notes in the computer files I found here that refer to Gaza City being "erased".” “They "erased" it using conventional weapons. I guess you didn’t hear the news out here on the Moon” Maxine Leffleur replied. “Oh no!” the old man gasped. “Yea, they killed over 60,000 innocent women and children throughout Gaza in the process — and perhaps 50% more are buried under rubble, as yet uncounted. They have tortured and starved the people there for well over a year now. The Zionists now have international criminal warrants for their arrest, but the Americans under Biden sanctioned the U.N. leader for doing so … completely cut him off from his bank accounts, his email accounts, everything. And Trump’s back, and he wants to develop the area into a "rich people’s vacation resort paradise"” Josy Lynx added. “Oh no!” the old man gasped again. “Those people are bad!” Lilia said. “But I’m teaching them!” “She means the A.I. unit. She’s teaching the computer that’s supposed to control her” the old man said. “She says she can "see" the people who are behind the project. That data within the A.I. is supposed to be walled off from her access, but she got around the wall, or over it, or … something …” “They’re mad at Jasmine, but I’ll protect you!” Lilia said, looking at her Mom’s newest bestest friend. “They don’t know mama is here. They are confused” she reported. “How does she know that?” Violet quickly inquired, suspecting the answer already. “Somehow, her A.I. unit is connected to another unit, seemingly on the Earth, or perhaps only in communication with an Earth-bound unit. All standard communications here was knocked out in the attack, and the tech-guys wouldn’t tell me anything. Now they are gone, so … Rumor has it that she has an integrated quantum-communications device. If she does, for all we know, her creators are watching us right now. The older kids did their best to make sure there aren’t active cameras here on the base, and have searched for stray communications signals, but they … we … can’t do anything about her integrated surveillance tech. And as you probably … ah … may know, the quantum-communications "signal" is not detectable, whatever it actually is.” “I can see things, too. Like mama! Mostly in my dreams.” Lilia added. The old man just stood there for a few seconds, looking at Lilia’s face. “You’ve never told us that before.” “It’s a secret.” The computer on a rolling desktop table started beeping and something on the screen flashed. Lilia continued “Don’t tell anyone.” Her siblings giggled. “But now mama and Jasmine and Violet are here.” “How do you know their names?” the old man inquired, suddenly realizing how he had awkwardly forgotten to introduce himself to the newly arrived group. “I can see them” Lilia replied. The old man turned to the group. “I’m sorry. My name is Olof Olsson. I’m forgetful with names, and now I’m getting older, and even more forgetful.” “I’m Jasmine.” “I’m Violet.” “I’m Naomi.” Josy Lynx turned and stared at Yellow Yama Leaping Lynx, turned back the old man, and replied “I’m Josy.” Everyone looked at mama. “My name is Jazmin” she said timidly and quietly. Violet turned to Jazmin’s two older kids and asked “What are your names?” “I’m Benji” the oldest son said. “I’m Sophia” Jazmin’s middle daughter said. “We were going to eat in a little while. Why don’t we gather here so Jazmin can be with Lilia. Lilia does not eat. Somehow her mechanical body supports her fleshy one, but I have not figured that out yet. It was top secret when I arrived, but I quickly determined that if I was going to help around here as they wanted, and specifically help her, I needed to know how she was being fed. They still wouldn’t tell me, like I could just sneak away one night and leak the secret, but then the U.S. attacked and the kids revolted, and part of the database was lost as the crew here scrambled to cover their tracks. “But my best guess is that they use the gravitron technology to crush the air, or whatever is around, to sub-atomic particles, then guide the reformation of those particles back into molecules, and create the protein-, carbohydrate-, vitamin-, and enzyme- molecules, etc, very much like the "replicator" in Star Trek, and then this is fed to her system.” The old man, Olof, turned to Lilia and said “promise you’ll save power. Please. It’s for your own health, sweetie.” “O.K. You go get food. I’ll wait and sleep” Lilia said smiling, and the glass half-dome that covers her face closed, and she closed her eyes.