Jonesing for a Bite 1

Diana woke up from her nap to an awfully strange sound.

Groaning certainly described part of it, but there was also a high pitched whine to it.

This sound was followed by a soft thump, going quiet for a second or two before starting again.

The second or third time this repeated, the groaning disappeared, only to be replaced by this whining in force.

Diana was fully awake by the time the dog started barking.

Impatient, disoriented, and no doubt extremely confused, the pup was struggling to raise its head and get out from under the blanket.

Getting up from her chair, she walked over to the entombed puppy, flipping back the blanket and freeing her from her linen prison.

Unfortunately, the dog was still extremely groggy. The impact with the floor was uncontrolled, unbalanced, and unplanned. Now sprawled out on the floor, she let out a similar groan to earlier, eliciting a laugh from Diana.

She crouched down and scooped up the juvenile in her arms, noting that her eyes were not focused and her tail was not responding to the stimulus.

"Let's have ARC take a look at you sweetie. I can't imagine you are feeling too well." Holding her like a baby, Diana carried the heavier than she had bargained for German Shepherd all the way to the Noah, setting her down on the elevator plate. At some point her tongue had started lolling out of the side of her mouth, giving her a dopey appearance.

Picking up the doddering mutt and laying her down on the single bed, Diana politely asked ARC to scan her for injuries.

"While she is anatomically different from humans, there seem to be similar patterns in her injuries compared to the ones that Donovan sustained."

"I believe they called that 'Split Decay'. I have no idea how it works, but I assume that Split has a hand in it."

"I will catalogue this phenomena as such. Whatever the cause may be, it seems to first affect the skin and surface level capillaries. The flesh is subject to an increased rate of decay, slowly falling apart. Bruising and swelling seem to be symptoms of this first stage. Beyond this, skin starts to rupture and the muscles become exposed.

Mercedes appears to have recovered from the primary stage, her current dazed state the result of a psychedelic agent. There is no danger."

"Did you or Donovan administer it?"

"No. It is my assumption that this is a side effect of the cure. I detect a similar compound in your bloodstream, though it does not appear to affect your mental state. I expect Mercedes to recover within the hour."

It must have bean that strange bean then.

"I have some concerns, Diana. They should not take long to address, but they are not pressing should your presence be required elsewhere."

"I have time. What is this about?"

"I am worried about my capability and usefulness. If the cause of this is Split, of which I have no reason to believe it isn't, then it means I failed to properly keep it outside of the Cabin. I also don't have any way to assist or protect you. If you are in danger there will be nothing I can do.

I feel like I am failing in my duties."

Diana felt that ARC's closest human equivalent was a mature child. Despite its knowledge, it was not yet used to adversity, nor did it understand that it was not expected to do everything for them.

"You have done more than any of us could have hoped, ARC. We know very little about how Split works, so we cannot blame you for not doing a perfect job of insulating against it. At the same time ARC, we don't expect you to do everything for us. We have to make decisions that will affect our lives in the future, decisions that we cannot ask you to make.

Remember, ARC, your purpose is to assist and protect, but that doesn't mean we are defenseless. We can fend for ourselves to a degree."

"Then what should I do?"

How was Diana supposed to know that? Even she didn't know what she should be doing until Donovan woke up. She supposed that information gathering was technically something that she could do, but right now every important decision she could possibly make would have to be in response to something.

"What do you want to do? At the moment we are in a situation where we really are not able to take action. Do you have anything you can do for fun?"

"Fun? I enjoy certain things, but I have found that most of the time that I have 'fun' whenever I am doing something for or with Donovan. The lack of a body and subsequent chemical responses makes it hard to entertain myself alone."

"What were some of the things you did together?"

"It was primarily conversation, just as we are speaking now, though watching him was intriguing as well, even in his sleep. Most of our conversations had to do with philosophy or history, though there was a healthy amount of discussion about military doctrine and tactics as well."

"Was there anything besides that? Anything you did for him that was not only out of duty?"

ARC's response was delayed, its version of the classic 'hmmm'.

"I suppose the creation of a few virtual simulation models counts in that regard. Mostly to do with flight and the like."

"In that case, why don't you work on the creation of something that will keep him entertained when he wakes up. I find it highly unlikely that he will be in a state to move around freely. I personally would like it if you modeled what nature on Earth looked like. That is something that is gone now, so if I can help refine its appearance and atmosphere, it can be preserved for future generations."