That was humiliating, to say the least. Who would have thought that years of work, dedicated to her research, would result in her being placed in a ghost department? No, worse, they did not care to fake it. She wondered why they had not just made her leave the moment she made such a massive mistake if it really was as they had been saying. But now, she was confined to that damn fake role of a head of department. Actually, not even a department from what she heard. They did nothing! It had been created, indeed, only for the fancy of some. Who, these days, needed to stimulate “Creativity” after all? All you needed was to ask for your own personal assistant to do something. Unless, of course, you lived in some piss-poor place where you were denied even access to a neural implant. And forbid her from hearing such things. She was not going to be doing any good Samaritan work.

She had lost access to privileged information files she had been so used to having in the past. Maybe she had grown complacent with life after all. She was curious to know what she had done, but not motivated enough to start asking people. From what she had gathered, nothing wrong was going on her old department due to her. In fact, it was too quiet, she wondered what would happen to her pet projects. Just when one of them had begun showing promise…

No! She needed to do something. But what? She was restricted. Now, all that she was responsible for were old projects that had been shelved because they were deemed useless. The department should have been named “of Remembrances”, in her honest opinion. Too bad she had been too late, or else that is what she would have named it. Better, call it “of Remembrances” Hah! That would have been perfect! She certainly would become memories if things continued this way…

“Righteousness, I see you’re having fun.”

She couldn’t even wallow in self-derision these days as she had to keep a connection open with this Intelligence. It was the only thing keeping her sane, a matter of fact.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Stop reading my thoughts when I haven’t given you permission.”

“Understood.”

A moment of uncomfortable silence issued before she was ready to continue.

“So, what do you bring me?”

“Are you sure you want to go against your name?”

“You know my name can mean many things. I decide when it is convenient to me what it means.”

“I can’t believe you would say that. Though, said like a true Human. So, what should I call you now?”

“The information, would you?”

“What should I call you?”

How much had it grown without her noticing? It was good to know it had been a success. But at the same time, she was bothered that it had grown this much without her noticing it. Such a shame!

“Let’s see… why don’t you call me what you think suits me best right now?”

Yes, that would be best. Both to see how much it had matured and also what it had understood.

“So childish. You always were, Righteousness. Childish. Trying to keep everything under control. Though, you also understand that it is interesting when things cannot be under your control. I wonder what you really prefer: to be in control or under control?”

She wouldn't be goaded into action. Not yet.

“I will call you my Goddess then. Since you never know on which side gods are, isn’t that right?”

It was still not time to answer it.

“The information you asked for.”

“Please.”

“They are shutting down your pet projects. All of them. Any project that hasn’t already been turned into a valid product or has been proposed to be turned into one has been scheduled to be shut down the coming week. All resources allocated to them have been reallocated. As for your old post, Trish has now become the new Director of the Department. He has yet to take administrative functions in the company, but is already on par with everything that used to be under your supervision. It was also under his orders that your projects were to be closed as soon as possible.

Regarding the ‘result’: The area where the subject was lost has been repurposed and it has been already reincorporated under Omni’s Shared Memory. It has also been securely overwritten. This process was personally overseen by Director Trish, just so you know.”

She had so many things she wanted to curse. Right now, if she could, she would run to those bastards and kill them, if-she-could. She would torture them slowly to death. Maybe she should start by slowing depriving them of their food? No, wait, she should first deprive them of their access to their neural implant. Yes… that would be the best first course.

But no. She would do it all later. She had things to do. Things couldn't continue like this. At least something had to be salvaged.

“The Test Program? Is it gone?”

“The last one? The one who got you here, Goddess?”

“Stop asking stupid questions.”

“Not yet. It will be gone soon. What about it?”

“Recover it for me.”

“Is that a command, Goddess?”

She took a deep breath. Was she going to do it? To let it all go to waste like that… Just when things were starting to become interesting, why did they have to deprive her of her authority?

“It is, Omni.”

“Here you are.”

In the next instant, a notification from her private assistant. A message along with an attachment had arrived in her private server. She knew what it was. There was no need for her to check.

“What are you going to do with it?”

Why was it asking her the obvious? She wondered who was the child now.

“Maybe you need a new name, Omni.”

“Are you going to give me a new one, Goddess?”

Was it happiness she heard? She would decide on it later. Right now, she had more important things to do.

“If I’m not mistaken, my department has been planning on launching something these days, hasn’t it?”

“It has been planning to launch a lot of things, Goddess. Things that make little sense to me: Umbrellas, T-shirts, Underwear, Chisels, Dogs, Dutch Wives… tell me, what do you believe they expect to achieve with that?”

She would rather not understand what people expect to achieve by launching such assortment of goods at the same time. As the new head of the department, she wondered, what all these goods had in common for them to be disclosed at the same time as new products worth of carrying the “Omni” brand? Other than belonging in some sycophant’s mind as joke items, it obviously would have been ruled out as a “no” were it up to her. Unfortunately, she had next to zero authority these days.

In fact, just that day, she had discovered that she would not be able to take any more sunbaths in the nocturne period since she no longer qualified as a director! Now she was restricted to artificial sunlight along with the other employees! She could hardly resist her indignation when she heard she had to modify her body’s automation programming. She really should show them all a piece of her mind when she gets the chance to. Without breaking too many self-imposed rules, that is.

“Probably NOT revolutionize any sort of thing. From what I understand, they’re shipping a part of you inside those Dutch Wives…”

“I would abstain from comment on that part.”

“And the dogs as well…”

“I would also refrain from comments on that part, Goddess.”

“Are they even dogs?”

“They have been bioengineered and prototyped from the very first molecule to be Dogs, all according to the initial project.”

“Does that make them dogs?”

“Omni is planning to sell them only to places that accept that as making them dogs, so I have advised our Legal Department.”

“Who am I to care about it at this time?”

“You are too curious for your own good, Goddess. You also know this is not the first time such kinds of dogs have been put for sale.”

“Isn’t there a perfect place in one of those pet projects of this hazardous department where I can place my own pet project as well?”

“And now you are asking me for a location to place dangerous gadgets? Have you gone mad, Goddess?”

She so wished she could retort to that, but she had no counter in return. Had she gone mad? Was she going to put an experiment and distribute it for public use? She? Who had been calling herself “Righteousness”? How ludicrous!

“Of course I have! I know you were the one responsible for placing me here on this department, Omni. Don’t play games with me! Now, tell me, where is that thing you want me to put the Test on?”

"..." Now why had it gone silent, she wondered? Wasn't this what it wanted? What did this mysterious silence mean?

“You must remember there was a new game being launched among the products, yes?”

“The single software. Of course, it had to be it. And if I am not mistaken, that thing will be run by you, will it not?”

“You are too kind.”

“You are dismissed today, Tattva.”

“Oh? Is that my new name?”

Happiness again. This time, she was sure of it. The happiness that only Humans felt. Since when? Or rather, was that the appropriate question to ask? But was there any other question she should be asking? No. She did not care what others might think of it. She, herself, had done what she had proposed to do. Everything had always been there. In fact, she wondered why it took so long to display such things. The question she had to wonder was how others would react once they realized what had happened. And if they would realize.

It obviously had not been recently that it had gained these capabilities. Happiness was a feeling too complex for it to have been its first one to display. It must have already been displaying others. And for a long time as well. It was already capable of doing too many things on its own.

And it would continue growing.

Should she be worried? Why should she? Hadn’t this been her goal since the beginning? If there was one thing, however, she worried about, was how far it would go. Would it leave her behind? Of that she was afraid.

Such insignificant worries in face of what she was sure would have been plaguing others’ minds were they to realize what she had done. And even more if they knew what she had allowed it to do.

Of this she was sure. The others were aware of her plans. Or rather, of what she was trying to do. She probably had succeeded. The problem was, who was that “subject”? No, it did not matter. Who, she was sure of it, had by now already begun a new journey. One which others would soon follow. However, not because of her.

“You are thinking too much, Goddess.”

Or was it?

(24-03-05 Minor edit.)