It was dark; she knew that much. She wondered dully how she knew it was dark, and what darkness was. She opened her eyes.
"It's alive," said a voice on the outside.
Alive - what did that mean? She realized she still couldn't see - there was some kind of dark fluid surrounding her. And something was making beeping noises.
"Vital organs all functioning," said another voice. Something clicked. She began to go into a panic - what was out there? who was she? And, for pity's sake, what did "alive" mean? She thrashed around in the thick gooey something, but it restricted her movements.
"Shouldn't we let it out?"
[Her. Shouldn't you let HER out,] she thought, then abruptly sunk back into confusion. What was the difference between "it" and "her"?
"It says it's a she," said a panicked voice.
I said what? she wondered. Did they hear me?
"Well, duh! Orders were to make a female Mewtwo!"
Mewtwo... is that what I am?
"No, I know that... but it TALKED!"
[SHE! She talked! Not it!]
"It's at it again!"
She thought she had figured out how it was they heard her, and how she could make them hear or stop hearing.
"Stop calling her an 'it,' you imbecile! If she gets pissed off, she can blast us to smithereens!"
Smithereens... Almost as puzzling a word as "alive". And longer, she thought. She didn't know how she knew all these things - what was length? How could she make some meaning out of the things humans said? Why was she here?
And so, at the age of fifteen minutes, she felt fear for the first time.
She didn't know how long she stayed in that tube, with the gooey stuff. She'd soon discovered that the thing had "walls" - a big, hard, smooth thing. It kept her and the goo inside of itself. Why would it want to do such a thing?
She soon grew impatient with her prison. She wanted to see things - she didn't know what sight was, but she knew she didn't have it. She wanted answers. She wanted to know why the humans were calling her "095 Beta," and what that meant in the first place. She supposed it was one of those things they called names. I am 095 Beta, she thought. But for some reason, she didn't like that name. She didn't know why, only that she hated it.
She hated this tube, she realized. She hated not knowing things. She hated the humans that talked about her like she was just something to gawk at. She reached out - she did not know why she could do so many things with her mind - and sensed that almost all the humans were here. And a new one whose mind she did not recognize.
"See, she's been developing-" the human could never finish their sentence. 095 Beta smashed the test tube in which she hovered - without touching it, she thought, amazed at her own power - and stepped cooly onto the floor. Now she knew what sight was, and she looked around. The humans were all staring at her blankly, shocked, terrified - all but the one who had spoken. He had stood too close to the tube, and a shard had pierced his throat. He lay on the floor, hardly breathing. A red liquid had started to come from the puncture. Blood, thought 095 Beta. That's blood.
She looked back up at the others. [I hate you,] she said calmly. [I don't know you, but I despise you with every atom of my being.]
None of them ever saw the light of day again.
"It's alive," said a voice on the outside.
Alive - what did that mean? She realized she still couldn't see - there was some kind of dark fluid surrounding her. And something was making beeping noises.
"Vital organs all functioning," said another voice. Something clicked. She began to go into a panic - what was out there? who was she? And, for pity's sake, what did "alive" mean? She thrashed around in the thick gooey something, but it restricted her movements.
"Shouldn't we let it out?"
[Her. Shouldn't you let HER out,] she thought, then abruptly sunk back into confusion. What was the difference between "it" and "her"?
"It says it's a she," said a panicked voice.
I said what? she wondered. Did they hear me?
"Well, duh! Orders were to make a female Mewtwo!"
Mewtwo... is that what I am?
"No, I know that... but it TALKED!"
[SHE! She talked! Not it!]
"It's at it again!"
She thought she had figured out how it was they heard her, and how she could make them hear or stop hearing.
"Stop calling her an 'it,' you imbecile! If she gets pissed off, she can blast us to smithereens!"
Smithereens... Almost as puzzling a word as "alive". And longer, she thought. She didn't know how she knew all these things - what was length? How could she make some meaning out of the things humans said? Why was she here?
And so, at the age of fifteen minutes, she felt fear for the first time.
She didn't know how long she stayed in that tube, with the gooey stuff. She'd soon discovered that the thing had "walls" - a big, hard, smooth thing. It kept her and the goo inside of itself. Why would it want to do such a thing?
She soon grew impatient with her prison. She wanted to see things - she didn't know what sight was, but she knew she didn't have it. She wanted answers. She wanted to know why the humans were calling her "095 Beta," and what that meant in the first place. She supposed it was one of those things they called names. I am 095 Beta, she thought. But for some reason, she didn't like that name. She didn't know why, only that she hated it.
She hated this tube, she realized. She hated not knowing things. She hated the humans that talked about her like she was just something to gawk at. She reached out - she did not know why she could do so many things with her mind - and sensed that almost all the humans were here. And a new one whose mind she did not recognize.
"See, she's been developing-" the human could never finish their sentence. 095 Beta smashed the test tube in which she hovered - without touching it, she thought, amazed at her own power - and stepped cooly onto the floor. Now she knew what sight was, and she looked around. The humans were all staring at her blankly, shocked, terrified - all but the one who had spoken. He had stood too close to the tube, and a shard had pierced his throat. He lay on the floor, hardly breathing. A red liquid had started to come from the puncture. Blood, thought 095 Beta. That's blood.
She looked back up at the others. [I hate you,] she said calmly. [I don't know you, but I despise you with every atom of my being.]
None of them ever saw the light of day again.