Lumina and Asimov

Earth, year 3014 A.D.

Dr. Leo Asimov, one of the three top scientists in the world, had never once became known for something that he was truly proud of. For as long as he could remember, he had dreamed of becoming an engineer, creating machines that could benefit mankind. He didn't want to just make basic tools that were automated, he wanted to push the boundaries and make something truly unique. He had many outlandish ideas, but while a few of them caught on, most were pushed aside for more "grounded" creations.

Yet here he was, standing in front of the CEO of Quake inc., Elliot Quake, who had specifically requested his aid in developing something that Dr. Asimov wasn't too sure of.

"A weapon, Mr. Quake?" Dr. Asimov asked.

"Weapon is such an... icky word," Elliot said, "I'd like to call it Intergalactic Insurance."

"Well, as a man who has sadly made a number of weapons in his long life," Dr. Asimov said, "I'd call it a weapon."

Elliot Quake was what one would expect a CEO of a company to look like. He, much like Asimov, was an older man, but still younger than Dr. Asimov. He wore a black business suit, white shirt, and red tie. Quite literally the full ensemble. He had short brown hair, a square jaw, and one of those smiles that screamed "corrupt businessman". He owned the most successful business in the country, and one of the biggest in the world, having his hands in just about everything that was made these days.

And now he wanted his hands on Asimov's work.

"Asimov, you're looking at it too narrowly. Think about what's out there. Thanks to the efforts of both Clarke and Heinlein we've not only gone further into space then anyone ever, but we've also learned that there's other life out there."

"And you want America to be the ones to put guns in Outer Space," Dr. Asimov said frankly, "You truly do this country a service, showing the American Spirit at its best."

The deadpanned expression Elliot gave Dr. Asimov made the aging scientist smile. He loved getting under his skin.

"Now that we can explore the galaxy, the next step is to see what's out there, and hopefully expand. I want our fine planet to spread out beyond the stars, so we can see what life is out there," Mr. Quake explained.

"Oh, sort of like how our ancestors came to America to expand their territory," Dr. Asimov said sarcastically.

"Exactly," Elliot said, completely missing or ignoring the sarcasm, "Our planet is becoming more crowded as time goes on, Asimov. We need to begin exploring other planets to see where else we can settle."

"I can understand that logic," Asimov said, "But I don't see a need to carry guns into space. We don't have a need to those anymore."

"But Asimov, that's where your wrong," Elliot said, "There are other beings out there, and some of them aren't friendly. We need to protect ourselves while we explore."

"Or we could use those weapons to bully other beings off their planets and take them for ourselves," Dr. Asimov said, now deadpanned himself.

"You don't have much hope for humanity, do you?" Elliot asked.

"I simply know Earth's history," Dr. Asimov said, "Our ancestors damn near destroyed the planet with their petty wars, and what you're asking me to do is help you make that same mistake on a much larger scale."

"What I'm asking you is to step into the history books once again," Elliot leaned in, "How long do you plan on tinkering with your little machines in your lab? That's a nice hobby, but you need to put food on the table somehow. Have faith in humanity again."

I really should have known better. Sadly, at the time he was right. I was beginning to run out of money. I had no choice. Ultimately, I had to take him up on his offer. That didn't mean I couldn't use the money left over to get to work on my own personal project.

It had been a few weeks to a month since Dr. Asimov had begun working on his two projects. One of which was the "weapons" that Quake inc. had requested. The other one was something a little more personal.

"There, she's just about complete," Dr. Asimov said looking at the robot he had finished creating. In his youth, he had never dated as he was more interested in his studies. Now at age 63, he was far too old to begin dating now, assuming he even had an interest. The one thing he still wanted though, was a child of his own.

He had begun the project ten years in advance, creating and perfecting a truly automated artificial intelligence. It was designed to learn and grow as the years went by. Actually, at first it was just a little side project, but soon he became rather fond of the AI he named "Lumina", after the Pleadian scientist that brought nanotechnology to Earth.

He ran multiple tests and simulations over the years, first teaching it how to read and count. Once the AI got the hang of that, he began teaching it more complicated things, all of which it learned fairly quickly. On its fifth "birthday" he finally created a method of talking to it more directly instead of typing. He was surprised when it spoke to him and he heard the voice of a little girl. He then began referring to the AI as "she" instead of "it".

Once funding came from Quake inc., Dr. Asimov had an interesting idea. He would use nanotechnology and combine it with robotics to create a mechanical child. It would be able to grow and improve itself over the years like an actual child. He decided to use the base he came up with in his youth for a robotic soldier, but remove the weapons. When he got to work, he realized subconsciously that the child he was creating was a little girl, and she looked to be about ten to eleven years old.

Once the realization hit him, he knew exactly who he was creating.

His daughter had long purple and pink hair, naturally green eyes, and the most serene expression on her face as she "slept". She was wearing a black and white dress and black shoes. As she was ten, her figure was beginning to develop into a young woman's physique, and if she were standing upright she would have come to just about four feet tall.

"Now all I have to is transfer the AI," Dr. Asimov said going to his computer and pulling out the flash drive that contained his daughter's mind and soul, "I know your probably scared being stuck in there, but you'll be out soon."

He plugged the flash drive into the computer the robot body was hooked to and began transferring the files into the robot. If he had done everything right, then the robot would be able to recognize him, and communicate properly. He had checked and double checked everything. Now all he could was pray. If it worked, he would have his own child very soon.

If it didn't, then his child would probably be deleted, and gone forever.

After the longest twenty seconds of his life, the computer beeped, letting him know that it was done. He ran over to the robot girl lying down, waiting anxiously as she stirred, and slowly opened her eyes.

Watching her sit up was somewhat haunting, as she moved so elegantly. None of her movements were jerky or mechanical, there wasn't a noise heard when she moved her joints, it was like looking at a real little girl move. She looked around the room, somewhat confused as she took everything in.

"L-Lumina?" Dr. Asimov asked, his heart leaping when she responded to his voice and turned to him.

"Are you... my papa?" the little girl asked slowly. All Dr. Asimov could manage right now was a slow nod. What happened next was not what he expected. The robot girl beamed, ran over to him, and embraced him.

"Um... you're..." Dr. Asimov was so stunned he couldn't even move.

"Papa! You made me a body! A real live body just like yours!" she looked up at Dr. Asimov with the happiest smile, "I'm like you now, right? I'm alive too, right?"

Realizing that everything went smoothly, his surprised expression became one of pure joy as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"That's right Lumina," Dr. Asimov said, "You're alive, and from now on, you'll live out here with me. You can do things that a normal little girl can do. You can eat, sleep, play, dream, and live, just like a human being."

"Thank you Papa," Lumina said hugging Dr. Asimov again, "I love you."

This time Dr. Asimov return the loving embrace, "I love you too, Lumina."

I had succeeded in something many people thought was impossible. I had created a truly sentient machine. Not just a robot that acted like a human. Lumina was special. Somehow, she was a machine with an actual soul.

Over the next few weeks things had become quite interesting. Lumina was an absolute joy. People were often terrified of her at first, but then they'd sit down and talk to her and see that she was just the sweetest thing. She was a regular little girl. She enjoyed playing with dolls, reading, singing and writing songs, and even liked pretending to be a princess.

Dr. Asimov had asked the school board if it was okay for her to attend school, as it was something Lumina had wanted. Not only was it okay, but the children loved her. She had made two friends in particular that she always hung out with. One of them was a little girl with a southern accent named Abigail, and the other was a tomboy with a skate board name Samantha. The interesting thing was that before Lumina came around, those two weren't friends at all, but Lumina had a way of bringing people together.

The one thing that Lumina loved more than anything was nature. If she wasn't at school or playing with her friends, Dr. Asimov could always find Lumina in their back yard either tending to her personal garden, watching birds and bugs as they flew, or just lying on the grass looking up at the sky. One one such day, she had Abigail and Samantha lying with her.

"Oh! That one looks like a horse!" Samantha said.

"Ah don't know, Sam," Abigail said, "Ah sort of think it looks like a lion."

"Huh... I guess so. Lumina, what do you think?" Samantha asked.

"To me, it looks like a big ice cream cone!" Lumina said happily. Abigail and Samantha looked at each other confused, but soon all three of them started laughing.

"Speaking of, Ah'm getting kinda hungry," Abigail said.

"Think your Dad will let us finish the ice cream in your freezer?" Samantha asked Lumina.

"I bet I can make him say yes regardless," Lumina said, "I am his princess after all."

"If you're a princess, does that make us your knights?" Samantha asked.

"Sure!" Lumina said happily, "If you want."

"Ah'd love ta be a knight! Why, Ah'd protect ya from anyone who tried ta harm ya, Lumina," Abigail said getting on one knee and bowing to Lumina.

"Thank you, oh brave knight," Lumina said elegantly taking Abigail's hand.

"Being a knight sounds fun and all," Samantha said walking up behind Lumina and grabbing her from behind, "But I'd rather be the villain that captures the princess!"

"Oh no!" Lumina cried out playfully, "Abigail, help me!"

"Worry not, mah princess!" Abigail proclaimed, "Ah'll save ya from the clutches of this horrible fiend!"

"Ha! You'll never save your precious princess!" Samantha said in a scratchy voice, "I'll lock her away in my tower, and you'll never see her again!"

The three girls laughed and played pretend, completely forgetting how hungry they were.

You know, now looking back, I think they're the reason I became friends with you two in the first place. Abigail was a lot like you, Apple Bloom, and Samantha was like you, Scootaloo. Maybe I remembered them subconsciously.

Dr. Asimov had finished the robots that Quake inc. had requested. After consulting with his friend, Dr. Melissa Clark, he had decided to base the robot weapons off of bugs. His first trial was making them security bots. After a month, the first drones, shaped like Spiders, were completed and now patrolling the streets and keeping the city safe.

Elliot liked the idea so much that he wanted to take some time and focus on them, which secretly made Dr. Asimov happy. He was working on the plans for a hornet based drone when the doorbell rang.

"Lumina, could you get that for me?" Dr. Asimov called out.

"Sure Papa," Lumina called back. Lumina skipped over to the door and opened it, seeing Elliot Quake standing outside.

"Why, hello there little one," Elliot said, "You're Lumina, right?"

"That's right," Lumina said warily. She had never seen Elliot before, and one thing she didn't like were strangers.

"Is your father home?" Elliot asked.

"Um, Papa?" Lumina called out, "There's a man in a suit at the door asking for you."

"Thanks! I'll be right out!" Dr. Asimov shouted. He then walked out of his lab over to Elliot, "Hello Mr. Quake."

"Hello, Dr. Asimov. Could I come in?"

"Certainly," Dr. Asimov said ushering him inside, "Would you like anything to drink?"

"A glass of water would be nice," Elliot said.

"I'll get that," Lumina said walking to the kitchen.

"Thank you Lumina," Dr. Asimov said. Lumina stopped, bowed elegantly to her father, and continued to the kitchen. Elliot nodded in amazement.

"So, that's the robot you made," he said.

"Yes," Dr. Asimov said leading Elliot to the couch, "She has a truly human like AI, and even grows like a normal little girl. In the last few months she's already grown three inches."

"Huh," Elliot said, "Impressive."

Lumina walked back with two glasses of water, "Here's your water, sir."

"Thank you, and please, call me Elliot."

Lumina bit her lip looking a little uncomfortable, "Um... Papa says I'm to always respect my elders, so..."

"That's right," Dr. Asimov said taking the second glass of water, "Very good, Lumina," he gave Elliot a sharp look. Elliot raised his hands in surrender.

"Could your father and I have some time alone?" Elliot asked. Lumina nodded and slowly walked out of the room, as if afraid of what would happen if she left. Once she was out of the room, Elliot's entire air changed, "She's perfect."

"Yes, I think she's quite wonderful myself actually," Dr. Asimov said.

"I want a hundred more."

Dr. Asimov must have blacked out or something. He thought he heard Elliot say...

"Excuse me?" Dr. Asimov asked.

"The idea of robotic soldiers that can actually learn is perfect! Give me your budget and I'll-"

"Absolutely not."

"What?" Elliot asked.

"Lumina's design isn't meant to be replicated," Dr. Asimov said, "Even if I were to take you up on that offer, it took me ten years to create her AI and make sure that it was safe. I can't mass produce that AI, I'm sorry."

"Alright, fair enough," Elliot said, "I don't make robots, so I wouldn't know that sort of stuff. Alright, how about this then. We use the idea of the AI, and make a living computer system to heighten the performance of the existing drones."

Dr. Asimov shook his head, "The AI that Lumina uses is too fragile for combat purposes," he explained, "Her heart program wouldn't be able to handle the stress, and her consciousness chip would create conflict."

"We don't need those things," Elliot said, "It just needs to be smart and self relying."

"You absolutely need those things! If the AI doesn't have a consciousness chip, then it won't have anything guiding it on what's right and wrong, and without the heart program it'll have to base all of its decisions on past experiences and logic. It's those two things together that allow the AI to develop a soul, otherwise all you have is an automated machine."

"I'm not asking you to make another machine," Elliot said, "Look, the drones you created are flying off the market, but the people need someway to relate directly to them. If they had either a mechanical operator or a live network it would really help in their performance. Think about the good something like this could do."

Dr. Asimov thought about it. There were a number of ways that this could go wrong, but wasn't that the same with Lumina? That turned out okay. If this turned out right, then he would not only be the most famous scientist on the planet, but he'd be looked at as a hero. He would have truly created something that benefited mankind.

I'm not proud of the decision I made. I used the basic idea behind Lumina's AI to create the first of what I had planned to be a series of "Mother" networks. Since I didn't have ten years to make this, I found a number of short cuts. Instead of making her reason like a human, I just focused on giving her sentience, which isn't as hard as one would think.

I knew it was a bad idea creating a machine without the heart program, but I at least gave her the consciousness chip, though it was rudimentary compared to Lumina's. For a while, things were okay, but sadly...

Two weeks later, an army of Spider drones went haywire in the city. For some reason, Mother-1 had sent them to attack humans. Had she gotten a virus or something? Either way, without the heart program, Mother-1 had actually reasoned that she was doing the right thing!

The people were looking to Dr. Asimov for a solution. He had made Mother-1, so surely he could make something to stop her too. Sadly, he was out of ideas. How could he create something that could fight Mother-1 that wouldn't end up joining Mother-1?!

"Damn it!" Dr. Asimov shouted slamming his fists on his desk, "This wasn't supposed to be like this!"

"Papa..." Lumina said putting a hand on his back.

"I'm sorry, Lumina. All of this is my fault. I'm a failure..."

"No! That's not true!" Lumina cried, "You made me, and I turned out okay! You didn't know that Mother-1 would become bad!" Lumina took Dr. Asimov's hands, "We can fix this, together!"

"Together..." Dr. Asimov then had an idea. It was a horrible idea, but it was the only one that he felt safe working on. There was one robot he had made that was perfect in every way. One robot that remained loyal to humanity. One robot that truly understood and valued life.

And he was looking at her...

"Lumina," Dr. Asimov got on one knee still holding her hands, "There might be something we can do. I can't shut down Mother-1 now, as she's completely beyond the network, but if I had another robot fighting her robots, I could figure out how to delete Mother-1."

"But how can you build another robot that won't turn against you?" Lumina asked, "Mother-1 has access to the network, so she can control all robots on the planet, right?"

"Wrong," Dr. Asimov said placing a hand on Lumina's cheek, "Not all the robots."

Lumina's eyes slowly widened as she realized what he was saying, "You mean... me?"

Dr. Asimov nodded gravely, "You see, your body is based off an idea I had when I was in college. It was for a robotic soldier. I could easily enhance your body, turn it into more of what I originally had in mind, and with your nanomachines I could have the soldier form be a second form you could access. However, I would only do this with your consent. If you're against it, then we'll find another way, but-"

Lumina shook her head, "There isn't another way, Papa. Like you said, Mother-1 has control of the network. The only robot she doesn't have control of is me. I'll do it. Make me a combat robot, Papa. Please."

Dr. Asimov couldn't take it. Looking at the look in Lumina's eyes was too much for his heart to handle, and he broke down, crying for the sins he had committed.

And for the sin he was about to commit on his daughter right now...

It didn't take long to alter Lumina, and when Dr. Asimov was done she found that she didn't look any different. She was hoping that she could have gotten a chance to get to know her new powers, but almost immediately Mother-1 sent five Spiders into the city to attack the city.

As such, she had to settle for the basic summary.

"All of your weapons are long range," Dr. Asimov explained, "However, your body has been strengthened for close quarter combat if you have to. In your default form you're able to access your arm cannons, gatling guns, and lasers, but you can only activate them one at a time. In order to prevent an overload, I have your combat mode saved as a special option called "Emergency Combat Mode"."

"Emergency Combat Mode?" Lumina asked, confused by the name.

"In that form, your nanomachines will alter your entire body. Currently you're ten years old, but by slamming your fists together like this," he demonstrated by lightly putting his fists together in front of his chest, "Your body will change to be that of an adult, your nanomachines will create added armor to protect you, and you will have access to all of your weapons at once. Also, their output will be increased."

"Perfect," Lumina was about to go right into it, but Dr. Asimov stopped her, "Papa?"

"I know it's tempting, but you must never use that mode as a first option," Dr. Asimov said.

"Why not?" Lumina asked.

"You see, Emergency Combat Mode is too much for your heart program, as such..." Dr. Asimov turned away, "going into that mode turns it off. Everything that makes you human is turned off in that mode, turning you into a machine... nothing more, and nothing less..."

Lumina looked down sadly hearing that. She wanted to be strong enough to fight, but she liked her humanity.

"If you have to," Dr. Asimov said, "don't hesitate to use that form, just promise me that you will only use that as your last resort."

"I promise Papa," Lumina said, "I'll use that form as a last resort."

I didn't want to ever use that form. It scared me, and in my first fight ever, I almost died because I was determined not to use it. I had caught up with Abigail and Samantha, who had been cornered by the Spiders. I tried to fight them off in my default form, but it just wasn't enough...

"Lumina!" Samantha cried as Lumina fell back to the ground. Her dress had been almost completely destroyed, now only pieces of fabric hanging on her body. She wasn't upset about the dress though. She just wanted her friends to be safe.

"GXT-5026, codename Lumina. You are the last robot unregistered in Mother-1's network. You will come with us for registration."

"Lumina, please get up!" Abigail begged. Lumina pushed herself to her knees and stood up, letting her dress fall off, leaving her in just her bra and panties. She turned to her friends, seeing the fear in their eyes. It awakened something within her. She had to save them.

But to do that, she had to...

"I... I can't!" Lumina cried, "I can't do it! If I transform, I'll become a machine! I don't know what I'll do!"

"Lumina!" Samantha shouted, catching her attention, "No matter what, you won't lose your humanity! We believe in you, and we'll always be your friends!"

"Sam... Abigail..." Lumina said, tears streaming from her face. She then turned to the Spiders, her eyes and vision once again turning red.

COMBAT MODE INITIATED

"I'm not afraid... I'm not afraid..." Lumina took a deep breath, "ENTERING EMERGENCY COMBAT MODE!" she screamed, slamming her fists together. Instantly, her entire body was engulfed in a bright light. For a second, her skin vanished, and her skeleton extended, growing to the size and stature of a grown woman. Her skin and hair reappeared, her hair now extremely full and flowing all the way to her waist, and purple armor materialized on her body. The armor was skin tight, with sharp shoulder pads and dark purple high heeled boots. On her back two metallic pieces shot out, and created metallic wings, and a red visor formed over her eyes.

This was Lumina's Emergency Combat Mode.

"Lumina..." Abigail said softly.

"She's so... beautiful... like an angel..." Samantha said. Lumina turned to look at her friends, surprised to see that her thoughts were still her own.

I'm... still me? I'm in control!

Lumina turned to the Spiders and pointed to them, "You will leave the premises or I will be forced to use violence," Lumina said, her voice now more mature and slightly distorted. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't express herself in any other way. She was a machine, yet somehow, her thoughts remained her own.

The drones flew over to her, as if to say no. Oh well, she thought, I did warn them.

Lumina grabbed one of the drones by the talons and threw it into another drone. She kicked another one, impaling it with her boot. Three drones fired at her with their eye lasers, but she did a series of elegant back flips out of the way until she was right in front of the fourth one. She grabbed it before it could strike and used it as a shield until it was destroyed, and then activated her gatling guns, which came out of her hips, for some reason.

The way this mode moves is so elegant, but it looks so...

I'm going to have to have a word with Papa about this later.

Lumina shook her head rolling her eyes at the thought, and then fired her gatling guns, destroying two of them and damaging the final one. As her friends cheered loudly, she sauntered over to the last drone and stood over it.

"Your insubordination... will be... punished..."

"I am not insubordinate," Lumina said, "I am, human."

She pointed her left arm at the Spider, turning it into an arm cannon. She charged it up to full power and fired at it. It began sparking, so Lumina elegantly turned and walked away as it exploded. She was surprised when she heard cheering from all around her. Lumina looked around and saw people in the city cheering for her. Her friends ran over to her and took her hands.

"Lumina," Abigail said, "Do ya, recognize us?"

Lumina nodded, "I am happy you are unharmed, Abigail and Samantha."

Yes, I know that her Combat Mode is extremely... um... Look, I was seventeen when I made those plans, okay! I was a horny teenager who didn't have a girlfriend. I guess I forgot how... sexy that mode was...*

Ugh, yeah, so anyway... I fought Mother-1 for a while on Earth, sort of like a super hero. Things were fine for a while. I mean, they weren't safe, but I was doing a good job protecting the planet. At least until Aurora was created.

Mother-1 created Aurora to be a replica of Lumina. However, Mother-1 has no understanding of the heart program, so instead she made a robot that was designed to act perfectly human. She has emotions, but she doesn't have a heart or a soul. She was made to be Lumina's equal in all senses of the word. She was activated a bit before the invasion of our planet.

Lumina and Aurora, both in their combat modes, stood in front of each other in Mother-1's main prison, where she had been capturing humans and turning them into mechanical hybrids. Aurora in her combat mode looked a lot like Lumina's, only a lot sluttier in Lumina's eyes, and had metallic bat wings instead of angel wings. She had long red hair and her visor was blood red.

Next to Lumina was Dr. Asimov, who was holding his arm in pain.

"Isn't this lovely, sister?" Aurora said referring to the site around them, "The humans here will become like us. They will evolve, and become machines."

"My God..." Dr. Asimov said, "She's figured out how to turn humans into actual machines..."

"Father, please join us!" Aurora said holding out her hand, "We can fix you! You will no longer age, decay, or become weaker!"

"I'm not broken!" Dr. Asimov shouted, wincing in pain and falling to one knee.

"Papa," Lumina said, putting her arms around him.

"Look at you. You're in so much pain right now. But we can change that. All you have to do is give up your humanity and become one of us."

Lumina stood in front of Dr. Asimov and pointed her arm cannons at Aurora, surprising the evil android.

"I will not allow you to take away Papa's humanity," Lumina said.

"Lumina, I don't understand you at all!" Aurora shouted, "You're a robot like me, yet you insist on fighting for these inferior creatures! You're the last one who insists on acting this way! Please, come to your senses, Lumina!"

"Negative," Lumina said, "It is you who is malfunctioning. Robots are meant to aid and serve humans, not rule over them. It is because of the humans that we exist."

Aurora shook her head gravely, "It's a shame. We could have been a great team, you and I."

Aurora was about to charge at Lumina and Dr. Asimov, but Lumina fired at the ground stopping her. She took that as her chance to escort Dr. Asimov out of Mother-1's domain and back to the lab.

It was getting worse as time went on. As more robots were taken by Mother-1, more citizens had fallen into her control. The hybrids looked like normal humans for the most part, but were in Mother-1's absolute control. Lumina tried to protect as many people as she could, but as time went on more humans fell into Mother-1's control, sadly including Lumina's friends.

Quake inc. had become the main base for Mother-1, and the humans there had been used to search for and capture any humans that were not "assimilated". If Dr. Asimov was right, then he was the last true human live.

"Lumina," Dr. Asimov said walking over to his daughter, who had become quite somber over the last few days, "It's time to go."

"Where can we go?" Lumina asked sadly, "Mother-1 has everyone. Samantha, Abigail, Mr. Quake, everyone," when she turned to Dr. Asimov, there were tears in her eyes, "I failed... I couldn't protect anyone..."

"No... that's not true," Dr. Asimov said.

"Yes it is!" Lumina cried, "You were counting on me, but I couldn't do it! I couldn't destroy Mother-1, and I couldn't protect my friends! Earth is gone now, and its all my fault!" Lumina fell to her knees sobbing uncontrollably, "I... wasn't... strong... enough!"

"Oh Lumina," Dr. Asimov embraced his inconsolable daughter, "I'm so sorry that you had to suffer like this. You're so lovely, but you've seen too much," Dr. Asimov looked Lumina in the eyes, "Remember though, there are other worlds out there. We'll go to one of those worlds, and find a new home."

"What... about Mother-1?" Lumina asked, "She'll follow us, won't she?"

"I'm sure she will," Dr. Asimov said, "But we won't let that stop us. We're not giving up. We'll defeat Mother-1, together."

"Together..." Lumina looked down sadly, but nodded, "Right. Together."

After that, Lumina and I stole one of Mother-1's ships and made out way off the planet. Those ships require an entire army of drones to maintain, but I devised a way to control it myself. I transferred my consciousness into the ship's main computer, essentially becoming like the ship's AI. From there I could control the ship as if it were my own body. Lumina was upset at first, but the ship allowed me to create a physical hologram, like right now. We traveled in space for what felt like weeks until we came to your planet.

"Papa, do you see it?" Lumina said looking out at the blue and green planet.

"That planet has an odd orbit," Dr. Asimov said straightening his glasses, "It's as of someone is controlling it manually."

"What if its an underdeveloped planet?" Lumina asked.

"I'm pretty sure the UP3** can be forgiven at a time like this," Dr. Asimov said. Just as he was about to land the ship, there was a sudden tremor. Dr. Asimov looked out and saw another larger ship flying after them and firing at them.

"Damn it!" Dr. Asimov shouted, "She did follow us!"

"We have to drive her away or she'll attack that planet too!" Lumina said.

"I might be able to damage their ship, but I need you to go to the roof and deal with any drones that try to get inside! Use your full power against them!"

Lumina nodded, "Entering emergency combat mode!" she shouted, slamming her fists together and changing into her adult combat form.

"Lumina, please be careful," Dr. Asimov urged.

"Affirmative," Lumina said before running out of the ship. Her combat mode was capable of moving perfectly fine in Outer Space, and she didn't need any equipment to breath, so she flew to the roof of the ship where she met with her ultimate opponent.

"Aurora," Lumina said bracing herself.

"You didn't think I would let you escape, did you sister?!" Aurora shouted charging at Lumina with her blade arm activated. Lumina blocked, and the two of them engaged in a violent close quarter battle, throwing punches and kicks and even wrestling each other.

Our fight was really violent, as we both expected it to be our last one. While we fought, Papa engaged the other ship. In the end, I managed to defeat Aurora, but I was too badly damaged. Also, Papa's ship had taken a major blow to the engines, and we were crashing to the planet.

"Lumina, can you hear me!" Dr. Asimov's voice called out. Lumina was lying on the ship, her right arm and both of her legs torn off, and a gaping hole in her chest. Her wings had been destroyed, and her visor was cracked.

"Papa..." Lumina said slowly, "Taken... too much... external... and internal damage... Permanent shutdown... is imminent..."

"Not yet, Lumina," Dr. Asimov said softly, "You remember that thing I taught you? Resetting your parameters?"

"I... remember..." Lumina said.

"Do that and you can slowly repair yourself," Dr. Asimov said, "But... it will erase your memories in the process."

"N-negative..." Lumina said shaking her head adamantly, "Don't... want to... forget..."

"It's okay Lumina," Dr. Asimov said, "If I can find you, I'll be able to upload your memories to your CPU. I have everything backed up."

"I'm... scared..." Lumina said, actually crying even though she was in her combat mode, "What if... can't... find... me? I'll... forget... Papa..."

"Lumina, I promise, I will find you!" Dr. Asimov urged, "No matter what, no matter how long it takes, I will find you! I love you so much, Lumina."

"Love... you... too... Pa...pa..." Lumina said, feeling herself shutting down. At the very last second, she pulled up her reset option, allowing herself one last thought before everything went blank.

Please live, Papa, and find me.

I don't... want to be alone...

*Essentially think a cross between Mega Man and KOS-MOS from Xenosaga.

**The Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact referenced as a major plot point from the Star Ocean series dictates that planets that aren't at a certain level of development are protected and cannot be directly interacted with unless life or death. Equis, the planet that Equestria is a part of would be considered an underdeveloped planet just under the designated point of development.