The Suliko Process: A Short Story

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Catherine came to fetch me from the confinement cells in deep under the Ark Tower. “You are lucky,” she said handing me a fresh, grey-collared Arksuit. “Andies suspected of suffering from layering psychosis are usually recalled on the spot. Arks are at least tested first.”
“My test is not for another two days,” I said. “But I suppose that has changed.”
“The Director feels it is in your best interest to not wait any longer. Once you are dressed I will escort you to the testing facility.”
We took an Ark gravlift up to the terminal level and waited for a six person tram bound for the testing facilities inside the recall complex. Three cyber engineers in their blue arksuits exited the tram and their heads swivelled atop high, stiff collars to look at Catherine. I guessed they had never seen an andie dressed in directorship black. We stepped into the empty tram and Catherine entered a code on a black panel to mark the tram as being on directorship business, ensuring it would bypass all other stops until we reached our destination. I sat in the front row and saw three reflections in the window. Irina sat on my left, Catherine to my right. I smiled at Irina in her high-collared, blue arksuit and she smiled back. “Irina hated those collars,” I said.
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I could not tell if it was one of my memories or one of Irina’s. “Doctor,” said Catherine, “tell me about the Suliko Process.”
Irina’s reflection turned worried. Her long fingers laced with mine and she squeezed my hand. “They know,” she said.
I turned my head to Catherine. She looked straight ahead and I wondered if she could see Irina in the reflection. Her black and white lozenge earrings hung motionless. “I never told anyone about the Suliko Process,” I said. “When problems developed in your layering and your code was at risk of being lost, the Director looked into it personally. That is when he found the memory.” “He blames me for Irina. I am surprised he did not let my code be forgotten.” “Your past history did not come into play when he decided to intervene. The Director did not wish to lose a recall engineer. That is all.” “Emil, practical to a fault.” It was my voice but Irina’s thought. “The Director could not determine if the
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“Emil was trying to find me. He must have layered the false death memory.”
Catherine looked to me. “Tell me, Doctor, was the procedure successful?”
“No. I entered recall in the middle of the procedure and could not complete it.” I felt Irina, knew her memories were merged with mine. Was it really her or just my mind reshaping her memories to make her seem real? If I had finished the procedure, would our cores be one, inseparable and indistinguishable?
“I am here, Dimitri,” said Irina’s reflection. “Don’t leave me.”
“It does not matter,” said Catherine. “The LP scan will detect any extra code or anomalous memories.”
Catherine was right. The LP scan would find the false death memory, consider it an intentional deception, and deep scan me. All my memories would be extracted, reconstructed and analysed. The Ark would know I defied it and would forget me for trying to save the woman I love. I wanted to run but knew it was useless. I could never avoid detection by the Ark receptors or escape the ArkSec sent to retrieve

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