Page 2 of Cyborg's Tether
An awkward silence fell over the group. She fidgeted with the hem of her lab coat, wishing she could disappear into the floor.
The lead technician cleared his throat. “We could use your expertise on this. Why don’t you take a look at the data and see if you can spot anything we might have missed?”
Amaya nodded quickly, grateful for the chance to retreat. “Sure, I can do that. I’ll, uh, just head to my workstation and analyze the readings.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and hurried down the corridor toward her private lab. As the door slid shut behind her, she let out a long breath, her shoulders sagging with relief.
Her workstation hummed to life as she approached, holographic displays flickering into existence around her. She sank into her chair, tapping the interface as she pulled up the anomalous readings from the main conversion chamber. As she immersed herself in the data, the tension in her body began to ease. This was where she was most comfortable—surrounded by numbers and equations, with no need for awkward small talk or forced social interactions.
Hours passed as Amaya pored over the readings, running simulation after simulation in an attempt to identify the source of the anomaly. She muttered to herself as she worked, her brow creased in concentration.
“No, that’s not it,” she mumbled, discarding another failed hypothesis. “Maybe if I adjust the quantum resonance parameters...”
A soft chime from her communication implant startled her out of her focus. SHe blinked, realizing with a start that she had been working for nearly six hours straight.
“Amaya?” Dr. Vex’s voice came through the implant. “Any progress on the anomaly?”
She sighed, rubbing her tired eyes. “Not yet,” she said reluctantly. “I’ve ruled out several possibilities, but I still can’t pinpoint the cause.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “All right,” said Dr. Vex finally. “Why don’t you take a break? Get some rest, and we can regroup in the morning.”
“But I’m close to—” she started to protest.
“That wasn’t a suggestion,” said Dr. Vex firmly. “You’ve been working non-stop. Get some sleep. The problem will still be here tomorrow.”
She wanted to argue further, but it was pointless. “Fine. I’ll see you in the morning.”
As the communication link closed, she leaned back in her chair, frustration gnawing at her. She hated leaving a problem unsolved, especially one as intriguing as this. With a long exhale, she began shutting down her workstation. As the holographic displays flickered out one by one, she had the gnawing feeling she was missing something crucial.
Leaving her workroom, she trudged down the corridor toward her quarters through the empty hallway. The facility’s night cycle had begun, dimming the lights to a soft blue glow that cast long shadows on the polished metal walls. She rubbed her eyes, fighting against the weariness that threatened to overwhelm her.
As she walked, her mind continued to race with possibilities about the anomaly. The erratic energy patterns danced behind her eyelids every time she blinked. There had to be something she was missing, some crucial piece of data that would make everything fall into place.
She reached her quarters and pressed her palm against the biometric scanner. The door slid open with a soft hiss,revealing her sparse living space. She stepped inside, the lights automatically adjusting to a warm, muted glow.
Her gaze fell on the small desk in the corner, cluttered with data pads and half-finished projects. For a moment, she was tempted to sit down and continue working, but Dr. Vex’s stern words lingered in her mind. With a sigh, she turned away from the desk and headed for the tiny kitchenette instead.
As she waited for the food synthicator to produce pasta, her thoughts drifted back to the awkward interaction with the technicians earlier. She winced, remembering how she had stumbled over her words, and how quickly they had dismissed her suggestions.
“You’re a brilliant engineer,” she muttered to herself, mimicking Dr. Vex’s frequent praise. “So why can’t you string two sentences together without sounding like an idiot?”
The synthicator chimed, and she grabbed the plate of piping hot pasta, taking a half-hearted bite. She chewed mechanically, barely tasting the deep flavors as she replayed the scene in her mind.
She should have been more assertive and insisted on running her own diagnostics instead of retreating to her lab. Maybe if she had stayed, she could have spotted something the others had missed, but the thought of pushing her way into the group, of trying to make herself heard over their voices, made her stomach churn with anxiety.
She gobbled down the pasta for fuel rather than pleasure despite it being one of her favorite dishes. She was too preoccupied to enjoy it, and she scraped a third of the portion into the recycler before putting the plate in the washer and going to her room. There, she flopped onto her narrow bed and stared up at the ceiling, following the familiar patterns of conduits and power lines with her gaze.
“You’ve been here for months,” she said aloud. “You should be past this by now. You should be able to talk to people without freezing up.”
No matter how many times she told herself to be more outgoing, to push past her social awkwardness, she always seemed to fall short. It was like there was a disconnect between her brilliant mind and her ability to express herself to others.
She rolled onto her side, curling into a ball and closed her eyelids, willing sleep to come, but her mind refused to quiet. Images of the anomalous readings flashed through her thoughts, interspersed with memories of every awkward social interaction she’d had since arriving on Durmox C7.
She thought about Dr. Vex’s patient encouragement, and the way the older woman always seemed to know how to draw Amaya out of her shell, but Dr. Vex couldn’t always be there to smooth things over, to translate Amaya’s rapid-fire thoughts into something others could understand.
“Maybe I’m not cut out for this,” she whispered into the darkness. “Maybe I should have stayed in my lab back on Ixora Prime, where I could work alone without having to deal with people.”
As the thought formed, she knew it wasn’t true. The challenges here on Durmox C7 were exactly what she had been looking for—a chance to push the boundaries of cybernetic technology, to make real breakthroughs that could change lives across the galaxy. If only she could figure out how to connect with her colleagues as easily as she connected with circuits and code.