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Stern put his head in his hands. “Alright. Let’s give it one more try.” He said, speaking into a microphone. Behind a glass pane, hooked up with sensors and a pair of VR goggles was Eunomia. In front of Stern was a screen, displaying what it was Eunomia was seeing. At the moment it was blank, because in the virtual world Eunomia had just been killed for the fourth time. She was sprawled on the floor, sweating through her thin gown. Stern didn’t know it, but she was in a lot of pain. The system, created by an acquaintance of Bailer, was the most advanced VR system in the world. In one infamous case sometime after its release, a man had actually had a heart attack brought on by the shock of confronting an enemy in a survival horror game. The system had not been recalled, but various warning labels were added. The experiences created by the game were so realistic that some dating simulators had actually been branded as pornography. In Eunomia’s case, she was able to feel every punch, though the pain was significantly lessened from what it would normally be. Stern was working on the theory that if Eunomia had any latent abilities beyond that of a normal human, a life-or-death situation, albeit a simulated one, might shake it loose and bring it to the surface. So far, his theory had been a flop. Eunomia had (virtually speaking) been run over by a tank, ripped to pieces by zombies, smashed into a pavement after falling from a skyscraper and impaled and dismembered by an enraged demon. No matter what scenario he tried, there was no response. No spike in brain activity. No unmerited changes in heart rate. No strange occurrences to speak of. Stern laid his head on the desk, lamenting the afternoon he was wasting on this experiment. Eunomia, however, despite the repeated grisly deaths, was rather enjoying herself.
Stern began to load the next scenario. It was a fairly straight forward serial killer situation. Text flashed up the screen, explaining what Eunomia had to do. The game would start in a random part of a huge, trap-laden forest. The player then had to try and find weapons, a hiding place, or a way to call for help, whilst always evading the crazed killer bent on gory mayhem. Eunomia lasted twenty minutes before being mercilessly hacked to pieces whilst attempting to start a car. Stern switched the system off and groaned to himself, then he went to disconnect Eunomia. The girl seldom said anything to him unprompted, which suited him fine.
She blinked a couple of times, her eyes readjusting after their time behind the VR goggles. She didn’t ask what the so-called tests had been in aid of. Stern simply assumed it didn’t cross her mind to ask.
“There,” he muttered, the wires all removed, “off you go. Amuse yourself for the next hour until Child gets here.”
Eunomia nodded.

Eunomia went to the basement, to the last lab where she had been born. She had only rediscovered the room the other day, shortly after her photograph had been taken. Now that she could walk on her own and was reasonably trustworthy she was allowed to explore the facility as she wished. One of the first places she had explored were the lower floors, where almost every door was locked. Now that she was no longer there, the last lab was left unlocked and Eunomia was free to survey the room. She actually had vague memories of a blurry view from the tank. She had almost scared herself when she stood in front of it, looking out over the room, she had almost felt the liquid bubbling in her throat and over her skin, the wires and cables buried in her skin, the thrumming of the machines once more. The feeling of entrapment had been so strong she had had to run from the room, and had been so pursued by the sensation that she had gone into the courtyard, despite the cold, with no hat or shoes. She had looked up at the sky, the sheer expanse of inky black studded with stars, and despite the grey walls looming up around her, had been comforted by the presence of open space. She had been going to the castle in her head more often as well, but at times like this when she wanted to be aware of how phenomenally huge and empty the world was the claustrophobic confines of her own mind were not at all helpful.
Once in the lab Eunomia sat on the floor and looked at the tank, and at the monitors and the piles and piles of files that were scattered about the room. There were cobwebs galore in the corners, and small piles of dust. How so much dust had accumulated in a room that had been unoccupied for almost two years she did not know.

When Child stepped into the office Stern was seemingly typing away on his computer. She did not see the mass of paper stuffed into his top desk draw, nor did she hear the tail end of the phone conversation that had been going on just moments before. She did not therefore know that a meeting had been scheduled for that night.
She paid little attention to the thin sheen of sweat on Stern’s brow, or the anxious expression on his face. He stood up and announced he was leaving, but would be back in the evening.
“If you’re taking the night shift can I clock off early?” Child asked hopefully.
Stern nodded, heading for the door.
“Oh, where’s Eunomia?” Child asked, seeing her corner was empty.
Stern waved his hand dismissively. “She’s around somewhere…” He muttered. The door was pulled shut behind him. Child quickly checked all the cameras in the building. Amidst the empty shots of corridors and people not doing much work she located Eunomia in a stairway. Eunomia looked up in the direction of the camera, but Child had looked away to check on a machine that was beeping. Eunomia nodded and passed out of camera view. Child continued flicking through the camera feeds, and then was startled by the office door opening.
“Eunomia, you’re here.” Child gasped. “Good. What did you get up to today?”
“Professor Stern did tests. There were goggles and a reality he said was called ‘virtual’. He was not happy.” She answered. Her face was beginning to move in reaction to her emotions, and her eyes looked downwards and the faintest hint of a frown touched her face.
“Never mind about that. Have you seen the article about you? The picture looks great.”
Child got the magazine out of her desk drawer and handed it to Eunomia. The girl stared at the picture quietly for almost a minute without any clear emotional reaction. Child didn’t know what she was thinking.
“You look very different in a dress like that, don’t you?” She said, smiling.
“Can I have another dress someday?” Eunomia asked after a short period of silence. Her fingers picked at the hem of her blue hospital gown.
“I’ll bring you in something to wear next week. I’ll buy you your own dress. Don’t ask Stern or Bailer, they’ll probably get you some old cast-off from somewhere. Ok?”
Eunomia nodded. She tapped the side of her mouth with one finger, a sign Bailer had taught her for when she wanted to smile.
Continued in Part 7 ---->

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