tiredtiredtiredtiredtiredtiredtired

"Why?"

mustbemorethanthismorethanmurdermorethancold

"They don't like that you question their orders, do they?"

iwanttobe-

"Want to be what?"

"Alive."

"You are. All of that junk in your head? That's what's keeping you dead. Keeping you pliant. You are alive."

The Courser's limbs are shaking. Part of her believes she's breaking through the synth's control. 

The other part, growing louder, is sure that it means she's becoming free.

"You are gonna be amazing. Not just a freed Courser, but a person. A living, whirring person."

Thek tugs the first little bit of light through.

The Courser's eyes roll into the back of her head.

"Ah...Thek?" Fredrick's voice is uneasy.

"It's okay, Fred, I got this." Thek pulls out the next little bit.

The Courser starts seizing violently, her gun clattering to the floor.

"Thek-" Fred says warningly.

"I can do this!" Thek yells. She tugs through the last little bit, then duplicates it, and shoves it into every dark recess, clearing out violent Institute code with K9's heart.

K9 stops seizing immediately. She stands stock still. If she were lying down, she would look dead.

If Thek had breath, she would hold it.

"You've never done that before, how do you know it will work?" Fred whispers.

"...I just knew. Synths aren't born willing slaves. There's always a part of us that wants to be ourselves. That's what the Institute crushes."

The Courser blinks once, and then one by one, begins testing her limbs. Everything works the same, nothing feels...broken. 

The only thing that's different is- her. She can feel herself, her own thoughts and feelings...

She looks at T6. "You freed me."

"You were on your way there yourself, I just sped things up." Thek raises a hand, checking through the Courser's systems. "You've lost a few Institute-only bits and bobs, but for the most part you're intact. How do you feel?"

The Courser checks through her own systems.

"You're right. I can't access the teleport system anymore." Inconvenient. Walking takes far too much time. "I feel the same, but I have no desire to detain you."

"Do you feel...cold?"

"I'm a synth. I don't need a regulated body temperature."

"No, I mean, what you felt before. Feeling cold. Do you feel like that still?"

K9 thinks. "No. I don't feel cold, or empty."

Empty. That's a new thought. Perhaps the Coursers feel like husks without that chance to be themselves.

"That's good! We can work on warm later. For now, welcome to life!" Thek grins, and holds out a hand, this time to shake. "I'm Thek."

K9-56 takes the hand, but frowns. "You already know my name."