[video]

[inthedriversseat]

[A teenage girl's face appears on the screen, she's sitting on a bench in a Genessia City park.]

So. Hi. How do these kidnappee introductions work? Is there a Miss Manners for the Kidnapped book I missed out on? Anyway, I'm Mikaela. I've been here for a couple of days, got settled in, seen the sights. I'm trying to figure out now where I want to live. Got any suggestions for me? Nova City looks cool right now, I mean, they have flying cars! It's like living in a sci-fi movie.

Comments

[inthedriversseat]

Mikaela goes a little quiet and wistful as she thinks about that.

I think that's how it is for Bumblebee. My boyfriend's robot friend. He chose to stay with him, as his... his car, I guess. That's a little like finding yourself a pilot, isn't it?

[pianola]

Dorothy is also quiet, though the wistfulness isn't there. "Perhaps."

Because of the way she was, and the things she could do, she thought she understood the megadei better than most. But that was a rather low metric to meet.

After a while, she admitted, "The robots you know are probably very different."

[inthedriversseat]

"I don't think here are any others like them. I haven't seen any here. That's sad, they are... They're amazing. Optimus Prime, you've got to meet him to believe it. He is so wise and kind. And Bee is the best friend you could ask for." She deflates them a little more. "I miss them as much as the humans."

And she's been trying so hard not to think about maybe never seeing any of them again.

[pianola]

For a while, once more, Dorothy is quiet. It's not been quite a month, since she'd been taken. And, she'd been told that time didn't pass for the people who she left behind. So, it wasn't as if they had been needing her, and she wasn't there for them.

But she still missed them. Terribly. Both her human friends, and Big O. She wasn't certain she'd be able to explain that to most people.

Finally, she said, "It's hard. Not being able to go home. Not knowing when I'll be able to see them again. I understand."

[inthedriversseat]

"My life had just been through a huge change, you know, that whole learning that giant alien robots are real, getting chased by an evil government agency, being in the midst of a warzone... And then things had almost gone back to normal, I had some big problems in my life straightened out, I even had a new boyfriend. Go figure. And then I woke up here. I don't know how to feel about that."

Mikaela lifts her shoulders in a shrug. "I know it's a huge adventure but I could have done with a little bit less adventure. Just for a week or two. And I don't know if I'll see any of them again."

[pianola]

She listens, and while she doesn't feel inclined to tell her own story, she thinks there are a few similarities. She also just discovered many new things about Paradigm, things which shook her understanding of their world. There had been major battles. There was definitely an evil government, and that issue certainly hadn't been resolved. And as for her friendships ...

Dorothy let Mikaela talk, while she listened, and finally said, "I don't know if it helps."

"But the people who've left this place - and then return again - say that time doesn't pass, in our worlds, while we're gone."

She looked at Mikaela, still unblinking, still not breathing, through the video screen. "You will miss them, but to them, you'll never be gone. They won't think you've left them. They won't be worried."

[inthedriversseat]

"That's... Actually pretty weird, but it's good. I'm glad." She relaxed a little as the knot in her belly loosened. "There's one person in particular, I'd hate for him to think I have given up on him when I suddenly stop with the visits, the calls, the everything."

She shrugged. "Doesn't fix the problem of being alone here, but at least my life won't be a hot mess if I get to go back. I'd been worried about that. I don't want my life ruined because I dropped out of school for multiversal kidnapping."

[pianola]

"Your boyfriend?" Dorothy asked, sounding faintly curious. That would be a concern, she'd thought, especially since Mikaela called the situation 'new'. Even non-romantic human relationships seemed to require regular communication.

She hadn't any personal experience or clear Memories about school, but it would seem much like any other job. Not things you just left, for months or years.

The android confirmed, "Your life will be as you left it. It is one less thing I am ... worried about."

[inthedriversseat]

Mikaela nodded her head. "It's a big weight off your shoulders, I bet. Or at least it's for me."

She twirled a finger around a strand of brown hair that had come out of the ponytail and grinned. "And yes, boyfriend. His name is Sam. We'd only just started dating after that whole crazy robot stuff..." Her smile died away. "I don't know what's going to happen now. Maybe I'm lucky we hadn't been together for longer yet. I guess life will just go back to how it was before."

[pianola]

"Nothing will change, for him, when you return."

Though it made her think. How long did a human heart hold onto that kind of Memory? Those sorts of feelings? Perhaps it was a moot point, however, if they hadn't really known each other for that long.

But she then realized, she had no right to say that kind of thing. She didn't understand them, or know their circumstances. She barely understood herself, on this subject.

She said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

[inthedriversseat]

"No, no." She raised her hands up. "You didn't say anything wrong. You're just asking a question and well... This is just strange. I'm trying to wrap my mind around everything." She stilled, lips pressed together. "Wrapping my mind around having lost everything I had just gained."

All the new people in her life, the new opportunities.

"I've got to start from scratch again now. And I know my life's waiting for me back home, but that doesn't really help me here and now, does it?" She huffed. "Sorry for being a downer. That's not like me."

[pianola]

"This situation is not like you," Dorothy pointed out. "It's understandable."

By now, even not having been here too long, she'd seen so many different reactions. So far, Mikaela was handling everything very well.

Her resolution, now, to start from scratch? It wasn't an unwise one. Because it was true - here, she was free from her responsibilities. She could really do whatever she wanted.

Dorothy said, "There's really nothing preventing you from doing whatever you want here."

Besides her own internal compass, of course. The android wondered, how many people went wild here, knowing nothing they did would affect their own home.

[inthedriversseat]

"Hmmm... I haven't really thought about it like that yet, but I guess you're right. Nobody here knows me or expects me to be something or other. It really is a fresh start. I'd thought I would be getting one back home after what had happened, but this is a lot more extreme."

She chuckled. "Not just new boyfriend and clean juvie record, but a whole new life on a different planet. Huh. I mean, it's good I'm good with weird by now, right? I'm still going to miss everyone, but you're right. I'll try to see it as a chance."

Even if she fully expected that to be a lot easier for the first couple of days, while it still felt like a free vacation. Once it sank in she might not see her Dad ever again...

[pianola]

Was this how people reacted, when they first woke out without Memories or even history, forty years ago? Dorothy considered. The 'no Memories' thing was an important distinction, she felt. But, even if Mikaela had forgotten everything. She'd still be herself, here.

So, either way, "The only person with expectations is yourself."

Then she was quiet for a moment, considering. How overwhelmed everyone was in Paradigm. How overwhelming things were here, even for her. At least -

"Though you are not alone. Everyone here is having that same experience."

[inthedriversseat]

Mikaela gave a small nod, accompanied by a smile. "I know. And that makes it a lot easier. If it were just me I would be freaking out and thinking I'd lost my mind, but everyone's been really helpful and understanding. The lady at the Welcome Centre explained everything I asked her like three times." She grimaced sheepishly. "Maybe even five. I was kinda out of it right after getting here."

She bit down on her bottom lip. "I think I just want to try and live my life now, get as much normalcy before it sinks in just how not normal this is and I go back to freaking out. And, um, I should probably start by asking your name. That's rude of me, sorry."

[pianola]

Every now and then, Dorothy still wondered if this was all real, even if those moments were very brief. Fortunately, the people here grounded her. It's not that she was reassured they were all going through the same things - but their reactions were too varied, too individual, too human, to be a figment of her imagination.

That's what she felt, anyway.

"I've also been rude, if that's true," Dorothy reassured her, in her dry, even tone. "My name is R. Dorothy Wayneright. It's nice to meet you."

[inthedriversseat]

Mikaela laughed. "No, you haven't been rude at all! It's nice to meet you, Dorothy. I'm glad you're one of the first people I ran into here."

Good to have made a friend, and she was pretty confident that she'd taken the first step towards making a friend in Dorothy.

[pianola]

It was nice to meet someone else who was a friend to other robots - even if Mikaela was only human. Nobody was perfect, after all. She pointed out, "Then, you weren't rude, either."

Listen to Dorothy, she's usually right.

After a short pause, she said, "I hope you find your 'normal' here."

[inthedriversseat]

That earned her a bright smile. "You're really nice, Dorothy! I hope you find your normal here, too, or whatever turns out making you happy."

She shifted the phone in her hands. "I hope we can talk again soon. Maybe in person next time. Once I've found my feet here we should hang out, just for fun."

[pianola]

Dorothy doesn't nod, or smile, but her expression might seem to soften slightly.

"I'd like that. Good luck."