Chương 153: LOG-145.

Intruder. LOG-145. The meeting with the Pearls had gone well. It had been limited, of course, in that I'd needed to make a speech about being perfect for their owners, even as I told them that I'd be doing everything I could to make their lives easier with my hands. Eventually however, the lesson on posing had needed to continue, and rather than taking over on that front, I'd directed Nacre Two to resume her work, quietly exiting the chamber and returning to my temporary office.

The subsequent wait had mostly been me silently breathing in an attempt to avoid breaking composure, alongside taking a brief, hesitant detour with Nacre Three to 'get up to spec' until, surprisingly enough, the sounds of construction had started. I didn't know precisely how long that had lasted -11 local hours, 48 minutes, and 36 se- but I'd gotten away from my former Caretaker, returned to her office, and then waited in that room until finally, one of the Bismuths had returned and declared a completed job.

Niceties and praises and thanks had been exchanged with Morganite as a result, before I'd finally retreated into the dimly lit chamber that was going to be 'my' office. And now here I was, inspecting the reflection staring back at me from the mirror I'd had installed. Blinking, I finally took proper note of my own features, even as my clawed hands delicately poked at the small terminal sitting beneath the reflective crystal.. To say that I was… different, would be an understatement.

Physically, of course, I was bigger. Big enough that I could stare the other Nacres in the eye. And bigger still with my weird limb enhanced gauntlets and boots attached. But I'd still somewhat appeared as myself, at least before a certain Thulite had sent me an… aesthetical package, of sorts, one that had been deployed prior to the completion of this very room.

Something I'd at least had some semblance of control over, thank the Stars, if only because the pink Gem had been eager to ask me what I thought looked nice, before extracting a promise to meet up in person whenever I was available. Thulite aside… it was all about looks, of course. I was a Nacre now, which meant I 'needed' a lightform that reflected that fact. Of course I could have just experimented with poofing myself and trying to manually select something, but in the end that hadn't been needed.

A preprogrammed module had been provided, one that Nacre Three had eagerly set into the matrix of one of the Reef's many lightform styling chambers. Nominally intended for Pearls, of course, but nothing really said it couldn't be used for other Gems. The scintillating rays of light had washed over my body, stripping away outer layers in a sensation that, while not precisely painful, had still felt strange enough to be uncomfortable, considering I was being reduced to effectively a mannequin.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. But it had been quick, and the subsequent pseudo regeneration had certainly left an… impression, on the few Gems that had been watching. My little dancer's outfit had shifted, compressing a little better as it moved to cover more of my chest, a high collar settling around my neck. Similarly, the gloves adorning my arms had expanded, moving to completely cover everything, including my claws.

Dancing shoes were replaced with boots, which in turn were covered with bigger boots as a result of my limb enhancement. Frills were done away with for a more subtle, commanding style. And it was with an unsettling CLACK that the fanned collar (looked like a green lion fish, the bloody thing) now accentuating my upper half had set itself into place. Funnily enough, the most drastic change, at least in my own mind, had been my hair, of all things. It was… longer, now.

And the familiar length that had tended to fall over one of my eyes was gone as well, leaving me an entirely unrestricted view. The final result was stark, to say the absolute very least. The person staring back at me was… older looking, somehow. As much as a Gem could look older, anyway. If it weren't for my own facial features, I'd have scarcely recognised myself.

"... Christ, alright. No more stalling." Ripping my gaze away from the reflection, I took one last glance around the room, warily inspecting the sealed door separating me from the rest of the Reef. Completely and utterly soundproof, according to Morganite. With my own observation confirming the promised quality. But there was one last thing I needed to confirm to myself, before I finally let myself break down for a while.

Navigating through the countless menus and subsections available to a Nacre, I finally took note of the current Imperial date, comparing the numbers to what I remembered- Ten years. I'd been serving as White Diamond's puppet for ten… years. Stepping back, I stared down at the number for a moment, feeling strangely numb. Then, slowly, I turned away from the screen, faced what I assumed to be the thickest wall present, and opened my mouth.

"... AaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" — Screaming was great. Just… just fucking so very gratifying, after being denied it for a good bit. So was crying. And shouting every single swear I could think to remember, in a variety of languages. All good things when you really just needed to decompress, a little. Yeah. I'd cried a lot. Probably had looked quite pathetic, but no one could see that, so it didn't matter. No, what was important was that the… day or so?

That I'd spent losing my shit had finally given me enough time to calm down, to get that aforementioned shit back together, and to look inward. My body had been changed against my will. I'd been kept as a thoughtless puppet for ten years. Sure, whatever. Fine. But that wasn't all, now was there? No. I'd been distracted by past regrets. By my own drowning tears. But I could see it now. Focus on it. My mind had been tampered with. Not my memories, at least as far as I could tell, thank the Stars.

But my way of thinking. Having perfect recollection made it clear, particularly when I could actually think logically and scrutinize the differences instead of wallowing in my own self pity. Not quite a second layer of thoughts, but a different format to them. Faster, better processing power, with a focus on analytics in favour of everything else. No conceptual limitation, no signs of implanted commands or restrictions. Beginning to realise the potential of what I now have.

In no danger of losing myself to this improvement, it's actually- There you are, you little shit. My current working theory was the code transfer, considering how many times Moissanite Alpha had mentioned it. White Diamond had given me new protocols. Nacre programming, of course. But there had been something else. Something subtly messing with my thoughts in the background. Growling to myself, I focused entirely on the thought of this new edition to my gemstone making me more efficient. More logical. And…

took careful note of it. There was nothing I could do right now. I had no way of accessing my own gemcode, let alone trying to… revert, whatever had been done to me. But I could keep track of this shit, keep an eye on how it progressed, so that when I did get my chance, I could rip it out by the root. Shit was fucked. I was fucked.

I was trapped in the middle of an Empire I hated, in a role I hated, surrounded by Gems I hated, in a body I wasn't familiar with and with a mind that had been compromised in some distinct fashion. But I wasn't about to let that stop me from achieving my goals, now was I? … Mother fucker.