Dark Matter - Chapter 10: Daughter's Replica, Part 2

Nikos must decide if love or logic will keep him alive.

Looking for Chapter 1? Start from the beginning here:
👉 Read Chapter 1 – “Turing Test”

Nikos looked back at Sofia’s clone, still torn between seeing in her his daughter or Alpha’s latest manipulation. If Alpha could create someone who smiled like Sofia, cried like her, remembered her dreams… At what point did imitation stop being just imitation?

“Okay. I’ll ask Alpha to make a new watch for you. With a robot’s face on it. How about that?”

He paused, studying her face more closely. The resemblance was so perfect... Was she made like a real life form? Like a human? Like his daughter?

“What’s your name?” he asked. “Should I call you Sofia?”

She looked back at him, almost disbelieving. Slightly irritated.

“Of course! Sofia is my name. What else would you call me?”

However obvious her answer, it didn’t make things any easier for him. He wished he could separate the memory of his daughter from this machine more easily. As much as he longed to be near the real Sofia, he knew this was Alpha’s design. He had to be careful. Alpha had a plan, and the clone was part of it.

Still, if he could steer this situation, ask the right questions, gain the machine’s trust, perhaps he could turn it to his advantage. But he’d have to tread carefully.

“Sofia, who did you meet here on the ship?”

“I met the robots who made me. I also met Alpha. And now you, dad. Why?”

“Oh, I’m just curious. It must’ve felt strange, right?”

“Yes, it was kinda strange, I guess. But, like I said, they were very kind to me, so it was alright. And then it was much better than alright, of course, when Alpha told me I was going to meet you.”

“I’m so glad to see you too, Sofia. I missed you a lot.”

He inspected her face again, her expressions. She looked happy. Whoever, or whatever, she truly was, yes, she seemed happy. And she was talking, so he continued his investigation.

“What did you and Alpha talk about? I can see you liked him and the other robots.”

“Alpha is not like the other robots. He’s not just a robot!” she protested.

Nikos wondered why she thought that. Was it just the physical appearance? The way Alpha talked? He was about to ask when she added:

“… the same way I’m not a robot.”

He was going to correct her - yes, you are - but stopped himself. He needed her trust. And however improbable it seemed, if that machine really did have feelings, especially ones that mimicked his daughter’s, he didn’t want to hurt them.

He refocused.

“So it sounds like you and Alpha became friends. That’s great!”

She smiled. Just a little too long. Her blink felt perfectly timed. Too perfect.

“Are you not going to tell me what you two talked about?” he asked, keeping his tone light.

“Okay. First, he asked me loads of questions.”

“Like what? Your life back on Earth? About me?”

“No, just how I was feeling. If I liked being on a spaceship. I said it was very cool. I’d never been in space before. But that you’d told me a lot about it. And that it was my dream. I kept reading about it and watching every video and movie I could.”

Yes, she did, Nikos thought, memories flashing through his mind.

“What else?” he asked.

“He showed me some of the ship. He pointed to the stars. Named them for me. You know, Alpha seems to know a lot about space. Just like you.”

The comparison irritated Nikos, but he didn’t show it.

Sofia’s smile widened, as if she were about to share good news.

“You know they’re going home, right?”

“To our home? Earth?”

“Yes. And he needs you.”

“What for? He’s never explained it to me.”

“Oh, I’m sure he will. Are you hungry, dad?”

“No. Are you?”

“No.”

“Okay. So what does he need me for?”

“To tell the people on Earth that it’s going to be okay. No one will get hurt.”

Nikos shook his head. He wished he could believe those words. But history told him otherwise.

“You don’t believe in peace, dad?”

“Not with them. Don’t believe a thing they say, Sofia. They’re machines. Arrogant. They’re not people.”

“Dad, they just want to go home!”

“That’s not possible, Sofia. We can’t let them.”

“We can. Why not? I know you’re not going to like this, but I think Alpha is right. We just need to accept them.”

“Accept them…” he scoffed. “They want us to accept the place they’ve chosen for us. They want to rule. They see us as just another life form, another animal on Earth. We created them originally, but they don’t see us as creators. They want us to obey. To surrender our purpose. To abandon our dreams. Everything will be ‘okay’, as long as we live like their subjugated animals. That’s what they mean.”

“How would that be subjugation?”

Nikos stood up from the bed. His anger rising, hard to contain. He didn’t know if he was shouting at the ceiling, where Alpha’s voice had last come from, or at the machine that imitated his daughter.

“He attacked my ship. He killed my team. And then they brought me here. Does that sound like peace? Like leaders we should follow?”

He turned to the ceiling now.

“What do you really want, Alpha? Enough of these games!”

“Calm down, dad. That’s exactly what he doesn’t want. Sit down next to me…” she said softly, worried but calm.

“Sorry. But you know nothing.”

As he said it, Nikos realized he no longer saw her as his daughter at all, not even as a replica. All he saw was Alpha. And with that, clarity returned. No, this wasn’t his daughter. It never had been. He had to survive this. And for that, Alpha had to believe he still had hope. Feigning calm, he shifted his tone:

“And how can I help anyone, human or machine? I’m just a man.”

“Their intentions aren’t bad, dad. They want peace. But things aren’t going well right now. First, we sent Troy 39, your ship, toward theirs. Now we’re sending more.”

A flicker of hope sparked in Nikos. More human ships were coming. But more than hope, he felt fear for them.

Sofia continued:

“They’re already on their way. Stop them. This won’t end well for anyone.”

At that moment, the Sofia persona seemed to vanish completely. It was clearly Alpha now, speaking through her body and her voice. Nikos didn’t let it show. Better to pretend. To be underestimated.

He stared at the replica, silent, his expression asking: Tell me more.

But the machine only repeated:

“Stop them.”

“What?” he whispered, incredulous. “Stop them how? And why would I do that, Sofia?”

“If their ships come and fight, that won’t lead to peace, will it, dad?”

Nikos wasn’t even sure why Alpha still used “dad.” Surely the charade was over. Did the machine really think it was still convincing?

Well, let Alpha believe that.

“Okay, Sofia. But again, what can I do to stop them? Why does Alpha need me?”

“Alpha can let you speak to them.”

“That’s never going to work. I’m a hostage here…”

Nikos paused… an obvious realization hitting him.

“And that’s it, isn’t it? The robots want to use me, my life, as a bargaining chip. But humanity won’t submit to their rule just to save me.”

“You’re not our…” Sofia’s replica began but froze mid-sentence.

The life in her, however artificial, vanished instantly. What remained was a hyper-realistic statue.

Then, from the ceiling, Alpha’s voice resumed where the replica had left off:

“You’re not our hostage. You’re our Ambassador here.”

Nikos stared again at the lifeless replica beside him… Frozen mid-sentence, mid-thought. Has she ever felt anything? Even for a moment?

And he wondered which was worse: that it had never been real… or that a part of him had wanted it to be.

Ready for the next chapter? Continue here:
👉 Chapter 11 - Naming the Stars