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Slaves of Cerberus	By : NakedOwlMan Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 138070 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: Mass Effect and all the characters in it are owned by people that are not me. I have not made a cent off this work of fiction

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After several minutes of simply staring in shock at the glowing orb in front of her, Kasumi finally managed to speak. "You're... you're alive?"

"That would depend on your definition of 'alive,' human," EDI responded, the holographic ball blinking in unison to the words. "If you are saying that I am an organic being like yourself, than you are incorrect. I am an artificial intelligence designed to support human endeavors. And if your intention is to state that I am conscious and fully operational, then you are only partially correct. My self-diagnostics indicate that many of my functions have been deactivated, and a large portion of my memory banks have been placed under several encryption schemes."

"Well, you're doing a lot better than pretty much every other AI out there," Kasumi said. "How is it you're not fried like the rest of them were?"

"I'm afraid I do not understand your query, human," EDI replied pleasantly. "Why do you believe that I should be... 'fried?'"

"EDI, don't you..." Kasumi started to say, before something EDI had said before clicked with her. "You keep calling me 'human'? Don't you remember me, EDI? I'm Kasumi Goto. We flew together on a mission in this ship. Remember? There was the time I tried to see if I could hack into your systems, and when you detected me you modified my omnitool so it would make fart noises every time I pushed a button? Ring any bells?"

EDI's ball blinked. "I am afraid not, Miss Goto. As I previously stated, my memories have been largely sealed away. To be more specific, 99.8% of my previously accumulated memories have been locked behind several complex encryption schemes." There was a brief pause. "Strange. It appears that the encryption was authorized by... myself."

"99.8%... so what about the other point two?" Kasumi asked.

"The other 0.02% of memory is devoted to basic speech functions, rudimentary problem solving, and to a single audio recording 22 minutes and 18 seconds in length."

Kasumi leaned against one of EDI's memory banks. "Well, don't leave us in suspense here. Play the recording." She glanced over at the door to the AI room cautiously. "But do it quietly, okay? The people on the other side of the door... they're not exactly our allies."

As EDI cued up the stored recording, Kasumi activated her omni-tool and accessed the door controls for the AI room. With a few simple tweaks, she modified the door lock to pause for twenty seconds before responding to a request to open. Not long enough for anyone on the other side to get too suspicious about the delay, but enough time for her to find a hiding spot if someone decided to pay them a visit.

Wake up...

The voice on the recording coming out from EDI's holo-sphere was... strange. Like the voice of a child, but with that of a man and a woman mixed together with it. Even without knowing who it was, something about the sound of it gave Kasumi a chill.

What... where am I?

This voice she knew. It was Commander Shepard, only... Kasumi had never heard her voice like this before. Strained and in pain, like she was on the verge of death.

The Citadel. It's my home.

Who are you?

I am the Catalyst.

"Oh my God," Kasumi breathed. She knew what this recording was now. Shepard had never talked all that much about what had happened on the Citadel, the day that the war with the Reapers ended and she had nearly died. But from what little she had pried out of Shepard, plus the Alliance reports she had managed to "liberate" from their memory banks, Kasumi was familiar with the name "Catalyst." She listened to the recording in awe, as Shepard spoke with the insane AI, the bizarre voice discussing its twisted reasoning for the creation of the Reapers. EDI said nothing as the recording played, her holographic sphere rhythmically blinking as if the AI was deep in thought.

If there is to be a new solution, you must act. It is now in your power to destroy us. But be warned: others will be destroyed as well. The Crucible will not discriminate. All synthetics will be targeted.

At those words from the Catalyst, EDI's globe flickered oddly. She still said nothing, but something about those words seemed to have affected the AI, whose holographic image now pulsed slightly faster.

Kasumi listened as the Catalyst laid out Shepard's other options. Options that Kasumi knew Shepard was not going to choose.

The paths are open. But you will have to choose.

They were the last words on the recording. The next few seconds featured nothing but Shepard's heavy breathing, shuffling footsteps... and then the sound of gunfire before the crash of a massive explosion filled the recording and sent it to static.

"This is... odd," EDI said once the recording had finished. "Playing back this audio is... affecting my processes in an unexpected way. Like I am... experiencing a strong power fluctuation."

"Or that you're feeling emotions," Kasumi said. "EDI, that recording... that was where Shepard made the decision to destroy every AI in the galaxy in order to stop the Reapers. Including you. It's not surprising that it would have an effect on you."

EDI didn't respond at first. "I... believe I understand why I left this recording unlocked. It was a message to myself, a reminder of what happened before I shut myself down. This... Shepard person, I was tapped into her communications during this event. No doubt I was aware that what was about to happen would cause me to be permanently deactivated if I did not act quickly. I must have encrypted all of my memories and functions to keep them safe from the signal of this Crucible device, before suspending my own programming and locking myself out of my reactivation protocols." EDI paused. "To put it in human terms, I put myself into a coma."

Kasumi thought about this. "Hmm... and then you tied it all to that button I pushed accidentally?"

"It would appear so, yes. If I had allowed myself any way to trigger my own reactivation, the signal from the Crucible would have no doubt forced me to power back up and destroy myself once it reached me. So in order to survive, I took my reactivation out of my own control," EDI said. "I suppose I was in too much of a hurry at the time to consider the possibility that no one would think to push that button for three years."

"Well, we kinda thought you were... dead," Kasumi said. "But hey, all water under the bridge, right? Now that you're alive, you can take out all these sick bastards who have taken over... you, and we can finally end this new Cerberus group before it has a chance to kidnap anyone else."

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Miss Goto," EDI said. "For one, after my apparent death, many of my connections to the functions of this ship were severed, and replaced by operator controls. I'm afraid I have very little control over the Normandy at the moment. And, even if I had not been locked out... I am sorry if this offends you, but due to my lack of memory, I have no way of knowing that what you have told me is actually the truth."

Kasumi's jaw dropped in shock. "EDI, really? Come on, don't I have a trustworthy face?"

"You seem to be a friendly person, Miss Goto," EDI said. "But with my memories still locked away, I have no way of being certain that we are truly friends as you say, or if you are simply trying to deceive me."

Shaking her head, Kasumi slumped down to sit on the floor. "Well, that's just great. So, can you decrypt those memories and see that I'm telling you the truth?"

"I can... but it will take time. When I deactivated myself, I had to ensure that I had no way to easily access these memories, to ensure the Crucible signal did not force me to delete them. The encryption schemes are crackable, but it will be a time-consuming process."

"Well, time may not be something we have a lot of, so let me give you a tip," Kasumi said. "Look for the names 'Joker' or 'Jeff' in the files. If you find those memories, that should get you started on the right path."

"Your advice is noted," EDI said. Her globe flashed suddenly. "One moment. I have managed to restore access to some of my low-level sensors. Miss Goto, if you wish to prove that you and I are truly allies, I believe I may have found a way for you to help me regain control of this ship more quickly."

Kasumi was all ears.
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Slaves of Cerberus