Ellie only gave her a blank stare. She knew Mira because the redhead had introduced herself. She didn't know any of the others who had shown up here.
Quinn held a hand over her head. "She's real tall."
"Ah, yes, she reacted like she knew me."
"She probably knew your Original. Worked with them all, as far as I know."
Ellie nodded. So she'd been right that Alexia was one of the personal guards of the Originals. Changed and manipulated like the clones were. "It's awful that you had to be there during that process. Waking is never all that comfortable, and I remember... Well, some of the clones screamed a lot."
"Most of them did, actually. I don't think there was a single one in Beta that didn't." Quinn shrugged. "Listen, I'm just letting you know not to take it personally. Most folks who had to deal with the clones weren't the ones in fancy offices like a lot of the people out there. The other engineer, his name's Tim. He's also dealt with folks like you before. You can talk to him."
She nodded. "I just..."
Quinn waited. Patiently. It didn't feel like she was rushing Ellie's thoughts or that she was pressuring her to finish the conversation so she could get back to work. It just felt like two people talking about their day.
And that's what Ellie settled on. "I haven't ever felt like I belonged anywhere. When I was awake in Tau, it was because they wanted me to work. They trained me to be the person they wanted, and now that I've been given this second chance, I just want to feel like maybe I have friends. Or not even friends, but people who see me as more than a tool. People who recognize that I'm a person, too."
"You are a person."
"Very few people see that." She blinked up at Quinn. "Even now, you're saying the rest of them still see me as a clone. Which I am. I recognize that. But... Well, I hope that maybe someday they'll look at me and just see Ellie."
Quinn seemed to freeze. Her face turned very red all of a sudden, and she stood abruptly. "I'll talk to them."
"Oh, that wasn't what I was asking?—”
"I'll talk to them," Quinn repeated firmly. "Just give it some time, yeah? It'll take time."
Ellie watched her walk out of the room and listened as the door hissed shut behind her. It was a start, she supposed. At least someone had spoken to her as if she were real.
The beginnings of hope blossomed in her chest. She wanted to believe that these people might talk to her a bit more. They didn't have to be her friends, just like she had told Quinn. But maybe they would share a little of their own lives. Just about their day or about what their days were like in their cities. She wanted them to acknowledge that she was alive, and maybe helpful if they gave her a task to complete outside of her own duties.
Ellie just wanted a life. A normal human life. And they were the only ones who could give that to her.
Twenty-Seven
Proteus
The others weren't accepting of her. He wasn't sure why, but he could see it every time he came back to the facility. That was his only complaint about the newcomers, however. They were quick to discover many new and helpful things that were otherwise hidden in Sanctuary.
Of course, Proteus had no question that his companions would have found them, eventually. Both Ellie and Pilot were capable. But would they have discovered all of this so soon? It seemed unlikely. The future was barreling towards them now, and that should have made them all happy.
Instead, all he saw were the scientists and engineers getting more serious. They avoided Ellie's presence as if she had some kind of disease that one of them could catch if they weren't careful. He didn't understand it. It made his skin crawl.
They had no idea how special she was. How quickly her mind worked. Or even how deeply compassion was embedded beneath her skin. They didn't even care.
So he decided if they weren't going to make use of his beautiful, wonderful, and talented human, then he was going to take her out on his own for a while. She deserved that.
Grumbling under his breath, he rose out of the water and watched her as she crossed the room. She had an armful of metal that had already stained her pretty arms with rust, and he didn't like that either.
A low growl rumbled from his chest, churning the surrounding water before he could stop himself. All the humans froze, staring at him with expressions of fear until he stopped.
All right. Maybe he was partly the problem here. He needed to control his reactions. She was working, and that was what he had brought her here for, after all.
"Ellie," he said, his voice a cracking summons in the air. "You are with me today."
She nodded, depositing the metal where it was likely supposed to go before heading over to him. "What would you like me to do, Proteus?"
"You'll swim with me."
