Chương 171: LOG-163.

I was in a very particular hall today.

"Posture type twelve, pattern seven." One I hadn't been in for quite a while.

"Posture type three, pattern five. The last time I'd been in this specific chamber, I'd still been a Pearl, after all.

"Crimson Pearl order Eighteen E, you missed the twist of your foot by point two seconds, correct it."

"Y-Yes my Nacre!" Now I was on the opposite end of things, stood atop a balcony-esque platform, arms folded behind my back, and staring down at a full Batch of Pearls going through the motions I'd been drilling into them over the better part of a day. My eyes narrowed as the target of my observation hurried a step.

"You're still off by a point, and you're visibly rushing. I will perform the move, and then you will try again, Eighteen E."

"Yes my Nacre!" An eidetic memory ensured that I hadn't forgotten my own lessons when it came to the subject that I was now teaching, but it still took me a moment of thought before I figured out how to adapt the little display to my own, significantly larger lightform. Still, I managed it.

And as the singled out Pearl performed the transition from one posture into another, this time seamlessly, I found myself smiling slightly at the fact that her own flawless recollection served to match the capabilities of my own.

"You're rather harsh on that one." Said smile dipped as Nacre Two's long since familiar cadence sounded out from behind me, my fellow Caretaker stepping forward just enough that I could glance at her out of the corner of my eye.

"She was off in her timing."

"By less than half a second. Back when we were teaching… your Batch, we would be lucky if the Pearls' initial movements were only late by a second or two. Yes, Eighteen E is identifiably the slowest in this entire grouping, but she's still better than almost all of Batches Sixteen and Seventeen's Pearls." Almost. Because I had been in Batch Sixteen.

Closing my eyes and willing away the at times inescapable urge to sigh, I calmed the part of me that desperately wanted to question the bitch as to where her 'gentle' attitude had been when I had been a Pearl, and opened them to see a veritable rainbow of colours staring back at me. If I didn't know any better, I'd assign that all of them were clueless little things. Desperately searching for guidance and affection, destined to be slaves to their supposed betters and little more. But I did know better.

Every expression on every Pearl was a mask, twenty six pairs of eyes staring at me and trying to pierce my own defences so that they might know what I was thinking, even as I did the same to them.

"I was assigned to this facility as Overseer by White Diamond herself. I am here to ensure perfection in all aspects. These Gems…they will be unlike any Pearls that have been produced here. They will adapt. They will excel. And when the time comes, they will reflect the perfection that I have engraved into their very code. There is no room for errors." Turning, I didn't glare at Nacre Two, but judging by the way she blanched slightly at my placid gaze, she understood exactly what I was referring to.

"O-Of course, Overseer. My apologies for overstepping." Yeah, miss destabilizer, mind your own damned business. Turning back towards my small army of proteges, I inclined my head, even as I added my usual, significantly warmer goodbye to them with a few subtle flicks of my fingers.

"Begin dance routine three. Sort yourselves into groups. Eighteen A, you may dance on your own, due to the incompatibility of your size relative to the others."

"Yes my Nacre!" — It wasn't always me teaching the Pearls, naturally. Sometimes the other Caretakers actually did their jobs too, even if I impressed heavily upon them that any deviation from the lesson plans I'd sent out via the local network, and any harm, no matter how temporary, that befell my experimental Batch would in turn be met out in kind. Part of me hated that Nacre Three took to the new lesson plan so eagerly.

Within the ranks of the next generation, she saw aspects of me everywhere, and in turn she took to refining those qualities with a zeal that almost would have surprised me, if it didn't also infuriate me. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Was it jealousy that drove that feeling? A seething envy that Batch Eighteen would be treated better than my own Batch had ever been? Than I had ever been? Yes.

But I was an adult, and I knew better than to let that childish emotion rule me. Besides, with 'failure' came remedial lessons. A Pearl that wasn't meeting the exacting standards of the great and terrible Overseer of the Reef would be called into her soundproofed office, usually for hours at a time, before coming out with no identifiable issues, and with a better performance after each meeting.

According to the local rumour mill among the Quartz garrison, I tortured them until their minds broke beneath the pressure, then I built them back up with incremental updates to their code, erasing the lasting memories of damage, but keeping the lessons learned. Most of the Peridots were terrified of me now. The Bismuths didn't like to be alone with me unless they had a Morganite present to represent them. And more than a few Gems were convinced that my claws were actually disguised rejuvenators.

That particular bit of knowledge was thanks to some quiet work from 7XG, namely a set of small modifications to some of the connections between my office and the machine sitting near the upper levels of the Reef, alongside the set of point to point communicators I'd had her fabricate prior to Batch Seventeen's graduation, one for Seventeen A, one for Bee, and of course, one for me, all altered by my hand in terms of internal code after the fact.

Regardless, thanks to her, I now had full access to the central communications' array that broadcasted both internal and external signals throughout the facility. It was the Peridot's most helpful action yet, and I'd need a way to reward her for it later, if only to ensure her continued support and loyalty.

A bit redundant, considering I technically had the authority to just look at whatever I wanted anyway, but in this manner I'd be able to keep an eye and ear out without letting everyone from here to Homeworld know that I was doing so, and that felt worth the effort.

"Did I do good, Viridian?" Shunting the thoughts aside for the moment, I focused on continuing the gentle, circular rubbing motions I'd been working into Eighteen E's back, even as the red Pearl remained practically latched to my lightform, curled into a small ball in my lap, leaving the chair we were both sat in struggling to contain our combined bulk.

"You did perfectly, dear. Your 'slip' looked natural. If I hadn't gotten Patina to tell you to do it, I would have assumed it was a genuine failure." My free hand continued to swipe through the series of holographic projections in front of me, supposedly confidential messages meeting my eyes at a rate that might have left a Gem who couldn't flawlessly recall things a little dizzy, even as my latest limpet continued to snuggle against my torso.

"May I ask a question?" More communications from 1A and Yellow Diamond. Apparently the golden monarch was attempting to discern my loyalty through the use of her Pearl, her questions indicating an utterly desperate desire to know whether I had embraced my new White Court status, or still retained my previous allegiances.

"You may." I would need to keep an eye on that. Who knew what could come of it if left unchecked-"Patina says you're going to try and leave, when you get the chance. Will…will you leave us behind when you do?" … Staring at the decidedly blurry screen in confusion, I paused for a long moment, still rubbing Eighteen E's back as if I were on autopilot. Then I finally got a hold of myself and spoke.

"I will endeavor not to. Have you decided on a proper name yet?" The sensation of a sharp nose briefly grazing the lightform of my neck made itself apparent as the Pearl shifted in place, positioning her head just beneath my chin.

"Not yet. Do I have to have one soon?" Blinking until the blurriness faded, I shook my head ever so slightly.

"There's no rush just yet, take your time with it." The moment would have been perfect, if not for the fact that I'd noticed the datapad I'd begun regularly using to communicate with Azurite in preparation for whatever 'event' I was supposed to attend, its screen lighting up at the corner of my desk.

"Five more minutes, dear. Then we have an hour of combat practice to get through before I have to send you back out. When you leave, I want you to tell Eighteen F to slip up at the next practice session, alright?"

"... Okay." Hah…just what had I gotten myself into?