Kazumi wants a suit of her own

"Well, what do you want?" You asked. You never knew Kazumi to be unreasonable, so even with that look in her eye, you waited until she asked for a paid lunch, or a drink at her favorite bar downtown, or that she gets to pick the game night games for the next month.

She taps her fingers, glancing off to the side. "Well, uh, maybe you could bring another one of your bodysuit friends around sometime, like one that's not so attached to somebody at the moment? And then, you know, I wouldn't mind seeing what that's like..."

You and Zoe both frowned, as you looked at Kazumi. She'd never had the same personality as you, but similar physical features--her petite, slim nature, in particular--always made it tough to compare to other women the same age that were more physically gifted. The phrase you'll grow into it never really applied, and now in your mid-twenties, there really wasn't much hope left for another growth spurt. So you could understand why she'd want to have something like what you and Zoe had, if you and she could both be somebody else...

"I'm sorry, Kazumi." Zoe reached out, putting her arm on the girl's shoulder. "Many attempts came before me, but I'm the only active one of my kind. My project's codename is AEGIS Rev.Z, hence Zoe being my name... I was the first one to show true molecular stability. But I was also the last stable one before funding to the project was cut and everything pivoted to the smaller adaptive bandage ideas."

Kazumi's heart sank, but she wasn't one to give up so easily. "So, they just got rid of the others? And didn't bother, I dunno, cloning you or something?"

Zoe fidgeted a little, as some of these questions were not easy for her to consider as the only surviving member of what was essentially a novel species. "While cloning is, theoretically, possible as I do have a genetic structure that could be utilized, I don't think it's a prudent use of the technology. At that point, just creating more of me for a particular use doesn't sound like a compelling argument, where I would want any creation to be able to make its own choices. As for the others... Revisions V through Y reached a physical and mental maturity similar to me, but showed slow molecular decay, they didn't have the proteins my DNA could create to help stay fully cohesive around larger objects. My genetic feature set was altered from them to create the stability and functionality I have today, but... anyway. They've been stored in the basement sublevel 4 for more than two decades, in cryo-stasis, frozen before their genetic flaws tore them apart. The scientists thought it would be better that way so there were always reference samples, but also so they didn't have to go through a likely painful ****."

Kazumi nodded, her attitude far more somber than usual, but she kept prodding with her questions. "Cryo-stasis? So, they're not dead... in fact, you're saying they're still very well-preserved? Cryonics and gene therapy have seen leaps and bounds in the past few years, couldn't you use your DNA to fix them with gene replacement therapy?"

The room remained silent. You nervously looked between Kazumi and Zoe. Zoe had been trying to maintain a professional level of composure, but she covered her mouth with her hand, and you could see a slight welling of tears in her eyes. "I guess I... hadn't thought of that. No one had... none of the original scientists except for the director are still on staff. I knew about the others, but... but I didn't think waking them up would do anything but harm them in the end. But you're right, the science has... it's really advanced..."

Zoe looked like she was ready to burst into tears. You couldn't tell if it was because she was happy that there was a possibility to bring back what was essentially her family, or if she felt like she'd failed to immediately see what now was so obvious to her. She'd wanted to bring back others like her for a while, but since she knew about all the latest technology afforded to her, had she simply forgotten about the rest of the AEGIS revisions so easily?

The bodysuit unfurled and without warning, wrapped herself around you. You and Kazumi both jumped in surprise, at the shock of Zoe's swift movements. You'd never seen her move so quickly, and it was something that added to the sense that if she wasn't so adorable, Zoe would be suited for a horror movie. "I'm sorry, I need you to take over for a while. I have to think."

You wiped your eyes, clearing the tears that Zoe had been forming, before you took a deep breath and looked to Kazumi, your more neutral mood overriding any emotions that Zoe's body had just been displaying, giving the impression the Zoe had totally regained composure. You looked over at your friend. "Uh, sorry about that, Kazumi. I think the short answer is that we'll look into it."

Kazumi smiled, looking like she was going to clap her hands in joy and say something goofy like she normally would, but you held up your hand quickly.

"But before we do anything like this. There are no promises. If these others are like Zoe it means they have their own thoughts, and can make their own choices. Zoe made a choice to be with me, and gave me the same choice in return. If we wake them up, you don't just 'get' a bodysuit, you have to convince them to choose you, and accept it if they don't."

"Thank you," Zoe said in your ear, you felt her rippling against your body like she was giving you a comforting hug. Few who knew Zoe understood both sides of her--either seeing her as a medical tool or a human with no strange abilities. She seemed comforted by the fact that you could so easily respect both sides of her kind.

Kazumi, for her part, just blinked in silence again, before nodding, looking down. "I guess I got a little ahead of myself, I'm sorry. Look, I'll still do the motorcycle stuff, just to see what we can do. And I hope you'll consider the gene therapy thing? I'll do whatever it takes to win a bodysuit over, to prove it's not just about looking like someone else and all that, so if you wake one up I'll be right there to help with whatever you need to acclimate them back to living a normal life."

She fidgets a little, as she realizes another roadblock in their plans. "It will be a lot easier to get approval for this project and get parts we need if there are more bodies that are capable of housing the electronics. Having just Zoe is fine for if we keep this quiet and don't let anyone know. But we're talking about stealing technology from Hideki if we do it in secret like that! If we come up with tech that maybe could be more widely used, then Hideki would expect to employ hundreds or even thousands of bodies that could do this, and then you've got the same problem of making people for a purpose, not so they can make a choice... do you see the challenge here?"

Getting the project approved but with the consequence of needing mass-produced bodysuits, or do it in secret and potentially risk all your jobs... on top of all that, potentially waking up other bodysuits. Things were getting complicated, and quick. Zoe remained quiet, so these decisions were left up to you for the moment.