SSV V: AToR Chapter 13. Dressed for Success pg.126
“A Techpac, huh?” Cat likes this idea. “Then what if she wasn’t from another storyboard but was like Zakura and the Yuli Twins? Someone could have built a Techpac in my honor because they’re super sweet, but her memory was corrupted so that she genuinely believed all that stuff she was ranting off. In fact, every time someone confronted her, the story changed. She started by telling everyone she was me, and then when I showed up, she pretended to be Abbie. Lazy Head finally decided to make herself useful for once, and this caused Ultimaxine to….”
“Ultimaxine? You mean Ultimate Machine?”
“You’re…such a man,” Duplica says, piercing him with a glare.
“I happen to be okay with that,” AB retorts.
“Gramps, pay attention,” Cat says, “Who was she? A Techpac. What did she claim to be? The Ultimate Machine. Where was she hiding? In my storyboard. That wouldn’t be the first time a female Powered was built to be the Ultimate Machine with me specifically as the target. What if Ultimaxine was actually the source of evil in my universe long ago that we never squashed? That means Tiffany Stulmuch was her creation. Well, at any rate, whether she was originally created to honor me or kill me, she’s done gone and did it to herself, so all we can do now is go on in her memory, assuming she was just a confused robot.”
AB thinks about everything his Duplica just said. As he searches for the words with which to answer her very good deduction, he answers, “One thing is certain, Ultimaxi was the very last villain of an era gone by, and yet, with her destruction, it sheds light on the unfortunate fact that other PACs will rise up, some facing cruel hardships while others simply seek to feed their selfishness, and these precious thoughts will allow evil to corrupt them, taking the wicked torch of iniquity and bringing forth new generations of headaches to deal with. We can’t be so naïve as to think this new universe has solved all of our problems. The only thing we can do is to always be ready…and to always make sure each mind, including the System Director for himself, is fully surrendered to the authority of Jesus Christ.”
This powerful admonition helps Cat to stop worrying about where Ultimaxi came from. Like AB said, it’s not what happens to us that matters but how we handle it, and we can only handle it properly in the power of Jesus Christ. With this lesson burning in her heart, Cat continues to enjoy the Christian music along with her ancestors and her family. The rest of the day flies by quickly, and soon, the class returns to the school, very late at night.
With all of the excitement going on, the Rugs and the Meyers decide to keep the fun going by letting the three guys stay the night at Ent’s place while Kammy and her two pals stick with Jo for the evening. This doesn’t mean anyone is leaving the school facility right away, however, since there is still plenty of time to talk. While this drags things out even later, Kam and Faye discuss some things as they walk to their lockers to grab last-minute items.
“Look,” Kam says, “I know that your mom is on Juniper, but I believe we should still have some sort of memorial for her. It’s okay for you to be sad, Faye.”
“I am sad,” Faye says, “seeing that I’m now an official orphan, but I don’t feel like crying. Now that I have access to the Drawing Board, I get to see both of my parents all the time instead of hardly ever seeing one. That’s an upgrade as far as I’m concerned.”
Sighing, Kammy C. replies, “Yeah, I just hate that this is what it took for your mom to get some time off. It kind of makes me scared to be anything but a teacher when I graduate. What if I’m so busy that I don’t have any time for Paul next year, or even after he graduates? I just don’t know what I’ll do all by myself with you guys traveling somewhere without me.”
Inner Man Theatre 