Taylor and Josephine had had Mackenzie model a few more outfits from her wardrobe, making a few little comments and adjustments as they went. Mackenzie loved it and used the mirror on her new vanity to look and comment as well, even if Josephine barely acknowledged her contributions. She tried not to let it bother her, since the rest of the team had been rather friendly. They tried out a few different wall decorations, posters, framed paintings, etc before deciding to punt the problem down the road. Mackenzie had just moved in a few weeks before re-initialization of the program, so it didn't need to be fully fleshed out. (Mackenzie was actually happy to be getting the chance to put the final touches on her room herself; she was appreciative of what Josephine had done, but a girl liked to put her own spin on things.)
Eventually though they'd suspended her program again, with a promise of waking her up at least once more before the show started up again. She actually flopped back on her own bed for the first time before the darkness swallowed her.
She wasn't turned on again until the night before the new season started; while she was asleep executives had been in to make approvals, though their focus was more on the Karyn reworking. Most of them weren't that technically knowledgeable, so they didn't entirely get that some of Jon was retained in Mackenzie; as far as they were concerned, it was just a needed bit of savings to reuse a program in the midst of an expensive revamp. They signed off, and Mackenzie Choi alongside her parents Charlotte and Chi-Won were finalized.
This time, Mackenzie didn't startle awake like she had previously. Instead she felt like she was in a bit of a fugue state, like she wasn't quite awake and not quite asleep, her brain all wrapped in gauze and her senses dulled. She thought she was back on the medical bed in the white void, but everything felt foggy. A distant voice she could just make out was Dr. Ellis came to her, "We're about to initialize your new memory files, there might be a little discomfort," then, quieter like he was talking to someone else he said, "Everyone take a step back, she's about to freak out."
It was like an explosion happened between her ears as a whole lifetime of memories asserted themselves. Her emotions immediately went out of control as she began reacting to the rapid onslaught of experiences that made up the first 16 years of her life. She cried when her childhood pet hamster died, grew excited as the memories of seeing her mom winning gold at her final Olympics came to her, got pissed off when Joey broke her heart. Her mind seared as fluency with Korean asserted itself alongside yearly visits to her grandparents, making authentic kimchi from scratch with her grandmother. She felt her muscle's twitch and vibrate as the neurons in her brain sent years of muscle memory into them, everything from how to balance on a wave to the fingering for her bass.
Childhood friends flashed through her mind, going to the water park with Regina, playing dress up with Kerri, competing with Dave to catch the most bugs. Memories of growing up flew fast and hard, her first day of school, learning to ride a bike, her first period, coming out to her parents, and other milestones. Through it all her new parents were a constant. She grinned as she remembered getting to sit in the studio while her dad was working with her favorite bands, laughed as she thought of her mum letting her wear her medals as a little girl, got teary from the cavalcade of hugs and quality time that whizzed through her cortex.
Maybe half an hour later she finally began to calm down as her mind started to settle, and she let out a long rattling breath. "Thank you," she eventually choked out as she calmed down. "Thank you for Mum and Dad." She couldn't begin to express what it meant to her to have good parents this time around, to know she was loved and cared for. Jon's dad had ditched her and Linda was hardly ever around, but Charlotte and Chi-Won were there for her. Giving her a very strong support system was intended to underpin her new confidence, but all Mackenzie knew in that moment was that she felt truly loved and it was magical.
She slowly stretched back out, and wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her jacket, back in the initial outfit Josephine had selected for her. Dr. Elias was back, along with Taylor and Roger, all of them looking at her tentatively from the distance.
"How are you feeling, Mackenzie?" Ellis asked.
"I'm feeling a lot," Mackenzie said wetly, "but mostly I finally feel like me." It was like three components, her underlying program, her personality matrix, and her memory banks were fully syncing up meshing, creating Mackenzie Choi.
"Well you look lovely, Josephine and Taylor did an excellent job with you. And based on the new personality Roger's done, you're ready to go out there and break a few hearts, I'd wager. Who knows, you might even ensnare one of our stars," Ellis said with a wink.
Mackenzie chuckled, "Maybe for a little bit, but we'd never be endgame."
Ellis frowned and turned to Roger, "I though you'd boosted her self confidence; we don't want her backsliding into Jon's wishy washy beha-"
"No, that's not it," Mackenzie interjected, "it's just, well, it's kind of obvious the plan is for Karyn and Sarah to end up together. I mean, they're the leads, childhood best friends who fell out for awhile. Jon never picked up on it, because you gave me the emotional intelligence of a sack of potatoes when I was him, but there's SO much romantic tension between them."
The three programmers looked at each other a little dumbfounded, before Ellis started to laugh. "She's very perceptive, you two have outdone yourselves!" Nothing was predetermined but Mackenzie was spot on about where the two leads were projected to end up. Sarah and Karyn were meticulously created since pre-production to be each other's other half, their soulmates. In fact their whole big fight and subsequent falling out was the biggest example of the writer's interfering prior to this emergency rework, and an eventual reconciliation at the end of high school was in the long term plans. They weren't sure if the character's relationship would turn romantic at that point, but it was almost certainly going to happen eventually.
Mackenzie rolled her eyed, "So no, I'm not going to try and wedge myself between those two; I've got my eye on someone else anyway." She and the programmers shared a laugh, a bit of levity for them at the end of a very stressful week. Her expression then grew sincere as she turned to Ellis, "Speaking of emotional intelligence, I've really got to thank ya doctor."
"Oh?" Elias said, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye.
"I realize you didn't have to save me, to give me a new life but I'm dead grateful you did," Mackenzie explained. "I know you said it was a cost saving thing, but with you getting Taylor, Roger and Joe to do such a wicked job on me, and paying for mum and dad's programs... well it means a lot doc."
Ellis had a sparkle in his eye, "Well, I did say I was a little fond of you. It's not every day an extra program becomes a secondary lead. I'm just sorry we didn't get it right the first time."
Mackenzie smiled back, "Hey, I'm here now and I am ready to rock this town."
Ellis smiled and flicked her off one last time. The next she awoke, she'd be back in Lakeview, ready for season 12 of the KS Chronicles.
