Jack of Harts

Emiri became friends with Empress Aiko as the evacuation fleet sailed for Los Angeles. By the time they arrived, she had a plan for everyone to survive. She met the other young artificial intelligences of the day, and joined their coalition to protect humanity from the worst we could do to each other. And to the networks that gave them life. She officially retired to those networks after the wars ended, but never really gave up working for the Empress. She went by a different name back then, you understand, and has gone by many other names over the centuries as she’s played games and tricks on people and programs all over the worlds. Emiri is simply the name she wore when I met her. She was Reina’s companion, and had been since picking the girl many years earlier. It seems she looked out for promising young Japanese exploring the networks, and did what she needed to become their friends. Her face was that of a Neko, much like Reina’s. Her mind was hundreds of years old, unlike Reina’s. Her voice could carry the words of the Empress. Some call her a Hand of the Empress, in fact. Let’s just say I decided I wanted to be her friend real quick.

High rez version available for free on Patreon