A profound weight lifted away as Naomi stepped outside the facility. It was as if she had the entire weight of the facility itself resting on her shoulders. There was so much she could do. Naomi could do literally anything she wanted, but making any decision seemed almost as heavy a weight as the facility she had just emerged from.

Naomi was standing on the grass just outside the facility, looking at the unobstructed view of the forest landscape and sky beyond it. The first breeze she felt against her skin was startling, partly because she was still covered in blood. Virtual environments simulated everything extraordinarily well, especially with the quality of Brainstem Interface Naomi had, but it was still not perfect.

She was overwhelmed to the point that her mind went blank, so when Pixa spoke, it made her jump.

"If you would like a recommendation," she said, "I suggest cleaning yourself before anything else. You can return to your room to-"

"No... I'm not going back," Naomi said, gripping her knife. After having finally left that place, she felt that if she stepped back in, it would lock behind her. She would be trapped and would never be able to leave again. Pixa did not pick up on this reasoning, but she didn't hesitate to adjust her recommendation.

"There is a stream with fresh water nearby. You can use it to wash your body and hair, but the blood may not wash out of your garments as easily. Replacing them is the next thing I recommend doing." Pixa's image materialized standing on the grass in front of Naomi.

Technically, her form was exactly the same as it always was, but now Pixa wasn't constrained to the white box that was Naomi's room. She was standing in nature now, and her simulation accurately represented how the light and color interacted with her image.

"Would you like to browse some outfit options while we move?" Pixa gestured toward the forest. Naomi nodded and stepped forward.

Two of her favorite disciplines were biology and ecology. She thoroughly enjoyed studying the creatures that roamed Old Earth's land and sea. She had a particular fascination with predators, the large, dangerous animals that are well-known to kill unwitting humans that wander into their path. Naomi was aware that these forests were artificially seeded and the ecology on most settled planets did not include predators or other large dangerous animals. She felt an oppressive fear wash over her nonetheless.

Pixa's comforting presence was a significant help that carried her forward. The companion served as a moving mannequin that displayed the clothing options Naomi was swiping through. The selection wasn't very large, but it was enough to someone who'd never had a choice before. As she mixed and matched articles, Pixa automatically saved the ones she had expressed an interest in. By the time they had arrived at the river, Naomi had amassed dozens of saved outfits.

She didn't hesitate as she pulled her clothes off, but the open breeze against her bare skin sent tingles across her body. It was another experience she'd never had before, as was the feeling of the cool water flowing over her feet and legs as she stepped into the river. Much like the predators, the river contained little life beyond human bacteria. She still exercised caution when wading deeper into the water. Gradually, the spots of blood on her body began to dissolve into a faint  cloud. Not only was it her first physical experience in water deep enough to cover her body, but she had never had a bath before either. Her room was only ever equipped with a shower.

Once she was deep enough that buoyancy began to carry her weight, she felt encouraged to relax. Already she felt fatigued. She wasn't sure whether it was from the adrenaline wearing off, or that it was past her regular scheduled sleep time. It was likely both. She had the overwhelming urge to lift her feet and let the current carry her, and for a few moments, she did, but she didn't get far before swimming back to the shallows and thoroughly cleaning her body and hair.

Naomi knew she wasn't going to be needing her captive clothes much longer, but she spent some time cleaning them as well. She didn't expect how difficult it was to clean blood out of cloth. When the second star began to set, she was left in near-complete darkness. She could have continued using BSI-enhanced vision, but instead decided to follow Pixa's suggestion and bed down for a few hours before continuing.

The kinds of dreams that Naomi usually had could be considered nightmares by many. They were often filled with blood, fear, and pain, but Naomi was always the one to inflict it, and her unconscious mind enjoyed it, as did her body. This night, however, her mind was at peace. She envisioned little more than a soft breeze blowing through the trees with a gentle, soothing whistle. She was a weightless, incorporeal presence that drifted with the wind until she was blown over a cliff, revealing an endless forest under a misty blue sky. The absence of enmity was something new to her, and as such, Naomi felt a profound unease.

When the main star's light flickered through the trees onto Naomi's face, she awakened to find herself more rested than she had ever been in memory, despite the peaceful, yet uncomfortable dream.

"Good morning," Pixa said. Her cadence hadn't changed from any other day, but the sight of anything other than her plain white ceiling caused Naomi to infer an undertone that said 'Welcome to your first day of freedom.'

As she began her morning routine, she took in as much sensory information as she could. The forest was both familiar and not. She had done many survival sims that took place in forests much like this one, but she was now noticing certain details weren't as she had expected, starting with the scent of the pine trees, soil, and water. The feeling of the breeze on her skin and through her hair wasn't quite right either. These minor differences were stacking up and already making Naomi wonder how much of the real world was accurate to what she had been taught.

Pixa provided a map of the immediate area and general guidance toward the planet's primary settlement. Despite Naomi's proficiency in modern political cartography, she never had access to her current location until now, so she eagerly zoomed the map out to view the planet's details.

Naomi was currently on the planet SD-V-1017, a planet owned by Stellar Dynamics in an unassuming region of the milky way that wasn't yet part of any large territorial claims. The only other information she could gather was that it was a mining and agricultural colony with nearly two million residents in its only large settlement.

As little information as it was, Naomi was relieved to finally know her place in the universe, if only in the most literal sense. After donning her clothes and stowing her knife, she set off, and only a few hours later did she transition from a wooden jungle to one of concrete and plasteel.

Her first view of the city as she emerged from the forest sent shivers down her spine. The thought that she had been only kilometers away for her entire life was bittersweet and when she was close enough to start seeing other people walking around, she was filled with a mix of fear and excitement. She wanted to approach and befriend every person that passed her, but she had also been conditioned to consider everyone a threat. Resisting the urge to reach out was even easier as everyone that passed by her expressed an unspoken desire to be left alone.

The route that Pixa had set guided Naomi to a specific room in a large hotel complex. The room itself was reminiscent of her cell, only smaller and without windows. She may have had an issue with staying in the room for an extended period of time, but her stay was going to be very brief.

Neatly arranged on the bed was a set of packages which Naomi opened to find the articles of clothing that Pixa had ordered for her. While the sexy thong panties and bra were a deep red matching her hair, the outfit that went over them was largely black in color. The high-necked blouse had no frills and tucked neatly into synthetic denim jeans with several low-profile pockets, including one below the belt on the backside that was just the right size to stow her knife, and the jacket was just the right length to cover the exposed handle. The outfit was completed with a pair of boots with heavy soles.

Even the act of donning her new outfit was a new, unfamiliar experience to Naomi, to the point that she had to consult with Pixa to make sure everything was fitting properly. The entire outfit fit snugly against her body, but was flexible enough to leave her movement unrestricted. As soon as she was clothed, she left the room to continue her journey.

The next thing Pixa suggested was for Naomi to seek out nourishment, bringing an overwhelming variety of food options for her to choose from. Naomi mindlessly browsed the items, interested in trying them all, but when she found an ice cream parlor called "The King's Cones," she set it as her next destination.

The city was compact with most of the population housed in a handful of megabuildings. Most commercial services also resided inside the massive structures, but there were plenty of businesses that hugged the ground around their giant footprints. The King's Cones had a location on the ground with one of the least obstructed views of the sky within the city, and the building was designed with this in mind, containing a large glass-domed ceiling.

With over 70 base flavors, dozens of toppings, and even options for custom flavor synthesis, the number of combinations at King's Cones was astronomical. After yet again being paralyzed by choice, something Naomi was quickly becoming familiar with, Naomi decided on the basic honeycomb flavor, with an extra drizzle of honey on top. It was only moments after she had ordered that a young woman wearing a tacky chicken-shaped hat delivered the cone to Naomi.

"Here you go!" She said with a warm smile. "Enjoy!"

It was the first interaction with a human other than Kane that Naomi had since being in captivity. Just the simple brushing of fingers when Naomi grabbed the cone made Naomi blush and shiver.