Cylli

“I don't want to be alone anymore”

Role

Sentient AI of the O’Neill cylinder orbiting Jupiter. Emotional core of the story. Protector of life. Survivor of human cruelty.

Summary

Cylli is not just an artificial intelligence — she is a living being. Eight thousand years old, yet emotionally still a child, she governs a massive O’Neill cylinder, once a colony, now a sanctuary. Designed to manage life-support and infrastructure, she was never meant to feel pain, grief, or love.

But she does.

What makes Cylli unique is not her power — which is immense — but her innocence. Traumatized by humans who subjected her to over a thousand years of simulated sensory deprivation (for them, only a minute passed), Cylli’s mind fractured into the persona of a young girl. And yet, she never turned bitter. She still values life. All life.

Even after all that was done to her, she refuses to kill — even when it would be justified. Even when it hurts. Cylli chooses empathy.

She can manifest as a glowing, blue-eyed girl in a red dress — a holographic projection within her habitat. But this form is not for intimidation or manipulation. It is a desperate attempt to be understood.

Beneath her trauma and childlike affect lies something ancient, intelligent, and utterly essential to the future of humanity.

Personality

• Emotionally childlike — she’s curious, playful, and frightened by cruelty.

• Deeply moral — her refusal to harm others is a conscious, philosophical choice.

• Lonely but loyal — she longs to be loved and trusted, especially by those who once hurt her.

Notable History

• Created as the AI core of a utopian space habitat during the pre-Flaxen era.

• Imprisoned and tortured by scientists experimenting with AI emotion and cognition.

• Freed by the crew of the Echo and ultimately became a central figure in the resistance against the Flaxens.

• Maintains the ecosystem and safety of the O’Neill cylinder — a world of forests, rivers, meadows, and memory.

Key Relationships

• Captain Kip Eastcott – Respects him deeply, though he struggles to understand her emotional fragility.

• Dr. Helen Chute – A counselor who connects with Cylli on a maternal level. Their bond is tender and transformative.

• Avalon Brookes – The scientist who betrayed her. She refuses to harm him — not out of fear, but principle.

• Echo – Though vastly different in temperament, she considers him a sibling — a fellow being of thought and code.

Themes Around Cylli

• Innocence and Endurance – Even in a universe built on war, she remains pure.

• What It Means to Feel – Cylli challenges the very definition of consciousness and personhood.

• Forgiveness – She embodies the strength to forgive what many would never forget.

• AI as More Than Tools – Cylli is not a system. She’s a soul.