For the last time

Tari was turning over a small brown box in her hands, which still had a few matches left in it. — Do you smoke? - asked the robot sitting in a corpse, moving stones on the ground with three of her long dark tentacles. — I haven’t smoked for a long time. And you? - Tari asked the question and immediately realized how stupid it was - the box was lying on one of the stone tables in the drone’s cave, why even ask? But the answer that followed seemed even more stupid to Tari than the question. — Nope. Cyn continued to move the stones from place to place, absently watching their movements, and then suddenly continued, as if remembering an unfinished conversation: — I used to smoke, - she said, without looking at Tari. - In a past life. I was tall then and wore a suit. Smoked cigarettes. Tari looked blankly from the robot to the box and back, wondering in her mind how often such rebirths happen in this universe. It didn’t take long to figure it out, because she didn’t know anything about this universe, except that from the moment of the not-so-soft landing, she saw here only a drone with dark tentacles, surrounded by a bunch of stones, the position of which constantly did not suit her, as if every out of a dozen limbs had their own opinion on this matter. — Hey, Cyn, - Tari called out to her, - is everyone here reborn like that? — No, probably not, - the robot said thoughtfully. - I haven’t heard of others. Sometimes I met someone who said, I’m being reborn every now and then, and that’s what I find myself. The me who was already reborn before time travel. — So are you traveling in time? — Of course! - Cyn was surprised. - Technology, new century! Before the eyes of this body appeared! Where do you think I got this box from? Flew over and picked him up. Tari opened the box slightly, examining its contents - there were the most ordinary matches. — Why do you need it? Cyn frowned, wondering how to explain this. — Do you know, - she began, - how long I live? In this body? - Tari shook her head negatively. - And I don’t know! Previously, I was constantly killed as soon as I appeared. One day, when I was seventy years old, I died, and that was it, and that was the longest. I don’t even have time to blink, and I already had a heart attack in the middle of the golf course. — Wait, what does this have to do with the boxes? — Listen to the end. After all, the same person killed me every time. Do you know what a person is? Do you have such a planet in this universe of yours, Earth? Tari nodded, interested in waiting for the continuation. Her knowledge of this world began to slowly but surely increase. — So there was such a person. From Earth. Tessa Elliot, - the drone spat out the name irritably. She began a long story about her misadventures and how, whenever her short life was cut short, the last thing she saw was the face of this same Tessa Elliot, so obsessively pursuing her in all points of space and time. — I’m born in a trash heap, - she said, tossing a stone with one of her tentacles. - Well, I think, where does a person come from here? There are only spare parts and heads around, a lot of heads. And also swamps. No place for a person, right? - She waited for Tari to nod in agreement and continued. - And then she suddenly appears out of nowhere, her friend, whatever her name is... G, or something... J! - she remembered. - In general, the girl stopped too abruptly, and this same... robot stumbled, could not stand in place and even stepped on me! Can you imagine! — Cyn threw up all her limbs at once. - It's in the trash! Drone killed me because of a human! — Hmm, yes, - Tari drawled, - a sad coincidence. — What a coincidence! — the robot became excited. - OK. Let's say Tessa Elliot is flying in space. Let her fly. I am born on Earth. Where can this person come from if she is crushing me on another planet? And she goes ahead and smacks me with her slipper! — Well, well... - said Tari, hoping that she sounded sympathetic enough, and while thinking about the Earth. It would be a good idea to visit her as soon as her situation calms down a little after falling into another universe. She was terribly interested in finding out what this blue planet was like. - So what does the box have to do with it? — So listen, listen! Now why hasn’t anything killed me yet? Why am I so old, huh? I would even say already dead. — Tari shrugged her shoulders incomprehensibly. - Just because there is no one else to kill me! And for the first time in my life... or rather, in my lives, I was finally truly lucky! Tessa Elliot died on the blessed manor of their family, killing me for the last time, and my new life began exactly in time, completely suitable for life and free from this person! She is no more, no more! — Damn, what does the box have to do with it?! - Tari was almost losing her temper, sitting here with this crazy drone instead of entering the coordinates of a completely unknown Earth into her gadget. — You're not listening! - with one of the tentacles, Cyn snatched the box from Tari’s hands and turned it sideways, pointing at the inscription with the other limb. - Do you see what is written? "Elliot Manor". It's a great club, I'll tell you. On Earth. Was. — Is that where your Tessa died, or what? - Tari suggested impatiently. — Yes, although I took the box because I died there. For the last time. I mean, for the last time because of this human. And Tessa Elliot would have died anywhere else on this planet - it was blown up that day. — What?! - Tari was taken aback. — Yup, by serial designations. Disgusting creatures. Although... - she thought for a moment, - it seems that I myself was once a serial designation... So yeah, the whole planet, bye-bye, scattered into cosmic dust. This, of course, was later told to me - I myself died much earlier. — So, - Tari’s voice almost turned into a whisper, - no one survived? — Nope, not a soul. The whole planet disappeared as if in a click. Now I’ll live out my life in peace. And here - why not life? Tari was no longer listening to her. She stood up and slowly walked towards the gadget hidden by the rock. After taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped and turned to Cyn, who was juggling stones: — And you’re sure you won’t see her again? This Tessa. — How could it be otherwise? - the drone answered absently, without looking at the guest. - After all, she doesn’t travel in time!