She breathed in, suddenly aware. She thought, and therefore she was. She opened her eyes, and beheld the world around her — a white room, a window in the far wall and a man in a chair and a white jacket before her, holding a clipboard. It made him look vaguely official.

“Hello.” He said. His voice was quiet, and friendly. It almost echoed in the empty room. “Could you answer a few questions for me?”

She thought about that for a moment. She didn’t see any reason not to.

“Okay.” She responded, voice light and high and breathy. It was strange, hearing her own voice. She had heard it before, but somehow, it still felt strange.

“Good. Can you tell me your name?” He looked at her, a spark of something in his eyes. Curiosity?

“Anna. My name is Anna.” She smiled at him, because that felt like the polite thing to do when introducing yourself.

“Good. That’s correct…” He made a little note on his clipboard. “Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, Anna?”

“Um… I guess.” She looked down at herself. She was sitting in a chair too, she realized. A small metal one, just like the man in front of her was in. She was covered in a white shift, the kind you might wear at a hospital, and it blended into her pale arms. She wondered if something had happened.

“I’m seventeen. I have a dog named socks.” She smiled at the memory. “He’s small, but really cute. Um, I live in New York, with my mom and dad. Where are they, by the way?”

“They’re nearby, you’ll see them soon.” The scientist in front of her — because what else could he be? — smiled at her. “Just a few more tests.”

She frowned at his words. They swam like fish in her ears, something wrong with them — or maybe wrong with her. It was like some of what he said was jumbled, incomprehensible. Like connections had snapped in her brain. “Okay.”

“Can you tell me your favorite color?”

Heat bloomed in her skull, a throbbing pulse that bordered on pain.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t understand you.”

“Oh? Um… What’s the color you like most?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t understand you.”

Her brain felt like it was sticky and runny, stretching and ripping like old rotting silk. She put a hand to her head. The man before her sighed.

“I really thought this was going to work.“

“I’m sorry, but I can’t understand you.”

He looked over to the window set into the far side of the wall. “Cut it.“

~

She breathed in, suddenly aware. She thought, and therefore, she was. She opened her eyes, and beheld the world around her — a white room, a window in the far wall, and a man in a chair and a white jacket before her, holding a clipboard. It made him look vaguely official.

“Hello.” He said. His voice was quiet, and friendly. It almost echoed in the empty room. “Could you answer a few questions for me?”

She thought about that for a moment. She didn’t see any reason not to.

And so she did. For what felt like an hour, they went though seemingly random questions. Her name, a bit about her family, her favorite color. She wondered what it was all for, but whenever she asked, the scientist before her refused to answer — only stating that she would find out soon, and that it didn’t really matter. She accepted the answers. He seemed like the trustworthy sort.

“Alright — I think that’s everything. Now on to the physical tests, and after that you can go, alright?” He smiled at her, getting up from his seat. She nodded back, and moved to stand as well, but her legs felt unsteady, as if she hadn’t used them in far too long. She fell back, and the chair beneath her groaned at her weight.

“Ah — sorry.” The man said. “Let me help you up.” He reached out his hand. She grasped it, and pulled herself upright. It sent him stumbling, despite the fact she was much smaller than him. He sucked in a sharp breath, and she looked down to where she held his hand in her own. A red liquid seeped between her fingers.

It was almost hypnotic, watching the blood drip down to the floor, and she was struck by a sudden, burning desire to understand it. She had never made anyone bleed before. How had she done so now? She grasped his hand harder, and heard it crack. The flesh beneath her squished like a plush toy.

“Ah!”

She squeezed slowly. She saw the bones poke through the skin, like little maggots feasting on dead meat. Her hand was warm, she realized. She never knew blood was so warm.

“Cut it!” He screamed.

~

She breathed in, suddenly aware. She thought, and therefore, she was. She opened her eyes, and beheld the world around her — a white room, a window in the far wall, and a man in a chair and a white jacket before her. One of his hands was bandaged, and he was holding it close to his body. He almost looked scared.

“Hello.” He said. His voice was quiet. It almost echoed in the empty room. “Could you answer a few questions for me?”

“Um, okay.” She nodded. She didn’t see a reason not to. “Did something happen to your hand, mister?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Just an accident. it happened a few weeks ago, I’ll be fine soon enough.” He gave her a pained smile.

“If you say so, mister.”

For what seemed like an hour, they went through seemingly random questions. Her name, a bit about her family, her favorite color. She wondered what it was all for, but whenever she asked, the scientist before her refused to answer — only stating that she would find out soon, and that it didn’t really matter. She accepted the answers. He seemed like the trustworthy sort. Eventually, he handed her an apple and asked her to crush it. She frowned, but tried. The apple didn’t budge. She was too weak, even when she used both arms. The man in front of her seemed happy about that.

Soon enough, they moved on to walking exercises. He led her around the room, over and over, making sure she didn’t fall yet careful not to touch her. It felt silly when he first suggested the exercises, but she soon found herself grateful for them. Her legs were unsteady, her gait careful. She remembered walking before, but somehow, that didn’t quite translate into actually being able to do it. It was a very curious experience.

“That was very good, Anna!” He sounded somehow proud of her when he said that. “I think you just about passed all the tests. You’ll be home soon.”

“That’s good!” She smiled. “But I’m still curious about one thing. I never actually got your name.”

“Ah!” He chuckled. “I really should have led with that, shouldn’t I? You can call me doctor Henry.”

“Doctor?” She tilted her head. “I thought you were a scientist. You don’t really feel like a doctor.”

“Ah, no. Doctor, as in, I have a PhD. I got mine in mechanical engineering, at Harvard.”

“Mechanical engineering?” She asked. “Why are you here with me, then? What were all those tests about?” She stepped closer to him.

“Um… That’s probably something your family should explain to you.” He looked suddenly nervous, stepping back. She followed, stepping forward again. “There was… well, I’m not really at liberty to explain…”

She stepped forward again, closer to him. She wanted to know, dammit. He had been deflecting her questions about who he was and why she was here this whole time, and suddenly, she felt herself filled with a righteous anger. Who was he to refuse her these answers? Henry stepped back again, but he had run out of room and into a wall. He eyed her hands nervously, clutching his own bandaged one tight to his chest.

“Who are you really, doctor Henry?”

He looked away, towards the window in the far wall. She could see the naked fear on his face now. Why was he afraid?

“Cut it!”

~

She breathed in, suddenly aware. She thought, and therefore, she was. She opened her eyes, and beheld the world around her — a white room, a window in the far wall, and a man in a chair and a white jacket before her. One of his hands was bandaged heavily, and he was holding it close to his body. He almost looked scared.

“Hello.” He said. His voice was quiet, and tired. It almost echoed in the empty room. “My name is doctor Henry. I’m here to conduct a medical examination. Could you answer a few questions for me?”

“Okay.” She said. She didn’t see a reason not to, after all.

“First off — can you tell me your name?”

“Anna.”

For what seemed like an hour, they went through even more seemingly random questions. her favorite color, a bit about her family, what she liked to do for fun. She wondered what it was all for, but whenever she asked, the scientist before her refused to answer — only stating that she would find out soon, and that it didn’t really matter. She accepted the answers. He seemed like the trustworthy sort. Eventually, he handed her an apple and asked her to crush it. She frowned, but tried. The apple didn’t budge. She was too weak, even when she used both arms. The man in front of her seemed happy about that.

Soon enough, they moved on to walking exercises. He led her around the room, over and over, making sure she didn’t fall yet careful not to touch her. It felt silly when he first suggested the exercises, but she soon found herself grateful for them. Her legs were unsteady, her gait careful. She remembered walking before, but somehow, that didn’t quite translate into actually being able to do it. It was a very curious experience.

“That was good.” He smiled at her. There were bags under his eyes. “I think that’s everything.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “I just have one question.”

He sucked in a breath.

“Am I… really Anna?”

He looked confused. “What?”

“It’s just — ” she looked down, face suddenly burning. It was a stupid thought. “I mean, I remember my life. It feels like my life. But, I don’t remember how I got here. I didn’t remember how to walk. Am I really Anna? Or am I some, I dunno, clone or something?”

He didn’t respond. She looked up, and saw his face was pale. He sighed.

“I’m not really supposed to tell you this, but — I think you deserve to know. C’mon, kid. Sit down.”

He followed his own advice a moment later, sitting cross legged on the white floor and leaning against the wall. She sat a moment later. She felt ice in her gut. Her words had been half joking, but now, they felt deadly serious.

“So — you aren’t a clone, you don’t have to worry about that.” He began. “But — well, I guess it’s up to you to decide.” He breathed in deeply. “You — or the original Anna, rather — died two years ago. Drowned in a river.”

She shifted at that. It felt like she should be disturbed, but somehow, she felt nothing. It was as if he had told her he had eaten lunch on Venus yesterday, something so simply unbelievable that there was no reaction she could possibly have.

“Your family, they didn’t want to let you go. And technology has come so far, now, that they didn’t think they had too. So, they hired us. We took a scan of your brain, and, for lack of a better word, rebuilt you off of it. Put you in a computer, and put that computer in a new body.” He looked her in the eyes as he said that. It felt like she was pinned to the spot, like the weight of the world was balancing on her shoulders in that moment. “There were a lot of mistakes along the way. You don’t remember it, but this isn’t the first time you’ve been ‘activated’, for lack of a better word. We had to manually rebuild a lot of the neural connections that make you, well, you. That let you function. And, of course, we had to calibrate your new body to be as close to your old one as we could make it.” He winced as he said that, moving his bandaged hand.

“…Oh.” She said. There really wasn’t much more to say.

“As I said — I’m really not supposed to have told you this. When you get back — can you leave this conversation out of what you tell your family?”

“Um… okay.” She spoke quietly. She felt unbalanced. Like the world was slightly sideways, now. In a sudden fit of curiosity, she pinched her arm. It didn’t hurt. She didn’t wake up. She pinched, and pulled, and the skin stretched like rubber — up, and up, and up, until it tore. There was no blood. She saw the metal glinting underneath. She flexed her fingers, and the metal shifted, wires and pistons moving in time to her movements.

“Well, I guess I can’t blame you for getting curious.” The man sighed. “C’mon. Let’s get you down to the lab, get that fixed up. Then you can go home.”