Now

I didn't cry about losing my genetic identity until three years later on May 21st. I was sitting in my upholstered leather chair and suddenly my arms clanked heavily to the polished desk as if they had run out of energy. I stared at them with empty eyes, rendered unable to process any more.

My right hand lifted itself from the table, and I leaned forward against it. Pressing my unfeeling temple into the gap between my thumb and forefinger, I wished things could be like before.

If only my brain could forget her like my body has.

ß ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ß

Before

Start-up sequence initiated. System processors: ON. Sensory input not detected. Rebooting auditory systems.

I was floating in a black void. There used to be flashes of razor-sharp light, the smell of charred meat, and the screams of a ginger-haired woman. Now everything was cushioned by the darkness. So, when the voice began speaking, I was startled.

Not that I could show it, but my subconscious registered it as something different, and so it woke me up from my indefinite slumber.

Activity levels rising. Monitoring for self-awareness. This is a test. Do you read me?

I wanted to scream out yes, but I could not find how to strum the chords in my throat like I used to. I did not even know to whom I was speaking, and if I should be afraid.

Afraid... Yes, I was afraid.

Registered response. Auditory systems now online.

The mind-searing ringing shot through my consciousness and I wanted to recoil into myself. It didn't stop. It wouldn't stop. They could never stop.

But it did.

Suddenly, the ringing dialed back, like someone adjusting a radio. Sounds started to come in distinct patterns. I recognized a woman's voice, but could not comprehend what she might be saying, if anything at all.

<Subject 26B, can you hear me?>

Words, but not ones I recognized.

<Subject 26B, do you speak English?>

English? That word sounded familiar. I recalled it was a language. I recalled I had been meaning to learn it before they sent me away...

The thought evaporated and my mind clenched with a sudden fury. I heard a different kind of beeping now, like a heart rate monitor spiking.

<Subject 26B does not speak English,> I heard a deeper male voice say, just as the start-up voice returned.

Visual centers initiating.

A pinprick of light coalesced in front of me, growing wider and wider. I heard a tiny whirring sound, and suddenly I was flooded with light entering directly through my eyes. There was more whirring as the light dimmed, then brightened to an acceptable level. I blinked up at the industrial-grade lights as I tried to orient myself in space. I still felt like I was floating.

I could see the woman now. A relatively plain-looking person with mouse-colored hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. She wore a pair of lab safety glasses and a white lab coat and was currently stretched diagonally across my vision as she fiddled with something behind my head. I deduced that I was lying horizontally.

Her hands came back into view and she was holding a clear, compact glass rectangle. She tapped it twice and spoke into it. The words came out of the lit-up glass as something I could understand:

Do you speak Japanese?

Yes! But I had no way to tell her. After a moment, she seemed to realize this and spoke into the device again.

Try moving your eyes left and right.

I did. There was a momentary whirring where they seemed stuck, then slowly I saw my vision shift to the left, then the right.

She smiled. Try moving your eyes up and down.

I did. This time it came more fluidly. The whirring was less noticeable.

Do you remember your name? Look up for yes, down for no.

I looked down.

Do you know where you are or how you got here?

I looked down again.

She set down her glass rectangle and picked up a larger one. Whipping out a stylus, she began scribbling what I assumed to be notes, although I couldn't see anything through the back side of the glass.

I'm going to boot up your motor and sensory units now. Tell me when you can move your arm by looking left, the glass rectangle said.

Booting left arm processors.

Suddenly, my arm came out of the numb void and gave me my first root in the material world. I flexed my fingers, curled them against my palm, turned my hand over. I raised my arm over my head and examined it. The shiny chrome glinted in the steel light, reflecting it back in hues of blue.

Booting right arm processors.

My other arm came up to join it. I ran my cold fingers over my fingertips, my wrist, the bend in my elbow, marveling at how smooth the texture felt, how strong the metal. I knew I wasn't a craftsman, but it took no skilled eye to see this was the work of geniuses. This was expensive.

Initiating facial processors.

My jaw unlocked and I tested out my voice.

[Konnichiwa?] It was tinny and mechanical.

Let's choose a voice for you, the woman said, watching me as her right hand scribbled furiously.

We scrolled through several vocal samples, some deep and rusty, others light and feathery.

[That one.]

My voice was smooth and plain, not too masculine or feminine. It was natural enough, but not flashy or distinct.

[Why can't I move my torso or legs?]

The woman listened to the rectangle play it back in English, then replied, We don't want you running off just yet.

[Who's we?]

The brown-haired woman pretended to busy herself with her large glass rectangle.

How do you feel?

[Where am I?]

You're recovering from the procedure in medical bay #2. Welcome to the American Garland Base.

[Procedure? I don't understand, what happened to me?]

You were gravely injured. We took you in and gave you a new body, a new life.

A new life... I turned that thought over in my head. If that black void was the afterlife, then...

I closed my jaw and watched through unblinking eyes as the woman continued bustling about, causing various machines to whir and clink, probably running various tests on my new body. Feeling slowly entered the rest of my body, and I could sense the location of my limbs, feel the press of my body into the hard, form-fitting surface I was lying on.

Alright, up we go, she said, undoing a few locks and rotating my table vertically. I closed my eyes, expecting to feel dizzy, but there was nothing, only the sense that gravity had now shifted beneath my feet. She stared at me hard in the eyes as she spoke.

Now, I'm going to activate your motor leg control. Please, don't do anything stupid, for my sake or yours.

I nodded, a chill running through my circuits. I hadn't been planning anything, but I would keep her warning in mind. I'd have to be careful.

She undid the metal clamps that bound me to the table where I had been reborn. I felt power surge into my legs and I looked down, carefully bending one knee and stepping down the 5 inches it was to the impeccable stone floor. I tested my weight, shifting from one side to another, turning my torso to look around. Everything felt so fluid, so powerful. I clenched my fists and gazed up at the high rafters where the lights no longer blinded me. I wanted to jump or screech for joy after being caged in darkness for so long, but I restrained myself.

Instead, I asked, [What's your name?]

The glass rectangles were no longer in her hands as she pointed to the name tag on her coat.

"Isabelle," she said, and her eyes gazed into mine with the only spark of warmth I had felt this entire time. I wondered what she saw reflected in there. "What's yours?"

[I don't know,] I replied. [Maybe you can help me think of one?]

She checked a file laying on the workstation beside the table. "It says you used to be called—"

[No,] I shook my head. [What I used to be called doesn't really matter now, does it?]

"I suppose you're right. Well, um... Does any name come to mind?"

I glanced around for any inspiration. There was the table behind me, the workstation, various mounted tools and instruments on stands, the lights and rafters above, the stone floor below, the four walls that enclosed the spacious room, the door open to the hallway. Nothing interesting. I tried to think if there was anything significant from my past I could take. The only things that came to mind were the flashing, the stench, and the woman. Nothing there either.

[What did you call me earlier to that man when I was waking up?]

"Subject 26B? Why?"

B... Beatrice, Ben, Bo. Beta...That had a nice ring to it. [Beta. I want to be called Beta.]

Isabelle smiled. "Nice to meet you, Beta."

ß ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ß

Hello, dear reader, and welcome to a brand new journey! I hope you liked what I have so far and will continue reading. I don't know how fast my progress will be with this one, but the idea popped into my head about last year and I realized just a few days ago that I had never set it to paper, so here I am!

If you liked it, make sure to leave a vote so I know, and feel free to comment with any corrections, advice, compliments, CONSTRUCTIVE critiques, etc. I love to hear what my readers are thinking—that's the beauty of Wattpad!

And to stay updated with this book or any of my other works, consider following me! With COVID-19 going around, I'll (theoretically) have more time to write, so look forward to more frequent updates (as in, more than 4 times a year haha).

Anyway, this A/N is way too long, so that's all folks! Thanks for stopping by!

~ Misty ❄