Author's note:
This is a work of fiction. No characters, places, or situations depicted here are real, intended to be real, or imagined to be real. If you were expecting Shakespeare or Shelley, I kicked them out of the building before I started. If these type of situations disturb you, or if you're underage in the country of your residence, stop reading now and go elsewhere. For everyone else: enjoy!
Chapter 1
"Hey, Simi, can you help me with this question?" Lena pushed open the door to Simi's room, holding open her textbook as she strode in, and suddenly stopped; Simi stood, straight and still, in the center of her bedroom, facing away from her.
"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to bug you," Lena said, backing out slowly. She half-closed the door, then paused; Simi hadn't moved. Lena frowned, puzzled. Simi was dressed in a gray bodysuit that covered her from the neck down, leaving only her head and hands exposed. It glittered softly, like metal. She was facing the desk opposite the door.
"Simi, are you okay?" Lena asked but got no response. "Simi?" She moved back into the room, looking at her housemate. "Simi, what's going on?" Nothing.
Lena stepped closer, coming around to Simi's front to see if she was wearing headphones. She wasn't, but there was still no indication she heard Lena at all; she didn't turn, blink, or fidget; it was as if she were frozen in place. Was she even breathing? Yes, Lena could see her chest expanding and contracting, but very, very slowly, in a perfectly even rhythm.
"What the-?" Lena stared into Simi's eyes. Her deep blue eyes were completely unfocused and empty, as though she saw nothing around her. Lena waved her hand in front of Simi's face, but again got no sense that Simi was aware of her at all.
The suit caught Lena's attention again. It appeared to be an elastic material made of pure silver, a metallic mesh that sparkled. She wasn't imagining it; thousands of tiny lights danced across the fabric, coursing along hidden pathways like circuits just beneath the surface, with a pattern that pulsed in waves from the neck down. Was this some kind of electronic material? A row of white LEDs flickered within the collar beneath Simi's chin, indicating some sort of circuitry. The collar was thicker than the rest of the suit's material, and had several protruding bumps, hidden squares and rectangles sandwiched inside the neckband. And beneath Simi's shoulder-length dark blonde hair, from the back of the collar, a cable was attached to a small port. Lena followed its path down between Simi's shoulder blades, hanging along her left side and leg, across the floor, and up to the active computer on the desk in front of her, where it was mated to a USB slot.
Lena's eyes widened; Simi was plugged into the computer.
A shifting green pattern scrolled across the computer monitor, with overlaying lines floating in and out like a screen saver. Lena watched it for a few seconds, but it made no sense to her. There was a progress bar across the bottom showing the transfer of data; information was either being uploaded or downloaded into the suit.
Or worse,
Lena realized,
directly into Simi.
Panicking, Lena spun back to Simi, reached behind her to grasp the thin cord, and pulled it free from the collar.
A thin alarm tone sounded from the computer, causing Lena to turn to the desktop. Instantly the screen flashed red, and the pattern froze. The words "TRANSFER INTERRUPTED" appeared, stark white against the crimson, and a computerized voice sounded the words from the speakers. But at the same time, Simi repeated the words in a voice that chilled Lena to the bone. Her voice was flat, devoid of emotion, like those emulated in computer programs; that was not what Simi sounded like at all! The two voices, from the speaker and Simi's mouth, overlapped, echoing each other.
A moment later Simi blinked rapidly, and the suit's shimmering lights winked out. Her posture changed, relaxed, and she breathed out, focusing on Lena. "You shouldn't have done that, Lena." Simi's voice was back to normal, but to Lena it held just a hint of menace.
"I'm sorry!" Lena cried, scrambling for the exit. She ran down the hallway for her own room and slammed the door. Heart racing, she jammed a chair under the handle to prevent entry and curled up on her bed. Wrapping a blanket around her shaking body she glared at the door in horror, waiting. Her mind screamed in a disorganized jumble; she was far too confused and disturbed to think clearly. Long minutes passed before her breathing slowed, and her heart rate began to fall. What had she just seen? Was Simi a robot? Android? Cyborg? What was what going on?
More than an hour later, the knock Lena was expecting finally came; a soft, almost apologetic pair of taps, and instantly her panic spiked again. She wasn't sure if she should respond, or how; horror at what she had seen, anxiety for her friend, and curiosity all warred within her.
"Lena, can we talk?" Simi's muffled voice penetrated through the door. "I'm sorry if I scared you."
Minutes went by before Lena found her voice. "I...I don't know. I'll be out in a bit."
"Okay. I'll be in the front room. Don't forget, I have class in an hour." She sounded perfectly normal to Lena. Was it even Simi? Would it even be safe to question her? It? There were too many questions, and Lena wasn't sure she wanted the answers, but slowly she gathered her courage, stood, and opened the door.
As promised, Simi was in the front room, sitting with her feet up on the big brown couch, nonchalantly flipping through the latest edition of
Winterwear,
a fashion magazine. The gray bodysuit was gone or hidden; she wore a casual red blouse and tan lounge pants. Spying Lena, she smiled reassuringly. "C'mon, sit down, there's a lot to explain." She flipped her legs off the cushions and patted the space beside her.
Lena opted for the smaller armchair; she wanted to keep the coffee table between them and hoped Simi wouldn't notice how nervous she was. She wanted to take the initiative and lead the discussion, but it was hard; Simi had been her friend and housemate for months. She was organized, clean, sociable, and funny; Lena had liked her from the start. They didn't share the same classes, but they studied together often, and Simi always got perfect grades. Lena had
