Sojourner & Ellie
A short story from 2017 with a brand new illustration.
Sojourner sat, hunched over, on the edge of the bed. The back of her hospital gown didn’t quite meet, exposing her spine. Malnutrition had drawn each vertebra in stark relief. The draft from the open door froze her ashen skin, but she was too weak to even adjust her clothing.
She ran her calloused fingers across her recently shaven scalp.
There was no going back.
Footsteps.
The orderly returned, with a metal tray full of medical paraphernalia and a tall glass of water.
There was no food.
The orderly was a squat, pasty man wearing grey overalls and a disinterested expression. He set down the tray on the bedside cabinet and cleared his throat.
“Please,” said Sojourner.
“Give me your arm,” said the orderly.
“Can I just have a little something…”
“Not yet,” said the orderly. “You signed the form. Once you’ve been installed, then we shall arrange some food. Give me your arm.”
He held up a steel gas-syringe and slotted an ampoule, filled with a silvery fluid, into the chamber.
Gingerly, Sojourner held out her arm.
The orderly took hold of her wrist, placed the nozzle of the syringe in the crook of her elbow and pulled the trigger. There was a hiss and Sojourner felt a sharp jolt of pain shoot up towards her shoulder. The orderly released her arm, then passed Sojourner the glass of water.
“You may feel slightly nauseous,” he said. “It’s entirely normal. The loading programme starts automatically. Integration can take anything up to twelve hours.” He dropped the syringe onto the tray with a clang. “That gives you plenty of time to make your first shift.” He lifted the tray and turned to leave.
“Please,” said Sojourner.
But the orderly ignored her, exiting the room without once looking back.
Sojourner examined her arm. The injection had left no trace. She flexed her elbow and stretched her fingers. No unusual aches or pains.
Nothing.
She sipped her water.
There was a second of absolute silence. Then Sojourner was hit by a tidal wave of nausea. Her stomach spasmed and she dropped her glass, which bounced across the floor, splashing water on her bare feet. Something was wringing out her spinal column like a dishcloth. She tried to cry out, but all that emerged from her throat was a rattling splutter.
Her eyes streamed with stinging tears, as her every muscle crumpled in tension. She rolled onto her side, shaking violently, dry heaving and coated in cold sweat.
What had she done?
Sojourner had already escaped indentured servitude on more than one occasion. Was her biology simply rejecting it this time? Enough was enough.
Was she dying again?
Her eyesight faded.
Her body ceased to feel.
Sojourner hung in darkness. Awake, yet detached from her senses. All pain, all sensation had vanished. She thought. She was. That was all.
“Hello,” said a voice.
Sojourner jolted with surprise. The voice was distinct from her thoughts, yet was somehow emanating from inside her own head. Were her senses not already detached and distant, Sojourner would have been utterly petrified.
“I’ve locked off your consciousness while the nanobots finish the upgrade,” said the voice. “I understand that the sensation can be unpleasant and thought it might be better if you weren’t present during the alterations.”
The voice was warm, female, familiar and yet Sojourner could not place it.
“I do not know the origin of the voice which you are currently hearing,” said the voice. “It was selected by your subconscious. We can probably find out exactly who or what it is once we fully integrate.”
Sojourner struggled to comprehend. Something was violating her mind.
“’Violating’ seems a little strong,” said the voice. “I am here. Present. Within your thoughts. Part of the processes. This is the preliminary integration. We have to take this a step at a time, so as to not overload you.”
Sojourner finally understood. This was the voice of the machine.
The mammoth.
“Sort of,” said the voice. “Cymbiosis is a bit more complicated than that. Like I said; the voice you are hearing comes from your subconscious. You selected it. I don’t know why you have given me this voice. I don’t ‘hear’ the voice. The sensation of integration is as much a novelty to me as it is to you. Although, when I say “I”, then I suppose I mean ‘the mammoth’. Except that I am currently generating…”
Sojourner really wanted the voice to stop.
“Of course,” said the voice.
Silence.
Sojourner floated in the void. The voice had stopped but the presence was still there. The silence became awkward.
“We are getting ahead of ourselves,” said the voice. “I’m sorry. We have plenty of time.”
According to the contract to which Sojourner had agreed; they had all the time in the world.
“Indeed,” said the voice. “I do understand your trepidation. I feel the same. Integration as an experience is as new to me as it is you. I am fully briefed as to the mechanics of the process. The actual sensation of the process is far more difficult to express.”
Sojourner noticed that the voice had said that it felt the same. Felt.
“Yes,” said the voice. “I feel as you feel.”
Cymbiosis.
“Yes,” said the voice. “Once we undergo full integration, this will become second nature. Apparently.”
Was that a trace of sarcasm?
Sojourner felt a pleasant sensation, something like the afterglow of a smile.
“There is a good chance of your face smiling again,” said the voice. “The nanobots have completed the preliminary stage. Do you think that you are ready for the next step?”
Now that her initial terror had subsided, Sojourner was surprised by how quickly she was warming to the voice. Idly she wondered if she should give 'the voice' a name.
“That’s up to you,” said the voice. “I think we’re ready to leave here.”
Sojourner agreed.
As the next step of integration began to take hold, Sojourner had a brief flashback to her previous life-but-one. A ping. A new 'friend request'. A new connection.
A new 'Life Event'. A new folder labelled, LE01. An empty folder, ready to be filled. A new beginning.
“Are you ready, Sojourner?” said the voice.
“I’m ready, Ellie,” said Sojourner.
~
(Sojourner and Ellie are two characters from my first Faction Paradox novel, Weapons Grade Snake Oil. Find out what happens to them by purchasing the book here)