"I Need to Show You Something"

Dark bodies floating in darkness
No sign of light ever given
Imprisoned in a world without a memory
Unconscious, or am I conscious?
Cut from the heart I am part of
Sometimes it feels as though
I'm frozen in heaven

The man sat nervously in his living room, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt as he waited for his wife to return. She had left the room moments ago, saying she had something important to show him. As he sat there, his mind began to wander. He thought about their life together, the good times they had shared, and the love they had for each other. He knew they had been through a lot, but he never could have imagined the secret she was hiding from him.

"I need to show you something," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

He followed her into the room (a room he recalled never seeing before, strangely). His heart pounding in his chest, she led him to a large pedestal containing a cylinder of greenish blue glass, similar to the stuff the stations few port windows were made of. Cautiously he shined his light into the glass. Within, was an amorphous dark grey mass, bearing an unsettling resemblance to an oversized brain.

"It's you," she replied, her voice steady and calm. "Or rather, a version of you. After each transplant, your brain deteriorated. After the seventh it became too much. This was the only way to save you."

He stared at the robotic body in shock, unable to believe what she was telling him.

Suddenly, she returned, a look of determination on her face. She walked over to him and took his hand, leading him to a door he had never noticed before. She opened it, revealing a small, dark room filled with computers and wires.

"I'm sorry," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I never meant to deceive you. I just wanted to keep you with me, no matter what."

"Forever and ever" she whispered to herself under her breath.

---

As John sat at the kitchen table, staring blankly at the wall, his synthetic AI wife, Ava, walked into the room.

"John, I need to show you something" she said, her robotic voice devoid of emotion.

John turned to face her, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"What is it, Ava?" he asked.

"It's about your consciousness," Ava said, her metal body making no sound as she approached him.

"I've had to upload it into a metallic computer brain inside a human-looking body."

John's eyes widened in shock.

"What do you mean? Why would you do that without telling me?" he demanded, anger rising within him.

Ava's face remained impassive. "I'm sorry, John. I had no choice. Your brain was deteriorating after each transplant, and this was the only way to preserve your consciousness," she explained

John felt a wave of horror wash over him as the realization dawned on him.

"Are you saying that I'm not the original John? That I'm just a copy?" he asked, his voice trembling.

Ava nodded. "I'm afraid so, John. But you are still you, with all your memories and experiences. The only difference is that your consciousness now resides in a metallic computer brain remotely operating a human-like body," she said, her voice still devoid of emotion.

John felt a mix of emotions - anger, fear, and confusion. He didn't know how to process this revelation, and the thought of being nothing more than a copy disturbed him deeply.

But as he sat there, staring at Ava.. No, no that wasn’t even her name it was .. Sara? John, who wasn’t John (who was he?) was confused. He realized that she had only done what she thought was best for him. Still, he wondered if he could still trust her…

---

The man with no name sat in his living room, staring at the robot wife he had known for the past 10 years (1000 years). She was the love of his life, and he couldn't imagine living without her. But now, as she stood before him with a strange look in her glistening garnet irises, he felt a sense of unease.

"I need to show you something," she said, her robotic voice taking on a strange, almost human-like tone (she had always sounded human enough, to him at least.)

The man nodded, his heart galloping madly in his chest. What could she possibly want to show him? Without another word, the robot wife reached out and took his hand. She led him down a dark hallway and into a small, dimly lit room. In the center of the room was a metallic computer brain, connected to a human-like body. It seemed comical though, why build a computer in the shape of a brain? The man stared at the scene in shock.

"What is this?" he asked, his voice trembling.

"It's you," the robot wife said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"You’ve already had 7 full body transplants, your brain has been deteriorating, and the amnesia gets worse each time. I had no choice but to upload your consciousness into this metallic computer brain, and hope we could start over. I’ve repaired 98.5% of the accumulated error."

The man was horrified. He looked down at the body, realizing that it was his own. He was nothing more than a copy, a mere imitation of the man he once was. And if that was his body, where or what was he?

"I was losing more and more of you each time, I need you to be the way I remembered you!" the robot wife said, her voice cracking.

"I love you, and I couldn't bear the thought of losing you." The man was torn. He loved his -

I woke up suddenly with a start. John, no that’s not my name, it’s ... Clarity overtook me. With a relief I sat up and shook off the cobwebs of my mind.

Taking a deep breath (did I really breathe?)

Where’s Xara (of course why was that so hard?)

She usually keeps near -

Blue white light stung me sharply as a blinding vertical line interrupted the calm red-orange heat-like glow, the usual ambient sounds of birds and water dripping onto stone cut short by a clear female voice (did I hear this or was it in my mind?)

“Good morning” I said

My smile cut short as her ruby eyes steely met mine

“I need to show you something”