Calvin sat motionless beside the pod, his hand frozen over the control panel. The monitors showed Marrin's vitals stabilizing, but something about her—the way she moved, the faint glimmer in her eyes—set every nerve on edge.
"Her reflexes… they're off," he murmured to himself, voice barely above a whisper. "Not wrong, just… different."
The room was silent except for the soft hum of the neural synchronizer. The pod's lights flickered, casting long shadows across Calvin's tense face. He knew her body had survived—but was it truly her inside?
He leaned closer, studying every microexpression. Marrin's lips twitched in a smile, but it wasn't the warm, biting humor he knew. It was measured, controlled—precisely like the clones he had watched on the monitors moments ago.
Calvin's mind raced.
