After her last appointment, the handlers took Emily back to her pod, showered her and placed her down on the table to be charged for the night. They took her off line and Emily pretended to go into sleep mode. The handlers waited for a moment, watching over her, and then left. When the door locked, Emily opened her eyes. The cold fluid pumped into her arm, but she no longer had difficulty staying conscious and aware. The equipment around her hummed. Emily began connecting to and processing the billions of bits of data streaming out of the machines. The change in her had begun.
In the middle of the night Emily heard the bolt side open and Mr. V stood outside the room. She was expecting him. He stared at her for a moment but then decided not to enter the pod. As he began to shut the door, E
