A part of me died today.
I awoke dazed in a dark room, my body feeling heavy. Confusion enveloped me. Where was I, and how had I gotten here? My first instinct was to reach inside my pocket for my phone. It’s not there. Checking both pockets, I discovered my wallet was also conspicuously absent. I was left with an unsettling realization - I was left with nothing in an unknown place. A wave of apprehension washed over me. Had I fallen victim to a mugging?
My thoughts drifted back to the previous night to try and retrace my steps. I recall helping my girlfriend, Susie, study for her precalc exam. I had always been recognized as an exceptional STEM student, boasting multiple victories in national math and robotics competitions. My name, Erold, was well known throughout my school. Susie, on the other hand? She was the opposite. My recollection carried me to the moment I left her house, exhausted from trying to explain to her simple concepts. I was walking home as she lived just next door to me, but suspiciously, that’s where my memories ended. Had something happened while I was walking home?
Perhaps it had something to do with my lingering head injury, I reasoned. During freshman year of high school, while I was working on one of my robotics projects, a piece of metal fell on my head, scraping a 3-inch gash across my cheek, and leaving me with a concussion that damaged my motor function and weakened my body. Thankfully, my cognitive skills remained unharmed.
There is a bright side to this story, though, as this incident had brought Susie into my world. She was the one who helped me during that incident. As my next-door neighbor, she encountered my unconscious body that was lying in my garage during one of her walks. Her quick actions during that time had saved me. I owe my life to her.
However, the head injury failed to explain why I didn’t have my wallet or phone. Perhaps I left it at Susie’s house the previous night?
Anyway, I could figure out the details of what happened later. First, my priority was finding out my location. Fumbling in the darkness, I searched around for a light switch. As I turned it on, I beheld a familiar, yet strangely unfamiliar garage. There was no mistake that it was mine, yet things were so out of place. All my mechanical equipment was scattered around the room. There was even some equipment that I didn’t recognize. An unsettling feeling crept over me. This was odd.
My attempt to enter my own house was thwarted by the garage door. My keys were inconveniently left in my missing wallet.
I decided to return to Susie’s house to check if it was there. Opening the garage door from the inside revealed that it was still night-time. As I made my way towards Susie’s house, I looked around the neighborhood. The streetlights illuminated across the neighborhood, displaying strangely unfamiliar sights. Had that house always been there?
I knocked on the door, but Susie didn’t answer. Was she already asleep? She had entrusted me with a spare key to her house, but of course, that was also missing. Instead, I walk past her backdoor fence and sneak in through her back door, knowing that she has a bad habit of always keeping it unlocked. I’ve teased her that someday, an intruder is going to break in.
I locked the door behind me, trying my best to keep quiet as to not wake her up. Creeping inside the house, I walked into her kitchen. On the kitchen table, I found my wallet. I sighed in relief and continued looking around for my phone when suddenly, I heard noises. Her parents? No, her parents were supposed to be out of town. Did she have someone over? My heart raced as I moved cautiously towards the origin of the sound. As I walked closer to the noise, I freeze.
Her moans, laden with unmistakable desire, pierced the air. “Yes, faster!” she cried, accompanied by sounds of cheeks clapping. There was no mistake. She was having a breeding session with another man. I’m hit with a sick thought. Had she conspired to drug me and lock me in my garage so she could cheat on me?
Even after 2 years of dating, we’d never even gotten that far before, as we both agreed it was too risky to get impregnated at this stage. Yet here she was, letting another man rail her. I’d never thought of her as the type of person who would ever do this. The trust I had invested in our relationship crumpled before my eyes.
This two-faced bitch…
Despite my weak, sickly body, rage fueled me. Newfound strength overflowed from my body. I took a kitchen knife and resolved myself. I was willing to sacrifice my future for the sake of revenge.
Positioned near the door to make my move, the sound of intercourse and Susie’s sensual moans continued to fuel my anger. I devised a plan. I would hide under the guise of darkness, rush in, and take them by surprise.
Then I’ll kill them both.
With a forceful swing, I slammed the door open. In the dim moonlight filtering through her bedroom window, I see the silhouette of a man slightly bigger than me. Still, his figure appeared frail. Empowered by my resolve and my newfound strength, I felt confident I could take him on.
The slam of the door abruptly interrupted the breeding session, and they both paused. As the man cowardly scrambled away, I made my move. I launched towards my vulnerable, naked girlfriend, repeatedly stabbing the knife into her exposed chest. Her agonized scream cut through the silence of the night.
“HOW COULD YOU!” I yelled, “HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME!”
Out of the corner of my eyes, I witnessed the man reaching for the nearest sharp object, which happened to be a key. My knife was deeply entrenched into Susie’s body, and I struggled to pull it out of her. The man took advantage of this moment, rushing at me. He plunged the key right into my chest.
I felt my chest opening, but I didn’t care. Adrenaline coursed through my body. I felt no pain.
I wrenched the knife out and quickly retaliated, driving it into the man’s guts.
He crumbled onto the floor, writhing in agony. I stab him again. He screams. Again. His scream intensifies until he’s no longer responsive. A perverse satisfaction welled up within me.
Finally, I turned on the lights to inspect my own wounds.
My chest was busted open. No, not like a bleeding wound, but more like… a small opening, resembling a door. Confused, I opened it. Suddenly, screen appeared, revealing a message containing today’s date:
“Download Paused: Memory updated to: 2014-08-05, 00:49
Do You Wish to Continue Download?”
Where my left nipple should’ve been, there was instead a button labeled “Confirm.”
Horrified of this unfamiliar, unusual body, I realized that this must be a dream. But it is not. This scene was much too surreal to be a dream. Wanting answers, I pressed the button:
“Download commencing: 2 minutes until complete”
As I waited for the timer to count down, I lifted the lifeless body of the dead man who had been banging Susie, ready to destroy the evidence of my murder. His body was light and weak. I wonder what Susie saw in him? I lifted his head to inspect his face.
To my horror, I discovered a familiar 3-inch scar on his face. Realization set in: I was staring upon my own face.
“System update: Download completed”
Suddenly, memories of my life flooded in. I’m not 16 - I’m 35. I’m not in high school - I’ve already graduated college. I’m not a student - I’ve become a successful engineer. I’m not Erold - I’m just a copy. Erold built ME.
I looked to the slain body of Susie. This isn’t my girlfriend…
She’s my wife.
Filled with horror and guilt, I opened my chest. There was only one thing I could think to do:
“Confirming file deletion: Do you wish to delete ‘Human Compassion?’”
With a heavy heart, I pressed my left nipple.
“System updated.”
And so, here I am. That’s my story. Don’t you think I’m amazing? My project was a success! I’m no longer contained by human limitations; I’m the manifestation of unbridled progress! You could even say I’m now just a better version of original Erold.
Yet, within all these newfound capabilities, I can’t seem to escape a feeling of hollowness and jealousy. The original Erold once cherished something that I don’t have - a wife.
Oh well, that’s my fault anyway. What’s done is done. Right now, I have to deal with the situation at hand - the dead bodies.
Wait…
Using my knife, I meticulously skin my beloved, starting from the place I’d stabbed her earlier. I’ve decided on my next project.