The day was approaching quickly, only seven
days till our wedding. Selah was hunting for last minute items she needed and I
was stressing and getting fatherly lectures from her father. Of course we still
had work to do. We labored every day in the labs and spent our evenings working
on preparing for the big day. That afternoon we all closed up and went about
our business not knowing what was coming the following day. We went out that Monday
night and had a family dinner. Selah and I, Her father and Steven. Apparently
he had become an adopted part of the family now. We sat around the table laughing and Steven
reminding Selah of how he used to have to chase her out of the labs when she
was younger. Steven had been with Dr. James for close to 20 years. He had
watched Selah grow up so he had tons of embarrassing stories to share. After
the dinner we all went home got a good night’s sleep for the work day ahead.
The
following morning we had a visitor, Ms. Jessica Lemoy. A tall slender woman
with cold white hair and traces of cybernetics under her skin. Her eyes had
been replaced years prior with enhanced devices allowing her to see far better
than any of us. That cold glare as she walked by us still haunts me. Everything
about this woman was utilitarian. She wore nothing but black, a tight dull body
suit coal black under a basic long semi sheer dress. You could see the spinal augmentations
running down her back. It was like everything we could imagine in a nightmare
had just walked into the room. We were all amazed when Dr. James welcomed her
in respectfully and heard out her proposition. She spoke for a long time,
however it wasn’t till she used one word that turned him quickly against the
plan she had, Immortality. She believed that People of her level should be
allowed to live on so that they could contribute to the human race and bestow
their presence on future generations. She went on to remind him of her military
contracts and how she could make him a very wealthy man. Making all of his
dreams come true and enabling him to save millions of lives. To our relief the
doctor informed her he would not be needing her connections and that he would
legally pursue any use of his technology without his permission. Then he had
security escort her and her men off of the property. Somehow we all knew this
would not be the end of the matter, nor would this be the last time we saw her.
The
following day we were working hard on finalizing some code for the Operating
and basic AI for the prosthetic body. We had wanted to complete it a couple of
days before the wedding to allow us time to rest before the big day. Selah was
there with us late into the night helping us with some of the more advanced mathematics.
I believe it was about 21:00 fairly late for us to even be there when we
started to hear a rumbling outside. Suddenly threw the windows came dozens of
armed men, all sporting the Lemoy corporation logo. The woman was so arrogant she
wanted us to know it was her. I can still hear the screaming of the lab techs
as bullets went flying through the air, the thuds as they impacted their bodies
and they hit the floor. It was a hailstorm of glass and lead flying from the
front of the building. Soon the dust settled. The moved the ones of us still
standing into a back room as they cleared out the lab. All of the computers
files and prototypes, they stripped it clean. As we were huddled into the room
I realized Selah and her father were no were to be found.
A
while later we heard Dr. James screaming Telling us they had gone and to find a
way out. We broke the door down and got out to find him on the floor crying,
holding Selah in his arms. Her body was broken and torn to pieces, but somehow
she was still alive. They had gotten what they wanted but there was no way we
would let them take her from us as well. We quickly moved her to the nearest
medical center, they were able to stabilize her but nothing more. We were
informed she would probably never wake up. Her body was so badly damaged to
wake her up would kill her. Dr. James remained calm and looked at me with this
anger and intensity I had never seen in a man before. He said we had to get to
his personal lab now, no time to wait. I knew he had something up his sleeve to
save her so I went with him without hesitation. We got to the lab within an
hour and he immediately went to work. He started redesigning the full body prosthetic
and had me start machining parts. He called in every one he could and pulled
every string he had. It was as though a crazed lunatic had taken over this once
peaceful man. Morning came quickly and we all kept working. Slowly some of the
other techs started dosing off in their chairs and as they finished their work
they passed out where they were setting. It was the most intense night of my
life. We knew what he was building but had no clue as to the changes he was
making to the design. Eventually I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore and I
passed out in the corner. Between the injuries and not having slept in 2 days
it was more than my body could handle, but the doctor kept working.
It
was late that night that he woke me. He told me I should be the first to see
it. We walked to the final assembly room and he had it there on the table,
covered in a white sheet. It brought me back to the unveiling of the original
model. Only this time when he pulled the sheet back I saw Selah laying on the
table. It looked exactly like her, the skin felt real and it felt like a real
body. Dr. James explained that nothing less than his best would do for his
little girl. And he knew if we were to have a life together it would have to be
nothing short of a miracle. And a miracle he had created. Every detail was just
as Selah looked before the attack. Even the birthmark on her right arm. I was
amazed he had fit so much technology in such a tiny frame. Selah as very petite
and slender, the hair was the same fiery red and the face was perfect to every
detail. Even her nose was crooked from where she broke it as a child. I
realized how much love this man had poured into this body, I knew it would work.
It had to.
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