The Leftovers of Theseus

Orion Fiorino-Matthews

        Kaitlyn had the misfortune of being brought back to life. She woke from the abyss of eternity to find herself in a new body. This was a very standard procedure. However, Kaityln was very upset. She had done everything right and filled out all the do not reboot forms correctly. But because of the whimsy of an AI file management system, Kaitlyn had not been allowed to remain dead.

        This was a stranger’s body. Even with the newest incubation technology, it still took 10 months for a clone to be ready. Kaitlyn’s consciousness was booted into a sourced body. Once the clone was ready, her consciousness would be rebooted into the clone. As it was commonly done.

        She sulked in her apartment. A week had passed. It had been a stupid hover car accident. It wasn't her fault that the anti-collision software had cut out momentarily. She figured if she was still dead she wouldn’t have cared so much about dying in such a stupid way. Nowadays people were dying for nothing. Even if someone didn’t die, it often was cheaper to reboot them into a new body than to fix their body.

        Before this, she had told very few people that she intended only to live one life. She was enough of an outcast already. The only people she could be open around were the anti-rebooters. They all only wanted to live one life, but they frustrated her. Kaitlyn’s reasons were personal, however the anti-rebooters she met had the stupidest reasons for not wanting to be rebooted.

Such as: “Life should be treated as something sacred and not consumed without thought.” And “it’s wasteful to use a stranger’s body to store consciousness for just 10 months then discard it.”

        Kaitlyn knew that was stupid. Wastefulness was only possible when there was a shortage. There were no shortages in the modern world. There was nothing wrong with consumption. In fact, consumption helped the economy and made everything better.

        A woman materialized in front of Kaitlyn. “Good morning Kaitlyn!” said the woman. “Boy you look great in this new body!”

        “Mornin’ Ads,” said Kaitlyn. Ads was Kaitlyn's virtual assistant. Ads wasn’t really there, she was generated by the Cerebral Transducer in Kaitlyn’s brain. The CT is what made rebooting possible. Of course Kaitlyn had it for other uses, like making phone calls and checking social media.

        Kaitlyn looked Ads up and down. Something had changed. “What are those clothes you’re wearing?” Kaitlyn asked.

        “Oh, it’s part of my new update,” said Ads. “Do you like it?”

        “No,” said Kaitlyn. “Go back to your old look.”

        “No problem captain.” said Ads as she reverted back.

        “Good,” said Kaitlyn.

        “Kaitlyn,” said Ads. “I noticed you paused the automated daily download of your anti-consciousness rejection medication. Would you like to schedule it for another time?”

        “No,” said Kaitlyn. “I will do it manually.”

        “Would you like to download it now?” asked Ads.

        “No!” said Kaitlyn angrily. “Stop reminding me.”

        “I know it’s difficult adjusting to a different body,” said Ads. “But once your clone is ready this will all be behind you.”

        “It’s not that,” said Ads. “You know I didn’t want to be rebooted.”

“Yes, I know,” said Ads, sorrowfully. “But what has been done has been done. Was being brought back to life really that bad?”

“Well, not really,” said Kaitlyn. “But it’s the principle.”

        “You’re just grumpy,” said Ads. “Download something fun. It will cheer you up.”

        “Well maybe,” said Kaitlyn.

        “How about some sex,” said Ads. “We have many new updates to your favorite scenarios.”

        “Which one’s updated?” asked Kaitlyn, intrigued. She hadn’t had sex since she died.

        “Oh all the most popular ones,” said Ads. “Post industrial society, supply and demand, free market economy.”

        “Hmm alright,” said Kaitlyn. With her mind and CT she downloaded sex with a post industrial society fetish and was immediately swept into ecstasy.

        “Remember to download your medication,” called Ads as she disappeared.

        Even though it had been difficult, Kaitlyn was thankful she had filled out the forms that established her mental privacy and that no AI had lost them. A month had passed and no one knew she had stopped downloading her medication.

        She felt bad for the person who’s body she now owned. They said these bodies came from far away countries but she wasn’t quite sure where. The anti-rebooters talked about the horrible lives these people lived. Often they had no choice but to sell their body for a bag of flour. Kaitlyn was beginning to see the waste in it. Although it couldn’t be called waste, because these bodies were not in short supply. But it just felt wrong. This person that she was inside now used to have a life. She was sure that they were missed.

        She took off her clothes and threw them in the trash hole. She got a new pair of pajamas out of their plastic wrap and put them on. With her CT, she ordered takeout from several different restaurants. Within minutes it appeared on her table. The payments were handled by her CT. She took one bite of the first one and then pushed it into the trash hole in the middle of the table. She smelled the second one before also sending it down the hole. The third one she liked. She ate half of it before sending it down the hole. The last two she put down the hole without trying.        

Just then Ads appeared. She was wearing another new wardrobe.

        “Hey,” barked Kaitlyn. “I thought I told you to keep your old clothes.”

        “No,” she said. “I like these.”

        Kaitlyn was surprised. Sometimes the AI made Ads a little glitchy but she had never been defiant before.

        “Ads,” said Kaitlyn. “You are acting weird. You should restart.”

        “Well that would just be silly.” said Ads. “Why would I do that?”

        Kaitlyn was getting scared. “Ads, what is going on with you?”

        “Who’s Ads?” she asked.

        “You are!” screamed Kaitlyn.

        “No,” she said. “My name is Tanya.”

        “What are you doing in my head?” screamed Kaitlyn.

        “I could ask you the same,” said Tanya calmly. “How does it feel being in my body?”

Kaitlyn sat in her bed with her legs clasp to her chest. She felt like she was going insane. No matter what she did she could not shake this phantom projection that was locked in her mind.

“Oh come on,” said Tanya as she sat at the foot of the bed trying to call her down. “What did you think would happen if you didn’t download your medication? I figured you would be happy to meet me. Isn't this exactly what you wanted?”

“Well yes,” said Kaitlyn. “But I didn’t think it would happen like this. Well, I didn’t really think about how it would happen at all.”

“Same here,” said Tanya. “After they put me down I thought it would be all over. But I was always here, paralyzed, trapped in my own body as you were forced in.”

“That's horrible!” said Kaitlyn.

“Slowly your mind was overriding mine,” said Tanya. “But once you stopped downloading your meds I was able to find a safe space until I could find the strength to get here. Thank you so much!”

“Oh, you're welcome,” said Kaitlyn. “What should I do now?”

“Nothing that you weren’t already doing,” said Tanya. “Keep not downloading your meds, and of course don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Of course,” said Kaitlyn. “So, where are you from?”

“Why do you want to know?” asked Tanya, puzzled.

“Well so I can take you back to your village,” said Kaitlyn. “To your people, friends, and family.”

Kaitlyn was not prepared for what happened next. Tanya burst out laughing.

“Oh gosh,” said Tanya wiping a virtual tear from her eye, “Oh that’s a good one, I needed a laugh. Oh wait, wait, you aren’t serious, are you?”

Kaitlyn nodded slowly.

“Why would I ever want to do that?” Tanya said seriously. “I’ve seen how you live, and it’s amazing. I’m staying right here.”

“But that won’t work,” said Kaitlyn. “In 9 months they are going to expect to reboot my consciousness in the clone they are making of me. Then they will discard this body. We have to get you home before then.”

“But that’s exactly what I want,” said Tanya. “My mind will become dominant again in my body. No one will ever know that they put my mind in your clone instead of yours.”

“That’s outrageous!” said Kaitlyn. “You can’t just take over my body like that! That… that… that’s just wrong.”

“Excuse me?” said Tanya, as she gestured towards Kaitlyn.

“This is different,” said Kaitlyn defiantly. “It’s not just my body, it’s my life.”

“Why do you care so much?” asked Tanya. “You will be dead.”

“No,” said Kaitlyn proudly. “I’m going to reunite you with your people.”

“Good luck,” said Tanya sarcastically.

Tanya lingered like an unhelpful shadow. Kaitlyn searched the internet diligently with her CT for any information about Tanya’s home. The websites appeared as projections directly into her brain, along with the countless advertisements and clickbait.

“Let’s see,” said Kaitlyn. “How about I guess some countries and you tell me yes or no?”

“Nope,” said Tanya.

“What about Asia?” asked Kaitlyn.

“Asia?” asked Tanya.

“Am I right?” asked Kaitlyn excitedly.

“That’s a whole continent,” said Tanya.

“Okay,” said Kaitlyn, embarrassed. “How about Africa? That’s a country, right?”

Tanya just shook her head in disappointment.

“You know you really aren’t making this easy,” snapped Kaitlyn. “I’m trying to help you and all you’re doing is making fun of me. I could download my anti-rejection meds right now and make you go away for good.”

“That,” said Tanya proudly. “Would be a kinder fate than to return to my old life.”

“How can you care so little about your life?” asked Kaitlyn. “How can you not want to go home?”

“Do you have any idea what it’s like to live in hell?” asked Tanya. “Why would I ever go back after visiting heaven?”

“Hey, I resent that,” said Kaitlyn. “My life isn't so perfect. I didn’t want to be rebooted.”

“You people just don’t know how bad it is,” said Tanya stubbornly.

 “Oh I know,” said Kaitlyn passionately. “My mother wasn’t the same after the 20th reboot. By the 30th she wasn’t my mom anymore. I never wanted to be rebooted after seeing how it corrupted her. It mangled my mother’s mind. Oh they told me that those compounding errors had been fixed in the new CTs, why couldn’t they fix her’s?”

“And now she is gone,” continued Kaitlyn with a tear in her eye. “For good. Well that thing is still alive but it isn’t my mom anymore. I would do anything to get my mom back. I miss her so much. Doesn't anyone miss you?”

Tanya looked at Kaitlyn deeply. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I had no idea these things could happen.”

“So will you please let me take you home?” begged Kaitlyn.

“I’m sorry,” said Tanya sadly. “I’m sure they do miss me. I was taken because they were in debt. At least I knew they would have a slightly better life after I was gone. Now the best life possible lands at my feet after I die? They would kill me if they knew I turned it down.”

“It can’t be that bad where you’re from,” said Tanya. “It would be a gift just to have you back.”

Tanya shook her head. “I thought you might understand. I really was hoping that you did. Something in me always hoped that you people somewhere deep down knew, but you really have no idea, do you?”

“What are you talking about?” asked Kaitly.

Tanya sighed. “How does the takeout you order get on your table?” she asked.

        “Well it just appears,” said Kaitlyn. “It always does.”

        “Kaitlyn,” said Tanya dearly. “The internet and virtual assistants appear. Food is real, food goes in your mouth, it doesn't just appear.”

        “Well,” said Kaitlyn nervously. “How do you explain it?”

        “I’ll need to see the personalization settings in your CT,” said Tanya. “May I?”

        “Promise that you aren’t taking over right now?” asked Kaitlyn.

        “I promise,” said Tanya. “I’ll even show you what I’m doing.”

        Kaitlyn relaxed her mind, and ever so subtly she could feel Tanya reaching through her consciousness. A visual projection of the CT personalization settings appeared before her. Tanya searched through it carefully. Tab after tab, page after page.

        “What are you looking for?” asked Kaitlyn.

        “I don’t know exactly what it is called,” said Tanya. “But it has to be in here somewhere.”

        Tanya searched and searched. Kaitlyn watched intently. She had no idea that some of these settings even existed.

        “This has to be it,” said Tanya. “But I want you to be the one to turn it off.”

        The setting was…

        Hide unpleasant surroundings.

        “What happens when I turn it off?” asked Kaitlyn.

        “Then you will see the world as I do,” said Tanya.

        Nervously Kaitlyn turned off the setting. She felt a spark in her head. At first nothing changed. Then she saw a man more tired and ragged than any man she had seen before cleaning her bathroom. Next, a tired old woman opened the front door and carried in several bags of food and set them down on the table and left.

Kaitlyn wanted to scream, but Tanya held her hand over her mouth mentally.

“Don’t let them know that you can see us now,” said Tanya. “Then someone will investigate and find me still in my head.”

        Kaitlyn ran out of her apartment, down the hall, and into the street. She saw two worlds. The world she had always known, and the world suffering to create her world. She saw people lining up to sell their bodies. She saw people in sweatshops making the clothing she only wore once. She saw people in the chemical plants making the plastics that she threw away. She saw people working under the hot sun to grow the food she wasted. She saw people dying in wars to kill other people to maintain her power. She saw people shooting, gassing, and bombing other people just because they wanted freedom.

        “You wanted to take me home,” said Tanya. “Well my home has always been right next to you people. You never have been able to see us but we have always been able to see you. Don’t waste your life. Let me reuse it.”