“And then I have some tea. That the idea?”
“No, actually, then I do,” Cabigail said.
Con was taken aback. “How does that work?”
“Even if you give me my research today, everything I’ve described is still ten years away. I need to get to work. Unimpeded. And I can’t do it in this body.”
“Well, you can’t go back to being Abigail.”
“Exactly. Abigail Stickling is dead, and she needs to stay that way. To finish what I started, I have to become my niece, Constance D’Arcy. That’s why I need your body.”
“You already have one of those,” Con pointed out.
“No, I need your body. Your exact body,” Cabigail said calmly as if giving directions to a scenic overlook. “I only passed as you because no one was looking too closely. But Vernon and Palingenesis are suspicious now and will be watching like hawks. If the clone of Con D’Arcy doesn’t exactly match their records—which means no tattoos, among other things,” she said, lifting her arm, “they will figure out what I’ve done.”
“The fingerprints.”
“All the unique biometrics. Everything that I’ve done, everything that I’ve sacrificed, every hard choice I’ve made, means nothing if the illusion isn’t seamless.”
“So, how does that work? You’ll just overwrite me with you?” Con said, feeling a little sick at the thought.
“In essence.”
“And if I agree to all this, you’ll finish what you started with Zhi? Make him whole again? That’s what you promised my original?”
“I gave her my word.”
“And you just expect me to take this all on faith?”
“No, I don’t. Because I’ll bring both you and Zhi back,” Cabigail said. “And not your upload from eighteen months ago the way Vernon offered. Your current, up-to-date consciousness. With none of the ill effects you’re currently suffering.”
“Really?” Was she even entertaining the idea? She’d turned down Gaddis and Fenton because it would have meant losing everything she’d experienced since her revival. It had only been a few days, but each one felt essential to who she was now. Yet another Con D’Arcy starting out on this same journey held no appeal to her. But if her aunt could fix this version of herself and bring back Zhi too . . . wasn’t that everything she wanted? “So when is this all supposed to happen? Ten years from now when you’ve finished your work? And where am I going to be until then, stored in a computer? What if something goes wrong?”
“There is a risk in any journey. Airplanes crash. Ships sink. Vans jump medians. The question to you is whether the destination is worth the risk. And remember, it will all pass for you in an instant. Think of it like suspended animation. You’re aboard a colony ship traveling to a new world, and when you wake up, you’ll start a new life.”
“And I’ll be me again?” Con asked. “This me.”
“If you wish. Once I’ve solved the mind-body problem, anything will be possible. I certainly don’t intend to remain in the body of my niece. No offense, but it’s a little peculiar.”
“No shit. Who will you become?”
“Whomever I wish. Perhaps I’ll try being a man first. It would be nice to have everything easy for a change. Who knows? That’s the beauty of what we can accomplish here. Can you imagine it? Lifetimes spent experiencing the full range of human potential. And the same goes for you and Zhi. You could spend a thousand lifetimes together.”
“Is that what nature intended?” Con said, trying to wrap her mind around the possibilities. “It just seems so unnatural.”
“Well, first of all, nature has no intentions. Nature is simply a personification of a complex system that ancient peoples were overawed by. And secondly, there is no such thing as unnatural.”
“Of course there is. A car. An airplane,” Con countered.
“A car? Please. A car is the most natural thing in the world.”
“How? You don’t find cars in nature.”
“Of course you do. Tens of millions of them,” Cabigail said.
“That’s not nature, that’s Detroit.”
“Are you arguing that humankind is itself unnatural?”
“No, but—” Con said.
“The anthill doesn’t exist without the ant. But if a human builds a house, according to you, that is unnatural? It’s nothing more than a semantic contrivance to make us feel special. Some native insecurity of our species, I suppose. Human beings have exactly one thing going for us—our minds. We’re neither the fastest nor the strongest. Adapting the environment to our needs is what’s natural for us. What nature intended, if you prefer. We are nature’s greatest builders. It is what we have always done. It’s what I have done. It’s pure hubris to label our nature unnatural.”