BEST OF 018 Subject 627-119 opened his eyes to the harsh fluorescent lighting of a room he had never seen before which, oddly, felt very familiar. He sat up, yawned and scanned the room. Several serious-looking men in lab coats were hovering over some sort of clipboards, taking scrupulous notes on his every movement. Not a sound was made between them besides the hurried skitter of fingers over pads. “Hello,” Subject 627-119 said to the men, “my name is Walter Green. I’m not sure what is going on here. Was I in an accident?” Excited gasps and a fit of hurried note-taking took over the room. Finally one man stepped forward. It was then that Walter realized he was surrounded by a cylinder of glass. He looked down at the smooth white metal table he was laying on and back to the man who stepped forward. “Can you hear me through that glass?” Walter asked a bit louder this time. “Yes. Yes, Walter, we can hear you very clearly. No need to yell,” the man said. “My name is Dr. Kowalsky. Can you tell me how you are feeling?” Walter looked down at himself, lifted his hands, flexed his fingers and wiggled his toes at the end of the table. He turned his hands over and looked at them as if it was the first time. “Well, I feel a little funny, Doc. Like maybe I am still waking up. I’ve got pins and needles all over. Besides that, everything feels like it’s in tip-top shape. Moving, at least. Was I hurt?” Another bout of excited gasps spread throughout the room. Dr. Kowalsky turned on the others with a stern stare that sent them quietly to their work. “No, no. Nothing like that, Walter. You just had, uh, let’s call it a little operation. You should be up and at ‘em in no time.” “Oh, that is good, Doc. I wouldn’t want to leave my wife, Clara, all by herself for too long. Has anybody contacted her? How long have I been here? Actually which hospital am I in? St. Mary’s?” At this remark Dr. Kowalsky had to hide his own excitement. He took down his own notes in his hand. He had been discreet about it until this point, but now he openly jotted. One of the other doctors murmured, “Incredible!” They all looked at him like he had two heads and one very big hat. No. 138 After he finished writing Dr. Kowalsky said, “Yes. Right you are, Walter. We are in St. Mary’s. Could you tell me more about your wife, Clara? I’d like to know more about her.” “You sure I’m okay, Doc? You are talking to me like I am some sort of mental patient,” Walter said. “What do you want to know about her?” “Oh, anything that comes to mind.” “Is this going to be on the final?” Walter asked with a chuckle. “Well, we’ve been together for, well, right about thirty years now. She’s the love of my life. She’s had the same job all those years working as the librarian downtown. I’m sure you’ve seen her once or twice. You lot seem the type to have spent some time in a library. She’s probably worried sick about me. Or, did she bring me in? If she is here I’d like to see her. I can’t remember much before my operation. I don’t even remember getting sick.” Now the group of doctors behind Dr. Kowalsky made concerned looking faces but never looked up from their pads for more than a quick glance. Dr. Kowalsky looked uneasy for a moment before a smile spread across his face. He looked down at his watch and said, “Well, you are right, Walter. It was something of an emergency. You are lucky to be alive. Your wife did bring you here. She just had to pop back home to get you some new clothes for when you are discharged.” “That’s good I guess. She always does her best to take care of me. I hope the operation was a success.” Giddy laughter filled the space. The doctors were like school children looking at a nudie mag for the first time. Dr. Kowalsky turned to silence them once again. “Who are all those clowns anyway?” Walter asked glaring at the group of doctors who couldn’t seem to control themselves. They ranged all ages and didn’t seem to be students. Dr. Kowalsky looked at the time again and sighed, “Well, I wish I had more time to fully explain and pick your brain, Walter, but it seems our time is running out.” “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Walter asked, nervously checking the downturned faces of the surrounding doctors. “Just what the hell are you on about?” “Well, at this point I suppose it couldn’t hurt to tell. Walter Green, or as we know you, Subject 627-119, is the first ever human being to be completely manufactured, memories and all. We printed you, Walter. We used frozen DNA from a man who died a long, long time ago and we made you. You are the first ever Polyhumanoid.” “You’ve got to be kidding me?” Walter said flatly. “Look around you, Walter,” Dr. Kowalsky spread his arms out, “do you know any of this equipment? I don’t mean recognize, because it is the only thing you could truly recognize as it is the only thing you’ve seen in your whole life.” Walter looked with disbelief around the room. It was filled with odd looking mechanical gadgets, and he realized that Dr. Kowalsky taking notes with his finger on his palm didn’t make any sense. None of the men were holding pads. They were just pressing finger to palm. Nothing made any sense. “What the hell kind of trick is this!?” Walter shouted. “What have you done to m-m-m-me!?” He paused for a moment then quietly asked, “What the hell was that?” “We haven’t done anything to you, Walter. We made you. We are all so excited you are here, but you are not long for this world. As a failsafe, in case something went terribly wrong, your entire chamber will be filled with a toxic gas in just a few moments. I know this is a rather unpleasant way to go, but it is in the name of science, Walter. It will be quick and painless. You are the first amazing discovery in a world of new amazing discoveries. Human beings can be replicated, reprinted. This is the meaning of new life on Earth and you are the first, Walter. You should be very proud of yourself.” “What ... what … what … ?” Walter looked puzzled. He shook his head as if something would fall back into place. “Get me my wife. Get me … get me … who?” “We were also afraid something like this would happen. You see, we haven’t gotten it right just yet, but in order to push our project further we needed to show the board some results. We honestly didn’t know what would happen. We all had high hopes and I promise you, you’ve more than surpassed them. But Walter, you are not long for this world. It may be best for you to lie down.” “I just … what … ?” Walter regained a moment of clarity and shouted, “This isn’t happening! This is all some sort of sick trick! I am Walter Green! I am a man! I am a man!” Walter Green turned and swung his legs off the table. They hit the ground and then he hit the ground and that was the last of Walter Green, otherwise known as Subject 627-119.
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