Broken Pixels (The Chronicles of Mara Lantern, Book 4) (32 page)

“
Transition
? What transition?” Her gaze shifted from Dr. Canfield to Ping. “What’s happened?”

The doctor glanced at Ping and stepped away from the gurney where Mara lay. Ping stepped closer, placed a hand over Mara’s and said, “The transition to a synthetic body,” Ping said.

Mara’s eyes widened and she yelled, “What?” Struggling to sit up, Mara strained against her body, willing it to sit up, but it would not move. She let out a grunt of frustration, and her face reddened. Dr. Canfield approached the gurney and said, “Relax and give yourself time to adjust—”

Breaking free from whatever bound her, Mara flew into a sitting position and turned to face Ping and the doctor. He stared at her with a mixed expression, half surprise and half curiosity. Dr. Canfield looked appalled as she scrambled toward her patient.

“What have you done? What is going on here?” Dr. Canfield asked. She made no move to touch Mara.

Looking at her torso and her legs which extended the length of the examination table, Mara asked, “What are you guys staring at?”

Ping pointed to the head of the gurney, behind Mara’s back. She twisted around to see that the top half of her body continued to lie flat on the thin mattress. Confused she turned back around and Dr. Canfield pointed to a mirror across the examination room. In it, Mara saw a transparent version of herself sitting up while her physical body remained prone. It seemed her spirit was attempting to leave her body. Her mouth dropped open.

“I’m dead?”

Dr. Canfield began to say something but stopped herself. Shaking her head with a dazed look of confusion, she said, “Honestly I don’t know what you are.”

Ping interjected, “You’re not dead. Somehow you’re slipping from your synthetic body.” Turning to the doctor, he asked, “Has anything like this ever happened before?”

“No, never. Not even remotely,” she said.

Mara’s eyes narrowed at Ping. “Wait a minute. I thought you were fast asleep in the receptacle, waiting to go home. And why do you look so strange?”

“I’m still in the receptacle. I’m communicating with you through their holographic interface,” Ping said. “Cam suggested it might be a good idea to have me here when you woke up, to help ease the transition.”

“Well, you’re not doing a very good job of easing it. I’m sitting here partially disembodied,” Mara said. “Why am I even inside this thing?” She looked at the body on the gurney.

Dr. Canfield said, “After the explosion at the transceiver node, Cam retrieved your body from the wreckage and brought it here. You were dying, and we couldn’t in good conscience stand by and watch you expire when we had a compatible body available.”

“Compatible body?” Mara asked, then it dawned on her, and her eyes widened in disgust. “You put me in my dead counterpart’s body?”

“We had the equipment to make the repairs. And there didn’t seem to be any alternative at the time. Your biological body flat-lined twice before we made the call to transition you,” Dr. Canfield said.

“So I
am
dead,” Mara said.

“If you are referring to your biological body, no, it is not dead. But, assuming all goes well, the road to recovery will be a long one. Your delay in getting treatment for the dissoluendo virus complicated the treatment for the burns and other damage your body suffered.”

“Exactly where is my body?”

“It’s down the hall in another treatment room. Once we have it stabilized, we’ll transfer it to a receptacle, assuming, of course, you don’t have any further objections,” the doctor said, pausing for some kind of argument. Getting no response, she nodded toward the synthetic body on the gurney. “I would also suggest you make some kind of effort to acclimate yourself to your new body, unless you intend to remain in this … noncorporeal state.”

“I think I’ll just wait until you’ve patched up my original body, thanks,” Mara said.

The doctor glanced at Ping and said, “You and Cam gave me the impression that this was something she would have acquiesced to. You’ve got about five minutes left to convince her before we have to sever your interface link. We’ve already used more power reserves than we should have. I’ll give you two some privacy.” She walked to the door, pushed it open and turned back to them. “Five minutes. That’s all.”

Once she had gone, Mara turned to Ping and said, “What the hell? You told her that I would be fine with being stuffed into a dead girl’s body?”

“Given the circumstances, yes. First, you were on the verge of dying. None of us would stand by and let that happen. Second, and admittedly selfish on my part, I would prefer not to spend the rest of my life in this receptacle, and I need you to get me out. And third, Cam seemed convinced that you would want to stay in this realm long enough to confront the Aphotis and stop her from altering the physiology of these people.”

It took Mara a moment to recall her most recent memories. “Altering the physiology …” After a moment, her eyes widened with recognition. “They turned into light! The people with synthetic bodies transitioned from matter to light.”

Ping nodded. “Cam has already told us. Look, I’ve got just a few minutes left with you. You need to accept this body. It’s the only way you can remain in this realm, and the people here need you to stay and confront the Aphotis. While you have temporarily thwarted Abby’s plans by destroying the transceiver node here in Portland, it’s only a matter of time before she gains access to the array and accomplishes her goals.”

“What is happening? Where is Abby?”

“Cam can explain the situation later. My primary concern is that you are safe and healthy. In this realm, that means you must accept this body, at least for the present.”

“How am I supposed to get out of this thing once I’m done with it?” Mara asked.

Ping held a hand out to her, indicating her disembodied state. “Clearly you have the means to extract your consciousness from this body. I would assume you’d be able to abandon it at will.”

“So, if my consciousness is in this artificial body, what’s in the one down the hall, the one made out of meat?” she asked.

Ping looked exasperated. “To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t know the answer to that. Metaphysically speaking, there’s no reason you couldn’t be in both places at the same time. After all, you exist in multiple realms simultaneously. Right?”

“I suppose there’s a certain logic to that, but you are essentially saying I have become my own counterpart.”

“Only if you persist in believing that you and your counterparts are different people. And I think you know where I stand on that concept. Now please lie back and integrate with your body. Your only alternative would be to abandon it and leave this realm in the hands of the Aphotis, and I believe that would be a mistake. She will eventually follow us to our realm if you don’t deal with her here.”

Mara twisted at her midsection and stared at herself. Her artificial body appeared to be sleeping peacefully. “I don’t know …”

Ping smiled and nodded encouragingly to her. She surrendered and laid back down, her ethereal self merging with the body lying on the gurney. Everything went dark again, but, in the blackness, she heard Ping’s voice.

“Dr. Canfield said the pin of light you see ahead is the trigger to integrate yourself with the body. Summon that light to you and you should begin to sense your body,” he said.

Mara repeated the process she’s experienced earlier with the light, only this time she made a point of not panicking when it enveloped her. It felt like she had slipped on a glove or, more accurately, a bodysuit. This time she could feel her muscles, and they responded when she flexed her fingers. Her next test was to open her eyes.

Standing next to her was Ping, smiling. “Excellent,” he said. “Why don’t you sit up? Slowly.”

She placed her hand on the edge of the table and pushed herself up. Looking back at the mattress behind her, she was relieved that she didn’t see herself lying there.

“How do you feel?” Ping asked.

“Almost human,” she said, holding out her hand and staring at it while she flexed her fingers.

Dr. Canfield pushed through the door into the examination room. She looked approvingly at Mara as she twisted and allowed her legs to dangle off the side of the gurney. To Ping, the doctor said, “You’ve got a little less than a minute left, and the interface will shut down.”

Ping nodded and turned to Mara. “I wish I could do more to help, but just trust your instincts and you’ll find a way to defeat the Aphotis. I have complete confidence in you.”

“Wait! I’ve got a ton of questions,” Mara said.

Dr. Canfield shook her head. “You’ve got time for one. We cannot allow any further drain on power. We only have a limited supply.”

Ping said, “Go ahead. What’s your question?”

Mara looked frustrated but said, “My abilities don’t seem to affect people after they have transitioned to a being made of light. Why would that be?”

“What do you mean?”

“When I stopped Time, they kept coming. When I tried to erase one of them, he disintegrated but reconsolidated all on his own. I think they are impervious to my abilities,” she said.

“I’m not sure. Have you attempted to freeze light in Time before?” he asked.

“Well, in the battles I had with the dragon, a few times I froze fire midair.”

“But you could still see the fire even though it was frozen, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Which means that the light it emitted wasn’t frozen. It’s possible that light isn’t something that can be altered, even by a progenitor. I’ve not encountered that concept in my research, but there is a certain amount of logic to it.”

“Then what am I supposed to do about people who are made of light?”

“I’m not sure, but, if it is the case that light is unaffected by your abilities, we now know why Abby wants these people to be comprised of it. They would be a formidable adversary in a battle for existence.”

Dr. Canfield interjected, “Thirty seconds.”

“What do I do?” Mara asked, panicked.

“Think metaphysically,” Ping said.

Glancing at the doctor, Mara said, “One more question.”

“Hurry,” she said.

“Are you okay in the receptacle? How does it feel?” Mara asked.

“The dreams are very intense, lifelike,” Ping said, then disappeared.

Dr. Canfield took the tiny mallet she had just thumped Mara’s knee with and placed it on the chrome table next to the examination table and then picked up a small penlight. After clicking the Power button, the doctor ran the tiny light over Mara’s forearm and asked, “Can you feel the light on your skin?”

Mara rubbed her arm and said, “Yes. It sort of feels like sunlight, warm. It’s very subtle though. What kind of light is that?”

“Just a regular LED bulb. You’re not actually feeling heat. That’s your skin sensing the light and the photoelectric pigments absorbing energy. That’s how your body sustains itself,” she said.

“Cam told me that everyone gathers energy through their skin and that any excess is offloaded to the transceiver nodes. When there’s a deficit, our bodies can then draw from the transceivers. Do I have that right?”

The doctor nodded and said, “In normal circumstances that is true, but, for now, you should make it a point to get maximum exposure to light. Since the regional node has been destroyed, you can’t rely on the power net for energy. Luckily we’ve got a substantial reserve here at the repository, but even that has its limits.”

“I guess that’s my fault,” Mara said.

“Based on what Cam has told us, I’m not sure you had much choice but to destroy the node,” the doctor said. She placed the light back on the table. “It’s has been a trying time for all of us, especially you, considering your unplanned transition.” She patted Mara on the shoulder and added, “It looks like you’re all set here. Your body seems to be in perfect working order.”

Gripping the edge of the table, Mara stood, half expecting to be light-headed or to experience weakness in her legs, but she felt balanced and steady. Taking a moment to assess herself, it was the first time she noticed that she wore nothing but a hospital gown.

“Where are my clothes?” she asked.

“The clothes you were wearing on your biological body were pretty much destroyed—burned and torn. However, the jeans, shoes and jacket this body wore have been cleaned and, obviously, fit. Her shirt was torn when she was attacked, but I think I might have a blouse in my locker that will work for you.”

“Thanks for everything, doctor. One more question. Can I see my body?”

The doctor gave her a stern look. “I’m not so sure that is a good idea. Your original body has experienced significant trauma—burns, lacerations, bruising, swelling. It’s not a pretty sight and, as we’ve seen already, a sudden flood of emotions can disrupt your integration with your new body.”

“I can keep my emotions in check. No more out-of-body experiences. I promise,” she said, raising a hand, as if taking an oath. “What’s her—my—condition? My body, I mean.”

“She’s been stabilized. We gave her a minimal dose of Quintivir to slow the progress of the virus. After a couple more rounds of bone and skin regenerative therapy, we’ll move her to her receptacle.”

“How long will that take?”

“She should be ready for the receptacle tomorrow afternoon.” The doctor pointed to a robe hanging from a wall hook next to the door. “Put that on, and slippers are on the floor. Why don’t you take Cam with you? He’s waiting outside to talk to you. I’d feel better if you had a friend around, in case those emotions don’t stay in check. Also he can help explain what is happening if you experience any unfamiliar sensations.” She opened the door and paused before leaving. “I’ll have someone bring you the clothes to her room.”

* * *

Cam smiled broadly when Mara walked into the tiny waiting-room alcove outside the examination room. For some reason, she felt slightly embarrassed, as if she had a new haircut or something that she was unsure of. The new body made her self-conscious.

“What are you so happy about?” Mara asked.

“I really want to make one of those robot comments you and your brother are so fond of, but actually I’m just glad to see you up and about,” he said.