The lead door slammed shut

“Iaku my name is Dr. Dobson. You may call me Pan. Don’t bother getting up. I understand how difficult that would be. I’m here to assure you that your treatment has almost come to an end.

Don’t fret. We will take very good care of you. The technicians tell me you’ve developed a fear of light.

This is often a late stage side effect of the treatments. Unavoidable really. Anyway, your last procedure has been scheduled for the tenth.”

“Where… Where is Elricha?”

“My dear, your voice has changed too. Elricha has been moved to a containment unit. Do not concern yourself with her. She had a very bad incident with one of the attendants during her last treatment. Consequently we’ve been monitoring more closely.   

Nothing to worry about though! Please get some rest! You have a big day coming up--until then my dear.”

The lead door slammed shut. Iaku cradled herself in the makeshift bed in the corner.  

Dr. Pan Dobson

A name

“Subject 17 I presume,” said the white coats behind the glass. “Do you remember who you are subject?”

“No.”

“Good. That is progress. Do you remember where you are subject?”

“No.”

“Excellent. Since it seems that we have finally found a treatment regiment that works, I think it’s time we give you a name.”

“A name?”

“Yes. A name is another word we call a subject. It is uniquely yours.”

“Uniquely mine.”

“Exactly dear. Your name will be Elricha. How does that sound to you?”

“Elricha.”

“Yes, yes, it’s a good name isn’t it Elricha. Would you like to know where you are and who you were Elricha?”

“Where I am?”

“Elricha you have the privilege of being one of the few newly successful neo-human Dynaconn prototypes. Of course we had to remove several aspects of your former self to achieve this, but I assure you it is all for the best.”

“Your name used to be Ninamori if I’m not mistaken. You were a beggar from the countryside living in the Dynaconn rail systems that run through Surubami. The tracks lead to this laboratory facility where repairs are done on the modules and specimens are introduced to their new environments.”

“Specimens?”

“Yes Elricha, specimens for biological trans-mutative testing."  

Subject 17

My hair has fallen out. I’m scared. Elricha says it’s because of the exposure. She says it happened to her too.

I asked her how she got here. She said she couldn’t remember. She said she lost her memory. She says the scientists gave her the name Elricha.

I’m glad not to be alone.   

Elricha

Elricha finally told me why they are keeping us here. I met her after the last time they came for me. She was waiting for me in the cell. Her hair was golden and her skin pale. She told me not to worry. She told me I was an exception.

Then, she told me about the testing. The research Dynaconn had been doing on human transmutation. I couldn’t believe her.

“Do you know what quantum mechanics tells us Iaku? It tells us that for every improbable statistic there will always be an exception.”

“Have you heard of quantum tunnel theory Iaku?”

“Do you know how radiation works?”

“In fission high energy neutrons are fired at critical masses. The masses divide, release alpha, beta, or gamma radiation, and transform into a different forms of matter.”

“Our universe is made up of negatives and positives Iaku. But imagine a world in which the positives and negatives were reversed. Would it all be the same?”

“Positrons colliding spontaneously with protons and neutrons. Imagine the implications Iaku. Imagine a world where the free energy change for the transformation of matter was attainable on the human level.”