Responsibilities of a Mirror

Bobbi had a plan – it wasn’t eloping. She’d take me around the higher levels of the hospital to the onsite food and shopping areas, which she claimed, “needed to be seen to be believed.”

First, I needed a little more rest. Around noon, Bobbi finally noticed me stirring. “Did your night of passion take it out of you?” she jibed.

“Oh, bore off,” I shot back. “I’m not that sort of irresponsible guy.”

“You’re a teenager from 2025. Need I say more?”

My torso was biowiped which tingled somewhat, then I was put back in the chair with the aid of just the one guard this time. A basic console was attached to the side and a few wires taped to my wrist. I noticed Bobbi filling a shoulder bag with cannisters.

“Paintballing?” I smiled.

“What’s that?”

“Never mind…”

“It’s only if you get over-stimulated. For everyone's safety, I’m sure you understand. But I hope you’ll behave yourself – I haven’t had approval granted for this trip. Don’t let me down.” The guard nodded, clearly in cahoots.

We departed, traversing the same concourse from before. This time, there was a lovely space scene, with planets and moons, like a console game I used to play. Saturn came tumbling into view.

“I wonder if people today will live to see Saturn up close.”

“Very likely that will happen, probably on a resources-gathering mission.”

“I see. Because the Earth is pretty much perfect now, we’ve got to go and mess up somewhere else?” I smiled cynically.

“So young and so cruel! I honestly think we’ve learnt the lessons of your generation, Grandpa Genocide!”

How could I be young and old at the same time?

We passed happy, beautiful nurses, doctors and civilians. All were being friendly to me, like I had witnessed before. But this time, I was more present: I felt it more. I really felt…the connect, even in those brief, superficial encounters.

“They’re a little surprised to see you,” Bobbi explained. “It’s been presumed that you’ll be bed-bound for a while.”

“How do they know that?”

“Let’s say we’re actively encouraged to keep the public up to date about you.”

Discomfort rose in me. A light flashed on the console.

“This machine is a poker player’s worst nightmare!” I laughed.

“You actually don’t like attention that much, do you.”

“Certain kinds of attention, from certain people –”

“– People here are on your side, you know.”

More well-wishers waved. I smiled but had to look away. It was so intense, I felt so…naked.

“It’s hard to get used to.”

“They’re not looking into your soul!”

It felt like they were. They’ll see, sooner or later.

Our first stop was the Entertainment room. Lots of patients were watching a high school adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. We snuck in at the back to watch.

Juliet was dressed in Renaissance finery, blonde hair in a tight bun, contrasting with Romeo’s 2118 teen chic: all natty fibres and colour-coordinated glyphs, scanning his holophone casually, with an air of insouciance. The scene setting was a projection of some sort of futuristic club, with a disco banging on in the background. Juliet’s horribly out of place, out of her own space and time.

“Romeo, Romeo. Where for art thou Romeo?”

“Oh hey Juliet, ciao babe, sorry I was getting permission from my parents to spend the evening gazing into your eyes platonically, not lowering my gaze at any point to thou chest area, whilst chatting to you about landscape gardening.”

“Deny thy father and refuse thy name!”

“But JuJu, don’t be such a drag, my father is totes a good guy, we get to play neogolf together like all the time. Why would I deny him?”

“Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love –”

“– Why would I wilt? I have plenty of hydration and perfect nourishment for my inner plant. And the love of my friends to keep my emotions highplus. My ecosystem is great, and so am I!”

The audience laughed heartily.

It was Juliet’s line next. But she never delivered it.

She locked eyes with me, back in the audience. Like she’d seen a long-lost relative. In a hospice, in pain…

I felt this incredible connection, different to the one with Blue. Just this deep…understanding. Compassion. Totally unfettered – like I had to let this love enter me. Was this how it felt to be human in 2118?

She pointed towards me. The play stopped. Everyone on stage was staring – at me.

My initial reaction was for my stomach to sink ten floors down. I wonder what floor the morgue’s on, it’ll stop down there. I blushed. It was like words were expected from me, but they didn’t come.

Those on stage started clapping. The audience turned to cheer for me.

I felt embarrassed and angry. This was wrong. Seven billion people. Dead wrong.

The monitor started bleeping. Increasingly rapidly.

Bobbi took charge. I felt my t-shirt being pulled down my shoulder, cold metal press against my lower neck, the room fading. I could hear her saying loudly “…not well yet” and “overpowering, so could you cooperate…”

I started coming round quickly, feeling a loving yet concerned vibe around me. My defences were down so I just had to feel it. Wonderful yet terrifying.

Everyone was so quiet. Bobbi was busy staring at me and the monitor, just making sure I was going to be stable.

I just had to say something. I spoke in my unfamiliar voice.

“Hi…everyone…this is so unfair on you. Please carry on. I was really enjoying that. I’m sure you all were, too.”

Juliet was still looking at me. Her mouth opened a bit – was she trying to say her line?

Was she trying to talk to me?

Bobbi took charge. “Bye everyone!” She wheeled me out the hall doors to the right of the stage at top speed, exiting as if pursued by a bear.

I was still locked on Juliet’s dun, kind eyes. She looked aghast.

Moments after we got through the doors, the human bullet that Juliet had become shot through them too, hurtling into my chair and wrapping both arms around me.

“I’m sorry!” she wailed. “I’m so sorry! It’s so unfair! I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!”

I watched Bobbi monitoring us, waiting for my alarm to ring out. It was so intense that I wondered if she would sedate the girl too.

Something clicked into place inside me. Responsibility. I started smoothing her plaited hair. She breathed deep and relaxed into me.

“Adem,” she said, as her sobs finally eased. She looked at me like she wanted to talk, tried to talk – but her mouth just hung slightly open for frozen words to never fully form in.

I squeezed her hands tightly. “See you around sometime, Juliet.”

She stood by the door, as Bobbi moved me on, I waved at her and mouthed goodbye at her. She just kept staring at me.

I was very quiet afterwards, until Bobbi, evidently in a state of shock herself, eventually spoke:

“Some people have…an extremely high degree of empathy. People today are in a world that allows them to be their true caring selves. Because your suffering is in the public domain, and you are still obviously suffering, she acted the way she did. I presume that is something you wouldn’t see in 2025.”

But it was more than that. She had looked into me, fully – I had looked back into her, too and felt what she had felt towards me. It was like a loop. An incredible feedback loop.

Blue…

I couldn’t fathom it fully. Stop thinking. We were now in a restaurant: 'Alternative Future'. It was fancy looking, with lots of swirling neon lights, and waiters and waitresses dressed in funky Cyberpunk.

“It’s very full-on, isn’t it?”

I agreed: it was total sensory overload! And right then, just what the doctor ordered.

I chose some burger and fries combo with a crazy name, then I waited at the table while Bobbi went to the restroom.

As I relaxed, I noticed a full-length mirror on the wall, reflecting cheery diners gobbling steaks and whatnot. I hadn’t seen a mirror at all since I had awakened.

Bobbi returned, standing behind my chair. “Let’s move you a bit.” She left me in line with the mirror, too distracted with culinary concerns to notice.

I saw this stranger in a wheelchair, with Bobbi behind him. How peculiar…

With a sickening carcrash jolt inside, I realised: I was the stranger in the wheelchair.

In horror, I studied my body in as much detail as I could. I surely was taller, my face different, upgraded but not mine, not mine. Not mine! Flawlessly, perfectly disgusting. Angelically artificial. I was pristinely fake as asbestos snow in a 1930s film. Horribly out of place.

My mouth went completely dry. I closed my (now green) eyes, hoping to never open them again.

I didn’t want to see the complete abomination that was me.