Internal Appearances

Audra and Zephyr had fallen into a comfortable silence as the pod truck rumbled along, and the rain had let up to where it was just barely drizzling now. The sky still remained dark and ominous though, casting the world outside in a gloomy pallor.

Audra gazed out at the landscape.

They were passing through a more developed area now and the buildings were no longer scattered and sparse. Instead, they were packed densely together, not quite as compact as a city would've been, but much more than wherever the heck Zephyr's place was.

She could see storefronts, apartments, and warehouses lining the streets. There weren't too many people out at the moment, but it was easy to imagine that this place was bustling normally.

Eventually, the truck pulled up to a neighborhood with houses that looked more like warehouses than actual homes. They were all squat, square, and unassuming. Some were painted in bright colors, others had rust stains running down their sides, and a few had been decorated with graffiti.

Zephyr stopped the truck in front of one of them and powered it off.

"Here we are, Minerva's place. What do you think?"

Audra got out of the truck after him and took a moment to look around. It almost reminded her of Portland, in a way. The air was thick with the smell of rain and wet asphalt, and the streets were slick and shining despite the rain having nearly stopped for the moment.

"It's strangely comforting."

The home they were walking toward was painted a muted shade of yellow and had a few small windows dotting its walls. The door was made of wood, but it looked sturdy enough, and there were a couple potted plants sitting on the doorstep. It wasn't anything too fancy or flashy, but it had a homey feel to it.

Audra thought about what Minerva could look like.

Was she a middle-aged woman or a haggard old lady? Zeph had only described her in a vague manner, so she couldn't quite picture her. Although if she ran a scrapyard, then maybe she'd look something like a mechanic?

Before she could ask him, he was already knocking on the door. It swung open almost immediately and a tall, imposing woman stepped out.

"!" Audra's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight. Holy crap, she was huge!

The woman was easily six feet tall with broad shoulders and muscular arms. She was dressed in a loose shirt and jeans, but the clothes did little to conceal her powerful physique. A strong jaw, sharp cheekbones, and piercing green eyes that seemed to stare right into Audra's soul cut through the glum air. Her hair was long and dark brown, tied up in a ponytail, draped over tanned skin.

"Hello there… Zephyr."

Her voice was low, measured, and a bit husky, almost like the hum of an engine.

Zephyr gave a small wave with a smile.

"Hey Min, how's it going?"

She shrugged. "It is going." Her eyes flickered to Audra. "And… who is this?"

Audra immediately gulped at the attention.

"Oh, remember the squatter I told you about?" He nudged Audra forward gently, and she stumbled a bit. "Go on, introduce yourself. You can trust her."

"Uh…" She cleared her throat awkwardly, forgetting the alias she'd prepared for herself, instead just saying her name.

"H-hi. My name is Audra. It's um, a pleasure to meet you."

"I am… Minerva," the woman said, offering a hand.

Audra shook it with her non-prosthetic one, trying not to wince at her firm grip. She was pretty sure the woman could crush her skull like an egg if she wanted to.

"I-it's nice to meet you, Miss Minerva."

"Just Minerva, please." She let go and gestured to the house. "Come on… inside. If you would like, I have… some tea."

Zephyr's grin grew wider. "Tea, huh? Sounds good. I would never turn down refreshments before getting to work… Oh, before I forget. This is for you, Min."

He took several things out of the bag he'd brought and handed them over. "Sorry for not getting over to you sooner."

"What is this?"

"Presents for putting this off for so long and a small thank-you gift for helping me out in general."

"…I see." She accepted the items with a curious expression on her face and a sweet smile that didn't seem to fit her tough exterior. "Thank you… I suppose."

With that, Minerva led them inside, still staring at the presents.

The interior of the home was surprisingly normal. There were no crazy machines or piles of junk lying around like Audra had been expecting. Instead, the living room had a few chairs, a small coffee table, a couch, and a TV. The kitchen was similarly uncluttered with the exception of a single potted plant on the counter. It felt cozy and a bit like an old grandma's place, especially with the doilies on the table and the shelves.

Audra couldn't help but feel a little relieved. She'd been half worried that they'd be stepping into some kind of scrapyard hellscape.

They all took a seat. Minerva sat at the kitchen table while Zephyr and Audra placed themselves on the couch.

"Well then… Zephyr. How are things?"

He scratched his head. "I'm doing alright, just getting by like usual. How about you, Min? Anything interesting happen lately?"

"I have had some trouble with… the water heater, but otherwise, things… have been fine." She glanced at the window. "The only other thing of note is the… storm. I am glad you were able… to come."

"Yeah, me too. I would have hated to leave you out to dry. Anything change with the storm shutters?"

"No, I believe everything is… the same. Do you still remember… how to set them up?"

Zephyr chuckled. "How could I forget? I helped you design the things after all. I'll start looking over the wiring in a minute. But first, how about that tea?"

She blinked and nodded slowly. "Oh. Yes. The tea. I will go get that… ready. Please wait a moment."

With that, she left to go brew the drink, and the two of them were alone with their thoughts.

Some tension left Audra's shoulders.

Overall, Minerva—or Min, as Zeph seemed to call her—seemed to be nice, if not a little awkward and odd. Audra couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was almost like she was a little out of sync with everything else.

"Um, I don't mean to be rude, but doesn't the way Minerva speak seem sort of strange?" she whispered to Zeph.

"Hm? Oh, that. It's because of the bolting. I mentioned that earlier, right?"

Audra frowned at the unfamiliar word. "No, I don't think so. What's that?"

"Huh. Must've slipped my mind. Bolting was a controversial medical procedure that was meant to transfer the consciousness of a person into a cloned or lab-grown body. It was primarily used for terminally ill patients who were beyond the ability of modern medicine to save and would allow them to live on. In theory, anyway."

Her mouth hung slightly agape, and she had to remind herself to shut it.

"What? Is that even possible? I've never heard of that before."

"Well, it was considered to be the pinnacle of medical achievement and bioengineering at the time—forty-eight years ago. You know the entire moral dilemma about mind uploading, right? Well, this was meant to be an alternative to that. There's no pure digitization of the brain involved, so there wasn't that question of 'is it really them' or 'are they just a copy' like what you would get from something like that."

"How so?" Audra asked, getting swept up in his spiel.

"The process involved linking a patient's original brain to a compatible, identical replica, then slowly transferring the neural activity over to the second one. The theory was that the consciousness of the individual would exist in both bodies for a period of time until it fully transitioned over, essentially making them one and the same."

"So it was like cloning, but involving one mind in two brains instead of two minds in two brains?"

"Basically, yeah." Zephyr leaned back in his seat and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Of course, the whole process was incredibly invasive, dangerous, and had a high risk of complications. The two brains were linked via an array of tiny electrodes and wires to create a pathway for the mind to move across, and that's ignoring all the stuff that had to be done to the body. If something went wrong, the results could be disastrous."

"Sounds like a pretty terrible gamble."

"Actually, enough precautions were taken to the point that the success rate for humans was 100 percent, although it was still a rather unpleasant process for the patient. With that said, a majority of them had some minor complications afterward, and critics claimed that it was unnatural, immoral, or a violation of human dignity. Others even said that though the patient's consciousness would technically be preserved, it still wouldn't really be the same person."

"What happened to it then?"

"About a decade ago, a high-profile court case found that it violated the Geneva Convention on Genetic and Cognitive Heritage, so the practice was banned worldwide. The patients who had undergone the procedure beforehand were grandfathered in, but no new cases were allowed to go through with it. That's probably why you haven't heard of it, it's been out of the news for a while."

Audra nodded then glanced towards the kitchen where Minerva was still brewing the tea.

In a way, she could relate to the woman then. Although Audra was pretty sure that switching bodies entirely might've been more existentially challenging than some cybernetics.

"…So that's what happened to Minerva. She had this bolting thing."

"That's right. The details on why are a bit personal so I'll let her share those if she desires, but she was one of the earlier patients that had to go through with it to survive."

"Is that why she's talking like that then?"

"Yeah, it's apraxia of speech. A side effect of the procedure. She actually had a much thicker speech impediment when I first met her. She's gotten a lot better over the years. I'm proud of her for that."

Audra's lips quirked, her curiosity about the woman mostly sated. However, one last thing was bothering her.

"You said it was forty-eight years ago that people were going through the process. How old is Minerva?"

"Physically? I think her body's is locked in to be perpetually in her mid-twenties. Chronologically though, she's sixty-nine."

Audra's eyes went wide at the number. Sixty-nine!?

She supposed it made sense given how Min and Zeph were supposedly some of the first people on the Bygone, but how was it that she seemed to be meeting so many people that looked way younger than they really were?

"Here is… your tea."

Minerva's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up to see her approaching with a tray. On top of it were three cups filled with steaming liquid and a small plate of cookies.

"…" She was quieter than she looked.

"Thank you very much," Zephyr said, taking his cup. "Oh, is this chamomile? You're spoiling me, Min."

Audra reached for her drink as well but paused when she felt Minerva staring at her. Sure enough, she looked up to see the woman's eyes boring into her own.

She nearly jumped but controlled herself as Minerva spoke.

"Hey… Audra. I have a question for you."

"U-um, alright then, ask away~"

Minerva placed the tray on the table and sat down next to her.

Audra's heart raced as she leaned in.

"I just wanted to know…"

She lightly smiled.

"How are you liking… The Bygone?"