~‌‌ ‌‌2.09 G ‌‌-‌‌ I Ordered Lime Jell-O ~‌‌

New Houston, Tx

Tuesday, July 1st

Samantha awoke from her nap to a soul-shattering alarm. Looking around her apartment, she couldn’t figure out where the sound had come from.

Did I imagine it?

[Hello, Samantha. I’m sorry, but I had to activate your audio connection sooner than I would have liked. I have alerted the emergency medical technicians, and they will be here shortly.]

“What? Who is that? Why are the EMT’s on their way here?”

[Upon running my diagnostic scan of your body, I have found a massive hematoma within your brain. The walls of this hematoma are fragile, and a rupture has a high probability of happening with any extra force exerted on your upper body.]

“Oh my. I think thanks are in order, and greetings, but now I’m scared shitless.”

[Negative, it’s a part of why I was made. We can finish with our greetings once you are at the hospital and are no longer in danger. There will be a knock on your door in a moment.]

The knock did come a moment later. Samantha got up from her lazy boy and opened the door to find two young paramedics on the other side.

“Greetings Samantha, we have been notified by your AI of its diagnostic findings. Due to the nature of the issue, nanites cannot be used and could cause a rupture sooner. We are here to take you to a medical facility. Do you have any preference on where to bring you?” the young woman paramedic asked.

Samantha, in a state of slight shock, looked around her apartment. She had already packed all her possessions and had them stored away or sold. She had very few friends, with no family left outside the bar she used to work at. But she did have the young couple, Janet and Charles, across the hall still.

“Yes, I’m scheduled to go into MPR next week. Maybe they can take me a week early?”

“One moment mam, let me check with them,” the male paramedic said, as he backed into the hallway to make his call.

“Anything you need to do or bring with you, Samantha?”

“Please give me a moment to say goodbye to the neighbors. Everything else is being taken care of by my estate lawyer.”

Samantha left her apartment and walked the twenty steps to Janet and Charles’ door. Knocking on it, she waited a few moments for Janet to open up.

“What’s up, Sam? More cupcakes?” Janet asked.

“I’m sorry, not today. It looks like I’m leaving a week early for retirement.”

Janet grew visibly sad, her eyes getting glassy.

“Oh, Sammy, we’ll miss you terribly.”

“I’m told we can stay in contact via email and calls while I’m in the Virtual Verse. You’ll be my first call once I’ve settled in my new place.”

Samantha talked with Janet until the male paramedic interrupted them to let her know the facility has been notified of the situation and were willing to bring her in ahead of schedule.

“What situation, Sam?”

“My new implant found a hematoma in my brain. The EMTs are going to move me to the retirement medical facility early to fix the issue.”

“The new implant can do that?”

“I guess so. I had no idea until now. Fortuitous, I guess.”

“We really should get going, Samantha. Is there anything you need from your apartment?” the male paramedic asked.

“Alrighty, hun. Janet, it was a pleasure. Give Charles my love. I will try and contact you as soon as I can.”

Samantha walked back into her apartment and grabbed the light-blue shawl she got from the receptionist a week ago and put it on. Locking her door, she followed the two to the first floor. She had them wait a moment as she dropped her keys into her mailbox.

The two paramedics walked her to their rig and had her lay in the bed in the back. The woman, who Samantha found out was Stacy, rode with her.

“I love these new implants. You’re the fourth I’ve had now with them. They send us your data in real-time. We had a guy who was on the verge of a heart attack. His implant notified us before it could happen. With the limited nanites in his blood, the AI was able to keep the blockage from completely closing till we could get him in for assisted medical surgery.” Stacy said.

“It is astonishing how far medical treatment has gone in the past hundred years. Aren’t you worried they will replace paramedics soon?” Samantha asked.

“They already have in some cities. New Houston voted to keep the human element to help those in need. Not everyone reacts well to a large flying machine asking to come through their window,” Stacy said as she laughed.

They chatted for the remainder of the forty-minute trip. Being a non-emergency, they weren’t in a hurry and kept the lights and sirens off. Arriving at the facility, Stacy stayed with Samantha until the hospital staff brought out a wheelchair for her. Saying her goodbyes to the two young paramedics, Samantha was wheeled into the large building.

Samantha was brought into a sterile environment where a few of the facility’s medical staff waited. The tall male of the group walked forward to meet her.

“Welcome, Samantha. I’m Doctor Eckles. I’m the on-call supervisor for the day shift. Your AI has already sent over his diagnostic findings and recommended treatment paths. We will do our own full-body scan, and if we find what your AI has said to be accurate, we will need to do surgery. If this is the case, we will have to drill a small hole into your skull to drain the hematoma. Once it’s drained, your AI can use the extra nanites we will supply to fix the blood vessel so this doesn’t happen again.”

“Well, I guess let’s get this over with then, Dr. Eckles.”

Samantha had a full body scan done within minutes. The imaging was spot on with the AI’s generated findings. She was put under and out of surgery a few hours later. Coming too, she found herself in a comfy hospital bed on a higher floor looking over the city.

“Well, I guess I’m still alive. I have you to thank for that voice in my head.”

[You are most welcome, Samantha. My existence does continue if you are in good health. A little motivation on my part to see you fit and healthy.]

“Well, that makes sense. What do I call you? I can’t tell if you are male or female. You have a very androgyny, sounding voice.”

[You may give me any name you wish. You can set my parameters to that of a female or male. I can also remain with my current androgyny settings.]

Samantha lay in her bed, thinking about it for a while.

“I think I’ll call you Sigourney, or Sig for short. Jason and I loved watching those old movies of hers. A strong female lead she was. It was also one of the names we would have named our daughter if we were fortunate enough to have kids before that blasted virus.”

[Sigourney Weaver? Is this the actress you spoke of?]

“That is correct.”

A few minutes later, the AI finally spoke again.

[Whoever wrote this episode should DIE.]

The AI said the line pretty damn close to Sigourney’s voice, causing Samantha to giggle slightly.

“I always loved Space Quest. They should have made a damn sequel. Instead, we got Sigourney as a green screen blue alien for twelve of thirteen movies.”

[I have watched all hundred and two of her films. The name Sigourney or Sig will be adequate. Do you wish for me to continue to emulate her voice as well, Samantha?]

“Yes, please. So what now, Sig? What happens next?”

[I still require at least two weeks to complete my connections to the other parts of your brain. Your chart states they can place you in your retirement capsule within a few days. They wish to make sure the nanites have been able to repair the weakened blood vessel walls before putting you into long-term storage.]

“Will I be able to play Fantasy when they place me in the capsule?”

[Negative Samantha, the two weeks for the connections are needed for you to be able to enter Fantasy with the Neurolink.]

“What will happen while you complete your connections?”

[You will be placed into a deep sleep. You will have no notion of time passing once placed within the capsule. I will awaken you when I am ready to create your MicroWorld and then enter Fantasy together.]

“Splendid Sig. Please call me Sam or Sammy from now on, please.”

[As you wish, Sammy.]

Over the next three days, Samantha told Sig about her life. She went into great detail about her husband Jason, how she met him at a bartender competition, and promptly beat his ass in the finals. She told Sig about all of the cats she had over her lifespan, explaining how each of them had their own personality and quirks.

On the fourth day after her surgery, an orderly brought Samantha down to the capsule ward. Waiting for her was the same group from her surgery.

“Hello, again, Samantha. Today we are going to place you into your medical capsule. With your new implant, we will be able to monitor and keep your body healthy as you fly among the stars, fight zombies, or just live a quiet life on a farm. The possibilities are endless. You can change and do whatever your heart desires.” Dr. Eckles said.

“Let’s get the show on the road, Doctor! I’m looking forward to a younger body.”

Dr. Eckles and the others all chuckled.

“Aright, first we will place you within the capsule upright. Next, we will sedate you before hooking up the waste lines, intubating you, then finally placing a permeate carotid port on your neck. This will both nourish you and provide your body medicine, as well as nanites for your implant to use.”

“Alright. So I guess I will get naked and stand inside that thing.” Samantha said as she pointed to the only capsule in the room.”

“Pretty much,” a nurse said, smirking.

“What happens after that?” Samantha asked.

“Once everything is confirmed to be working correctly by your AI, we position the capsule horizontally and close the shell. We then pipe in a type of antibacterial gel filled with nanites that help clean and take care of the outside of your body. The gel also helps keep your body in a low-stress position, that prevents any type of bed sores.” the doctor said.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

Samantha got up from her wheelchair and walked over to the capsule. Taking her robe off, she tossed it to one of the male nurses, winking at him in the process. The staff helped her put on the harness hanging from the capsule. This would keep her upright once she was sedated.

“Any last words before we place you under?” one of the nurses asked.

“Yes, I would like it known for my last meal, I asked for cherry-flavored Jell-O and got lime!”

One of the nurses snorted, causing the others to start giggling and laughing.

“That’s some serious gallows style humor, Samatha,” Dr. Eckles said.

“I was a bartender for fifty some years; you remember the good stuff.”

The staff put her under, securing all the tubes and lines in the right places. Sealing the capsule, it was soon filled with the green gel. Samantha’s body began to float within the capsule’s center.

“Alright, She’s now ID:71:352. Transport her down to subfloor 71, location 352. Once she’s hooked up, let’s get ready for our next guest.