Marissa's Sacrifice

“I understand your motivation, but it wasn’t necessary. I was ready to go. I didn’t need you to save me.” Julius tries to remain calm, but his anger is nearly overwhelming.

“I didn’t do this for you, Julius. I did it for me as well. What the hell was I going to do without you? What about the boys?”

“Their mother is a better parent to them than I’ll be.” He responded.

“The boys need a man in their lives more than they need a woman, Jules.”

“Wow … if those words came out a man’s mouth, one might consider them to be sexist. I just wish I had been consulted before such a drastic move had been made.” Julius sat down on the couch with the living room and closed his eyes. His hands were shaking with anxiety, anger, and fear. He had not been prepared for this.

“So you could tell me not to do it? I know you too well, Julius. You would’ve removed all of the money from the accounts so that I couldn’t have made the arrangements and then in 47 days, I’d be all alone. At least with this plan, we have a chance to be together again … eventually.”

“Yeah … in how long?”

“Daniel says it will be at least 9 months to correctly grow a cloned human body normally, but it will take 16 months for me since they’ll be gradually integrating my consciousness into a biological system.”

“What?” Jules looks up with confusion. "What the hell are you even talking about?"

She walks over and stands in front of him. “Daniel and the other scientists don’t quite understand how the brain creates consciousness or even IF it does. It could be the other way around, but … I gave them a copy of my consciousness. They have everything. Well … everything up to 14:50 yesterday afternoon. All of my memories”

“Great, so they know all of my intimate secrets too? What if it doesn’t work?”

“It will.” She looks at him with a reassuring smile. “It must.”

“What if this is discovered by the police? Cloning is illegal, you idiot! They could seize everything.”

“Don’t call me idiot. I’ve taken every precaution to prevent this. The Spinal fluid and brain tissue used to correct your neurological degeneration is very valuable. I was able to give enough for you and sell the rest.”

“Also illegal.” Julius adds.

“What are you a boy scout?”

“So she made this … holographic computer generated version of herself to inform me? It’s so like her to push responsibility onto something or someone else.”

“Hey! I AM her. Sort of. I take offense to that. Sure, you think of me as a copy but during the 6 hours that I exist, I plan to answer any questions you have about the matter. After that, my coding and energy signature will be erased from the network. It will be as if I was never here. It’s how I wanted it.”

“You mean how SHE wanted it. You are not her. Even synthetics have physical bodies. You’re worse than an android.”

“I know you’re upset about losing me, Julius, but you need to know that I did this for our kids too. It’s not your fault that you’re dying, but I’ve taken care of it. Just go to 594 Civil Avenue within the next 47 days and they can do the procedure. They said that it’s possible that some of my memories might even become yours after the procedure so …just keep that in mind if you begin to see weird images afterwards.”

“I swear, I’m keeping Glynn and Anthony as far away from wireless energy transfer modules as possible. Don’t know why we even purchased one. We didn’t need it.” Julius places his hands over his face again in disappointment.

“Larry says the brain disorder is very rare but so far everyone that has developed it has also purchased a model 98 WT4835 wireless energy charging station for the home. The class action lawsuit will be successful. You’ll see.”

“Well, one thing about you that is similar to her is your optimism.” Julius looks up at her and finally smiles.

“Would you please talk to me as if I am her. You don’t seem to understand. This is my life. I don’t see myself as a CG image. I’m a human being. I just don’t have a body. Your physical wife may be dead Julius, but I can tell you right now that I love you. I’d do anything for you. I just wish I had more time, but it isn’t safe for me to stay.”

“If you love me then it means … she did too.”

“But of course, you already knew that, Jules.”

“Of course.” He nodded.

There was a long pause while they both pondered how to move forward.

“Can I get a hug from you?” She asked.

“You’re noncorporal. My arms would go right through you.” It’s a sweet thought though … Marissa.” He said sarcastically.

“You were never very tech savvy, Jules. Open the drawer next to the couch on the right side.”

Julius looks very confused but also curious. He leans over and opens the drawer to obtain a bright white visor with yellow, green, and blue buttons. It also had at least 7 very tiny wires attached to the central bulb which was in the middle of the device.

“Now put it over your head." She instructed him. "Attach the cardiac terminals to your chest. Anywhere is fine. Those are the red wires. The computer just needs to quickly assess your blood pressure, heartrate, and brain waves. It reduces your cortical brain waves and increases your delta waves significantly. When the machine is ready, you'll see a very bright green light in the center of the headpiece.

Julius does as he's instructed. He didn't know exactly what he was about to experience but if his wife had gone through all of this trouble, then it must be important. “Okay, done … Now what?”

“Now, Jules, press the green button on the left of the helmet and then … lay down and close your eyes.” Julius presses the button and extends his legs across the couch.

“I've heard about these devices before but I never thought I'd be trying one in my living room.”

Jules pushes the button and the headset central indicator begins to display a bright green light. He is initially frightened by the sudden darkness but after several seconds, he sees himself in a virtual version of their living room. Everything is exactly the same except for the pristine appearance. The carpet fibers were perfectly set and clean, the windows showing the same city view was there but they had no spots, and there was no trash in the can.

“These are illegal, I know, babe.” She shakes her head from side-to-side. “But here we are, Jules. We have 5 hours and 27 minutes left to keep each other company. I know that I’m not her really, but if my programming didn’t already include information about what she had done, I’d believe that I was her. That’s how real her memories are for me. You can touch me here. It’s what she wanted.”

He approaches her and takes her hand into his. He raises it up to his nose and lips. She smelled just like he remembered.

“How long had she been planning this?” He asked.

“I … began planning this about a week after your diagnosis.”

“Three months ago?”

“It wasn’t easy to break into the underground network and find people willing to do it but … with money, there’s always a way it seems.”

“I don’t think 5 hours is going to be enough time.” He said.

“I’ll be back before you know it. After today, just think of it as me going on an extended vacation for 16 months. It will be like I never left, Jules..”

“I love you Marissa. Marissa’s copy … whatever.”

“I love you too, Julius. Now … how about that hug?” She smiles at him.