Singularity

I look at my my old pair of boots sitting in its little corner. Oh what a wonderful pair of boots, even though I could never tell what color it was.

It’s beige in color.

Yeah, whatever. I used to be blue-yellow color blind, so I just assumed it was some muddy mix of a yellowish-orangey light tan color.

Used to be color blind?

You know what I mean. Anyway, back to my boots. I used to loathe them when I was younger, since I felt like I lost my ability to walk properly with them on, not to mention blisters as well. The fact that I was required to wear them for military-related activities made me hate them even more. That feeling of having stiff material wrapped around my feet is not one I relate to comfort.

But  when I grew older I got used to them and wore them around whenever it was cold out. And now, in the state that I am in, I never thought that I would actually miss the way the boots hugged my feet, holding them tight and never letting go. I have only begun to realize the reassurance they provided, doing their job to protect my feet.

So does he hate the boots or does he like them? Hmph. Humans. So full of contradictions.

If only I could wear my boots again.

Just so you can hate them again?

Yeah.



I look at the rest of my shoe collection. Dress shoes, running shoes, FitFlop sneakers and that blood-stained pair of Converse high-tops. They all looked like a heap of mismatched pairs, the left shoe being shiny and new, while the right side was more weathered and worn. No surprise there.

I get up and turn around to sit on the edge of the bed. I start to stretch out my legs. First the right side, I lift up my calf and wiggle my toes. It feels good. I lay it back down. Now the left side. “Just think about moving it.” I remember the words of my therapist. “You can’t feel it but just think as if it were still there.” I relaxed and tried to raise my lower leg. A subtle whir of the servo rewarded my effort. I think about moving my ankle around. The joint swivels and my metal foot responds as it were made of flesh. I breathe a sigh of relief and lowered my prosthetic. Gingerly I plant my feet on the floor, leaned forward, shifted my body weight, and stood up straight. It’s amazing how effortless it was.

I raise both of my arms above my head and stretch my back. My left shoulder pops a little. I grab hold of it and adjust the joint cradling the metal arm of mine. The titanium-steel alloy ‘bones’ feel cold to the touch, but with it, a kind of reassuring strength. I walk over to my wardrobe and pick a simple, flesh-colored outer shell and fit it over my arm. I swing the arm around a few times to set it right. I close my fingers into a fist and open them again, to make sure they’re working properly. Satisfied at the dexterity of my artificial digits, I bring my arm back to my side.

Why do you keep doing that every day? Seems very tedious.

It’s my boot up sequence. Deal with it.

I look at myself in the mirror. My focus naturally drifts to the eyes, as is human nature to do so. A compassionate human eye and the glaring black void of an ocular implant. This implant was a special gift from a friend. He’s the finest entrepreneur I know, despite the shady history and politics of his start-up.

I wink my left eye. The freaky mechanical eye. Instantly a logo appears in my view: Sky Optics. It fades away a few seconds later, to be replaced by a digital clock that shrinks to the upper left corner of my peripheral vision. With the Augmented Reality Interface up and running, I am ready for the day.

You know, the consumer version comes with an earpiece that greets you when you do that.

Yeah, so you wanna greet me?

I already did, Gio. You told me to shut up.

Fine.

These prosthetics make me normal, yet I still feel so different. They intend to make me human again, but if anything, I’m less human with them on. But without them, I would be dead by now.

Aren’t you forgetting the most important and most interesting part?

You pretty much introduced yourself already.

I require fanfare and a red carpet for a proper introduction.

In your dreams.

Which are also your dreams.

I let out a sigh of defeat.

I win! 

The day has come. The day many have feared. Man and machine, together as one entity.



Read the rest of the series!
Sweet Dreams
Breakfast
Companion
You and I