Conversion

PART 1:  EVE

The world has changed

The world has changed and I am in love

Or maybe I am in love because the world has changed

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CHAPTER 1: Sky Level

I am old, but my reflection is not.

I am wise, but my reflection speaks different

I am standing in front of a large mirror, taking one last look before I leave. It’s peaceful here; quiet, in my vacant chambers. My room is on ground level with an exterior view of the fields and my private garden through a large single paned window. The walls are painted powdered blue with a feature wall of French designs. My large bed looks like a big meringue with fluffy pillows and a clean white duvet. They’ve all already left for the party, the scientists, the aides and all the other people sharing my father’s facilities.  My home is not just for our family, it is a beehive. The venue is twenty minutes away by hover, so I know that I should be leaving, just in time to arrive fashionably late.

“You look scrumpdididliumptious, my darling.” Evan Cruz, my father, likes to use made-up words, which is ironic as he is one of the greatest scientists to ever live. “Thanks dad, I’m just about to leave.” I pick up my handbag, but my gaze returns to the mirror before me. Isobel, my step-mum calls for Evan to hurry up.

“Well, I know this is a special night for you,” he says, squeezing my arm, “for both of you.”

“It isn’t my birthday dad, jeez,” I say teasingly, although it is true. Being spoilt is just part of my lifestyle, not one I chose, but one I got.

“No you’re not, darling. Just pretty and sweet–”

“And old!” I burst out humorously.

Evan laughs, pleasant for his years. “Yes, and that too”

“111 years, I never would have believed it.”

“And you don’t look a day older than 18,” Evan confides. “Anyway, do you want a ride? We’re outta here.”

“No thanks, I’ll find my own way. I’ll  only be about five minutes behind you.”

Dad leaves with Isobel and the kids, Coco and Kimbo. I turn back to the mirror once again. I want to look pretty tonight, it’s one of those times that matters. This is not just some social event, ceremony or TV appearance; this is something personal and I want to look stunning. In fact the only time I could imagine myself wanting to look better is my wedding.

 I wear a full length, strapless dress; its gold, but it’s truly something more. I don’t know how material like this was manufactured, I have been around a long time and new things are constantly disovered, but it looks like I am walking in sparkling dust. It shimmers with every move and almost floats around me. To be honest I feel like some sort of goddess, and in a way I am. I am the first Immortal woman.

I was named Eve Skye Cruz at birth - Eve from my dad, Skye from my mum. Evan had plans and he named me so for a reason. Decades before I was born he had been planning, experimenting and creating a formula which would allow humans to live an extended lifespan: to become immortal. It was a timely process. He had once said to me as a child, “Eve was the first human, and now you will be Eve, the first immortal.” At 10 years old my name felt like it bore a huge responsibility, so I got people to call me Skye, a name I preferred anyway. At the age of 18 my dad finally perfected the formula and told me it was ready for use. I had no hesitance to become immortal, I didn’t even think about what this would mean for me, for the world. Dad told me that he would also perform the conversion on others for a price, because it was a costly invention. He said that it would only be performed on people over 18 years of age, because they had fully mature bodies and brains. It all made sense. Now, nearly a sixth of the US population is immortal. But something was not meant to be. The Immortality Conversion, as we call it, is not compatible with all types of people; how – my dad is still trying to find out. Two of the people who weren’t compatible were my mum, Lauren and my brother, Frankie. It was a heavy blow to see them die, knowing I would be around forever. I was in grief for a long time, but since I’m immortal, time has begun to move at a different pace for me. So dad and I are the first of our kind. The world has changed.