Duplicate Minds

Five

Dev knocked on Rajeev's door a couple minutes prior to his physical therapy appointment.

"How'd you like Daniel?"

Rajeev shrugged. "He was fine. A little odd, but I guess that makes sense, since he's not a real person."

"He can be a little off-putting, but he's one of the most advanced artificial intelligences in existence. We're going to release a public version sometime this year. It's going to be tough to break into the market—there's a ton of competition and most of the existing players are far more established than we are—but Daniel is heads and shoulders above them all. I think when people start to realize that, we'll be successful. Anyway . . . are you getting used to your body?"

"When I pretend I'm not in a robotic body, it's mostly tolerable. But whenever I'm reminded of what it is, I feel like I'm on the verge of having a panic attack."

"That's not unexpected, honestly. It's still early. But in a few weeks, you'll barely be able to tell the difference."

Rajeev was skeptical. Besides, how would Dev know? He'd never had his consciousness transported to an entirely new body. It was a completely disorienting experience—one he suspected a person couldn't fully appreciate unless it had happened to them. But it would be pointless to try to explain all that to his son.

"So what happens after this appointment?" Rajeev asked as they walked to the elevator. "Can I go home and see Sarah?"

Dev looked uncomfortable. "Dad, you have considered that mom has aged fifteen years, right?"

He had thought about it, but he'd been trying not to. At the time of his accident, Sarah had been thirty-three years old. Now she would be forty-eight. She'd be a different woman now, in appearance, in demeanor, in life experience. She'd be a stranger to him.

And yet, she was his wife. To him, it seemed like they'd embraced just yesterday. She'd been his world, and she still felt like his world. But he knew it would not be a seamless reunion. They would be reuniting not as a young man and a young woman, but as a middle-aged woman and a robot. It was like the plot of some kind of twisted scifi sitcom.

"The thought crossed my mind," Rajeev said.

"I don't think mom has quite accepted the fact that you've come back. It might be best to lay low awhile so it can sink in and I can explain to her exactly what to expect. Androids are not an everyday sight yet, you know. Remember, your body is just a prototype. It's never been seen by the public."

"Okay. Well, maybe I can visit Mira, then."

"Mira . . . is very busy, dad. Look, you'll get to see them both eventually, but I think it would be best if you waited. What you need to focus on now is getting acquainted with your new body so you can live as normal a life as possible."

As Dev finished speaking, they approached the physical therapy office, where Rajeev's physical therapist was already waiting for him just outside the door.

"You must be Rajeev," she said. She was a tall, widely-built woman with bright blond hair tied up in a bun. She wore loose-fitting, light-green scrubs.

"Guilty as charged."

She flashed a fake smile and Rajeev intuited that she didn't have much of a sense of humor. She helped him inside and led him to a pair of parallel bars.

"So how exactly does this work?"

"It's not much different from physical therapy for someone who's been in an accident or is recovering from surgery," she said.