Duplicate Minds

Ten

There's a bathroom with a window on the fifth floor." Ted sat on the couch in the entertainment lounge. Natalie sat beside him; Rajeev and Brian sat on chairs facing them.

"Is it wide enough?" Rajeev asked.

"Should be."

"If not—break it." Brian scanned the eyes of the others, as if daring one of them to challenge him. "Seriously. What are they gonna do? Lock you up?"

Natalie looked grave. "I'm sure they could think up some pretty horrific punishments if we really got out of line."

"Maybe," Brian said, "but I doubt they'll break out the big guns over some shattered glass."

"Okay. I'll get it out, one way or another," Rajeev said. "Ted, you have everything set up here, right?"

He nodded. "Yep. If you can get the bird in the air, I'll handle everything else."

"Excellent." Rajeev stood, nestling a nondescript black box between his hip and arm. "What are we waiting for? Let's do this."

Rajeev headed for the door, leaving the others behind. He stopped just before exiting and took one last look at his co-conspirators. They nodded encouragingly. Rajeev nodded back, turned around and walked out the door.

With an additional three days of physical therapy under his belt, Rajeev was now able to get around without a walker. He was still a bit shaky, but at least he was able to move about unaided.

"Daniel?" The virtual assistant appeared before him, like some kind of spectral apparition.

"How can I help?"

"Daniel, please lead me to the bathroom on the fifth floor."

"Absolutely. Follow me."

Daniel led him to the elevator. After it let them off, he made his way down the hall, took a right down another hall, and then to a bathroom at the end of it.

"Here you are. If that's all you need, I'll give you some privacy."

"Much appreciated, Daniel. Thanks again." Daniel disappeared and Rajeev walked into the bathroom.

Since awakening from his coma, he hadn't set foot in a bathroom. There hadn't been a need to—he didn't eat or drink, which meant he didn't defecate or urinate. This bathroom seemed sparse and clinical, like the medical patient room he'd first awakened in. He spotted the window in the leftmost upper corner of the room and walked over to it. He set the box on the floor beside the sink and reached for the window.

The clasp to unlock it was just barely out of reach. He didn't have toes to stand on, so he just strained his arms. To his surprise, they stretched out just a bit further, enabling him to unlock the window and push it open.

As soon as he turned around, the door opened and a thin, dark-skinned woman walked in. Her hair was up in a tightly-wrapped bun, and she wore a charcoal-gray pantsuit.

"Uh—excuse me," she said, her voice dripping with indignation. "What are you doing?"

Rajeev froze. What an idiot! He must have walked into the women's bathroom. He was rusty when it came to checking the gender before entering such sensitive facilities.

"Answer me. What are you doing in here?" She looked him up and down. "You . . . things . . . don't need to use bathrooms."

Rajeev already had a story ready to go; something about missing the outside world and trying to get a peek of it through the window. "I—I'm sorry," he said. "I was just—"

"You're a man?" she shrieked upon hearing his voice. "Get out! Get out now!"

Rajeev held out his hands as if deflecting a physical attack.