There’s a blinding red blotch in my vision, it’s growing dimmer and I’ll be alive again in a few moments. I hate this part, I always have. I try to say so but I’ve never spoken before and there are a lot of tubes in a lot of places that make it difficult to communicate. I don’t know if I flatlined or a panic button began my animation – I’ll have to watch the retinal replay. The reclamation team is already on the scene and no doubt picked up my body in the usual fashion. What I would do without Andy is beyond me.
I still can’t open my eyes – Prime has just dimmed the lights but my ocular nerve is still too sensitive for any light. A newborn comes screaming into the world eyes closed and I know why. My eyes squeeze tighter reflexively and I’m probably cringing. I’m breathing normally but will soon choke out a fluid bath that will cause me to wretch for a day. I’m not going to be on solid foods for a week, yet. I will be walking in a couple hours – quick progress for a newborn human – just not as impressive when the newborn is a full-grown man.
Everything is sensitive to touch and environment. I feel the air and water, I smell chemicals and hear movement.
My bladder was lowered into the birthing pool and opened. I felt Prime behind me working the birthing steps. He speaks softly telling me everything that he is doing. There are five procedures to perform before I can speak.
The tubes are removed – there are a lot of them…a lot.
When the tracheal feeding tube is removed, I begin to choke out the remaining nutrient fluid and it makes me think we can do something for the taste – at least for the last bit before animation. This will go on for a while but with eyes still closed I drink water placed to my lips. Hydrating is difficult and unnecessary – but it helps in returning a consciousness to state. I drink down the liter of water before Prime speaks again.
“Welcome home, brother.”
This is my first fidelity test.
“It’s good to be home, Prime. My name is Jacob Hubert Jennings and I’m probably two years old.” Barely audible, but that’s expected.
There are tests to be done now. If I fail any tests then I’ll probably be euthanized and my organs harvested for procedures needed to keep Prime amongst the living. I don’t want that – none of us ever do. We’ve died so many times, though, that it’s not something we fight. We witness every death. Every single JHJ has watched the death that preceded our animation. So, with implanted cognition what it is these days, I’ve now seen myself die 37 times. We don’t seem to last very long.
