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Description
After the refinement of artificial organ growth, ethics have begun to grow into debate. What was once a near certain chance of death, brain damage or loss of function is now only a slight chance – most organs and body parts being able to be replaced within days instead of the impossible dream of months. No more amputated fingers from circular saw accidents – new ones are now stitched on; no more failing livers or hearts from years of abuse – new ones are surgically implanted and function normally. Even small portions of the brain – now capable through neuron moulding in MRI technology – can restore one's memory or higher functions that were lost up to years beforehand. Humanity can now bite back at death, keeping thousands each day from its door.

However, humans are not yet immortal, and though one could theoretically be brought back from death with continuous treatment, the rights to choose death over the suffering that comes from treatment comes into question. When should one be able to choose when to die? When they cannot be restored to their original point of health? When death is the only option? Whenever life gets them down? Even though the questions have existed for ages, they apply more now than ever.

What also comes into play is testing. With the reduced risk of death, more people choose to face the risk for the sakes of money and furthering science, and for more extreme experiments. Should they be allowed to do this, when in the past it had to be made sure through animals? Most say yes, as they can generally be restored to full health if something goes wrong, but others – more outspoken members and groups of society – force the opinion that they shouldn't. However, most governments have already allowed these sorts of testing to take place, especially when they are heavily monitored to make death and harm minimal.

* * *

It has been ten long years since Stellar-C – a major testing corporation focused to furthering medical engineering – have completed the product that made them famous: the wireless nerve. A two-part wireless receiver/transmitter setup to link major nerves that had been severed, this device had been used countless times to allow the paralysed to walk and live normal lives. Though they had been improving and implementing these devices for the time, they also wanted to do more. They wanted to be able to make cyborgs.

Their design for a cyborg was unlike the convention – robotically-enhanced limbs integrated with human muscles and organs. Instead, they planned on using bionic limbs as a model, including an original design for a bionic head. Each part would be controlled almost directly from the brain using their wireless nerve design, which would be housed alongside the rest of the body's major organs in a compact organic life support system. The person would be in complete control and act entirely as they would if they weren't a cyborg, except with realistic and removable bionic limbs. They planned that it would not only draw attention to human-robot integration, but also to help further the refinement of existing bionic arm designs.

However, they just needed someone willing to take part and become a cyborg...

* * *

"Sorry, I really am, but we had some unavoidable budget cuts. You really were a good employee."

"Yeah, thanks... but what should I do now?"

"I don't remember any openings off-hand, but if you need a reference we'll make sure to put a word in for you."

"Thank you."

With an audible sigh, Nat put the phone back on its hook. She knew that with the recent financial downturn, she'd be out of a job sooner or later, however she hadn't hoped it to be then. With her friends and roommates all out of town for the semester break, she was alone to keep up the rent and groceries for the house she resided in, which meant that without a job it was only a matter of one or two weeks until she was broke.

It wasn't long – about an hour or so – that Nat decided to call her best friend and fellow roommate Grace. Grace didn't really live up to her name, in fact she was quite loud and easily excitable, but when it came to others issues she always had a way of keeping them in a positive attitude. Through Nat's life, from about halfway through high school, she could rely on Grace to help her solve her problems, even if it was just providing a little bit of a motivational boost. In fact, it was Grace who suggested they share a house when they went to university, just so they could avoid the crowded dormitories.

Picking up the phone, she dialled in the number of Grace's mobile. She was out of the state at the moment, spending time with her family halfway across the country, but Grace always made it clear that Nat could call her up at any time to talk about anything of interest.

"Hey Nat!" Grace shouted over the clattering of cutlery that was her family eating dinner. I don't think I can talk for too long, my family's in the middle of their tea!" The clattering quickly retired to a low rumble after a wooden creak – Grace was evidently walking away from the table to talk to Nat.

"That's alright," Nat replied, her ears ringing slightly from the noises of Grace's excited family, "It's not too much of a talking point. I just want to ask something regarding money."

"Let me guess... you lost your job due to the financial downturn? Yeah, that's becoming a talking point with my family at the moment. It's kind of getting a bit boring."

"Hmm," Nat hummed in agreement, "But considering that I'm the only one holding up the rent at the moment, I was wondering if you could help pay for it before we lose the house."

"Of course!" Grace happily replied, "After all, what are friends for? I'll put what I can spare into the rent, but you'll probably still have to look for another job. I think that medical engineering company, Stellar-C, might have some positions open – at least from what I heard around the table."

"Isn't Stellar-C the company that developed that wireless nerve thing and started that dispute about the ethics of testing or whatever?"

"Yeah, but it's been about fifteen years and it's pretty much as safe as flying on a passenger aircraft... comfortable too."

Nat gave a little snort. Airlines hadn't changed too much in recent times, the only real difference being larger planes built for the increase of international passengers. It was still just as uncomfortable as about fifteen years ago, but a bit more crowded.

"Plus, they could just be asking for temporary secretaries or office workers." Grace finished. "But testing nowadays does sound pretty fun."

"I'll have a look into it." Nat said. Even though Grace was slightly excited about testing, almost to the point of applying to be one, Nat was unsettled to the changes testing potentially brings.

"Well, that's all I think I can help with, but I'd just suggest looking around. Knowing you, you'll find a good job soon enough."

"Thanks." Nat said, relieved that Grace kept up to her usual standard of assistance. "And I hope your family continues to be good to you."

"Heh, it'll be okay as long as they don't boot me out the front door. See you when uni starts again in five weeks!"

"See ya." Nat said, a moment before she heard the click of Grace hanging up.

* * *

One week later, and Nat was nowhere near finding a job. The employment section of the Classifieds was only a quarter of a page long, and all positions available were for experienced workers. Even taking a walk around town didn't help; every place she asked didn't have any positions open or planned.

And to make things worse, Grace could only spare enough money for two weeks of rent, and there was only one week to pay for. The real estate agent Nat called up couldn't help much – the financial downturn affected housing, making allowances for not meeting the rent nearly impossible.

Nat was getting desperate. She wasn't just applying to what few locations she could find, but also sending in resumes to multiple stores, just in case they somehow had a position open. Her entire day was spent trying to find a job, but to no avail.

She was starting to consider the hopelessness of her situation, when she remembered what Grace said in the phone call from a week ago. Dragging herself from the pile of newspapers and resumes on the coffee table in the main room to the computer down the hall, Nat got on the internet and looked up Stellar-C's website for any testing opportunities.

Clicking on the company's homepage URL, she was greeted by a large image of grinning doctors and nurses. It was the typical way of these sorts of companies to say "This is who we help", but it did sort of help Nat loosen up to the prospect of becoming a test subject – not only would what she do help herself financially, but also help medical sciences and technologies. Searching the navigation bar and the page itself thoroughly, she managed to find a small link at the bottom saying "Careers/testing" and clicked on it.

This page was kind of bland, but it had the info she needed. From previous experience with the website, she knew that the careers section was empty and there were no available job opportunities; however before now she hadn't bothered scrolling down to check the testing opportunities. This time, she took the plunge and scrolled down.

This was the information she was looking for – a small box under "Testing" that mentioned a five thousand dollar payout for helping with research and development of brain-to-bionics technology. It did also mention that it involved modification, but from what it said in the terms and conditions at the bottom of the page, "All modifications have been thoroughly designed to be revertible to pre-testing states, with full payout still applicable".

Though doubtful, Nat was still desperate, and decided to click on this box anyway. From there she was given a phone number that she could dial immediately to apply. Seizing this opportunity, Nat hastily yanked the phone out of its recharge socket and dialled the number on the screen.

"Hello, this is Catherine from Stellar-C. I presume you applied to help with the brain-to-bionics research and development project?"

"Yes, I did." Nat happily replied, glad to be hearing a real human voice instead of those 'realistic' automated ones. "I was just wondering about the risks involved in this. I don't want to go through anything too hazardous."

"I guess this is the first time you've become a test subject, at least the first for us. Don't worry, we work closely with the Department of Human Rights and Services to make sure that we not only meet their terms, but also to ensure that you will be completely fine physically and mentally regardless of whether or not the modifications work."

"Modifications? I thought I only read that there was one."

"No, we have multiple modifications in this. The first being our Wireless Nerve device, one of our most successful and reliable developments yet; and the second being a near-total replacement of organic body parts into robotic replicas."

"Robotic replicas? As in bionic limbs?"

"On the most part, yes, however it includes the head, stomach and waist as well."

"I don't know... this is starting to sound a bit doubtful..."

"Well, if you have doubts, we can give you time to mull it over before you decide. We can also provide you with more information if you want, just ring us up on our main number and ask for information about project C-19 – that's our codename for the project. Just make sure that when you make up your mind you tell us if you're still interested or not, so we can take you off our list."

"Thank you, I'll do that." Nat jotted down 'C-19' on a nearby piece of paper to remind herself later.

"Could we just have your full name and phone number before you leave so we can add you to our list?"

"Of course," Nat replied, quickly squabbling through her contact list on her mobile to find her phone number, which she kept forgetting. "I'm Natalia Valkaria and my phone number is one-nine-three-eight-double-six-zero-four-double-one-two-four."

"Thank you, and if you have no further questions to ask, we'll be waiting for your response later."

"I do have one more question: have there been any past subjects for this?"

"Yes, actually. We have had several people already, all of which have had successful experiences with the modifications, and most of which having positive responses to their experiences."

"Thank you, that's all I want to know for now. Goodbye Catherine."

"Goodbye Natalia. Have a great day."

Nat sighed as she hung up the phone. Even though Catherine was very kind and gave her plenty of information and assurance, she still had doubts about becoming a test subject, leaving her on the fence as to whether she should go through with it or not.

* * *

"Well, they did say that everything would be fine, and they've been entirely successful so far."

"Yes Nat, but they could just be trying to convince you to become a test subject. You know what they're like – always desperate for people to chop up and put stuff into."

"This isn't the last decade, Mum! Times have changed since you were my age! Technology's getting more reliable, medical science has gone further than ever, and ethics is the number one concern with development and testing."

"Yes, well it's really up to you. I just don't want to see you get harmed."

"Don't worry, I don't want to be harmed either, and Catherine assured me I wouldn't."

"Is that all you wanted to talk about? I'd like to catch up sometime to talk about how you're going with uni."

"That's all, and don't worry, I'll try and get over there during the next break."

"I look forward to seeing you then."

"Me too."

With the call to her parents, Nat was still stuck. She had already talked about the testing with the specialist at Stellar-C, but they had failed to give her much more information than what Catherine had already provided. Her call to Grace didn't help; Grace's enthusiasm made her less willing to become a test subject, and the call turned into why Grace would be interested. Her mother's doubts only made Nat more willing to become a test subject; mainly to prove how safe it was, and to assert her independence.

It was a couple of days since that first call to Catherine, and Nat had already exhausted all of her time towards deciding whether or not she should become the test subject and get the modifications. If anything, she was even less sure than when she talked with Catherine about the modifications. However, she was sure on one thing: no amount of time considering would make her lean one way of the other.

Nat decided to call and let Catherine – or whoever was receiving the calls at that time – know about her definite uncertainty. Reluctantly picking up the phone, she dialled the same number she used just that couple days ago.

"Hello Natalia," A familiar voice, Catherine, chimed, "Have you come up with a decision about being a test subject?"

"No, not really," Nat regretfully told Cathrerine, "That's what I was planning on talking to you about. It's just that I've been thinking about it for the whole of the last couple of days, calling up my friends and family, but even with their help I've just become less sure than when I last called."

"Well, if you can't really make up your mind, you could just come in for the first part and decide on whether you can continue or not before the main part of the experiment. You'll still get about half of the five thousand dollars, but you'll have to keep a Wireless Nerve just below your brain." She stopped for a little pause, to let this option get into Nat's mind. "The Wireless Nerve is guaranteed to not cause any trouble."

Nat was silent, thinking deeply about this new option. She wouldn't have to go through with the experiment if she didn't want to, but she would have to be somewhat altered, but it'd be with something that has been proven to not cause any harm, but she'd have to undergo surgery, but from what she had heard the operation would be minimally invasive, but...

"Okay, that sounds good." Nat said, decided that this would be the best option for her unsure mind.

"Then, unless you have upcoming plans, you're welcome to start tomorrow with a questionnaire. Don't worry; we'll arrange transport and accommodation here for you. I presume you still live at 17 Jodanjo Lane?"

"Yes, and that sounds great." Nat happily replied. She wasn't concerned about her personal details being known by Catherine and Stellar-C; she knew from a series of awareness advertisements from the government that many selected businesses could access peoples' personal information with just a name and a phone number. It was their way to help mediate access to peoples' private details after that large identity theft scare five years ago, and it was surprisingly successful.

"Excellent! We look forward to seeing you at about noon tomorrow, unless something comes up for you, in which case just let us know through our main number."

"Me too. Bye."

"Goodbye Natalia."

* * *

A day later, around eleven thirty in the morning, Nat was busy eating her final lunch in the house for at least the next week, lying back on the soft three-seater couch with the plate she was eating from balanced between her legs and her stomach, having been notified in a literal wake-up call from Catherine about the experiment. Catherine told her that she'd be residing in what they called a "Supervision room" for the time there, as well as that if the experiment was a success, Nat would only be there for about three weeks, leaving

Next to the couch, lying on the ground, was a small suitcase filled with a couple of sets of clothing and a couple of medical documents, just in case she needed them. She wanted to put more in, but Catherine had suggested that she pack light, so she just threw in what she thought was necessary.

Nat was only just getting into the last bite of her meal – a quick cheese sandwhich – when a car horn beeped loudly outside. Stuffing that final bit of sandwich in her mouth, she raced to take a quick peek out the window and noticed a sedan with the Stellar-C logo on the passenger door parked in front of the house.

"Could you just wait a minute?" She shouted out the window to the car, "I just need to clean up a little bit before I leave!"

With a faint "Sure!" from the driver, Nat ducked away quickly to wash the plate and clean herself off before heading out towards the car outside, suitcase in hand.

It was a short and uneventful drive towards the modern office building that was the state branch of Stellar-C, as one would expect, but the destination in appearance alone was astonishing. Glass walls with an animated logo of the company draped down over the lower four floors of the tall and expansive construction, the upper floors seemingly twisting into a dome-like top. Rough domes that were balconies jutted out almost randomly up the structure, and at the very top were a small array of antennas, supported by a short tri-helix frame. It reflected the spherical clutter trend of new buildings of the time, but at the same time it looked like something out of science fiction.

"...wow." Nat breathed, at a loss of words. She had never really been near this part of town, the small development sector between the commercial and industrial districts, and at this moment she regretted not coming by here sooner. However, she realised that it probably would have caused a bit of an accident if she did, when she almost ran into the door on the way in. Fortunately for her, the entrance had automated doors.

Once inside, Nat quickly put her admiration for the external features of the building as a middle-aged woman came up to greet her.

"Hello Natalia," the woman chimed in a familiar voice, "I'm Catherine, the woman you talked to when you applied. I see you've already taken an interest to the outside of the building."

"Yes, it was quite something to look at." Natalia replied, a touch embarrassed. She gave a quick look around the quite bland and sterile-looking entrance interior, which really only used a couple of plants and chairs to keep it from being featureless. "Too bad the inside doesn't keep up to the expectation the outside makes."

"Yes, well, from what I know the interior was designed this way to reflect what our projects and products are intended for." Catherine gestured towards a long corridor with one hand, her other resting along Nat's upper back. "If you'd just like to start heading down that corridor, and I'll guide you to your room to begin." Nat slowly began walking down the corridor, Catherine keeping alongside to guide her.

"Just wondering," Nat asked Catherine, "Why are you greeting me? I thought you were just someone that organises test subjects, or at least that's what it seemed like."

"You were a bit mistaken there, I'm actually a personal relations worker for the company, someone who helps test subjects to feel more comfortable during their time here..."

* * *

"...and when they realised from my time as an attendant for the company that I really had a knack for making people happy and relaxed, they asked me if I wanted to work in personal relations, and considering that I'm here talking to you now you can guess what I said- ah, we're here."

Catherine stopped at a door somewhere in the maze of corridors they had walked through during the last five minute, and swiping a keycard through a card detector on the door, she opened it.

The inside of the room was pretty interesting. It was quite large, consisting of two main parts; the first a large blank area to the left of the door with only a couple of chairs and a table on a cold tiled floor, the other having a bed, a couch, and some soft chairs, as well as a television on a rotating stand between the couch and the bed. This place seemed like a mix of testing and recreation areas, but either side could be hidden away with a simple curtain that divided the two areas.

There was also a person in this room, to be more specific a man about the same age as Catherine with a bit of stubble around his chin and designer glasses. Judging from the standard white lab coat he wore, Nat suspected he was a scientist here, or at least the person for the questionnaire.

"Hello Natalia, I'm Dr Hudson," He said, walking up to Nat and Catherine, "I'm here to perform your full examination."

Nat jumped back a step. "Examination? I was only told about there being a questionnaire first up."

Dr Hudson gave a stern look at Catherine, pointing the blame squarely on her shoulders.

"That's all I was told I needed to say," Catherine said, taking a step back in a futile attempt to get away from the blame, "I assumed that the examination would come after Natalia got settled." She turned to Nat. "Natalia, would you mind if we did a check of your physical and health attributes, to give us some specifications for the planned bionics? I have to ask because it does involve some nudity, and you may not be-"

"Might as well." Nat replied, cutting Catherine off. "I was expecting something like that to occur sometime during my time here."

"Well, that works." Dr Hudson exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Let's get started with the questionnaire." He gestured to the table on the tiled side of the room. "Would you like to take a seat?"

* * *

It was a good few hours until they finished the examinations, in which time Nat had been prodded, poked, quizzed, and questioned in almost every single part of her body and lifestyle, including the reason why she wanted to be a test subject. These ran pretty smoothly – Catherine actually promising that she will get something sorted out with Nat's rent problem – with only a small problem when it came time to the part where Nat had to be nude, and Dr Hudson was the one assigned to work with her in this part. This problem was easily solved, and created a bit of a surprise, when it was made clear that Catherine was his girlfriend.

Once the examinations were completed, Dr Hudson left with a kind "Thank you", leaving Nat and Catherine to sit on the couch in the room and discuss the events of the experiment.

"What do you think about the experiment so far from the examinations?" Catherine asked Nat.

"Well," Nat replied, "I was kind of expecting this sort of thing, but a bit later on, so I can't really tell."

"That's alright, this is only just the very beginning" Catherine told Nat. "Tomorrow you're going to go into surgery to get the Wireless Nerve in your neck, and then after a day of healing they're going to run you through a good couple of nerve tests to get details of the inputs. You should have had enough experience by then to decide whether you want to continue or not. In the meantime, Natalia," Catherine patted Nat's lap like she would a child's, "I think you'd better rest up. The surgery works best with a refreshed mind."

"Okay, but could you please call me Nat from now on?" Nat asked Catherine, "'Natalia' sounds too foreign."

"Sounds fine to me, Nat," Catherine said, standing up, "And feel free to call me Cathy or Cath."

"Thanks, Cath," Nat replied, getting up herself to open her suitcase, "And goodnight."

"Goodnight Nat." With that, Cathy walked out of the room, leaving Nat to get changed and go to sleep.

* * *

"Axon ties." The head surgeon said, sticking the microsurgery arm out of a small hole in the top of Nat's neck; a nearby nurse quickly replacing the head of the arm.

Nat had been woken abruptly in the early hours of the morning to head into surgery, rushed into the operating room wearing nothing but a patient's robe, guided by a nurse and Cathy there. She had no time to eat and only enough time to wash herself clean before she left.

In the room, she was given the basics of the surgery – that her spinal cord would be severed a bit below the brain stem, that the nerves would be firmly tied to prevent the axons inside to move around, that the Wireless Nerve would be inserted and calibrated in quick succession – before she was put into a deep sleep with anaesthetic.

"Wireless Nerve."

The Nerve, shaped on one side like a capped doughnut and on the other a vertebrae, was quickly fitted through the hole in Nat's neck, which was opened up with a scalpel to allow the device to go in. Once in, the device was checked against marked axons to ensure that the flow of nerve impulses was unbroken, and Nat's neck was closed up.

An hour later, Nat woke up in her bed with a sore neck, the anaesthetic having worn off. Checking her arms and legs to check if they still worked, she was quickly satisfied and went back to sleep.

* * *

After the long day of recovery, in which Nat could do nothing but lie in bed, watch some television and eat some small meals they gave her on trays, she was finally allowed to walk around and relax somewhere other than the bed. It also allowed her to spend a bit of time really checking out the very minor changes the Wireless Nerve made.

With only a small stumble on her way to the couch, Nat learned that while the device didn't cause a visible delay – her legs and arms moving as soon as she thought about moving – but the delay was enough to make the movements feel a little off. She could also feel pain just as fast as she used to – a small pinch to her thigh confirming this – and her sense of touch was unimpaired.

Her window to relax was cut short however, when Cathy and Dr Hudson entered the room, telling her that it was time to continue the experiment with the nerve tests.

"I already checked it myself," Nat claimed in an attempt to gain some more time to relax, "The Wireless Nerve works well; I can move and feel just as well as before, with it only feeling a tiny bit off when I move around."

"We're already aware of that," Dr Hudson told her, "These tests are to check the nerve signals to help calibrate the bionic limbs."

"Oh." Nat said, a little bit surprised. "How?"

"The Wireless Nerve in your neck transmits information between the two parts on a particular frequency," Dr Hudson explained, "Which we can pick up on remotely and compare with your movements. It will take a couple of days, and we'll have to subject you to a little bit of pain, but we can use the information we collect to sort out which nerve signals go where."

"Sounds fair." Nat said, finding no problem with this.

"Well, seeing as you're aware of what's happening and are okay with it, we might as well begin."

* * *

Come the end of the weekend, Nat was sore all over. The last four days of what they called "Nerve Tests" forced her to not only move around and bend, but also to experience sharp pain over most of her body and to stress most of her organs.

Of course, now that it was over, Nat could finally relax on the bed and think about whether or not she could continue on with the experiment or not. Rubbing her slightly bruised arm, which was already well into healing, Nat considered how she was treated during her time here, as well as what she would experience and how she would be changed if she continued.

After about an hour of serious thinking, Nat was almost at the point where she could make up her mind, when Cathy came in holding a large dinner tray with a decent slice of roast on it.

"I thought you might like something big to eat after those Nerve tests." Cathy explained.

"Thanks," Nat quietly replied with a mix of frustration and gratefulness.

"Hm?" Cathy hummed. "Are you still unsure of whether or not to go through with the rest of the experiment?" She sat down next to Nat on the bed.

"Yeah... it's just that while you've treated me well so far – and so has Dr Hudson – I'm not sure about the next stage of the experiment. From what you told me when I called to join, my limbs were being replaced with robotic replicas, and that sounds like a big change."

"Not really," Cathy said, taking up a more serious attitude, "From what we've seen with the last few test subjects, there are actually only a small number of changes, only three of which are big. First off, you'll have less sensory input, by which I mean that you won't have a sense of smell and you'll only have a very basic sense of taste. Second, for obvious reasons, you won't be able to... well... have sex. In fact, with the mechanical parts taking up to much space, only the end of the gastrointestinal tract can fit, so there's no space for any false organs down there." Nat was starting appear a little shocked. "Finally, and I can safely say that this is the good one out of the three, you'll be able to have remote control of your body parts."

"Hang on," Nat said, getting Cathy to pause so she could process the information provided, "My mouth and hips are going to be affected? I thought it was just my limbs."

"If I remember correctly," Cathy said, "I told you that it included your head, waist, and hips are also going to be replaced. In fact, your torso will end up being the only part with any of your original body, becoming the extended life support for your brain."

"I'd just be a living torso?!"

Nat tensed up almost immediately. This not only surprised her, it scared her to the bone as well.

"I may sound like I'm coaxing you into doing it," Cathy assured her, cradling Nat under one of her arms, "But it is nowhere near as bad as it sounds. They pretty much just made a more compact version of the major organs in the human body, small enough for one's brain to fit into one's own chest cavity with all the compact organ replacements."

"That sounds a little comforting," Nat said weakly, "But it does still sound very unnerving."

"Natalia," Cathy said, regaining her serious attitude and staring deep into Nat's eyes, "You do not have to continue – your rent problems have been covered for the next few weeks – but let me just say this: you are one of the most tenacious test subjects... no... you are one of the most tenacious people I have ever met. The very fact that you spent an entire week dedicated to just trying to finding a job before applying to be a test subject, regardless of the need for money or not, is enough to show me that. I am sure that you can not only cope with the change, but also to make the best of it as well."

"You really think so?" Nat asked, a bit more strength in her voice. Cathy nodded. "Well, you're making it sound more like a challenge than an experiment."

"It does sound a bit like that," Cathy laughed, "But I'm just saying that you'll realise, as I know other people have, that being a living torso with robotic body parts isn't really too different than you right now."

"Well, it does sound kind of tempting, but I'm not sure about the process. It just sounds a little bit like I'll be chopped up and then have my organs and brain just pushed together with some electronics."

Cathy gave a hearty laugh. "No, nothing like that. From what I know, they're just going to isolate your head for about half a day while they sort the artificial and real organs into a protective container the same size and shape as your ribcage. Nothing like the 'Violent disassembly and careful reassembly' thing that happens to robots."

"Isolate my head?" Nat asked, "What does that mean?"

"It pretty just means they're going to artificially keep your brain alive with a heart-lung machine – something that helps to circulate your blood without your heart. Don't worry, it's a technology that's been around for ages, so it's definitely reliable."

"Well, you bought me." Nat said with a smile. "The uncertainties were really unsettling me, but you explaining what was coming up and how other people have reacted to it just... it just makes me want to take the risk and go through with it. After all, the only difference nowadays between succeeding and failing is how long it takes for me to heal, right?" She lowered her head a little. "I sound a lot like my friend at the moment."

"At least you're making the decision and not your friend." Cathy happily said, "And yeah, other than the changes I've told you about, the only real difference is the recovery time." She gave Nat a friendly little shake. "You might as well eat your dinner before it gets cold – it'll be the last meal before you lose your tastebuds in the surgery tomorrow."

"Thanks Cath," Nat said as Cathy stood up to leave the room. "And not just for the dinner."

Cathy gave a small smile as she closed the door, leaving Nat to her dinner.

* * *

Groggily opening her eyes, Nat looked around. The last thing she remembered was getting put under anaesthetic in the operating theatre, now... well, she didn't know where she was. It was a fairly small white room, with one long table covered in blobs of pale peach. There was also a man who looked around her age sitting by this table, working intently on another of these blobs of pale peach.

She suddenly realised her entire body from the neck down was numb. She tried to move her arm in front of her face, but it didn't move. It was as if it was stuck... or worse.

She tried to look down as far as she could, only managing to turn her head down at a very slight angle, however this was enough to confirm what had happened with her.

Instead of seeing her body lying flat on a bed, Nat saw a tabletop. At the very bottom of her field of view there was a metal tray with a thin pool of a clear liquid flowing out from where her neck should be. She knew that her decapitated head was being kept alive somewhere away from her body or an operating theatre; a huge difference from what she was expecting.

Stifling some tears that were forming in her eyes, Nat tried to give a fearful shout, however nothing came out. Not a peep, not even a breath. It was as if all she was doing was tensing her neck muscles and opening her mouth – a clearly futile effort.

However, in her attempt to shout, she did cause a little rattle of the tray, and that was enough to catch the attention of the man at the table. Turning away from the pale peach blobs he was working on, he noticed Nat's moist eyes and fearful expression and understood immediately what was going on.

"Don't worry," He said in a calming voice, trying to draw Nat away from fear and more into a relaxed state, "The surgeons are giving you a brief change of scenery while they work on your body."

Nat gave a small sniff, or rather a little twitch of her nose. "Really?" She mouthed, not yet realising her inability to breathe.

"Yes." He told her. He didn't know how to read lips, however considering the situation he could easily tell what she meant. "Just relax, you're in good hands."

Nat gave a shy smile. She wasn't out of her fearful state yet, but she was well on her way there. Out of curiosity she looked over to the pale peach blobs, which now when she focused on it looked more like cylinders of various sizes.

"You want to know what these are?" He asked, reaching over to the blobs and picking one up, "These are actually your bionic parts."

Nat's eyes popped open with surprise. "My parts?" She mouthed.

"Yes." He told her, holding the part in his hand in front of him. "For example, this will be your..." He took a good look at the part. "...your left thigh. All the other ones behind me are your other parts... minus your torso, which is being filled at the moment. Would you like to see your head?"

Nat nodded with an eager smile on her face. She no longer was scared about the fact she was without a body, now that she knew where her new one was; though she did still have some concerns about her current state.

The man placed her left thigh back down on the table, then picked up a rounder part and showed it to Nat. This part looked just like her face, with the same features all the way down to the iris colour pattern. In fact, the only missing feature was her hair. He opened the part's mouth, and she noticed that the same amount of detail continued down her throat. Fascinated, Nat gave a silent "Wow..." before the man put the part in its place on the table.

"I can see you approve of the detail," The man said, "Well, you'll have to be if you're going to be in it for the exact same skin for the rest of your life. And don't worry, you'll have the same hairstyle you came in with when you leave, I can assure you of that.

Nat's expression grew into a warm smile, not just because of the man's subtle humour but also because he was somehow creating an aura of trust. With this warm smile she gave a strong glance to him, quickly adjusting to her lack of speech.

"You want me to talk about myself?" He asked. She gave a firm nod, or as much as a firm nod as she could do. "Well, I might as well say my name first. I'm Leon, and I pretty much just work here as a skin fitter for this project. It's not really that interesting, just tucking the skin over the parts like a bed sheet; the only hard thing about it is just making the skin seamless." He paused for about a second. "I'm boring you, aren't I?"

Nat wasn't really excited about the prospect of just listening to Leon for the entire time she was here, however considering that all she could do was really just sit and listen, she knew that this would be the best option. She gave the same look she gave when she was curious about her bionic parts.

"Okay then..."

* * *

It wasn't until two hours later when Nat left, or rather carried out, so her brain could be inserted into her new body. This was something she was both relieved and disappointed about – relieved because she would finally be able to move again, and disappointed because even though Leon said that he wasn't an excited person, some of the things he said were definitely entertaining.

Nat found it surprising how easily she was carried out. Cathy just came in, lifted up the tray – telling Nat that the heart-lung machine was actually placed just behind her head – and walked out. Nat only just had enough time to mouth out a quick "Goodbye" to Leon before she was out of his sight.

"Sorry about the rush," Cathy assured her as she walked down the corridor, "But they just want to get your brain in as soon as possible."

Feeling a slight shift in the tray, Nat heard a very faint squirt, and she slowly fell asleep. As she faded out of consciousness, Cathy quietly assured her that "It's only so they can get started right away."

* * *

Nat slowly opened her eyes from what felt like a long rest. She was lying down on a bed in what looked like the room she was residing in during her time at Stellar-C, except that it was unnaturally green.

"Sorry about the problems with colour," A familiar voice, that of Dr Hudson, apologised, "We're just getting your bionic eye to show you the correct colours."

"Bionic ey-" Nat asked, before stopping suddenly. She realised that her voice had returned.

"How else can we get images to transmit into your brain?" Dr Hudson replied rhetorically, "Sending an optic nerve into your chest would spoil the purpose of a removable bionic head."

"So my brain transplant, or whatever it'd be called, was a success?" The room returned to the normal whites and light greys as Nat sat up on the bed.

"As it has been for all the other test subjects. We just put you into a coma for the last couple of days to recover. It also gave us time to sort out your hearing, taste and touch."

Nat felt around what was her ribcage, assuring herself that this was now where her brain was. She also noticed that she did not have a heartbeat – rather a very faint vibration of a mechanical heart – and the motion of the chest from breathing was missing, instead a slight breeze emanated from the back of her neck.

"Don't worry," Dr Hudson assured her, "The bionic heart and lung are more than capable enough to keep you alive. We wouldn't be using it if it didn't."

Nat looked over towards Dr Hudson with a smile, but it quickly turn into one of slight shock when she noticed that he was quite a bit more blue than the last time she saw him, and even more so when he started changing colours. His coat and the laptop he was leaning over were both the normal whites, but his skin and hair changed from blue to green to red. However, this shock did not last long, especially since the colour changing stopped when he was his normal colour and she realised that it was just the bionic eyes being sorted out.

It was at this moment that Nat decided to strike up a conversation with Dr Hudson, just to pass the time.

"Didn't you and Cath say that I'd be able to take myself apart with my parts mostly bionic?" She asked Dr Hudson.

"Yes, we did," He replied. "It was initially just for maintenance, things like cleaning and repairs, but previous test subjects have actually found it quite interesting to do things with their detached parts."

"Really?" Nat was quite surprised by this – the prospect of doing things without a head or legs didn't really seem like something that'd be all too enjoyable.

"Yes. It wasn't really intended, the ability to be taken apart being more of a minor role, but as always people just seem to find the fun in what would generally be considered as a rather negative change."

"Well, it does sound interesting to at least try out once. Do you have any idea of how I could go about trying it?"

"Of course!" He said gladly, as if he wanted Nat to try it out. "There are faint buttons on the edges of each part, right next to the gaps in the parts. If you have a feel around your waist, you should find one them on the left and right."

Out of curiosity, Nat poked around her waist, pressing up and down her sides until she found two small bumps. She pressed one... nothing. She pressed the other one... still nothing. She tried pressing both buttons at once... click. The area around her waist felt a bit loose, as if a ring had cut the muscles in her waist and let them spread out painlessly.

Her body slid back, enough so that she felt the bed near the bottom of her waist, around where she pressed the buttons. Not expecting this, she fell to lie on the bed, or rather everything from the waist up did.

Nat straightened up in fear. The shock of actually being in two halves, painless or not, had gotten to her. The fact that she could actually see her hips separated from her body only made things worse.

"That's usually how the past test subjects felt in their first experience of this," Dr Hudson notified Nat, closing the laptop, "However I did also hear that that feeling didn't really last."

Nat was already starting to feel the same way as the past test subjects, already getting a bit used to the separation, the curiosity about her ability to still control her legs beginning to overtake the fear. She began to rhythmically bend her hips and knees to get used to the situation.

"Seeing as I'm pretty much done here," Dr Hudson said to Nat, "I might as well leave you to relax until Catherine gets here." Not getting a response from Nat, who was too intrigued by her detached legs, he quietly left.

* * *

About a couple of hours later, Cathy entered the room carrying a plate of food for Nat to eat. However, it slightly surprised her when she noticed that Nat wasn't really in one place.

In the hours since Dr Hudson had left, Nat had managed to not only get used to being in halves, but also to spread herself out around the room... quite literally. Head cradled in one of her arms, she had rested the top half of her body on the couch to watch some television, while the bottom half was sitting on one of the soft chairs with one of its legs draped, separated from her hip, over the other. It wasn't anything Cathy had ever seen before, but it strangely looked very relaxing, as if she'd like to experience it someday. She now understood why most of the previous test subjects reportedly enjoyed being in pieces.

"Nat," She said to the now-bionic test subject, distracting her from the sitcom she was watching, "I thought you might like to try out your new tongue." She gave the plate to Nat, then looked over to the detached legs. "You might want to put yourself back together. The digestive system doesn't really like holding food.

Nat gave a small sigh as she slowly hopped the leg attached to her hip towards her, the other one rolling carelessly onto the ground. She was only just getting used to being in pieces, and now she had to put herself back together just to eat some food. She reattached her bottom half and head, then looked down at the meal.

On the plate in her hands was a big steaming plate of macaroni and cheese. Just the microwaveable mac and cheese you could get for about a dollar pretty much anywhere. It was usually pretty good, but in this situation Nat would have expected something a bit more filling.

"Don't worry about the meal," Cathy assured Nat, noticing the look of concern on her face, "It's mainly because your stomach is still weak from the operation, and we don't want to make you ill on your first day living in your new body." She gave Nat a slight and friendly shake. "And it'll help you get used to the food you'll generally eat during uni."

Nat gave a small sigh as she hesitantly scooped up a small amount of macaroni and cheese onto her fork. Remembering Cathy's words from before the operation – "You'll only have a very basic sense of taste" – she expected the meal to taste very bland as she put the food in her mouth, however as it was crushed in her mouth and squeezed down her throat, it tasted and felt much like she'd expect macaroni and cheese to be. The creamy and cheesy taste filled her mouth and the warmth spread down the back of her throat, similar to the many microwavable meals she remembered having months, even years, ago.

"Wow," She breathed with a slight smile on her face, "That tasted a lot better than I thought would – just like real mac and cheese."

"I remember hearing one of the scientists referring to something like this. They mentioned it was like how you can feel the atmosphere of a place just by looking at a photograph of it... I think they said that's the same thing with food that you've eaten before."

"Sounds interesting," Nat said, before eating another mouthful of macaroni and cheese, "And this is really filling."

"Yeah, your stomach is pretty small now." Cathy said. "You don't really need much to eat, probably only a few mouthfuls every meal, especially since pretty much all you're feeding are your brain and digestive tract." Cathy got up off the couch. "I might as well leave you to your meal."

Cathy stood up and headed to the door, with Nat only managing to blurt out a quick "See you" in between mouthfuls of macaroni and cheese.

"Oh, and before I forget," Cathy said, halfway out the door, "The food, from what I've heard, goes right through you."

* * *

Cathy was right; the food did pretty much go right through Nat's body. She was starting to feel a bit tired while she was eating, but she didn't even have enough time to get changed for bed before she had to race to the bathroom to expel the yellow mess that was macaroni and cheese from her body.

She also experienced this with her breakfast, a small bowl of cereal, but she was more prepared that time and was already out the door after her final bite.

However, now that her body was empty of food, she had plenty of time to try out her new body's ability to detach and reattach her body parts. She had already split herself into two at the waist again, and she was just about to try her arms out, starting at the wrist.

Squeezing just above where her wrist bones would be, Nat quickly found the two buttons that would split her left hand from her arm and pressed them. With a slight click, her hand rolled onto the couch and sequentially bent its fingers under Nat's command.

Being in control of a severed hand was unnerving, the heightened need of the limb overcoming how much she had become used to splitting herself into pieces. However, flipping it over, she became used to it faster than the day before when she first split herself in half.

She tried this now-separated hand out, instinctively edging her hand over to her. It was slow at first, with a little stumbles, but as her hand reached her detached lap she was close to being able to reliably walk it around. Just for the sake of it, she started to climb her hand all over her legs and the couch.

* * *

I know she's going to like this information,, Cathy thought to herself as she walked to Nat's room, Especially since she has a new semester of uni coming up next week."

She tried to hide a small smile, the side of her mouth rising awkwardly. She didn't really know why, but in the short time Nat was here, she was starting to grow on Cathy. Sort of a cross between a friend and what she felt was a very maternal feeling. She did what she could to make Nat feel comfortable, just like with anyone else, but with Nat she was more... compelled to.

Opening the door to Nat's room, she was expecting her to be resting in pieces, but what she saw was quite concerning. Nat was armless; both arms separated from the shoulder lying on the couch either side of her. One of her hands, separated from its arm, was feverishly trying to click itself back onto the wrist.

Afraid that Nat's problem could end up worse, Cathy rushed next to her and quickly reattached her arms, forcing her hand afterwards. She breathed a sigh of relief about Nat being whole again, but it was cut short when she noticed that Nat's hands – in fact her whole arms – were attached to the wrong shoulders.

"Don't worry," Nat laughed. "It's alright, well at least for now. Why did you come here, anyway?"

"Well, I was just here to bring you some good news." She gave a little pause as she looked a Nat and her mixed-up arms, remembering the feelings that Nat brought to her. Managing a smile as a small tear came to her eye, she continued: "Considering how well you, and others before you, have managed to recovered, the people running the experiment have decided that you're free to go home now."

"Really?" Nat said in an excited manner, instantly straightening up.

"Yes." Cathy replied. "They said that as long as you come in weekly for checkups, you can go home and live your life."

"Thanks," Nat said, "So I can start packing now?"

"If you'd like," Cathy said, "But there's no rush." She stifled a tear with a small sniff as Nat got up.

Nat noticed this shoddily-hidden sadness in Cathy and sat back down, assuming the role that Cathy had provided prior. "Is anything wrong?"

"No, it's nothing." Cathy replied, rubbing at her eyes to get rid of the tears. Nat gave a stern look. "It's just that you... well, unlike the other people I've looked after before you... you made my care of you feel more personal to me. I don't know, it was probably something about your tenacity, but you somehow made caring for you more than a job... and I don't know if I can ever feel the same way about it again when you leave."

"Don't worry." Nat assured Cathy. She tried to hug Cathy over her shoulders, but with the mixed-up arms it turned into more of an awkward pat – her other arm... the one that she wanted to hug Cathy with... now resting directly along her own lap. "Erm, I'll always remember how you helped me during this time..." She lifts her arms and brings them in front of her, "...such as with this."

Cathy tried to hide a little laugh. The fact that Nat would try and use Cathy's own humour and comforting nature to try and put her in a more positive mood just seemed to be a bit funny, but it worked. Drying her tears, Cathy switched Nat's arms back to normal.

"Well, I'd best leave you to pack," Cathy told Nat, standing up, "I'll meet you out the front once you're done."

"Thanks," Nat said, standing up herself, "And thank you." She gave Cathy a quick hug before heading to her pile of clothes.

Giving one final look at Nat, Cathy left the room.

* * *

Cathy was sitting down, leaning back on one of the chairs at the front of the building, when Nat came out with her bag an hour after she last talked to her. She stood up and greeted Nat.

"I got a car to wait outside for you," She informed Nat in the most professional tone she could muster, "I thought you'd like to get home as soon as possible."

"Thanks," Nat said with Cathy, putting down her bag and giving her a firm final hug before picking her bag back up, "And goodbye."

"See you," Cathy replied.

Nat, bag in hand, headed towards the door out. However, as she reached the door, she remembered something and turned to face Cathy. "Could you give Leon my thanks?" She asked.

"I'll make sure to." Cathy said before they separated, Cathy to send the message to Leon and Nat to the car back home.

* * *

"Thanks," Nat told the driver of the car as she stepped out. Watching the car drive off, she retired inside to be greeted by a beaming Grace.

"So, how was it?" Grace excitedly asked Nat, practically jumping onto her for a hug. "Tell me everything that happened."

Nat nervously looked around to see if anyone was there. Even though she was comfortable about separating into pieces, the idea of showing anyone else, other than Grace, was unnerving. "Can we sit down first?"

"Sure," Grace said, racing to a chair and jumping into the seat. Nat calmly sat down on the adjacent couch. "Well, the experiment was pretty much about bionic limbs; you know, arms legs and..."

Nat reached up to her neck and pressed the buttons on either side, taking it off and resting it on the couch arm next to her.

"Wow!" Grace exclaimed, unusually excited about Nat's detached head. "Can I have a better look?"

"Might as well," Nat said, passing her head over to Grace. She rolled the head around, examining every inch of it to compare it with what was Nat's real head, before resting it in her own lap.

"What about your brain?" Grace asked Nat. "I mean, your brain's in your head, but what about the blood?"

"Actually, my brain's here." Nat pointed to her chest.

"Wow!" Grace exclaimed again. "So how did this happen?"

"Well, first..

Description
After the refinement of artificial organ growth, ethics have begun to grow into debate. What was once a near certain chance of death, brain damage or loss of function is now only a slight chance – most organs and body parts being able to be replaced within days instead of the impossible dream of months. No more amputated fingers from circular saw accidents – new ones are now stitched on; no more failing livers or hearts from years of abuse – new ones are surgically implanted and function normally. Even small portions of the brain – now capable through neuron moulding in MRI technology – can restore one's memory or higher functions that were lost up to years beforehand. Humanity can now bite back at death, keeping thousands each day from its door.

However, humans are not yet immortal, and though one could theoretically be brought back from death with continuous treatment, the rights to choose death over the suffering that comes from treatment comes into question. When should one be able to choose when to die? When they cannot be restored to their original point of health? When death is the only option? Whenever life gets them down? Even though the questions have existed for ages, they apply more now than ever.

What also comes into play is testing. With the reduced risk of death, more people choose to face the risk for the sakes of money and furthering science, and for more extreme experiments. Should they be allowed to do this, when in the past it had to be made sure through animals? Most say yes, as they can generally be restored to full health if something goes wrong, but others – more outspoken members and groups of society – force the opinion that they shouldn't. However, most governments have already allowed these sorts of testing to take place, especially when they are heavily monitored to make death and harm minimal.

* * *

It has been ten long years since Stellar-C – a major testing corporation focused to furthering medical engineering – have completed the product that made them famous: the wireless nerve. A two-part wireless receiver/transmitter setup to link major nerves that had been severed, this device had been used countless times to allow the paralysed to walk and live normal lives. Though they had been improving and implementing these devices for the time, they also wanted to do more. They wanted to be able to make cyborgs.

Their design for a cyborg was unlike the convention – robotically-enhanced limbs integrated with human muscles and organs. Instead, they planned on using bionic limbs as a model, including an original design for a bionic head. Each part would be controlled almost directly from the brain using their wireless nerve design, which would be housed alongside the rest of the body's major organs in a compact organic life support system. The person would be in complete control and act entirely as they would if they weren't a cyborg, except with realistic and removable bionic limbs. They planned that it would not only draw attention to human-robot integration, but also to help further the refinement of existing bionic arm designs.

However, they just needed someone willing to take part and become a cyborg...

* * *

"Sorry, I really am, but we had some unavoidable budget cuts. You really were a good employee."

"Yeah, thanks... but what should I do now?"

"I don't remember any openings off-hand, but if you need a reference we'll make sure to put a word in for you."

"Thank you."

With an audible sigh, Nat put the phone back on its hook. She knew that with the recent financial downturn, she'd be out of a job sooner or later, however she hadn't hoped it to be then. With her friends and roommates all out of town for the semester break, she was alone to keep up the rent and groceries for the house she resided in, which meant that without a job it was only a matter of one or two weeks until she was broke.

It wasn't long – about an hour or so – that Nat decided to call her best friend and fellow roommate Grace. Grace didn't really live up to her name, in fact she was quite loud and easily excitable, but when it came to others issues she always had a way of keeping them in a positive attitude. Through Nat's life, from about halfway through high school, she could rely on Grace to help her solve her problems, even if it was just providing a little bit of a motivational boost. In fact, it was Grace who suggested they share a house when they went to university, just so they could avoid the crowded dormitories.

Picking up the phone, she dialled in the number of Grace's mobile. She was out of the state at the moment, spending time with her family halfway across the country, but Grace always made it clear that Nat could call her up at any time to talk about anything of interest.

"Hey Nat!" Grace shouted over the clattering of cutlery that was her family eating dinner. I don't think I can talk for too long, my family's in the middle of their tea!" The clattering quickly retired to a low rumble after a wooden creak – Grace was evidently walking away from the table to talk to Nat.

"That's alright," Nat replied, her ears ringing slightly from the noises of Grace's excited family, "It's not too much of a talking point. I just want to ask something regarding money."

"Let me guess... you lost your job due to the financial downturn? Yeah, that's becoming a talking point with my family at the moment. It's kind of getting a bit boring."

"Hmm," Nat hummed in agreement, "But considering that I'm the only one holding up the rent at the moment, I was wondering if you could help pay for it before we lose the house."

"Of course!" Grace happily replied, "After all, what are friends for? I'll put what I can spare into the rent, but you'll probably still have to look for another job. I think that medical engineering company, Stellar-C, might have some positions open – at least from what I heard around the table."

"Isn't Stellar-C the company that developed that wireless nerve thing and started that dispute about the ethics of testing or whatever?"

"Yeah, but it's been about fifteen years and it's pretty much as safe as flying on a passenger aircraft... comfortable too."

Nat gave a little snort. Airlines hadn't changed too much in recent times, the only real difference being larger planes built for the increase of international passengers. It was still just as uncomfortable as about fifteen years ago, but a bit more crowded.

"Plus, they could just be asking for temporary secretaries or office workers." Grace finished. "But testing nowadays does sound pretty fun."

"I'll have a look into it." Nat said. Even though Grace was slightly excited about testing, almost to the point of applying to be one, Nat was unsettled to the changes testing potentially brings.

"Well, that's all I think I can help with, but I'd just suggest looking around. Knowing you, you'll find a good job soon enough."

"Thanks." Nat said, relieved that Grace kept up to her usual standard of assistance. "And I hope your family continues to be good to you."

"Heh, it'll be okay as long as they don't boot me out the front door. See you when uni starts again in five weeks!"

"See ya." Nat said, a moment before she heard the click of Grace hanging up.

* * *

One week later, and Nat was nowhere near finding a job. The employment section of the Classifieds was only a quarter of a page long, and all positions available were for experienced workers. Even taking a walk around town didn't help; every place she asked didn't have any positions open or planned.

And to make things worse, Grace could only spare enough money for two weeks of rent, and there was only one week to pay for. The real estate agent Nat called up couldn't help much – the financial downturn affected housing, making allowances for not meeting the rent nearly impossible.

Nat was getting desperate. She wasn't just applying to what few locations she could find, but also sending in resumes to multiple stores, just in case they somehow had a position open. Her entire day was spent trying to find a job, but to no avail.

She was starting to consider the hopelessness of her situation, when she remembered what Grace said in the phone call from a week ago. Dragging herself from the pile of newspapers and resumes on the coffee table in the main room to the computer down the hall, Nat got on the internet and looked up Stellar-C's website for any testing opportunities.

Clicking on the company's homepage URL, she was greeted by a large image of grinning doctors and nurses. It was the typical way of these sorts of companies to say "This is who we help", but it did sort of help Nat loosen up to the prospect of becoming a test subject – not only would what she do help herself financially, but also help medical sciences and technologies. Searching the navigation bar and the page itself thoroughly, she managed to find a small link at the bottom saying "Careers/testing" and clicked on it.

This page was kind of bland, but it had the info she needed. From previous experience with the website, she knew that the careers section was empty and there were no available job opportunities; however before now she hadn't bothered scrolling down to check the testing opportunities. This time, she took the plunge and scrolled down.

This was the information she was looking for – a small box under "Testing" that mentioned a five thousand dollar payout for helping with research and development of brain-to-bionics technology. It did also mention that it involved modification, but from what it said in the terms and conditions at the bottom of the page, "All modifications have been thoroughly designed to be revertible to pre-testing states, with full payout still applicable".

Though doubtful, Nat was still desperate, and decided to click on this box anyway. From there she was given a phone number that she could dial immediately to apply. Seizing this opportunity, Nat hastily yanked the phone out of its recharge socket and dialled the number on the screen.

"Hello, this is Catherine from Stellar-C. I presume you applied to help with the brain-to-bionics research and development project?"

"Yes, I did." Nat happily replied, glad to be hearing a real human voice instead of those 'realistic' automated ones. "I was just wondering about the risks involved in this. I don't want to go through anything too hazardous."

"I guess this is the first time you've become a test subject, at least the first for us. Don't worry, we work closely with the Department of Human Rights and Services to make sure that we not only meet their terms, but also to ensure that you will be completely fine physically and mentally regardless of whether or not the modifications work."

"Modifications? I thought I only read that there was one."

"No, we have multiple modifications in this. The first being our Wireless Nerve device, one of our most successful and reliable developments yet; and the second being a near-total replacement of organic body parts into robotic replicas."

"Robotic replicas? As in bionic limbs?"

"On the most part, yes, however it includes the head, stomach and waist as well."

"I don't know... this is starting to sound a bit doubtful..."

"Well, if you have doubts, we can give you time to mull it over before you decide. We can also provide you with more information if you want, just ring us up on our main number and ask for information about project C-19 – that's our codename for the project. Just make sure that when you make up your mind you tell us if you're still interested or not, so we can take you off our list."

"Thank you, I'll do that." Nat jotted down 'C-19' on a nearby piece of paper to remind herself later.

"Could we just have your full name and phone number before you leave so we can add you to our list?"

"Of course," Nat replied, quickly squabbling through her contact list on her mobile to find her phone number, which she kept forgetting. "I'm Natalia Valkaria and my phone number is one-nine-three-eight-double-six-zero-four-double-one-two-four."

"Thank you, and if you have no further questions to ask, we'll be waiting for your response later."

"I do have one more question: have there been any past subjects for this?"

"Yes, actually. We have had several people already, all of which have had successful experiences with the modifications, and most of which having positive responses to their experiences."

"Thank you, that's all I want to know for now. Goodbye Catherine."

"Goodbye Natalia. Have a great day."

Nat sighed as she hung up the phone. Even though Catherine was very kind and gave her plenty of information and assurance, she still had doubts about becoming a test subject, leaving her on the fence as to whether she should go through with it or not.

* * *

"Well, they did say that everything would be fine, and they've been entirely successful so far."

"Yes Nat, but they could just be trying to convince you to become a test subject. You know what they're like – always desperate for people to chop up and put stuff into."

"This isn't the last decade, Mum! Times have changed since you were my age! Technology's getting more reliable, medical science has gone further than ever, and ethics is the number one concern with development and testing."

"Yes, well it's really up to you. I just don't want to see you get harmed."

"Don't worry, I don't want to be harmed either, and Catherine assured me I wouldn't."

"Is that all you wanted to talk about? I'd like to catch up sometime to talk about how you're going with uni."

"That's all, and don't worry, I'll try and get over there during the next break."

"I look forward to seeing you then."

"Me too."

With the call to her parents, Nat was still stuck. She had already talked about the testing with the specialist at Stellar-C, but they had failed to give her much more information than what Catherine had already provided. Her call to Grace didn't help; Grace's enthusiasm made her less willing to become a test subject, and the call turned into why Grace would be interested. Her mother's doubts only made Nat more willing to become a test subject; mainly to prove how safe it was, and to assert her independence.

It was a couple of days since that first call to Catherine, and Nat had already exhausted all of her time towards deciding whether or not she should become the test subject and get the modifications. If anything, she was even less sure than when she talked with Catherine about the modifications. However, she was sure on one thing: no amount of time considering would make her lean one way of the other.

Nat decided to call and let Catherine – or whoever was receiving the calls at that time – know about her definite uncertainty. Reluctantly picking up the phone, she dialled the same number she used just that couple days ago.

"Hello Natalia," A familiar voice, Catherine, chimed, "Have you come up with a decision about being a test subject?"

"No, not really," Nat regretfully told Cathrerine, "That's what I was planning on talking to you about. It's just that I've been thinking about it for the whole of the last couple of days, calling up my friends and family, but even with their help I've just become less sure than when I last called."

"Well, if you can't really make up your mind, you could just come in for the first part and decide on whether you can continue or not before the main part of the experiment. You'll still get about half of the five thousand dollars, but you'll have to keep a Wireless Nerve just below your brain." She stopped for a little pause, to let this option get into Nat's mind. "The Wireless Nerve is guaranteed to not cause any trouble."

Nat was silent, thinking deeply about this new option. She wouldn't have to go through with the experiment if she didn't want to, but she would have to be somewhat altered, but it'd be with something that has been proven to not cause any harm, but she'd have to undergo surgery, but from what she had heard the operation would be minimally invasive, but...

"Okay, that sounds good." Nat said, decided that this would be the best option for her unsure mind.

"Then, unless you have upcoming plans, you're welcome to start tomorrow with a questionnaire. Don't worry; we'll arrange transport and accommodation here for you. I presume you still live at 17 Jodanjo Lane?"

"Yes, and that sounds great." Nat happily replied. She wasn't concerned about her personal details being known by Catherine and Stellar-C; she knew from a series of awareness advertisements from the government that many selected businesses could access peoples' personal information with just a name and a phone number. It was their way to help mediate access to peoples' private details after that large identity theft scare five years ago, and it was surprisingly successful.

"Excellent! We look forward to seeing you at about noon tomorrow, unless something comes up for you, in which case just let us know through our main number."

"Me too. Bye."

"Goodbye Natalia."

* * *

A day later, around eleven thirty in the morning, Nat was busy eating her final lunch in the house for at least the next week, lying back on the soft three-seater couch with the plate she was eating from balanced between her legs and her stomach, having been notified in a literal wake-up call from Catherine about the experiment. Catherine told her that she'd be residing in what they called a "Supervision room" for the time there, as well as that if the experiment was a success, Nat would only be there for about three weeks, leaving

Next to the couch, lying on the ground, was a small suitcase filled with a couple of sets of clothing and a couple of medical documents, just in case she needed them. She wanted to put more in, but Catherine had suggested that she pack light, so she just threw in what she thought was necessary.

Nat was only just getting into the last bite of her meal – a quick cheese sandwhich – when a car horn beeped loudly outside. Stuffing that final bit of sandwich in her mouth, she raced to take a quick peek out the window and noticed a sedan with the Stellar-C logo on the passenger door parked in front of the house.

"Could you just wait a minute?" She shouted out the window to the car, "I just need to clean up a little bit before I leave!"

With a faint "Sure!" from the driver, Nat ducked away quickly to wash the plate and clean herself off before heading out towards the car outside, suitcase in hand.

It was a short and uneventful drive towards the modern office building that was the state branch of Stellar-C, as one would expect, but the destination in appearance alone was astonishing. Glass walls with an animated logo of the company draped down over the lower four floors of the tall and expansive construction, the upper floors seemingly twisting into a dome-like top. Rough domes that were balconies jutted out almost randomly up the structure, and at the very top were a small array of antennas, supported by a short tri-helix frame. It reflected the spherical clutter trend of new buildings of the time, but at the same time it looked like something out of science fiction.

"...wow." Nat breathed, at a loss of words. She had never really been near this part of town, the small development sector between the commercial and industrial districts, and at this moment she regretted not coming by here sooner. However, she realised that it probably would have caused a bit of an accident if she did, when she almost ran into the door on the way in. Fortunately for her, the entrance had automated doors.

Once inside, Nat quickly put her admiration for the external features of the building as a middle-aged woman came up to greet her.

"Hello Natalia," the woman chimed in a familiar voice, "I'm Catherine, the woman you talked to when you applied. I see you've already taken an interest to the outside of the building."

"Yes, it was quite something to look at." Natalia replied, a touch embarrassed. She gave a quick look around the quite bland and sterile-looking entrance interior, which really only used a couple of plants and chairs to keep it from being featureless. "Too bad the inside doesn't keep up to the expectation the outside makes."

"Yes, well, from what I know the interior was designed this way to reflect what our projects and products are intended for." Catherine gestured towards a long corridor with one hand, her other resting along Nat's upper back. "If you'd just like to start heading down that corridor, and I'll guide you to your room to begin." Nat slowly began walking down the corridor, Catherine keeping alongside to guide her.

"Just wondering," Nat asked Catherine, "Why are you greeting me? I thought you were just someone that organises test subjects, or at least that's what it seemed like."

"You were a bit mistaken there, I'm actually a personal relations worker for the company, someone who helps test subjects to feel more comfortable during their time here..."

* * *

"...and when they realised from my time as an attendant for the company that I really had a knack for making people happy and relaxed, they asked me if I wanted to work in personal relations, and considering that I'm here talking to you now you can guess what I said- ah, we're here."

Catherine stopped at a door somewhere in the maze of corridors they had walked through during the last five minute, and swiping a keycard through a card detector on the door, she opened it.

The inside of the room was pretty interesting. It was quite large, consisting of two main parts; the first a large blank area to the left of the door with only a couple of chairs and a table on a cold tiled floor, the other having a bed, a couch, and some soft chairs, as well as a television on a rotating stand between the couch and the bed. This place seemed like a mix of testing and recreation areas, but either side could be hidden away with a simple curtain that divided the two areas.

There was also a person in this room, to be more specific a man about the same age as Catherine with a bit of stubble around his chin and designer glasses. Judging from the standard white lab coat he wore, Nat suspected he was a scientist here, or at least the person for the questionnaire.

"Hello Natalia, I'm Dr Hudson," He said, walking up to Nat and Catherine, "I'm here to perform your full examination."

Nat jumped back a step. "Examination? I was only told about there being a questionnaire first up."

Dr Hudson gave a stern look at Catherine, pointing the blame squarely on her shoulders.

"That's all I was told I needed to say," Catherine said, taking a step back in a futile attempt to get away from the blame, "I assumed that the examination would come after Natalia got settled." She turned to Nat. "Natalia, would you mind if we did a check of your physical and health attributes, to give us some specifications for the planned bionics? I have to ask because it does involve some nudity, and you may not be-"

"Might as well." Nat replied, cutting Catherine off. "I was expecting something like that to occur sometime during my time here."

"Well, that works." Dr Hudson exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Let's get started with the questionnaire." He gestured to the table on the tiled side of the room. "Would you like to take a seat?"

* * *

It was a good few hours until they finished the examinations, in which time Nat had been prodded, poked, quizzed, and questioned in almost every single part of her body and lifestyle, including the reason why she wanted to be a test subject. These ran pretty smoothly – Catherine actually promising that she will get something sorted out with Nat's rent problem – with only a small problem when it came time to the part where Nat had to be nude, and Dr Hudson was the one assigned to work with her in this part. This problem was easily solved, and created a bit of a surprise, when it was made clear that Catherine was his girlfriend.

Once the examinations were completed, Dr Hudson left with a kind "Thank you", leaving Nat and Catherine to sit on the couch in the room and discuss the events of the experiment.

"What do you think about the experiment so far from the examinations?" Catherine asked Nat.

"Well," Nat replied, "I was kind of expecting this sort of thing, but a bit later on, so I can't really tell."

"That's alright, this is only just the very beginning" Catherine told Nat. "Tomorrow you're going to go into surgery to get the Wireless Nerve in your neck, and then after a day of healing they're going to run you through a good couple of nerve tests to get details of the inputs. You should have had enough experience by then to decide whether you want to continue or not. In the meantime, Natalia," Catherine patted Nat's lap like she would a child's, "I think you'd better rest up. The surgery works best with a refreshed mind."

"Okay, but could you please call me Nat from now on?" Nat asked Catherine, "'Natalia' sounds too foreign."

"Sounds fine to me, Nat," Catherine said, standing up, "And feel free to call me Cathy or Cath."

"Thanks, Cath," Nat replied, getting up herself to open her suitcase, "And goodnight."

"Goodnight Nat." With that, Cathy walked out of the room, leaving Nat to get changed and go to sleep.

* * *

"Axon ties." The head surgeon said, sticking the microsurgery arm out of a small hole in the top of Nat's neck; a nearby nurse quickly replacing the head of the arm.

Nat had been woken abruptly in the early hours of the morning to head into surgery, rushed into the operating room wearing nothing but a patient's robe, guided by a nurse and Cathy there. She had no time to eat and only enough time to wash herself clean before she left.

In the room, she was given the basics of the surgery – that her spinal cord would be severed a bit below the brain stem, that the nerves would be firmly tied to prevent the axons inside to move around, that the Wireless Nerve would be inserted and calibrated in quick succession – before she was put into a deep sleep with anaesthetic.

"Wireless Nerve."

The Nerve, shaped on one side like a capped doughnut and on the other a vertebrae, was quickly fitted through the hole in Nat's neck, which was opened up with a scalpel to allow the device to go in. Once in, the device was checked against marked axons to ensure that the flow of nerve impulses was unbroken, and Nat's neck was closed up.

An hour later, Nat woke up in her bed with a sore neck, the anaesthetic having worn off. Checking her arms and legs to check if they still worked, she was quickly satisfied and went back to sleep.

* * *

After the long day of recovery, in which Nat could do nothing but lie in bed, watch some television and eat some small meals they gave her on trays, she was finally allowed to walk around and relax somewhere other than the bed. It also allowed her to spend a bit of time really checking out the very minor changes the Wireless Nerve made.

With only a small stumble on her way to the couch, Nat learned that while the device didn't cause a visible delay – her legs and arms moving as soon as she thought about moving – but the delay was enough to make the movements feel a little off. She could also feel pain just as fast as she used to – a small pinch to her thigh confirming this – and her sense of touch was unimpaired.

Her window to relax was cut short however, when Cathy and Dr Hudson entered the room, telling her that it was time to continue the experiment with the nerve tests.

"I already checked it myself," Nat claimed in an attempt to gain some more time to relax, "The Wireless Nerve works well; I can move and feel just as well as before, with it only feeling a tiny bit off when I move around."

"We're already aware of that," Dr Hudson told her, "These tests are to check the nerve signals to help calibrate the bionic limbs."

"Oh." Nat said, a little bit surprised. "How?"

"The Wireless Nerve in your neck transmits information between the two parts on a particular frequency," Dr Hudson explained, "Which we can pick up on remotely and compare with your movements. It will take a couple of days, and we'll have to subject you to a little bit of pain, but we can use the information we collect to sort out which nerve signals go where."

"Sounds fair." Nat said, finding no problem with this.

"Well, seeing as you're aware of what's happening and are okay with it, we might as well begin."

* * *

Come the end of the weekend, Nat was sore all over. The last four days of what they called "Nerve Tests" forced her to not only move around and bend, but also to experience sharp pain over most of her body and to stress most of her organs.

Of course, now that it was over, Nat could finally relax on the bed and think about whether or not she could continue on with the experiment or not. Rubbing her slightly bruised arm, which was already well into healing, Nat considered how she was treated during her time here, as well as what she would experience and how she would be changed if she continued.

After about an hour of serious thinking, Nat was almost at the point where she could make up her mind, when Cathy came in holding a large dinner tray with a decent slice of roast on it.

"I thought you might like something big to eat after those Nerve tests." Cathy explained.

"Thanks," Nat quietly replied with a mix of frustration and gratefulness.

"Hm?" Cathy hummed. "Are you still unsure of whether or not to go through with the rest of the experiment?" She sat down next to Nat on the bed.

"Yeah... it's just that while you've treated me well so far – and so has Dr Hudson – I'm not sure about the next stage of the experiment. From what you told me when I called to join, my limbs were being replaced with robotic replicas, and that sounds like a big change."

"Not really," Cathy said, taking up a more serious attitude, "From what we've seen with the last few test subjects, there are actually only a small number of changes, only three of which are big. First off, you'll have less sensory input, by which I mean that you won't have a sense of smell and you'll only have a very basic sense of taste. Second, for obvious reasons, you won't be able to... well... have sex. In fact, with the mechanical parts taking up to much space, only the end of the gastrointestinal tract can fit, so there's no space for any false organs down there." Nat was starting appear a little shocked. "Finally, and I can safely say that this is the good one out of the three, you'll be able to have remote control of your body parts."

"Hang on," Nat said, getting Cathy to pause so she could process the information provided, "My mouth and hips are going to be affected? I thought it was just my limbs."

"If I remember correctly," Cathy said, "I told you that it included your head, waist, and hips are also going to be replaced. In fact, your torso will end up being the only part with any of your original body, becoming the extended life support for your brain."

"I'd just be a living torso?!"

Nat tensed up almost immediately. This not only surprised her, it scared her to the bone as well.

"I may sound like I'm coaxing you into doing it," Cathy assured her, cradling Nat under one of her arms, "But it is nowhere near as bad as it sounds. They pretty much just made a more compact version of the major organs in the human body, small enough for one's brain to fit into one's own chest cavity with all the compact organ replacements."

"That sounds a little comforting," Nat said weakly, "But it does still sound very unnerving."

"Natalia," Cathy said, regaining her serious attitude and staring deep into Nat's eyes, "You do not have to continue – your rent problems have been covered for the next few weeks – but let me just say this: you are one of the most tenacious test subjects... no... you are one of the most tenacious people I have ever met. The very fact that you spent an entire week dedicated to just trying to finding a job before applying to be a test subject, regardless of the need for money or not, is enough to show me that. I am sure that you can not only cope with the change, but also to make the best of it as well."

"You really think so?" Nat asked, a bit more strength in her voice. Cathy nodded. "Well, you're making it sound more like a challenge than an experiment."

"It does sound a bit like that," Cathy laughed, "But I'm just saying that you'll realise, as I know other people have, that being a living torso with robotic body parts isn't really too different than you right now."

"Well, it does sound kind of tempting, but I'm not sure about the process. It just sounds a little bit like I'll be chopped up and then have my organs and brain just pushed together with some electronics."

Cathy gave a hearty laugh. "No, nothing like that. From what I know, they're just going to isolate your head for about half a day while they sort the artificial and real organs into a protective container the same size and shape as your ribcage. Nothing like the 'Violent disassembly and careful reassembly' thing that happens to robots."

"Isolate my head?" Nat asked, "What does that mean?"

"It pretty just means they're going to artificially keep your brain alive with a heart-lung machine – something that helps to circulate your blood without your heart. Don't worry, it's a technology that's been around for ages, so it's definitely reliable."

"Well, you bought me." Nat said with a smile. "The uncertainties were really unsettling me, but you explaining what was coming up and how other people have reacted to it just... it just makes me want to take the risk and go through with it. After all, the only difference nowadays between succeeding and failing is how long it takes for me to heal, right?" She lowered her head a little. "I sound a lot like my friend at the moment."

"At least you're making the decision and not your friend." Cathy happily said, "And yeah, other than the changes I've told you about, the only real difference is the recovery time." She gave Nat a friendly little shake. "You might as well eat your dinner before it gets cold – it'll be the last meal before you lose your tastebuds in the surgery tomorrow."

"Thanks Cath," Nat said as Cathy stood up to leave the room. "And not just for the dinner."

Cathy gave a small smile as she closed the door, leaving Nat to her dinner.

* * *

Groggily opening her eyes, Nat looked around. The last thing she remembered was getting put under anaesthetic in the operating theatre, now... well, she didn't know where she was. It was a fairly small white room, with one long table covered in blobs of pale peach. There was also a man who looked around her age sitting by this table, working intently on another of these blobs of pale peach.

She suddenly realised her entire body from the neck down was numb. She tried to move her arm in front of her face, but it didn't move. It was as if it was stuck... or worse.

She tried to look down as far as she could, only managing to turn her head down at a very slight angle, however this was enough to confirm what had happened with her.

Instead of seeing her body lying flat on a bed, Nat saw a tabletop. At the very bottom of her field of view there was a metal tray with a thin pool of a clear liquid flowing out from where her neck should be. She knew that her decapitated head was being kept alive somewhere away from her body or an operating theatre; a huge difference from what she was expecting.

Stifling some tears that were forming in her eyes, Nat tried to give a fearful shout, however nothing came out. Not a peep, not even a breath. It was as if all she was doing was tensing her neck muscles and opening her mouth – a clearly futile effort.

However, in her attempt to shout, she did cause a little rattle of the tray, and that was enough to catch the attention of the man at the table. Turning away from the pale peach blobs he was working on, he noticed Nat's moist eyes and fearful expression and understood immediately what was going on.

"Don't worry," He said in a calming voice, trying to draw Nat away from fear and more into a relaxed state, "The surgeons are giving you a brief change of scenery while they work on your body."

Nat gave a small sniff, or rather a little twitch of her nose. "Really?" She mouthed, not yet realising her inability to breathe.

"Yes." He told her. He didn't know how to read lips, however considering the situation he could easily tell what she meant. "Just relax, you're in good hands."

Nat gave a shy smile. She wasn't out of her fearful state yet, but she was well on her way there. Out of curiosity she looked over to the pale peach blobs, which now when she focused on it looked more like cylinders of various sizes.

"You want to know what these are?" He asked, reaching over to the blobs and picking one up, "These are actually your bionic parts."

Nat's eyes popped open with surprise. "My parts?" She mouthed.

"Yes." He told her, holding the part in his hand in front of him. "For example, this will be your..." He took a good look at the part. "...your left thigh. All the other ones behind me are your other parts... minus your torso, which is being filled at the moment. Would you like to see your head?"

Nat nodded with an eager smile on her face. She no longer was scared about the fact she was without a body, now that she knew where her new one was; though she did still have some concerns about her current state.

The man placed her left thigh back down on the table, then picked up a rounder part and showed it to Nat. This part looked just like her face, with the same features all the way down to the iris colour pattern. In fact, the only missing feature was her hair. He opened the part's mouth, and she noticed that the same amount of detail continued down her throat. Fascinated, Nat gave a silent "Wow..." before the man put the part in its place on the table.

"I can see you approve of the detail," The man said, "Well, you'll have to be if you're going to be in it for the exact same skin for the rest of your life. And don't worry, you'll have the same hairstyle you came in with when you leave, I can assure you of that.

Nat's expression grew into a warm smile, not just because of the man's subtle humour but also because he was somehow creating an aura of trust. With this warm smile she gave a strong glance to him, quickly adjusting to her lack of speech.

"You want me to talk about myself?" He asked. She gave a firm nod, or as much as a firm nod as she could do. "Well, I might as well say my name first. I'm Leon, and I pretty much just work here as a skin fitter for this project. It's not really that interesting, just tucking the skin over the parts like a bed sheet; the only hard thing about it is just making the skin seamless." He paused for about a second. "I'm boring you, aren't I?"

Nat wasn't really excited about the prospect of just listening to Leon for the entire time she was here, however considering that all she could do was really just sit and listen, she knew that this would be the best option. She gave the same look she gave when she was curious about her bionic parts.

"Okay then..."

* * *

It wasn't until two hours later when Nat left, or rather carried out, so her brain could be inserted into her new body. This was something she was both relieved and disappointed about – relieved because she would finally be able to move again, and disappointed because even though Leon said that he wasn't an excited person, some of the things he said were definitely entertaining.

Nat found it surprising how easily she was carried out. Cathy just came in, lifted up the tray – telling Nat that the heart-lung machine was actually placed just behind her head – and walked out. Nat only just had enough time to mouth out a quick "Goodbye" to Leon before she was out of his sight.

"Sorry about the rush," Cathy assured her as she walked down the corridor, "But they just want to get your brain in as soon as possible."

Feeling a slight shift in the tray, Nat heard a very faint squirt, and she slowly fell asleep. As she faded out of consciousness, Cathy quietly assured her that "It's only so they can get started right away."

* * *

Nat slowly opened her eyes from what felt like a long rest. She was lying down on a bed in what looked like the room she was residing in during her time at Stellar-C, except that it was unnaturally green.

"Sorry about the problems with colour," A familiar voice, that of Dr Hudson, apologised, "We're just getting your bionic eye to show you the correct colours."

"Bionic ey-" Nat asked, before stopping suddenly. She realised that her voice had returned.

"How else can we get images to transmit into your brain?" Dr Hudson replied rhetorically, "Sending an optic nerve into your chest would spoil the purpose of a removable bionic head."

"So my brain transplant, or whatever it'd be called, was a success?" The room returned to the normal whites and light greys as Nat sat up on the bed.

"As it has been for all the other test subjects. We just put you into a coma for the last couple of days to recover. It also gave us time to sort out your hearing, taste and touch."

Nat felt around what was her ribcage, assuring herself that this was now where her brain was. She also noticed that she did not have a heartbeat – rather a very faint vibration of a mechanical heart – and the motion of the chest from breathing was missing, instead a slight breeze emanated from the back of her neck.

"Don't worry," Dr Hudson assured her, "The bionic heart and lung are more than capable enough to keep you alive. We wouldn't be using it if it didn't."

Nat looked over towards Dr Hudson with a smile, but it quickly turn into one of slight shock when she noticed that he was quite a bit more blue than the last time she saw him, and even more so when he started changing colours. His coat and the laptop he was leaning over were both the normal whites, but his skin and hair changed from blue to green to red. However, this shock did not last long, especially since the colour changing stopped when he was his normal colour and she realised that it was just the bionic eyes being sorted out.

It was at this moment that Nat decided to strike up a conversation with Dr Hudson, just to pass the time.

"Didn't you and Cath say that I'd be able to take myself apart with my parts mostly bionic?" She asked Dr Hudson.

"Yes, we did," He replied. "It was initially just for maintenance, things like cleaning and repairs, but previous test subjects have actually found it quite interesting to do things with their detached parts."

"Really?" Nat was quite surprised by this – the prospect of doing things without a head or legs didn't really seem like something that'd be all too enjoyable.

"Yes. It wasn't really intended, the ability to be taken apart being more of a minor role, but as always people just seem to find the fun in what would generally be considered as a rather negative change."

"Well, it does sound interesting to at least try out once. Do you have any idea of how I could go about trying it?"

"Of course!" He said gladly, as if he wanted Nat to try it out. "There are faint buttons on the edges of each part, right next to the gaps in the parts. If you have a feel around your waist, you should find one them on the left and right."

Out of curiosity, Nat poked around her waist, pressing up and down her sides until she found two small bumps. She pressed one... nothing. She pressed the other one... still nothing. She tried pressing both buttons at once... click. The area around her waist felt a bit loose, as if a ring had cut the muscles in her waist and let them spread out painlessly.

Her body slid back, enough so that she felt the bed near the bottom of her waist, around where she pressed the buttons. Not expecting this, she fell to lie on the bed, or rather everything from the waist up did.

Nat straightened up in fear. The shock of actually being in two halves, painless or not, had gotten to her. The fact that she could actually see her hips separated from her body only made things worse.

"That's usually how the past test subjects felt in their first experience of this," Dr Hudson notified Nat, closing the laptop, "However I did also hear that that feeling didn't really last."

Nat was already starting to feel the same way as the past test subjects, already getting a bit used to the separation, the curiosity about her ability to still control her legs beginning to overtake the fear. She began to rhythmically bend her hips and knees to get used to the situation.

"Seeing as I'm pretty much done here," Dr Hudson said to Nat, "I might as well leave you to relax until Catherine gets here." Not getting a response from Nat, who was too intrigued by her detached legs, he quietly left.

* * *

About a couple of hours later, Cathy entered the room carrying a plate of food for Nat to eat. However, it slightly surprised her when she noticed that Nat wasn't really in one place.

In the hours since Dr Hudson had left, Nat had managed to not only get used to being in halves, but also to spread herself out around the room... quite literally. Head cradled in one of her arms, she had rested the top half of her body on the couch to watch some television, while the bottom half was sitting on one of the soft chairs with one of its legs draped, separated from her hip, over the other. It wasn't anything Cathy had ever seen before, but it strangely looked very relaxing, as if she'd like to experience it someday. She now understood why most of the previous test subjects reportedly enjoyed being in pieces.

"Nat," She said to the now-bionic test subject, distracting her from the sitcom she was watching, "I thought you might like to try out your new tongue." She gave the plate to Nat, then looked over to the detached legs. "You might want to put yourself back together. The digestive system doesn't really like holding food.

Nat gave a small sigh as she slowly hopped the leg attached to her hip towards her, the other one rolling carelessly onto the ground. She was only just getting used to being in pieces, and now she had to put herself back together just to eat some food. She reattached her bottom half and head, then looked down at the meal.

On the plate in her hands was a big steaming plate of macaroni and cheese. Just the microwaveable mac and cheese you could get for about a dollar pretty much anywhere. It was usually pretty good, but in this situation Nat would have expected something a bit more filling.

"Don't worry about the meal," Cathy assured Nat, noticing the look of concern on her face, "It's mainly because your stomach is still weak from the operation, and we don't want to make you ill on your first day living in your new body." She gave Nat a slight and friendly shake. "And it'll help you get used to the food you'll generally eat during uni."

Nat gave a small sigh as she hesitantly scooped up a small amount of macaroni and cheese onto her fork. Remembering Cathy's words from before the operation – "You'll only have a very basic sense of taste" – she expected the meal to taste very bland as she put the food in her mouth, however as it was crushed in her mouth and squeezed down her throat, it tasted and felt much like she'd expect macaroni and cheese to be. The creamy and cheesy taste filled her mouth and the warmth spread down the back of her throat, similar to the many microwavable meals she remembered having months, even years, ago.

"Wow," She breathed with a slight smile on her face, "That tasted a lot better than I thought would – just like real mac and cheese."

"I remember hearing one of the scientists referring to something like this. They mentioned it was like how you can feel the atmosphere of a place just by looking at a photograph of it... I think they said that's the same thing with food that you've eaten before."

"Sounds interesting," Nat said, before eating another mouthful of macaroni and cheese, "And this is really filling."

"Yeah, your stomach is pretty small now." Cathy said. "You don't really need much to eat, probably only a few mouthfuls every meal, especially since pretty much all you're feeding are your brain and digestive tract." Cathy got up off the couch. "I might as well leave you to your meal."

Cathy stood up and headed to the door, with Nat only managing to blurt out a quick "See you" in between mouthfuls of macaroni and cheese.

"Oh, and before I forget," Cathy said, halfway out the door, "The food, from what I've heard, goes right through you."

* * *

Cathy was right; the food did pretty much go right through Nat's body. She was starting to feel a bit tired while she was eating, but she didn't even have enough time to get changed for bed before she had to race to the bathroom to expel the yellow mess that was macaroni and cheese from her body.

She also experienced this with her breakfast, a small bowl of cereal, but she was more prepared that time and was already out the door after her final bite.

However, now that her body was empty of food, she had plenty of time to try out her new body's ability to detach and reattach her body parts. She had already split herself into two at the waist again, and she was just about to try her arms out, starting at the wrist.

Squeezing just above where her wrist bones would be, Nat quickly found the two buttons that would split her left hand from her arm and pressed them. With a slight click, her hand rolled onto the couch and sequentially bent its fingers under Nat's command.

Being in control of a severed hand was unnerving, the heightened need of the limb overcoming how much she had become used to splitting herself into pieces. However, flipping it over, she became used to it faster than the day before when she first split herself in half.

She tried this now-separated hand out, instinctively edging her hand over to her. It was slow at first, with a little stumbles, but as her hand reached her detached lap she was close to being able to reliably walk it around. Just for the sake of it, she started to climb her hand all over her legs and the couch.

* * *

I know she's going to like this information,, Cathy thought to herself as she walked to Nat's room, Especially since she has a new semester of uni coming up next week."

She tried to hide a small smile, the side of her mouth rising awkwardly. She didn't really know why, but in the short time Nat was here, she was starting to grow on Cathy. Sort of a cross between a friend and what she felt was a very maternal feeling. She did what she could to make Nat feel comfortable, just like with anyone else, but with Nat she was more... compelled to.

Opening the door to Nat's room, she was expecting her to be resting in pieces, but what she saw was quite concerning. Nat was armless; both arms separated from the shoulder lying on the couch either side of her. One of her hands, separated from its arm, was feverishly trying to click itself back onto the wrist.

Afraid that Nat's problem could end up worse, Cathy rushed next to her and quickly reattached her arms, forcing her hand afterwards. She breathed a sigh of relief about Nat being whole again, but it was cut short when she noticed that Nat's hands – in fact her whole arms – were attached to the wrong shoulders.

"Don't worry," Nat laughed. "It's alright, well at least for now. Why did you come here, anyway?"

"Well, I was just here to bring you some good news." She gave a little pause as she looked a Nat and her mixed-up arms, remembering the feelings that Nat brought to her. Managing a smile as a small tear came to her eye, she continued: "Considering how well you, and others before you, have managed to recovered, the people running the experiment have decided that you're free to go home now."

"Really?" Nat said in an excited manner, instantly straightening up.

"Yes." Cathy replied. "They said that as long as you come in weekly for checkups, you can go home and live your life."

"Thanks," Nat said, "So I can start packing now?"

"If you'd like," Cathy said, "But there's no rush." She stifled a tear with a small sniff as Nat got up.

Nat noticed this shoddily-hidden sadness in Cathy and sat back down, assuming the role that Cathy had provided prior. "Is anything wrong?"

"No, it's nothing." Cathy replied, rubbing at her eyes to get rid of the tears. Nat gave a stern look. "It's just that you... well, unlike the other people I've looked after before you... you made my care of you feel more personal to me. I don't know, it was probably something about your tenacity, but you somehow made caring for you more than a job... and I don't know if I can ever feel the same way about it again when you leave."

"Don't worry." Nat assured Cathy. She tried to hug Cathy over her shoulders, but with the mixed-up arms it turned into more of an awkward pat – her other arm... the one that she wanted to hug Cathy with... now resting directly along her own lap. "Erm, I'll always remember how you helped me during this time..." She lifts her arms and brings them in front of her, "...such as with this."

Cathy tried to hide a little laugh. The fact that Nat would try and use Cathy's own humour and comforting nature to try and put her in a more positive mood just seemed to be a bit funny, but it worked. Drying her tears, Cathy switched Nat's arms back to normal.

"Well, I'd best leave you to pack," Cathy told Nat, standing up, "I'll meet you out the front once you're done."

"Thanks," Nat said, standing up herself, "And thank you." She gave Cathy a quick hug before heading to her pile of clothes.

Giving one final look at Nat, Cathy left the room.

* * *

Cathy was sitting down, leaning back on one of the chairs at the front of the building, when Nat came out with her bag an hour after she last talked to her. She stood up and greeted Nat.

"I got a car to wait outside for you," She informed Nat in the most professional tone she could muster, "I thought you'd like to get home as soon as possible."

"Thanks," Nat said with Cathy, putting down her bag and giving her a firm final hug before picking her bag back up, "And goodbye."

"See you," Cathy replied.

Nat, bag in hand, headed towards the door out. However, as she reached the door, she remembered something and turned to face Cathy. "Could you give Leon my thanks?" She asked.

"I'll make sure to." Cathy said before they separated, Cathy to send the message to Leon and Nat to the car back home.

* * *

"Thanks," Nat told the driver of the car as she stepped out. Watching the car drive off, she retired inside to be greeted by a beaming Grace.

"So, how was it?" Grace excitedly asked Nat, practically jumping onto her for a hug. "Tell me everything that happened."

Nat nervously looked around to see if anyone was there. Even though she was comfortable about separating into pieces, the idea of showing anyone else, other than Grace, was unnerving. "Can we sit down first?"

"Sure," Grace said, racing to a chair and jumping into the seat. Nat calmly sat down on the adjacent couch. "Well, the experiment was pretty much about bionic limbs; you know, arms legs and..."

Nat reached up to her neck and pressed the buttons on either side, taking it off and resting it on the couch arm next to her.

"Wow!" Grace exclaimed, unusually excited about Nat's detached head. "Can I have a better look?"

"Might as well," Nat said, passing her head over to Grace. She rolled the head around, examining every inch of it to compare it with what was Nat's real head, before resting it in her own lap.

"What about your brain?" Grace asked Nat. "I mean, your brain's in your head, but what about the blood?"

"Actually, my brain's here." Nat pointed to her chest.

"Wow!" Grace exclaimed again. "So how did this happen?"

"Well, first..