“Humor me Hensley. Now that we have the construct here in-person, do walk me through how this works. With say… This gentleman right here.” Director Shimada stated.

He pointed at a sickly pale man with thinning chestnut hair who had propped himself into the pod. Hensley’s eyes widened as a familiar face stood next to the pod with a pained expression on his face.

“Dodger…” Hensley murmured.

Dodger glanced over to Hensley as he and Shimada approached. Dodger mustered a faint smile. He patted Hensley on the shoulder.

“Hey pal. Thanks for getting Peterson in here so soon.” Dodger said, his grip tightened.

Shimada raised an eyebrow. He smirked and lightly smacked Dodger’s hand off of Hensley.

“Please. Sir. Allow your friend here to focus. Thank you.” Shimada scolded him.

Dodger just shyly nodded and gave them some distance. Hensley swallowed hard and nodded to the both of them. He looked to the console jutting out from the pod. Cracking his knuckles, he began typing. A scientist approached the pod, taking the various cords and plugging them into the top end of the pod. The bottom end of the pod lifted slightly and slid up, completely sealing Peterson inside. His limbs were then restrained and a device clamped down onto his skull. Two small mechanical arms attached to the head device resembling syringes jabbed right into his neck.

“So… The pod will serve as a protective shell for the patient. Each of those cords has a role to play. The first powers a sedative injected into their neck to keep them calm during the rest of the process. The second powers the entire pod. Connects it to the construct. The third… Powers the ‘neuro-killer’. It’s designed to effective silence the brain and sever all it’s connections to the body…” Hensley started explaining. “… Once that’s done, the ‘neuro-killer’ drills into the skull and extracts the microchip safely. Once extracted, the data is uploaded into the construct for storage until it can be routed into the new microchip for the new body. Hence the drawer there that contains a slot.”

Shimada seemed quite impressed. Dodger was hopeful despite the morbid process. Shimada pat Hensley on the back.

“That’s only the first half though. What about the second half?” Shimada asked.

“The… Second half?” Dodger spoke softly.

Hensley sighed and took a deep breath, glancing inside the pod. Peterson was completely sedated now. Initially squirming when the syringes were inserted, now he’s not moving at all. His eyes were closed. The ‘neuron-killer’ had already begun the extraction process. The drill pierced through his head and skull, exposing the spot on the brain where the microchip was. The drill then split into three and two tiny mechanical arms reached for the chip, plucking it out with precision.

“The old body is to be removed by one of the scientists. They’ll be transporting all the old bodies to the city’s morgue for cremation. Someone from the Replicant division will place the new body into the pod. Same setup as before but the process will be… Different. The new microchip will go through the pod and prepare for insertion. This involves all the data stored in the construct to be transferred into the new chip. Once that’s complete, the ‘neuro-killer’ will just drill into the skull then the new chip will be carefully inserted just as surgeons do. The holes will be sealed up, the drill will retract and the process is complete. Restraints are released. The ‘neuro-killer’ will remove itself from the head along with the syringes. And the new body… Can be released. It’s done…” Hensley continued explaining.

Shimada nodded and gave a solemn golf clap. Dodger rubbed his arm nervously.

“Incredible. This is truly revolutionary technology. But… Let’s save any celebration for afterwards.” Shimada said. “We are still not one-hundred percent sure this will work. But knowing you, I’m certain it will. All of this funding and time spent shall not go to waste.”

“I sure hope so. I... I’ve poured ten years of my heart and soul into this project. It cannot fail!”

The screen on the console flashed green. Signaling that the process is complete. The screen next to the pod showed Peterson’s vitals. He was pronounced dead and that the extraction was done. Dodger looked down into the pod. He pressed a hand on the glass, staring at the body of Peterson. A single tear streaked down his cheek. Pounding on the glass softly, he stepped back as a scientist approached the pod.

Hensley typed on the console. The shell ejected steam and slid down. The scientist reached into the pod and pulled out Peterson’s corpse. Dodger held back tears, watching as the scientist carried the corpse away.

“The Replicant division should be here any minute now with the new bodies.” Hensley said, looking to Dodger.

Shimada glanced around, seeing a few more bodies being carried away from their pods. He didn’t notice any other visitors aside from Dodger and it had him curious. He looked back to Hensley.

“Hensley… I see that your friend here is the only visitor. Any particular reason why?” Shimada asked.

“Oh. Well, two reasons. For one, he’s my best friend and I… Admittedly prioritized his brother’s uncle, Peterson, to be one of the first batch of volunteers. And second, none of these people here have visitors either due to lack of social connections or ensuring this was done in private from anyone they knew.” Hensley replied.

“I see. I see. Just pondering is all. Understandable. I assume the couches are for waiting then?”

“Yes sir.”

“Let us go have a seat then until mister Peterson’s new body arrives.”

“Sure. Dodger?”

Dodger just nodded silently.

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A few scientists entered the building being followed by a group of people in their underwear. Dodger stood up immediately upon seeing the face of Peterson. He was led to the pod and instructed by the scientist to get inside of it.

“Peterson…” Dodger murmured under his breath.

He ran over to the pod. Hensley and Shimada stood up and followed suit. Hensley approached the pod, inserting the microchip into the slot and shutting the drawer. He went to the console once more and started typing away on it.

“So, these are the replicants… Soulless husks with basic motor functions.” Shimada stated. “And once the microchips are installed with the data extracted from the old ones…”

“… They’ll be reborn into their new bodies. Yes.” Hensley added.

“Fascinating. He looks exactly like the man who was just occupying that very same pod.”

“Yup. Okay, here we go…”

The pod sealed up. Restraints were up. The ‘neuron-killer’ locked down onto his head. Dodger and Shimada watched in awe while Hensley began the process. The device drilled into his head where it split apart to let the mechanical arms slot the new microchip into the brain. Once retracted, the arms started sealing up the holes with processed bone marrow and skin tissue fed into the device through a tube.

“To think they’re alive when that thing lobotomizes them…” Dodger gulped.

The console screen flashed green. The screen next to the pod showed proper vitals. He was alive and well even after the process. Hensley opened the pod up. The man sat up, looking down at his body. He touched his face, rubbed his palms together and even blinked. His frantic gaze locked onto Dodgers.

“Dodger… It’s me. Peterson. I-I feel… I feel great.” The man spoke.

Dodger’s eyes lit up. He went in for a tight hug. Peterson embraced him.

“Little bro is going to be so happy…” Dodger sniffled.

Shimada even found himself blown away by the outcome right in front of him. Hensley breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to face Shimada who wore a surprised expression. He reached out a hand and pressed it down onto Hensley’s shoulder.

“Damn fine work Hensley…” He spoke.

Hensley’s eyes lit up. He cupped his hands together and bowed his head.

“Thank you, sir.” He replied with enthusiasm.

“I must go arrange a meeting with some people. Expect it very soon as you will be the guest of honor.”

Shimada pulled out his phone and left to walk around while he made some calls. Hensley joined Dodger and Peterson who was now out of the pod and standing. Hensley tapped him on the shoulder.

“So… How do you feel Peterson?” He asked.

“Incredible. It… It feels like I never left my old body. My limbs all work. My head is clear. Vision is fine. And that pain I felt is no more. I can’t even feel the spot where my skull was fucked with.” Peterson replied.

“That’s great! Oh my God that’s so great…”

Dodger pulled Hensley in for a big hug. They patted each other on their backs.

“My guy you actually did it! Once my brother is back from his business trip, we can go surprise him! It’ll be huge!” Dodger exclaimed.

Hensley nodded in agreement. Peterson put on some clothes left by the scientist from earlier. Once he was dressed, the three of them left the building to go take Peterson out as a celebration of his rebirth.

The first batch of replicants were a resounding success. The following day came and Hensley was away from BioMed traveling to Colorado with Dodger and Peterson. So, with Shimada’s approval the second batch of eight volunteers were brought in by the same members of the Soul Cage science team. One-by-one the bodies were plucked from their pods after having their microchips extracted. The volunteers of this batch were terminally ill in one form or another and had a ticking clock leading to death’s doorstep.

One volunteer, an eighty-five-year-old elderly lady transported from the hospital she was staying at all the way in Minnesota, woke up in a fresh, younger body. She approached a mirror to examine herself. Her body was formed to resemble how she looked in her mid-twenties from the college years. She pressed her hands to her breasts. Ran a palm down her thigh. Brushed her hands through her long golden blonde hair. It was astounding that it brought tears to her eyes. No longer confined to a bed surrounded by machines, she left the facility to go reconnect with her children and grandchildren. A bounce in her step, she felt immortal. That age no longer tied her down.

Another volunteer, a younger man in his twenties who was stricken with an incurable disease, got a check-up from the local doctor who resided in the facility. After a diagnosis, he found no disease whatsoever. The man cried tears of joy. His two best friends joined him for a group hug and left to celebrate his new disease-ridden life. The gray-haired, bearded doctor was pleased with the results he was seeing. He only had two patients left to diagnose once they were released. While scanning his notes, a scientist shouted from across the room.

“Fuck! Doc, get over here quick!”

The doctor quickly ran over to the pod where two scientists stood panicking. Inside the pod, a burly man with tattoos was pounding the glass with his fists. His psychotic screams muffled but sent shivers down everyone’s spines.

“What the hell is going on here?!” The doctor hissed.

“H-he just started freaking out after waking up once the chipping was complete!” The female brunette scientist replied. “His vitals are showing extreme heart-rate spikes. Oh, this is bad. This is really bad…”

The doctor went to examine the screen showing the patient’s information. The brainwaves showed rapid fluctuation and unusual patterns. He raised an eyebrow and glanced down at the notes on his tablet.

“His memory is scrambled! He’s losing his mind because his subconscious doesn’t know how to handle being inside a body that’s not originally his. You could compare it to someone overdosing on psychedelics and being unable to comprehend an out-of-body experience. But how come he’s the only one who’s reacted like this…?”

“I-I really don’t know, doc! What do we do though?? Hensley’s not here right now!”

Before the doctor could respond, the burly man started cracking the glass with his knuckles until punching hard enough that it soon shattered. His knuckles were bleeding with tiny glass shards stuck into the flesh. He started climbing out of the pod screaming bloody murder.

“Goddamn it! Sedate him now!” The doctor shouted.

The male scientist reached into his lab coat for a syringe. As he was about to stick the syringe into the man’s arm, he grabbed the scientist’s wrist and stole the syringe only to jab it into the scientist’s eye. He fell onto the floor crying in pain while blood seeped from the eye socket. The female scientist screamed and backed up. The doctor snuck up behind the burly man and jabbed a syringe straight into his neck. He then fell to the floor, now unconscious.

“Don’t just stand there you idiot! Let’s grab him and get him over into the medical wing stat! We need to get that syringe out of his eye and treat him immediately!” The doctor shouted.

He and the female scientist picked up the bleeding scientist. They rushed out of the facility to head over to the main BioMed building. The remaining two scientists only watched the scene play out, feeling horrified at what just happened. Their gazes went to the unconscious burly man asleep on the floor. For now, all they could do is restrain him.