8

Aria turned on the water to get hot. A bath is tempting, but I honestly just want to lay down, so a shower will do. She turned and looked into the mirror. She started to turn away after noticing her eyes. No! Look at yourself.

Aria looked and didn’t like what she saw. Pale-yellow eyes instead of her green ones, long black hair with the tips of pointed ears sticking through it, and that perfect skin. I guess those guys were telling the truth. People would say I’m beautiful if they could get past my eyes and ears. But this isn’t me, is it?

Aria did what the sarge recommended after calming down. She walked in front of the mirror and noticed a change. The change just wasn’t in the jiggle of certain body parts either. I move as gracefully as a dancer even though I’ve never been able to dance. What did they do to me?

Those pale-yellow orbs watered up. A few seconds later, Aria sat in the bathtub under the shower spray with her arms wrapped around her knees and let the tears fall. A part of her realized her emotions had overcome whatever dampening effect the implant had, but the rest didn’t care. Another small part of her realized that the hot water didn’t burn her though the pounding water both irritated her skin and felt good at the same time. Aria cried not just for what she had become nor for what she had lost, but she also cried for the loss of innocence she feared was yet to come.

*

Aria Baird: Hi Hannah. Thanks for the new sheets. They were a pleasant surprise.

Hannah Humphries: You’re welcome. Enjoy the silk! Don’t tell anyone, but I fabricated a set for myself.

Aria Baird: Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.

Hannah Humphries: 10-4. Let me know if you need anything else.

Silk? No wonder the sheets felt so soft and smooth, Aria thought. I wonder if they’re spoiling me as a bribe. She sighed. Best not to think about that sort of thing. It’ll drive me crazy and not trust a soul.

She considered getting up and dressed. She also considered going back to sleep. There was barely any light coming through the window.

Sergeant Hauora: Rise and shine. It’s another glorious day in the corps! You’ve got 10 minutes to do whatever you need to do. Dress for running.

Corps? Does Gunny think this is the marines?

Aria Baird: Are you sure there’s no cameras in this room? I’m not a marine either.

Sergeant Hauora: Positive and force of habit. I’m still adjusting to the corporate world.

Aria Baird: It’s still dark out.

Sergeant Hauora: It’s 0600. We’re burning daylight.

What time is that? A handy little clock appeared in the top right corner of her vision showing that it was 6AM. The clock faded away. That’s neat and creepy. This implant thing is reading my thoughts.

Aria Baird: Fine. I’m up. Are we going outside to run on the track?

Sergeant Hauora: Negative. You’ll start training in the gym on a treadmill. You need to adjust to how your senses before we explore the great outdoors. You now have 9 minutes.

Asshole! Aria thought. Shorts, leggings, or sweatpants today? Sweatpants over shorts since I imagine he’ll make me work hard and I’m not sure how the breeze from running will feel over bare legs. This way I’ll be prepared like a boy scout.

*

Aria was frowning when the sergeant opened her door. “Aria, what’s wrong with you this morning?”

“These running shoes aren’t comfortable at all.”

“They’re new.”

“No. It’s not just that they’re new. They fit, but they hurt my feet.”

“You didn’t have a problem with the sandals.”

“Those were Birkenstock slide clones,” Aria replied. “Besides, sandals are almost always comfortable.”

“Say no more,” Sergeant Hauora said. “We’ll pick up a new pair of running shoes after breakfast.”

*

“Aria, why are you slowing down?” Gunny Hauora asked. “You’ve only been up at a decent running speed for 30 minutes.”

He says that as if I’ve been a runner for years and should be doing better.

“I’m getting hot, and these sweatpants feel like they want to fall off.”

“We don’t have time for you to go change.”

“Relax Gunny. I’m wearing shorts under the pants,” Aria said. She stopped walking after a couple of minutes and took the pants off. “Hey Gunny. Do you know why I don’t have hair on my legs or anywhere else for that matter? I mean, I was in a coma for months. Hair should have grown everywhere unless someone was shaving me.”

“No, I don’t know. And no, nobody was shaving you.”

That’s a relief. Aria heard one of the techs monitoring the session mutter something about her being lucky to not need to shave again because of the process that turned her into an elf to her coworker.

“Huh. Guess they did something to me,” Aria said, pointing at the techs. “She said I’m lucky and that I don’t need to shave again.”

Aria heard the tech squeak and shook her head. They should know I can hear anything in this gym. She put the new running shoes back on and took a sip of water from the provided water bottle.

“Ready?” the sergeant asked.

“Ready,” Aria replied. “Though some music or a book would be nice.”

Gunny growled. Aria grinned and started running again.

*

“You’ve done good,” the sergeant said after checking with the techs. “You were able to run for four hours straight. And your pace was good enough to equal that of someone that has been running for a few years.”

“I have no idea what that means,” Aria replied.

“Mostly that you’re above human normal by quite a bit even if you’ve never been a runner before. I’ll have you at the elven estimated baseline in a week or two.”

“Joy. Does this mean I get to use the restroom and get some lunch now?”

“Indeed, it does. Don’t eat a heavy meal though. We have more testing to do this afternoon including weight training.”

“Ugh. Shoot me instead,” Aria muttered. “And speak for yourself about the meal. My body is demanding nourishment. I plan on eating a whole cow or at least a large pizza.”

“Hmmm. Could be a side effect of the change or her nanobots demanding more nutrients,” one of the techs said. “I’ll send it up to the scientists to investigate.”

“Alright,” Gunny replied to the tech.

Dr Clarkson: Aria, just wanted to let you know that Dr Roth has approved for you to have unlimited communications with your parents and unlimited access to the book, music, and entertainment libraries. You’ll have the necessary permissions in a few minutes.

Aria Baird: Thanks Doc!

She smiled and told the sergeant about the message.

“Yeah, Clarkson copied me on the message. You can talk to your parents this evening until your heart is content,” Gunny Hauora said. “And before you ask, you’ll have to figure out how to access the libraries on your own. Consider it training.”

“The interface is easy. I’m already searching for music,” Aria replied.

9

“Hello,” Piper Baird, said answering the call with uncertainty. The call was coming from an unknown caller, and she had only answered because whoever it was had called four times in two minutes and she hoped it was someone with an update on Aria.

“Hi mom. It’s me,” Aria said in greeting.

“Aria?” Piper questioned. Then she yelled, “Mike!”

“What is it?” Aria heard her dad ask. She wiped her eyes. Don’t cry! “Is something wrong?”

“It’s Aria!” her mom answered. She heard her dad join the call. “Sweetie, we’ve been so worried!”

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Is that really you, baby?” her dad asked.

“Yeah dad, it’s me,” Aria confirmed. She heard her parents start to sob. Her own tears started to fall as they started to talk and catch up.

*

“Mom, dad, I have a question,” Aria said an hour later.

“What is it?” Mike asked.

“You can ask us anything,” Piper added.

Aria took a deep breath. “Why did you let them do this to me?”

“We wanted you to live and return to us,” her mother answered.

“We couldn’t stand to see you so hurt,” her dad added.

“Why not just let me die?”

“We never could have done that either,” Mike replied.

“Aria sweetie, we’ve always wanted the best for you,” Piper said. “And yes, we pushed you at times, but that was because what we pushed for like your music was what we thought was the best thing for you. Making sure you live was what was best for you even if you don’t think so.”

“No parent should ever have to see their child die,” her dad said, adding another reason to their decision.

“And whatever I mumbled when I was drugged was enough for Dr Roth and the company to consider legal consent,” Aria said.

“Yes,” her mother agreed.

“You can hate us if you need or want to,” Mike said.

“Oh dad. I don’t hate you or mom,” Aria replied as her eyes teared up again. “I could never do that. But do you have any idea about what they have done to me?”

“No baby,” Piper answered. “We were only told there would be some changes including your eyes since they had to be replaced.”

“I was also promised you wouldn’t be turned into some kind of freaky monster with animal ears,” Mike added.

“I am a freak, and my eyes are yellow now,” Aria said, a touch of bitterness in her voice. She heard the gasp from bother her parents. “I even have pointed ears now. They’re sort of knife or maybe leaf shaped.”

“Oh my God!” her mom exclaimed. Aria heard her dad slam a hand into something and curse. “Mike?”

“Dad?” Aria asked.

“Roth turned you into an elf, didn’t she?” her dad asked.

“Yes.”

“Elf? What are you talking about?” Piper asked. “Like a Christmas elf or one from Tolkien?”

“Tolkien,” Mike replied.

“What? Why?” Piper nearly screamed. Aria heard her mother step away from her phone and start cursing.

Mom is really ticked off, Aria thought. A smile touched her lips. “Uh, mom. I can still hear you.”

The cursing got louder, and she heard footsteps. Guess dad is trying to calm her down. A couple of minutes later, her parents returned to the call.

“I’m sorry sweetie,” her mom said. “So, you have great hearing?”

“I’ve been told it’ll be roughly on par with a cat’s hearing,” Aria replied. “They’ve told me I have to adjust to my new senses.”

“Senses?” Mike repeated. Aria told them about everything she had been told so far. She heard her dad curse under his breath. “Sorry baby. I don’t like for you to hear me or your mom cursing.”

“I know. It’s alright dad. I’ve said much worse since I woke up,” Aria replied.

“At least wearing silk all the time isn’t so bad,” Piper said. Aria could hear the smile in her mom’s voice and knew she was trying to cheer her up.

“I doubt they’ll keep letting me wear silk,” Aria countered. Maybe they will. It is spider silk after all. “But I hope they do. The bra fits amazingly well.”

Her dad coughed. Aria and her mom laughed.

“I know where you’re at,” Mike said, to change the subject. “Roth’s facility is in Blacksburg. We’ll be there as quickly as we can to see you. Hopefully, just a few days but it might be a week or two if Roth plays hardball.”

“I’m not sure if she’ll allow that,” Aria replied.

“Roth won’t have a choice,” Mike countered. “I haven’t just been sitting around worrying the last year or so. I’ve called in some favors that go high enough up the chain that Roth won’t be able to refuse our visiting.”

“I’m not sure that visiting is a good idea,” Aria quietly said. I want to see and hug them, but what if they just put them in Roth’s clutches? And what if the changes made to me disgust them? “I really don’t look like I did before.”

“That doesn’t matter. You’d still be our baby girl even if you had a tail,” Piper replied. Then in a more cheerful sounding voice, her mother added, “besides, aren’t elves supposed to be beautiful?”

“Yeah,” her dad laughed.

“So, are you beautiful sweetie?” Piper asked.

“I don’t think so,” Aria answered.

“You’ve always had issues accepting compliments and accepting your looks,” her mother replied.

“And you’ve always told me I’m prettier than I am,” Aria countered. Or was.

“Don’t argue,” Mike said. “We can catch sleeping beauty up on what she missed this past year.”

“That reminds me. Is my apartment still mine?” Aria said.

“Afraid not,” Piper answered. “But we did get your clothes and stuff before the company threw it away.”

They talked about any and everything for another three hours. It was a much-needed balm to Aria’s soul.

*

“Why did the company make our daughter an elf?” Piper asked after they ended the call with Aria so she could get some sleep.

“I suppose Roth saw the opportunity and took it,” Mike answered.

“Just how bad are these changes going to be?”

“From what I’ve been able to find out, Aria will be beautiful and except for her eyes, her ears will be no worse than some of the prosthetic ears used in movies.”

Piper used a tablet to alter a picture of Aria to look like an elf with yellow eyes and more angular features. “Something like this?”

“Most likely.”

“That’s not so bad,” Piper said, putting the tablet down. “What else have you heard about Roth’s project?”

“The first version of the elves was supposed to be slightly stronger and faster than normal people and have the pointed ears. With few exceptions, most are also no taller than 5’6” tall.”

“That’s odd,” Piper said. “But Aria is only 5’2”, so she’ll fit right in unless these changes have made her taller.”

“She didn’t say she was taller, so I think not,” Mike replied. “From what I can remember reading, the elves in the stories were all slight and slender. So, that means they would be smaller than humans but taller than dwarves.”

“Oh. Are there dwarves too?” Piper asked. Mike nodded. “What other changes were supposed to be done to these new elves?”

“There are rumors of slightly better healing abilities, stamina, and the like along with hearing and vision, but nothing like Aria said has been done to her. I think this means Roth or someone higher up decided to push the envelope and decided our baby girl was a suitable test subject since Aria needed new eyes.”

“So, they made our daughter into some kind of bioweapon?”

“I’m afraid so,” Mike answered. “And I’m glad in a way.”

“Mike! How could you?” Piper demanded.

“Because there are also rumors that some of the elves are being prepped to be… companions.”

“What?”

“Beautiful young women and men have always been used for… other things throughout history.”

“So, it’s super soldier or whore for the elites?” Piper exclaimed. Mike put his arm around his wife. She snuggled into his side.

“Those two or tossed into Southland to populate the villages, towns, and work some menial job until some tourist decides to take things too far,” Mike replied as calmly as he could. “At least this way Aria has a fighting chance to come home to us.”

10

Aria started poking around the implant’s OS after getting off the call with her parents. In some ways this operating system is simpler and more complex than any I’ve worked with before. Seems if I think it, the OS does it.

A map of the facility wouldn’t appear in her vision after trying to summon one. Ok. I guess not everything is just a thought away. She glanced at the door. Nope. The door won’t unlock either.

Authorization required to unlock door. See a systems administrator for authorization.

She dismissed the notice. Yeah, they’re not going to give me that any time soon.

Aria considered what she needed to do. Getting used to my new senses is the first thing because trying to navigate the world with cat like hearing sounds like a pain in the butt. I think I can handle my new vision even if I’m not trained in how to take advantage of it. The other senses will probably be a pain too. So, how can the implant help with adjusting to the new me?

She thought about it for a few minutes and snapped her fingers when an idea came to her. Aria flinched from the snap noise. Well, that’s one way but I’d get bored snapping my fingers constantly.

Aria forced herself back on the task at hand. They gave me permission to download and stream music from their libraries. Nobody told me how to play the music though. Then again, I didn’t ask either.

So, I can assume the implant can connect to speakers in this room and perhaps others places like the gym. That or the implant can play music directly into my head where only I can hear it. She scratched an itch on her left earlobe where her hair had brushed against it. Connect to available speakers.

Room speakers connected.

“It worked!” Aria exclaimed. “Play The Four Seasons by Vivaldi.”

Why am I talking aloud like a moron? Aria wondered. The violin blared as Spring started playing. Aria screamed and covered her ears. That hurts!

“Mute!”

The music muted. She rubbed her temples until the pain receded. Aria checked the speaker volume and turned it down.

At least this isn’t Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with cannons. That thought made her smile. She knew she would have to work up to that song. I should probably download some rock and metal once I’m ready to push myself. That stuff is always loud.

Let’s try this again. Unmute. The music started but was still too loud. She kept adjusting the volume until it was at a comfortable level, which was lower than what she would have listened to before.

Aria disconnected the room speakers and played the music in her head. Neat! It sounds like I’m wearing earbuds but I’m not. She experimented a bit and found she could play music in both ears, the left only, or the right only. She reconnected to the room speakers. That’s awesome. The music is at the same volume no matter which method I use to listen to it.

She went to the bathroom and prepared for bed while the music played over speakers in there in addition to the bedroom after she had reconnected to the room speakers. Aria got into bed and pulled up a partial list of books she had downloaded. She chose a book to read and started reading it.

Ok, this is going to take some getting used to. No matter which way she turned her head the text stayed in front of her in a semi-transparent state just like the notices and messages. That’s sort of neat and isn’t too distracting.

She closed her eyes, and the text disappeared. When she opened them a couple of minutes later, the book was still there along with a notice asking if she wanted to continue reading. Aria declined to keep reading and dismissed the notice stating a bookmark was placed and the book would open at the same spot the next time she wanted to read that book.

Aria closed her eyes and listened to Summer. The Vivaldi classic was a fantastic piece, but it was a little on the long side too. She drifted off to sleep as Fall gave way to Winter.

*

“Enjoy the talk with your parents?” Sergeant Hauora asked after they started walking toward the commissary for breakfast.

“Very much. They want to visit,” Aria replied.

“Of course they do,” the sarge said. “Might not be a good idea though.”

“That’s what I said, but dad thinks he has the pull to swing it. And honestly, I want to see them too.”

“I understand,” the gunny said. “I wish your dad luck.”

“Thanks,” Aria replied. They fell silent and she started playing Mozart as they walked. Soon she was humming along.

“What are you humming?” Gunny Hauora asked.

“Mozart’s Overture from The Marriage of Figaro,” Aria answered. “You’ve probably heard it since it’s been used in several movies over the years.”

“Glad to see you’ve figured out how to control your implant to that level.”

“It was pretty easy once I got the volume down enough.”

“Yeah, I can see that being a pain for you,” Hauora said. He grinned. “You’re young. I’m surprised you’re a classical music fan and not a what are they called, oh yeah, a Swiftie.”

“Ugh. Just because I’m young doesn’t automatically mean I like Swift’s music,” Aria retorted. “Her stuff shouldn’t even be called music.”

Gunny Hauora laughed. “You won’t get any disagreement from me. I prefer jazz, the blues, and older country western music.”

“Jazz isn’t bad. Neither are the blues,” Aria agreed. “I can’t recall listening to older country music though. Some of the newer country stuff I heard before my accident is a lot like pop, hip hop, and rock though.”

“Yeah, it’s not as good,” the sarge said. “So, what got you into classical music?”

“You didn’t read it in my file?” Aria inquired. He shook his head. “I’ve played the piano and violin since I was four.”

“Yeah, I do remember reading that you were a musical talent,” Hauora said. “Didn’t realize you are a prodigy though.”

“I’m not sure I’m a prodigy. I gave up playing music when I was in high school.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to fit in with the other kids and got tired of performing in events my mother planned,” Aria answered. Seeing the gunny glance at her, she continued, “Didn’t work though. The other kids had already formed their cliques, and I was still left out of a lot of parties and such anyway.”

“Yeah, that happens.”

“Anyway, things had gotten better in college, and I made some friends. I even started teaching myself how to play the guitar just for the fun of it.”

“Did you get any good?” the gunny asked as they got in line to get their breakfasts.

“I guess. Others liked my playing at least.”

“Like I said, you’re a prodigy,” Sergeant Hauora said with a smile. She smiled back and shrugged.