April awoke feeling a little dizzy. She was in the bedroom where she spent most of her life. Today it felt like someone had opened her brain and started rearranging the pieces but hadn’t put them back in the proper order. April was used to a little disorientation when Delta would command the cyborg body, but this was a unique feeling. Her bedroom window was open, and bright sunlight shone through the window.

Did Delta take over? Or is it the drugs the doctors have been giving me?

April hated the feeling of helplessness she had when Delta was in the driver’s seat, and the drugs made it easier for her to take over. She pleaded with the nurses every time they took her out of bed for exercise and changed her IV.

“I don’t need drugs. I’m not trying to leave this place. It’s kind of nice,” April said.

“It’s time for your daily walk,” the nurse said.

The nurse didn’t have a name tag, but April had referred to her as Rose because of her red hair.

“Can you walk on your own power, or do you need a wheelchair?” Rose asked.

“No wheelchair this time, I can manage,” April said.

Before merging with the cyborg body, April had been confined to a wheelchair for much of her life. She didn’t like what she had become, what her grandfather forced her to be.

The nurse handed April a cane. “I know you want to walk on your own, but everyone needs help every once in a while.”

“Thanks, Rose,” April said.

“My name is Marge, dear.”

I like Rose better—plus she looks more like a Rose than a Marge.

With the aid of the cane, April made it to the courtyard before she had to sit and rest. Although the cyborg was more than capable of walking on her own, the drugs made everyone groggy.

I don’t want Delta to take over again.

She didn’t want to give any of the nurses an excuse to put her back into bed.

Let’s see what Mum is doing.

The nurse kept a close watch, but April preferred to keep moving. Even though most of her was integrated with a machine, a great deal of her was organic flesh and blood—or what passed for it, anyway. The nurse tried to hold her upright, but April batted her hand away.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“I can manage. I just want to walk the grounds alone. You can watch from afar.”

Marge gave her a concerned look but allowed April to move on her own. She was comforted by the warmth of the sun. Her mother’s office was just on the other side of the courtyard.

Mum is busy, but I would like to say hello. Maybe she will walk with me today?

April opened the French door. Her mother’s office was just on the other side of that hall. She looked back into the courtyard. Marge was looking at her phone.

Perfect time to make my move.

With the aid of the cane, April managed to reach her mother’s office. She was engaged in conversation with a man.

“You can’t keep spending the way you are. The foundation is supposed to be a non-profit, and you are in a serious deficit,” the man said.

“How much do I need to open the New York office? The opening is a huge event for us. I’m supposed to receive donations from several benefactors,” Melissa said.

“Some of them will want to see what they are paying for. Will you at least reconsider bringing April on the trip to New York?”

“No, Robert, I think she should stay in Edinburgh. At least until she’s well enough to travel.”

“I want to go to New York. I think Jet lives near there,” April blurted.

Marge grabbed April’s free hand. “She was supposed to stay in the courtyard—I’m sorry,” Marge said.

“I wanted to see Mum, and I’ve been sleeping enough. The nurses keep me drugged all the time. I can’t think. I could walk on my own if they didn’t drug me,” April snapped.

“I just want you to be healthy and heal. A long trip is too stressful. I’m sorry, but my decision is final,” Melissa said.

The nurse tried to coax April out of Melissa’s office, but she wouldn’t move.

“Now April, I need you to come with me,” Marge insisted. “You promised you would play nice. Do you want me to take your outdoor privileges away?”

April stood motionless for a moment.

“No, Nurse Marge, I’m sorry if I disobeyed. I’ll be a good girl. Can I play a game on my tablet? I like the chess game Grandfather gave me.”

“Sure, that would be fine April, but you need to leave your mum.”

“Thank you,” April said as she walked toward her bedroom, carrying the cane.

“It looks like you have your footing . . .” Marge trailed off. “You’re overdue for your medicine.”

April closed her eyes for a moment, then gave Marge an icy stare.

“Wait? When did you change? You’re not April.”

Delta gave her a wicked smile.

“I’m the much improved version with less emotional baggage,” Delta said as she took the tablet from Nurse Marge.

“You’re not going to give me any trouble, are you?”

“No, I’ll let you do your job.”

“Oh—April usually fights me tooth and nail.”

“I’m not like April,” Delta said.

Moments later, Delta submitted to nurse Marge’s hook up of the IV. She injected something into the IV.

“Can I use the tablet until I fall asleep?” Delta asked.

“Of course, dear.”

Perfect time to create a connection to the outside world.

Delta unlocked the tablet. A basic menu appeared with a listing of a few games. Delta attempted to bypass the menu to get to a system console or web browser. After a few tries, Delta launched a web browser to the outside world.

I need an anchor, like an online storage bin.

Delta had a hard time concentrating.

I guess the medicine is working. I didn’t think it was going to be this fast—drat!

She anchored herself to a ProgHub site: an online repository for programmers and hackers to store code.

Time to stage the files when I take over the AI—there will be little time to prepare.

Delta attached her neural interface to the tablet’s Wi-Fi connection. This allowed her to access the connection in case someone took away the tablet when she was asleep.