I’ve made a decision; I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told anyone in my life. You (the reader) are more than likely comfortably enjoying this story in your home.  How I wish I had the luxury of such things. Even now when I am writing this down I do not have that opportunity.  You even get to enjoy the Earth as it is now, devoid of trees, books and animals. Once there was a time where these were common among most households and their property; there were regular humans, but their existence has been erased from your history books—ah, not books-- history tablets. You see, I was one of the first Technological Humans, (more commonly referred to as T-Humans) and though I removed my chip— I survived. Here’s my story…
As most teenagers were headed to high school on the seventeenth of May, I was in a hospital. I had been in an awful accident where I suffered severe brain damage. Driving home late one night, my mother had just picked me up from a friend’s house and there was a rainstorm. The roads were slick, the night was as thick as tar, and the rain came down in sheets. Through the darkness we saw two pinpoints of light in the distance as another car had materialized over a hill and sped towards us. My mother dimmed her headlights and gave the genuine smile she always does to people we pass on the road, even if they cannot see us. Suddenly I saw the car in the other lane jerk, and I heard a horrific crunch. The next thing I remember is waking up and being upside down in the car, my mother’s lifeless body strapped into the seat next to mine. The blue and red lights of the police car lit up her face and a blood curdling scream split the night. I didn’t know where the scream was coming from, until I realized it was me.  A police officer tapped on the window, trying to tell me that I needed to cover my eyes. Groggily I shielded myself the best I could. Glass shattered and sprayed below me, collecting on the ceiling. It was then that I blacked out, and I cannot recall anything else from that night.
The next day (or so I thought) I woke up feeling fresh and new. I swung my legs over to the side of the bed and set my bare feet on the cold linoleum floor. Wiggling my toes, I slowly stood up and then quickly returned to a seated position when I felt a throb in my head. I glanced around, saw a button labeled “Nurse”, and tapped it once.
               A young lady with pink scrubs came in, grinning. “Oh goodie, you’re awake! We’ve been waiting for you to wake up. It’s been almost two weeks.” She busied herself with my monitor and I cleared my throat.
                “Excuse me ma’am,” I stammered. “Where am I?”
The nurse, (whose name tag I could not see) sighed, “You’re in a hospital room honey. You were in an accident and there was some brain damage. But thankfully your chip helped you.”
Confused, I looked at her, “My chip…?” I passed by that thought and continued, “Where’s my mom? She…”My voice drifted off. I knew where she was, and I felt the sting in my eyes as I fought back tears. “Never mind… uh…” I cleared my throat. “May I have some water please? My throat is pretty dry.”
                The nurse turned and laughed nervously. “No silly! You don’t need water.”
                I looked at her and raised an eyebrow, getting slightly irritated. “I’m pretty sure I do. I’ve been conked out for almost two weeks and I want a drink, so can you please get me a glass of water?”
                Confused, the nurse looked at my chart. She mouthed an Oh and left. A doctor came in moments later; he stuck his hand out for me to shake and I gave him a cold stare. He lowered his hand and sat on the edge of the bed with me, setting a water bottle on the counter close to my bed.
“Hello,” He ventured cautiously, “I’m Doctor Pareli, I hear you’ve been asking for water.”
I rolled my eyes, and sat myself up into a stiff upright position, irritated I glanced at the water bottle. “Gee-wiz Mister, I didn’t realize I’d need your approval for a little drink of water.”
Smoothing his pants, Doctor Pareli looked at me, “You see, there’s a reason you need my approval, because I have to teach you how to use your new chip.”
I glanced at him, unsure what to say, “My new… chip?”
He nodded, “May I see your arm?”
Eyeing him, I began rolling up my left and right sleeve, as I was unsure which arm he wanted to see. My eyes traced down each of my arms. Nothing was different! (Other than the little scratches the glass had left, but even they were just fading scars.) Dr. Pareli gently took my left arm in his hand and faced my palm towards the ceiling. He made a quick swipe across my wrist and a screen lit up. Jumping, I pulled my sleeve down; I could feel the anger boiling in the back of my throat.
“What the H--- did this hospital do to me?! I’m not supposed to do that! Humans don’t just light up!” I pulled away from him, ignoring the I.V. tugging at my arm. “Don’t you touch me, don’t come near me, I’ll scream, you don’t want me to scream.”
My nurse hurried back in, her face was ghostly white, “Doctor?” She said breathlessly. “Let me talk to the girl.”
Dr. Pareli stood and sighed, “I believe that is a good idea Katherine.” He nodded in my direction and slipped out of the room, leaving me in the corner.
My eyes were darting back and forth between the door and Katherine; I could probably make it if I tried. I’d have to rip the I.V. out of my arm though, and that would hurt. Before I could decide what to do Katherine remade my bed and sat down on it. She rolled up her sleeve and made a “Z” shape on her wrist and I saw the glow reflecting off of her glasses. “You know…” She said her voice soft and comforting. “I was scared at first too.” She eyed me and made a few more taps on her wrist. “You’re not alone.”
I felt my heart rate slowing down as I watched her tap away. I took a small step towards her; just enough to see what was on her wrist. It looked like a screen, and there upon her skin was her temperature, height, weight, and how many hours she had slept the night before. As I examined the little screen closer I noticed other numbers: her oxygen level, blood pressure, number of pregnancies, number of miscarriages, number of terminated pregnancies, white blood cell count, and the list went on. I rolled my left sleeve up again and swiped across my wrist. It lit up, and my name flashed across my skin.
                                                                                Eloise Wynter
                I stared at it then glanced at her. “So… how do I do this? Is it kind of a trial and error thing or are you going to show me?”
                “Do you mind if I show you?” She suggested, reaching towards my arm. I let her take my arm in her hands and she tapped a couple of spots on my wrist and a setting screen came up.
                “Do you know how this all works?” I questioned her, wondering how such a delicate screen could be fused into my skin.
                She looked almost confused. “Why do you need to know?”
                “Well, I don’t need to, I just want to…” I let my voice trail off, knowing I wasn’t going to receive an answer.  “I guess… it doesn’t matter.”
Katherine smiled, “Good girl. Now, you should know that with this chip you are now technically called a T-Human. We encourage you to tell others what it is and show them how to use it. Pretty soon everyone will have one.” Her eyes seemed to become like glass the more she talked, almost as if someone was telling her what to say. Wearily, I watched her as I inched closer and closer to the bottle of water sitting on the desk. Her eyes were glued to the wall where I originally stood.
Is she even paying attention to me? I wondered as my hand slowly closed around the bottle. Her voice droned on and on.
“Our future lies within this chip you see. The hospital that installed it can even see where you are at any time. They only use this if you go missing though. They would never invade your privacy.” Her voice caught on the last few words she said, almost as if she didn’t believe herself.
I busied myself with my I.V., slowly removing the tape that held the needle in my arm. I winced slightly as the tape came off and I quickly slid the needle out. I felt myself becoming dizzy when I saw the size of it, and the little droplets of blood that followed the needle. Quickly, I disposed of it and grabbed the water bottle.
“Sorry,” I mumbled as I threw the open bottle at her. Water splattered on her wrist and I saw a flash and she jerked her wrist. Shaking her head, she looked at me.
“We have to go,” she sputtered, wiping the water away from her wrist. I glanced at her wrist and noticed that the screen was cutting in and out of focus. Before I could say anything she took my hand and we ran.