The Replacement - Part 5

Part 5.1: Wedding

In the time that passed after their engagement, Greg and Sabrina both returned to their jobs. Greg found that the features of his new body helped him handle his job a lot more, though he was suspicious of just how his new status had been cleared by John’s contacts, but he was just so happy to be back in his job and in a fully functional body that he didn’t investigate too far.

A few weeks later, Greg and Sabrina began looking into real estate and finally purchased their own home; two floors, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office/man cave for Greg, a living room, and a nice kitchen. With all the extra space they now had, Ipek was able to have her own room, though she didn’t decorate it because it was agreed it would be the guest room if Greg and Sabrina had any kids.

As nice as the house was, it was a slight fixer upper. They had to excavate the entire front lawn to remove all traces of a very ugly tree, and the exterior had to be repainted. Since they were building a porch as well, there was rebar sticking out of the cement.

Preparations for the wedding were already underway, though even though they had more than enough finances, John insisted on paying for it. They agreed to have the location at a nice section of Golden Gate Park, which was only a few miles from their new home.

The ceremony itself was held about six months after their engagement, and they were finally wed around noon that day. The public reception lasted well into the evening, ending with a more private gathering at Greg and Sabrina’s new house.

“So you two, how does it feel having tied the knot?” John asked, opening them all up a bottle of champagne and pouring it into their glasses.

“Great!” Sabrina smiled, taking one of the glasses and sipping it, “Though it merely formalized the way we already felt about each other,”

“Yeah,” Greg agreed, “About the only differences now are financial,” he laughed.

“Truer words have never been spoken,” John laughed, using that as a toast as well, “So, when are the two of you going to give me grandkids?” he asked.

“Well, I think we’d like to get used to our new status for a while longer,” Greg said.

“Yeah,” Sabrina agreed.

“I understand,” John said, “It’s just my job as your parent to worry about when you two will have kids,” he smiled, “You’ll do the same thing with yours…if you have them,”

“About that,” Greg said, “Suppose we did want kids now,” he said, “How exactly would that be done?”

“Well, we still have you two’s genetic material on ice,” John said, “So all we’d do is inject your sperm into one of her eggs and then put it in an artificial womb that we would then implant in Sabrina’s primary cavity,” he explained.

“I see,” Greg said, “Have you been successful at this before?”

“Not quite,” John said, “But the technology itself isn’t new, as there have been artificial wombs for decades in place of surrogates,” he explained, “it’s just the method we use to implant it inside her artificial body that is new,”

“Oh, okay,” Greg said.

“Don’t worry dear, I’m sure we’ll be able to safely have kids,” Sabrina smiled, giving him a kiss.

“I know,” Greg smiled.

“So dad, how’s the business going?” Sabrina asked.

“Very well,” John said, “We’ve been gathering a treasure trove of data from all 100 of you HRMs, as well as the dozens of converts like Greg here,” he said.

“Converts?” Greg asked.

“Yes, an android with an emulated personality like Sabrina is an HRM, while an android with an actual human soul is a convert,” John explained.

“Oh, that makes sense,” Greg said, “And what about the DPMS?” he asked.

“Well, aside from Ipek here, there aren’t too many out there yet,” John admitted, smiling at Ipek, who was tidying up the kitchen.

“Why not?” Greg asked.

“Because our whole project is still very top secret,” John said, “So the only donors we can get are employees, and that doesn’t exactly provide us with the right amount of data,”

“You keep saying top secret,” Greg laughed, “Do you guys work for the government or something?”

“Something like that,” John laughed, though with a secretive look, “It also just sounds cooler to say top secret,” he added.

“True,” Greg said, “But someday you are going to have to tell me how you’ve been able to pull so many strings for us,”

“What do you mean?” Sabrina asked.

“Well, for you he was able to arrange with that retail store to look the other way when they heard of your death,” Greg explained, “And then he was somehow able to reinstate my status with no trouble at all with the FBI,” he added.

“Huh, I didn’t realize that those would be very difficult,” Sabrina admitted.

“Well, they would have been more time consuming than impossible,” Greg explained, “So maybe someday you can explain,” he directed at John.

“Well, I’ll have to see about that,” John said a little uncomfortably, “I’ll have to see if you’re ready to hear it,” he added cryptically.

“I can tell you must hold many secrets,” Greg said.

“I do,” John admitted with a sad expression.

They continued chatting well into the night, pausing only to eat the delicious dinner that Ipek had cooked for them. They also continued drinking as well, dipping into some of the drinks that had been leftover from the reception and that had been gifted to them.

“Well, it’s been a long day for all of us,” Greg said at nearly nine o’clock, “Why don’t you head back home and we can meet for dinner in a few nights?” Greg suggested.

“Alright son,” John said with a slightly buzzed look in his eyes, “Congratulations,”

“Thanks,” Greg said, “Are you sure you don’t want Ipek to drive you home?” he asked, seeing John stumble a bit as he got up.

“No,” John decided, “I’m just a little buzzed,” he admitted, “But I’m fine,”

“Alright,” Greg said, “Drive safe,” he said, “And be careful of the construction out there,” Greg added, referring to their renovation of their front lawn.

“I will,” John smiled, and after giving the both of them a hug, he picked up his jacket and left.

“So honey, what do you want to do before we leave for our honeymoon?” Sabrina asked with a naughty smile.

“I can think of a few things,” Greg smiled as well, though before he could say what they were, they heard a loud noise outside followed by John screaming out, “Shit!,” Greg shouted, rushing out the front door to see if John was okay.

It appeared that John had tripped over the safety wire protecting the area where the porch was being built. He had fallen in and landed on one of the rebar, and it had punctured all the way through himself.

“John!” Greg shouted, “Hold on while I call 911!” Greg shouted, getting ready to run back into the house.

“Wait!” John shouted back, not appearing to be in any pain.

“What?” Greg asked, watching as John suddenly lifted himself up off the rebar and climbed out.

“Hurry up and help me inside, quickly!” John whispered, having trouble walking.

“Okay,” Greg said, still in shock at seeing his father in law climb out with no signs of pain.

Once they were inside, John quickly sat down on the couch; Sabrina had a worried and confused expression on her face. “What happened?” she asked.

“He fell into the porch,” Greg said, “But he doesn’t seem to be hurt,” he added with a confused look.

“Well, I’m not in pain, but I am hurt,” John corrected, and he gingerly removed his shirt, revealing an odd wound. It was a little bloody, but there were wires and metal sticking out.

“John, those wounds,” Greg said, “You’re an android too?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes,” John admitted bashfully.

“How? When?” Greg asked.

“Yeah dad, when?” Sabrina asked.

“A few months ago, I got sick,” John explained, “Really sick,” he added, “The only way to heal me was to make me a convert,” he finished.

“What was the illness?” Greg asked.

“Radiation exposure,” John admitted.

“What!?” Greg said, “How did you receive a fatal radiation dosage?” he asked, “I didn’t see any radiation danger signs at your lab,”

“I’m sorry, I can’t tell you,” John said.

“Screw it all!” Greg shouted, “For the past few months, no years, I’ve been able to tell your keeping something big from me,” he continued, “I think now is the time to trust us, especially since I am married to your daughter and apparently am a convert like you,”

John thought about it for a while before finally speaking, “Alright,” he conceded, “But I need Ipek to fix me first,” he said, suddenly looking very tired.

“Hey, what is it?” Greg asked.

“That rebar damaged some of my batteries and my power systems,” John reported, looking more and more tired, “I’m about to power down,” he then added.

“Ipek your assistance please!” Greg shouted, though she had already been listening and grabbed her repair kit from the closet.

“I need you to open both panels please,” Ipek ordered.

“Alright,” John said, and he swiftly unsealed both his front and spinal panels, allowing Ipek to immediately get to work.

“Alright John, before you power down, please explain what is going on,” Greg said, “There’s obviously more to these realistic android bodies than simply giving people a second chance at life,”

“He’s going to lose power before I can fix him,” Ipek interrupted, overseeing the damage caused by the rebar.

“She’s right,” John managed to say, “and you’re right,” he answered, looking more and more tired, “Humanity is dying,” he finally managed to say, just before losing all power.

Part 5.4: Honeymoon

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Continued in The Replacement - Part 6

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