“Who is it that you see?” the Doll in front of Ben asked. This one looked the most life-like of all the others in the facility. It had been weeks since Ben last saw a physical person that he almost thought it was human.



It had introduced themselves as Cassandra and promised that they were the only one who used this Doll, though Ben knew that was a lie. All the Dolls here were compromised. He knew he would’ve sounded crazy had he voiced his concerns but it’s not paranoia if everyone is out to get you.



Ben looked long and hard in the mirror, he hadn’t seen Lauren’s reflection since waking up. He had barely seen any of her body. He tried not to look, but he had caught glimpses of Lauren’s breasts when getting changed. He also rushed when going to the toilet, now that he could go. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see more, it was that he did. As weak as he was, he liked how it felt. It was like being Laura but on overdrive. Though it did have more flaws than Laura. That’s why he rushed, there was the guilt of this being Lauren’s body.



“I see Lauren,” Ben answered honestly. Her hair was longer, she looked thinner, she didn’t wear makeup but the face in the mirror was Lauren’s. The face that mimicked his movements while his ears heard her voice. He could see the sadness in her eyes as he missed her terribly. He just wanted to pull her out of the mirror and give her a big hug and not let go.



“And who are you?” Cassandra asked as she put down the mirror, ending Ben’s moment of torture.



“I’m…” Ben paused wondering if he could be honest about saying who he was. They knew he considered himself Ben but to them that was a bad thing.



“I need you to be honest with me,” Cassandra would’ve given an annoyed expression if this model was capable of it. “It’s okay to say who you think you are.”



“My name is Ben… I was…” Ben started to repeat the story he had told them a few times.



“Just the name is fine.” Cassandra cut him off. She raised the mirror again. “Now look in the mirror and tell me who you are.”



Ben rolled his eyes as he returned to Lauren’s reflection. He was annoyed at this trivial task and just wanted to be wheeled back to his room so he could cry.



“I’m…” Ben paused again. He could say he was Ben until he was blue in the face. Saying it to Lauren’s reflection, a reflection he controlled he couldn’t bring himself to say his name. “I’m not Ben… not anymore.” He acknowledged defeat. “I’m not her though, I’m not Lauren. I could never replace Lauren and I don’t give a damn about what you or anyone else says.”



“Okay, so you’re not Ben but you’re not Lauren.” Cassandra was actually glad that this Doll couldn’t give away too much body language. She almost had the breakthrough she wanted, though it was a start. “Let’s try a different question then. Are you male or female?”



“Female…” Not Ben admitted. She felt warm and fuzzy as she said that, she even cracked a smile. She was a woman and that part was cathartic to admit.



“Okay good…” Cassandra smiled internally. “But you’re not Ben and you’re not Lauren. So who are you then? Everyone has got to have a name.”



“I don’t know…” Not Ben was getting visibly frustrated at this point. She was almost tempted to say that she was Laura but that didn’t feel right either. She didn’t realize how much of Laura had actually been Lauren until she physically became Lauren.



“That’s okay,” Cassandra reached her hand out to touch Not Ben’s shoulder. “We’ll work that out together.” Cassandra paused for a moment, causing Not Ben to go on edge. She didn’t know if someone else was now on the other end. “You know some people don’t go by their first name, for whatever reason. They go by their middle name instead. How would you like to be Jane for now?”



“I could go by Jane,” Jane said with only a brief amount of hesitation. Though admitting the name change meant that Ben was gone for good. Maybe that was for the best as who was Ben without Lauren?



“Excellent,” Cassandra’s happiness managed to come through the Doll. “It is a pleasure to meet you Jane. I look forward to our time together as we discover who you are.”



As much as it was hard to admit, Jane was looking forward to that. Though she also needed to remember that this was a prison and she had a life sentence. It didn’t matter if she was Ben, Lauren or Jane, she wasn’t getting out. Though perhaps forging a new identity could help her come to terms with that.



“Th..th…that’s” Cassandra began spasming. Jane would’ve thought she was having a seizure if she wasn’t a Doll. She didn’t know what to do. There wasn’t an emergency call button as the Dolls had those built in and they were for patients, not staff.



“I finally found you,” the Doll said, reaching for a hug before pulling back when it saw that Jane was scared. “Oh… father, what have they done to you…”



“What’s going on? Who are you?” Jane managed to speak up, wondering if this was another game.



The Doll recoiled, as if hurt by that question. “It’s Laura, I’ve spent a year tracking you and mother down. I was too late to stop this.” The Doll looked around paranoid. “I have to go,. I would free you now but if I do, mother will be destroyed…” The doll turned back to Jane and looked her in the eyes. “Be strong, and you are not alone. I’m waking this Doll up. She’ll look after you until I come for you.”



“That’s all the time we have for now, I’m afraid.” Cassandra spoke as if nothing happened. “Though before you go, I’m clearing you to join general population.”



The door opened as one of the blues came to wheel Jane out of the room. Jane looked back at Cassandra wondering what just happened. She was too focused on Laura that she missed the part where she’d soon be mingling with other patients.