“They got out,” Laura said as she opened her eyes. “We lost Cassie and some of the patients didn’t make it.” She said to Marco. She then turned to Lauren. “I’m going to need to scan you for any spyware, before heading back to base. It’s going to feel quite intrusive. Do I have your permission?”

Lauren looked at Laura eying off her youthful face and long red hair. The feelings of being her came running back and now that she had disabled key functions on this body the feelings of not being human came flooding back in. Only this time she couldn’t escape.

“I know this is a lot to deal with,” Laura squeezed Lauren’s hand. They both looked down to see how different they were. They had the same shape but Laura’s was smooth and blemish free. “I can reactivate the programs that make you feel more human if you’d like.” Laura’s voice sounded like she remembered, like listening to herself in a recording. At least her new voice sounded different to her.

“But I’m not, am I? You said it yourself I’m not Lauren only a different version of her,” Lauren looked down at her body and looked back at Laura. “Other than being a newer model, I’m no different from you.”

“You’re right, you're a copy. But other than your mind you’re the only unaltered copy of Lauren left. So to me you are Lauren, Doll or not. The body you’re in is designed to be as close to humanly possible as it can be, so you can feel what it’s like.”

“But it’d be a lie…” Lauren looked down and pressed a hand against her chest. It was no longer beating. “Now that the illusion has been shattered there’s no going back. As much as you or I want to.” She then reached back out to Laura. “But don’t worry though, I’m not going anywhere. If you need to be here for you I will be. But I’m not Lauren, I'm a lie. I’m Lorelei”

“I understand,” Laura wiped the non existent tears from her eyes. “I will not reactivate those functions, but do I have your permission to scan you, Lorelei?” Saying her new name was bittersweet, it meant saying goodbye to Lauren but Laura was always glad when an awakened Doll chose their new name. This was no different, no matter who it was.

“You may scan me,” Lorelei confirmed. “Though why would you ask my permission for that?”

“Because we might be machines and able to copy our minds but we are still people and we deserve our autonomy.” Laura said as she grabbed both of Lorelei hands and closed her eyes. Both their hands grew hot as they connected on a deep level.

Lorelei could feel Laura going through every part of her robotic systems. It felt like bugs crawling under her skin, only it went further than that. They were everywhere. If Lorelei still considered herself Lauren she didn’t anymore. This left no doubt she was a Doll. She was surprised how complex her system was though. Her body would use the moisture of drinking water to simulate sweat, saliva and other liquids. Her stomach hid a blender to break down any food she tried to eat as her intestines processed it to look as close to waste as possible. Her blood was a red liquid that her heart pumped around just so she’d bleed when cut. Her lungs were like vacuums swapping between sucking in air and blowing it out. She was a true feat of engineering, one that must’ve taken years to design.

“Other than some mental tracking software, you’re clean. I’ve scrubbed that from your systems,” Laura said as she pulled away feeling bad for being that invasive.

“That…” Lorelei would’ve been sweating and her heart would’ve been racing had those functions not been disabled. “Was extremely uncomfortable. I don’t think you could’ve kept up the illusion if you wanted to, not without risking your own security.”

Laura turned and nodded to Marco, letting him know it was safe to return to base. Before turning back to Lorelei. “A part of me wishes you didn’t know; that you could live the lie.” It was a fantasy Laura wanted, both her parents back together with her as their surrogate daughter. But it wasn’t going to happen now. It was never going to happen. “Before we return I need to tell you something about dad…” Laura would choose to live this fantasy as long as she could.

Lorelei paused, recalling back to Benjamin and his weird behaviors. She hoped that man had been a Doll, she never really checked. “Please tell me that was a Doll back there,” Lorelei braced herself for the bad news.

“I’m afraid not, after they kidnapped… Lauren. The company carted me away and kidnapped dad as well. He was the first test subject for being altered mentally. Raymond took control of his life, got him to do what he wanted them to do but not before making a copy of his mind. You and Ben both are part of Project Phoenix, two paths to the same objective… immortality. Yours through mechanical means, and Ben’s through biological means”

“Through cloning?” Lorelei didn’t know what that had to do with Ben.

“Cloning a human is likely Raymond’s next goal but he works in robotics and technology that affects the mind. He wanted to see if another person could live as someone else. Not only so he could live on but so he could focus on a wide variety of tasks. But first he needed to see if a mind could be wiped to make room for a new person and the damages that could do to both the brain and the mind. Ben and Lauren were the easiest test subjects.” Laura held Lorelei hand. “Lauren’s mind was wiped mostly clean before Ben’s was uploaded to her body. Ben is gone in the same way Lauren is gone… But now you and Jane exist in their stead.”

“Jane? He took my… Lauren’s middle name?” Lorelei focused on the facts given rather than letting it eat her up inside and she felt it eating her up inside. If they didn’t disable her ability to cry she would be bawling her eyes out. “You said you needed to help them and you mentioned patients?”

“They thought she was crazy, she needed a name to prove otherwise and like you and me, she couldn’t use Lauren’s. So her counselor suggested Jane. That was before I woke that Doll up and promised dad I’d look after her until I found you.”

“Thank you for telling me this… I can’t believe that both Ben and Lauren are gone…” Lorelei looked up into the car’s rear view mirror reflecting Lauren’s face back at her. “I’m a ghost…”

“Lauren, Ben… Jane, Lorelei… Doll or human… it doesn’t matter to me,” Laura grabbed Lorelei arm again. “There’s parts of both of you that are still here. You are my parents and I’ll love you no matter what form you take.” Laura reached in to hug Lorelei who just let Laura embrace her. She looked forward expressionless before eyeing off Marco.

“You’re fighting back against that monster?” She asked with a cold voice.

“Yes ma’am…” Marco nodded.

She then pulled Laura off her. “I know what you want Laura, but that ship sailed long ago. I’m going to help you fight back but once this is over, you need to let me rest… I don’t belong here…”

“I don’t think I can do that…” Laura sobbed as she looked Lorelei in the eye. “I can’t… I won’t…”

“What did you say about our autonomy?” Lorelei reminded Laura while placing a hand on her shoulder.

“You should choose your own fate…” Laura acknowledged. “Alright… she nodded… we will do this together and I will cherish every minute we have together.” Laura turned away from Lorelei and back to Marco. “It’s time to go to war.”

“Hooah!” Marco responded enthusiastically.