I suppose I should put a warning at the top of this. The story is a little dark. It is not one of the usually playful Trust Machine stories.




The little girl stared at the big boxy machine. She was drawn to the icons in front of her. The three interlocked circles with the glowing triangle in the middle slowly rotate around their center. Below that the smaller earth, moon, and sun icons.

“Are you sure you want to do this alone, Pepper?” Her father looked down at her anxiously.

Pepper looked at her Dad, “I'm eight years old. I can do it.” She hugged the plush bear in her hands. It had seen a lot of hugging and play. The fur was matted in places. The red shirt that had once said “Momma Bear” now only said “omn  ea”.

Her father looked at his watch and said, “Go ahead.”

Pepper nodded. She took a button in her pocket, it had once been attached to the bear's shirt, and placed it in the slot on the machine. The circles stopped spinning as the triangle changed color and the icons lit up. She looked at her Dad as her hand hovered over the sun icon. When he nodded, she pressed the icon three times. When he nodded again, she handed the bear to her father and entered the open door on the left.

After a moment, the door closed and in front of her was an image of her mother. At the same time, a soft feminine voice said, “I love you, Pepper.” The image of her mother was too thin. She looked tired and weak. Her eyes seemed almost gummy. She was wearing a hospital gown.

Pepper heard her father's voice say inside her head saying, “Remember to be quick so she doesn't suffer.” Pepper imagined her mother shrinking down to the size of one of her other dolls. As the interface responded to her thoughts she selected the image that most looked like a doll. Incrementally, the image of her mother shank and the blue and yellow signs of disease disappeared as her skin began to look like the polyvinyl skin of a doll. It took her a few selections on the controls to get the doll to have what looked like functional joints.

Pepper imagined her wearing a beautiful princess dress. It was easier to get the interface to get the dress to look right. A coughing fit from the chamber next to her made Pepper tear up. “Sorry, I'll hurry up.”

“It's okay, Pepper,” replied the sad voice.

“I'm ready, Momma,” she announced. The green button on the display was slowly flashing, waiting for her to press it. “I wish we could talk forever.”

“Pepper, you can always talk to me. I listen to you everyday.”

“I know, Momma. But I wish I could hear you, too.”

Pepper heard a sob from the chamber next to her and immediately presses the green button. The sobbing cuts off instantly.

An excruciatingly slow forty-eight seconds went by as the green button faded from left to righ. The door slid open. Pepper ran around to the other side and in the other open door. Sitting on the bench in the machine was a beautiful doll, wearing a beautiful blue ballgown. The face of the doll is the youthful face of her mother, smiling, eyes bright and happy. “I love you, Momma.”