A decision for Javen

Pain, its what had woke her, it felt as if her mind was being stuffed into a can that was way too small. She thought that she cried out but was not sure, the pain was too great for her to hear anything. The light was so bright that she didn’t even try to open her eyes. The pain burned for about a minute, then everything went black. The blackness was good, there she felt nothing, no pain nor any other feeling, just a dull being.

She could not tell how long the blackness last, it could have been minutes, hours, or even years. When the light came again, the pain was not as bad, and she tried to open her eyes, but they only watered up so she was unable to see anything. She thought she could hear something, but it was just a whisper that she couldn’t make out. It lasted only a few minutes then the darkness returned. She felt safe in the dark, where there was no pain.

She could remember nothing before the pain, she didn’t even know who she was or what had happened to her. This repeated for a couple of days, but her eyes didn’t clear up, they would water each time she tried to see. Someone would give her drinks, what it was she could not tell, not able to taste it. Each time there was the light, there was pain, but each time it was less and her hearing improved. She would catch a word here or there. The first full sentence she heard was, “Don’t worry Mrs. Javen we are going to take good care of you.” It was the voice of a woman. “You were in a car accident.” Now she knew her name, Javen, but that didn’t mean a thing to her, and she didn’t remember an accident, only the pain, that she wished she didn’t.

She could feel the drinks going down that were given her, but she was unable to taste what it was. Every time she woke, she tried to move her arms or legs and was unable too. She was a prisoner in her own body. Every time she thought about what had happen the pain would come.

The day Nurse, whose name was Mary told her to blink one time for yes and two times for no. The lights were kept low so her eyes didn’t water so much. After a few days, she was able to see some shapes, but the Doctors said that was the best it would ever get, and that more than likely she would remain paralyzed the rest of her life. She had no idea just how long that would be, she didn’t know how old she was.

When she was awake Mary would talk to her, and even read to her. She learn that her full name was Javen Bradley, and she was 22 years old. She had no known relatives, growing up in an orphanage. She was attending Community College, and was on a holiday when the car accident happened. That was almost four months ago to her surprise. Time felt strange to her, she only knew when she was awake, and was not really sure of how long she was asleep each time.

Her night nurse, whose name was Mitzie, didn’t talk a lot, liking to play music. She didn’t mind the tunes, hoping that maybe one of them would bring back a memory of some kind. Every few nights someone would come in and ask Mitzie how she was doing. It was not one of the Doctors that came in during the day. The voice was without emotion and it was just so low she could only make out a couple of words. She sure wished she could see.

About a month later Mary came up to her and said that in the next week she was to be transferred to a state hospital. She understood why it was the cost of her care, and knew that she would not have the same level of care she was getting there. This scared her, but she was not sure why somewhere in her mind she knew that this was going to make her limited life harder. There she was getting 24/7 care, and at a state-run hospital, the staff would be limited.

She began to feel depressed, she was just useless and a burden, with little or no hope of ever getting any better than she was. She didn’t even have the ability to end her own useless life. Mary seemed concerned with her well-being and tried to re-insure her that she would check on her no matter where they sent her. This made her feel a little better, she liked Mary, and Mary was with her more than anyone else.

Later that night, Mitzie showed up in a good mood, she could tell from her voice. She was even humming, as she mover around the room. A couple of hours later, there was a knock on the door, Mitzie went and answered it. Javen could only hear a whisper or too, but did hear her name.

Mitzie walked over to her and said, “Dr. John Mitchell would like to talk with you if you don’t mind.” She blinked her eyes once in answer. She heard him move over next to the bed.

“Nurse could you please give us a few minute to talk?” He asked, then added, “I understand how she answers.”

Once Mitzie left the room he said, “Mrs Bradley, I wont pretend to know what you are going through,” She like his voice and wished she could see what he looked like. “I have spent the day going over your case, and talking with your Doctors, and I think that I may be able to help you.”

He let that sink in a moment, she thought that made be her first impression was wrong. “I know that you have been told that your body will remain paralyzed the rest of your life. To tell you the truth they know what they are talking about. You do understand all this right?”

She blink her eyes once, thinking she really didn’t need him reminding her of her position. “Good.” He smiled but she couldn’t see it. “I’m a Geneticist, and I have a proposal that could be mutually beneficial.” He spent the next hour telling her about the proposal. He represented a group of Geneticist that believed the way for Humans to evolve was through genetic tweaking. They were on the edge of a new breakthrough and she could be the key to its success. They have a body of a young woman that was brain dead and believe they could upload her consciousness into it.

“I can’t tell you how we believe we can do this, but I will say that it's done in a natural way, no electronics. I know this is a lot to take in.” He cleared his throat, “You will have to make a few decisions in the next couple of days, I just want to insure you that there is little risk in my proposal. I will return in a couple of days for your answer.”

She was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice he had left, in till Nurse Mitzie give her a drink. “I hope he didn’t upset you.” She blinked her eyes two times. “Good, I’m not sure I agree with that group and their notions.”

She spent the next couple hour thinking about what he told her. Could what he said be done, or was he just after a new subject to experiment on? It would be nice to be able to see and talk again let alone to feel anything or walk. Who was the woman whose body they had, and why was she brain dead? She fell asleep and dreamed of running on a woodland trail.

The next day, just afternoon there was a knock on the door. Nurse Mary answered the door, came back over to her and said, “There is a Dr. Ben Blackburn asking to talk with you.” Wow she thought they really want her to agree to the proposal. She blinked her eyes once.

She was surprised to hear the emotionless voice that she had overheard talking to Mitzie a couple of times late at night. “I’m Ben Blackburn, and Nurse Mitzie has told me last night you had a visitor with a proposal, well I’m here with my own proposal. I work for a trans-humanism group, do you know what that is?” She blinked her eyes three times, meaning that she had heard of it, but she knew little about it.

“I’ll take that as you have but don’t know much. We have two proposals for you. First is that some of us believe that we can use nanobots to repair the damage to your body, but this could take years, and may not be able to repair it all.” He paused. She didn’t like the way he sounded, it was almost clinical or mechanical.

“The second proposal we have is the one that makes the most sense to me. For the last 6 years, we have been building an android body to house a human brain. We are ready to move forward. We are give you a chance to make history, to be the first.” He paused.

“We believe the body could last a thousand years, with proper maintenance. You would be five times as strong, and never need sleep, or food. No one would be able to tell that you were not fully human. This could be a benefit to us both, and a mild stone for humankind. I’ll give you a few days to think it over, Mrs. Bradley.”

Her mind was a mess with thoughts of being whole again. She wished that she was able to talk with someone, she really needs some advice, but she really didn’t have anyone she could turn to. She had no memory of any kind of life, or if she had any friends. No one had come to visit her, so was her life worth saving at the cost of another, even if they were brain dead? Didn’t that body have a god given soul?

What would give her the right to take their place, or what give the Geneticist the right to guide the evolution of mankind, that was making their self god in some way? If she agreed to let them put her brain into the android body would her soul move over with her, and what about the nanobots, would she be in pain for years as they did the repairs?

There was always the choice to stay as she was, but could she live for the next 40 or 50 years that way? She wondered why this choice was put on her, was it a test from god as to what she would do, or was it just dumb luck that it was her? She was just not sure that she could make any decision. If she was able to cry she would of.