Reliving the Cybernetic Dream
Chapter I: ALL THAT WAS LOST
Motoko Kusanagi rarely received telephone calls. With technology allowing near telepathy between people, there was no warning when someone wanted to speak to her. The voice would just pop into her head. Over the years she had become accustom to it, no longer being shocked when it occurred.
But late one evening, the telephone did ring, its digital noise quickly pulling Motoko from sleep. "Hello," she mumbled into the receiver, expecting a friend to be on the other line. Despite Section 9, Motoko did have a few friends, women she had met through her work but not of it.
Yet Aramaki was on the other end, his voice somber. Motoko intently listened; her body didn't flinch as the news hit her ears.
"I'll be right there," she said at the end, hanging up. Motoko sighed heavily. Getting dressed, she left her apartment in a hurry, not expecting to return for some time.
---
The head of Section 9 was already waiting as Motoko approached him in the corridor outside the intensive care unit. As Motoko stood next to her boss, she saw his eyes fixed, looking through a plate of glass into a patient room.
"What happened to her?" Motoko asked. On the other side of the glass lay Togusa's daughter, just eight years old. The visible part of her torso was rapped in bandages, countless IVs and tubes snaking their way out from under the sheets.
"She was walking behind her mother at a crosswalk. The rest…" Aramaki trailed off. His eyes shifted towards Togusa; the father was sitting in a chair next to his daughter's bed, his hand holding hers. Motoko could tell that he had been crying; it was actually the first time she had ever seen him upset. A father's love, she thought.
"It's a tragedy, Chief," Motoko said, the only words she thought appropriate.
"I've called you here for two reasons," Aramaki began, the usual manner of his speech returning to his voice. ""The first is that Togusa must be kept from having an emotional breakdown because of all of this. Batou will be monitoring him for the most part. The second part concerns you, Major. The girl is going to need complete cyberization if she is to survive."
Aramaki paused to let the news sink in for Motoko. "The procedure will be done as soon as possible; Megatech is already sequencing her DNA to create an identical shell. Major, I want you to look after this girl. As you already know, whatever happens to her is going to affect Togusa's mental state greatly. In addition, I don't know of anyone else could help this girl more than you. I'd hate to see you dig up your past but…the girl is what matters now."
"Of course, sir," Motoko replied, sincerity in her voice. Nodding, Aramaki walked off, saying he would be at Megatech to oversee the production of the girl's shell. After another second of simply watching, Motoko stepped into the hospital room. Togusa had fallen asleep, his hand still clasping his daughter's. Motoko knelt, embracing Togusa.
"Aiko," he whispered, his wife's name.
"No," Motoko whispered, "It's me."
"Major, why are you here?"
"To help you and your daughter. Miko's going to be okay, Togusa. I promise."
---
The next morning Motoko oversaw the operation. Though she was there officially, she felt an almost morbid fascination as Miko's brain was gently removed from its skull before being quickly placed into its new titanium casing. The introduction of micromachines would link her brain to the new cybernetic body. Yet over time, more parts of her brain would have to be removed due to atrophy; the control centers for her life processes would wither from lack of use while her e-brain regulated her synthetic processes.
After only two hours, the lead surgeon pulled the plug on Miko's organic body. Motoko suddenly felt an urge to cry, an emotion that hadn't overtaken her in years, maybe decades. The promise of a natural life was gone forever with the flick of a switch.
Later that evening the procedure was finally complete. After numerous tests by Megatech to assure the compatibility of the shell, Miko was rolled back into her hospital room where her father and Motoko were already waiting. Togusa let off an audible gasp, Miko looked the same as she'd always been. The shock sent him to his knees. He cradled his child's hand in his. The soft texture and warmth were still there.
"Will she know right away when she wakes up?" Togusa asked, recovering after a few minutes.
"I'm not sure," Motoko replied, "with technology these days, she may not notice an immediate difference." There was a quiet pause as Togusa stroked Miko's cheek, still unconvinced on some level that his daughter was a cyborg. After the shock wore off, Togusa turned to Motoko.
"I know you're going to be talking to my daughter; I really couldn't think of a better person for the job…but, I'd really appreciate it if you told me everything you said to her afterwards…I need to understand so I can be there for her."
"Of course, Togusa." They both stared at Miko, her chest rising with each breath of air, oxygen entering artificial lungs. The adults held their breath as Miko began to stir, finally waking up.
"Daddy?" Miko asked, her eyes resting on him.
"I'm right here, baby," Togusa said, his hand resting on her shoulder.
"I feel funny, daddy," Miko said, stirring slightly.
"Does it hurt Miko-chan?"
"No…It's…" Aiko trailed off, the proper words unknown to the girl. "I feel different."
"You were hurt in an accident," Togusa explained. "Momma's fine. The doctors had to do a lot to help you. That's why you feel funny. You're safe now. You'll be up and playing before you know it. Get some sleep, Miko-chan; you've got to get better."
Miko nodded, understanding. With the touch of her father, she was able to quickly fall asleep, none the wiser about what had happened to her.
"I guess that answers that," Togusa said once Miko was sleeping peacefully.
---
It wasn't long before Miko realized what had happened to her, the next morning as a matter of fact. Perhaps in twenty years she would admit how she had first known: the lack of a familiar wetness in her mouth. The young girl knew little of cyborgs at her age, only the fact that such things existed. Her fears that she had been changed erupted into a panic once tears failed to appear in her eyes. Her father failing to calm her, the doctors administered a cyber brain sedative. At that moment, Togusa was glad that his wife wasn't there; Miko had collapsed onto her bed like a marionette with its strings cut. Even for Togusa, whose life was full of interaction will full cyborgs, seeing Miko like that drove home the truth for him. He could only hope that the doctors' promise that the drug would help Miko cope was true.
Two days after that particular incident, Motoko once against approached Miko's hospital room. Instead of Togusa, his young wife, Aiko, was present. The woman didn't react as Motoko entered. The mother was sitting on the hospital bed, Miko sleeping in her arms. Motoko could immediately tell that Miko took after Aiko. The girl's face had the same roundness as her mother, a kind of early beauty that would have developed wonderfully in an organic body. But now, Miko's growth would be artificial, spurts every six months into new shell.
"I know who you are," Aiko whispered, sounding exhausted. "Togusa said you needed to speak to me."
"Yes." Motoko sat in the room's only chair. "Did Miko wake up today?"
"For a little while. She was so happy to see me."
"I bet she was."
"Until today, I couldn't have come. I wanted my daughter to have a natural life. I never even like the fact that Togusa had implants in his brain. Now the doctors tell me that by the time Miko will be put into an adult shell, she will need a complete cyber brain." Aiko sighed heavily, unable to bare the thought.
"She'll never have to worry about cyberbrain sclerosis," added Motoko.
"That's true. I know Togusa can't tell me about what he does. I understand that it's classified. But are there others like you where you work, full cyborgs?" Motoko nodded.
"If it's possible, I'd like her to meet them when she grows up. After all, they're aren't that many full cyborg children, especially ones as….advanced as her. I can't tell you how grateful I am that Section 9 helped our family this way. Otherwise, we could never have afforded…" Aiko trailed off, the idea of her daughter dying too much to bear. Subconsciously, Aiko pulled her daughter closer.
"You know, she doesn't feel much heavier than she used to be. I thought I'd never be able to hold her like this in my arms again." A quiet moment passed, Aiko running her hands through Miko's hair. "Will she ever have to see what she looks like, on the inside?" The question had been plaguing the young mother for hours, her ideas about what lay under Miko's warn skin horrified her.
"She'll have to come into Section 9 once a month for diagnostics on her body. It would be better for her to see it. She needs to accept her physical self."
"Won't that make her feel less human?"
"She already knows," Motoko stressed. "She has to fully understand."
"I don't want to see my baby like that." Aiko finally began to cry, one of her tears hitting Miko's face. The little girl stirred, her mother's distress troubling her already fragile mind.
"Mommy?" she softly asked, not yet noticing Motoko in the corner.
"I'm sorry I woke you, Miko. Daddy's friend and I were talking." Miko gazed over at Motoko. The Major smiled in response.
"Did you sleep well?" Motoko asked. Miko nodded.
"What's your name?" The girl asked.
"Motoko Kusanagi," Motoko replied. "I work with your daddy."
"Where's daddy," Miko asked, looking back up at her mother.
"At home sleeping," Aiko softly replied. "He left when you fell asleep earlier. Ms. Kusanagi over there is going to help you adjust. You see, she went through the same thing you did when she was about your age." Motoko nodded as Miko's questioning gaze fell upon her.
"How old are you?" Miko innocently asked. Motoko had to think for a moment before replying.
"I'm thirty eight." The admission made her cringe slightly: it would be the first of many she would eventually make to Miko.
"You look so young, though." Miko commented.
"Thanks. When you're like us, you don't have to get any older once you get your first adult shell.
"Really?" Motoko nodded. The girl's eyes brightened for the first time since her accident. Eternal physical youth was one of the few benefits of a cybernetic life.
"And by the time you're that age, you'll get to choose how you'll look, every part of your body."
"I can't wait," Miko told her mother, excitement clearly evident in her voice.
"That's a long way off, Mi-chan," Aiko replied. "Hey, do you feel up to getting up and walking about a little?"
"Okay…could Ms. Kusanagi take me? I just.."
"It's alright," Aiko said before looking up at Motoko. "If you don't mind?"
"I'd be happy to," Motoko said, standing. Motoko took the girl's hand and led her into the hall. Miko squinted at the bright light, the first she had truly seen with her new eyes.
"Do your eyes feel the same?" Motoko asked.
"It was just too bright for a second," Miko said, "it's better now." They continued to walk through the halls, passing rooms of other children, some badly injured or ill. Miko would never have to worry about those tings ever again, Motoko realized. No cancer of natural virus could touch her. Only the man made electronic plagues were left. In a way, they, they were worse, able to erase every memory a person might have, erase their ghost in fact. If that were to ever happen to Miko, nothing would remain besides a sleeping doll.
Motoko pushed those thoughts out of her head as Miko tripped over her own feet, falling on her behind. She winced in pain but did not wail or call for her mother. Motoko kneeled, helping Miko sit up. "Your brave," Motoko complemented. "Most children your age would be wailing about now."
"Thanks."
"You just have to get used to your new body. These muscles have never had to work before. Though they're brand new, they need to be broken in." Motoko briefly kneaded Miko's calf muscles, letting the hydraulic fluid move back and forth. "That should do it." Motoko helped Miko to her feet, brushing off the dust that had collected on her blue pajamas. They walked back to Miko's hospital room, finding her mother sound asleep in the bed.
END OF CHAPTER 1