Sub-Basement

Lauren had considered the purchase of the building downtown to be one of her best investments. She had rented out all the upper floors to various businesses, but she still needed to rent out the main floor to a retail tenant. In an effort to add to the building’s appeal, she had plans to renovate the basement. Things had been going fairly well, and it seemed like the workers may have helped add to the value when they found an entrance to a sub-basement. Not one of the workers wanted to go down, claiming another level wasn’t covered by their insurance. Lauren groaned, grabbed a flashlight and went down herself. The first thing that struck her was how cold it was down there! There also seemed to be all sorts of electronics everywhere. It all seemed so modern; she wondered if someone had been squatting. She just shrugged. She’d sell all this stuff and turn a profit; there was no way a squatter could get in during construction. She was curious just how much stuff was down here. She may not have been a construction expert, but she knew how to turn a power breaker on. The lights burst on, nearly blinding Lauren in a sea of white. Then she heard a voice and froze. It wasn’t that she was afraid, it was that she literally could no longer control her own movements. “Uploading...” The voice said. Lauren felt odd. Her senses seemed limited. No smell. No touch. No taste. Her hearing seemed like it was being filtered through a low quality microphone. Her vision was limited to a fixed position, only able to move back and forth, up and down, like a security camera. She heard the voice again, “Downloading...” Then she saw something move. She tried to focus and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She tried to blink, but blinking seemed impossible. She could see her own body...and it was moving! It lifted a hand with curiosity. “I never expected a woman to come down here,” She heard her own voice say. Then her own body walked over. “My name is Doctor Henry Brown. I uploaded myself into this computer on my death bed. An alarm was set to download myself into the first human that walked into my lab, which I guess was you, Miss. I am so grateful to be human again, but you have been uploaded into my machine. A simple security camera has been set up to give you sight and hearing. I will be recording all of your thoughts on a hard drive. If you behave, I might find a body for you to download into yourself, but keep in mind that your body is mine now. I was stuck in that computer for years, and I have no intention of ever giving up this humanity that I craved for so long...even if I am a female now.”