Corai wanted us to have time to get used to our new bodies before heading to Suam, which meant the process was set to begin with a blindingly fast turnaround. The sole delay had been a few hours to send word back to Earth and get approval, as well as Velke sending his report to the Fakra. Takahashi had given us the code word, if we ever needed to prove we were Preston Carter and Sofia Aguado.

My legs were shaking as I walked toward the bodies suspended in fluid cannisters, and I was about to retch in my mouth at the thought of inhabiting one of those. Trapped in something else's skin…no, I couldn't do this. I was crying and blubbering from dread, my heart causing physical pain in my chest. This was insane, and I had to back down.

I turned toward Sofia with the look of a panicked animal, noticing she was much more calm. "We're not actually going to do this, obviously. It was all a j-joke, it's fucking insane—kill us and split our skulls. No one would in their right minds do that."

"No one in their right minds would've gone through The Gap either," Sofia sighed.

"How are you so calm about this?!"

"Because I have visions of the future. I know the procedure will be successful. That's what taking uncertainty out of our speculation can do. That's why we have to discover the truth."

Corai snapped her fingers, trying to jolt me out of my spiral. "Preston. This is reversible. You'll be fine, and you'll still be you. We might be chained to our bodies, but we really…aren't them. Maybe that's an Elusian mentality."

"I'm scared," I gasped, hugging myself. "I can't do this, Corai. I won't let you turn me into—"

"I need you to hear me, and to hang in there; anyone gets cold feet before a monumental operation. However, your entire world, its universe, and every universe could hang in the balance. You didn't back out at The Gap, even though that could've been the end, for all you knew. Can you be strong for a few more minutes? Because that's when it all will be over."

"No! It's too much. I…"

"I was terrified what you might do to my code when I turned myself over for humanity to operate on, and I did not like that I'd be powerless and have no control over what was done to me," Mikri comforted. "I chose to believe in you, that you would not do anything bad to me. I will watch the procedure to ensure nothing untoward is done to you. And I will be right here when you wake up, Messton."

Sofia took a deep sigh. "I don't like it either; it feels unnatural, but you know, it might be a little fun. How often can you truly walk a mile in someone else's shoes and see…what it feels like to be another species? That's some new ground, so you can consider it like any of our other adventures."

"You will have the Elusian nanobots to blend in. This progress could give humanity immortality, if Corai will divulge the technology. You will be younger at least for the time you are in these bodies, so I almost believe you should stay in them."

Corai dropped to one knee, a soft smile on her face. "I've watched humanity grow up, and now, I'm inviting you to truly walk the path as our equals. It won't be easy, but you don't want to become stagnant like us. We're your best future, in spirit rather than body, if you don't flirt with risk. Do you understand?"

"No. We will never be heartless like you," I spat.

"It doesn't start like that. It starts being unwilling to sacrifice for what you love, and that apathy spreads. Remember what you fight for, and if you're fighting for the right thing, that's always enough. There's no price then that's too much to pay."

My hands trembled in a half-open position, a primal fear of my monkey brain screaming against what it understood was coming. I pressed them to my human eyes, hating the idea that I'd be looking out of them for the last time. What if something went wrong or didn't feel at all the same? My ragged, gasping breath deprived me of oxygen, and I savored the burning in my human lungs. The face that I saw when I looked in the mirror would be changed like a horror movie. It didn't sit well with me.

How will anyone be able to talk to me with a creepy, alien face? I'll be isolated from my own people. I'll use hands that feel wrong to feed a mouth that's not mine, feel the wants and needs of some other creature's hormones, and see the world very differently. This could change me in ways I'm not ready for.

Corai grabbed my hands with my hers, shoving a nanobot vial into them. "You need to go first and get it over with. The nanobots handle the procedure; I'm going to be trusting you with this now. Inject yourself with them, and I'll handle the rest. That's all of the work you have to do."

"Alright. Okay. Um, M-Mikri," I stammered. The android was what I was fighting for, and contrary to what my father said, I wasn't wasting my life on him. I promised myself I would do this for him, but here I was, chickening out. "If anything happens to me, know that I love you so much."

Mikri offered a fraught beep. "I love you too."

Anything Velke could do, I could do better, right? I'd wanted these nanobots anyway. Before I could languish in self-doubts or pass out from the mounting anxiety attack, I slapped the pointed side into my skin. I felt its fangs sink in like a mosquito bite, and felt a billion grains of rice trickle across the tiniest touch sensors. I supposed bloodstream injection was a few seconds faster than going through an orifice like Bighead had done.

It spread like venom, wrapping threads around my organs and crawling through the nerves of my bone marrow. It was everywhere all at once: in the air I breathed, tickling the hairs of my nose, by my ankle like a worm nuzzling up against the bone beneath my skin. I could see this time that it was enough to turn my skin gray, the coloration taking over. I stared at my hands in horror, swatting and itching myself in a frenzy. Just like when I was captured by the Elusians the first time, paralytic drugs pumped into my system.

There was no more movement, as Corai lifted me by my shoes and patted my sweat-soaked forehead. The Elusian placed me inside a canister with one last smile, before sealing the tube. Fluid began to pool around my ankles, while a ticklish sensation worse than a rash spread everywhere and made it impossible to think. I wanted to pound on the glass and beg to be let out, or to rip out the little mites that were accruing in my skull. The pressure, gah it was worse than a brain freeze—a blinding, pulsating migraine.

I wanted to puke and to cry, to keel over, but the clasps held me upright. The fluid was up to my waist, making me feel my waterlogged pants hugging my skin. It didn't take long to reach up to my chin, then to cover my nostrils. I could do nothing to hold my nose above water, and I found myself slowly drowning. Corai told me the nanobots would untangle the intricate web of the nervous system, switch off brain activity, then move it to another body, not that I'd die by suffocation.

This is cruel. How am I supposed to ever forget this? My lungs howled and I tried to will my arms to flail; there wasn't a hint of responsiveness. What if I'm not going to be revived at all, and Corai led me to a suicide booth?

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As water filled my lungs, there was a sudden electric pulse that zapped behind my eyes. Sensation was gone in an instant, and I felt like I was floating in the vacuum of space: weightless. I could see a picture come into focus. It was the moonlight on the waves back at Kalka, and the fire paralleling it alongside me. I could move again, the struggle long forgotten. As the peace set in, the moon's glow became brighter. The fire warmed me, and gave me comfort. I could stay here with Mikri and Sofia, resting on a blanket.

Was there a blanket over me now, as I laid back down? I thought so, as it all faded quicker than it had begun, in a moment where the fifth dimension felt nonexistent. Stars danced through my eyelids and I heaved a breathless sigh of contentment. The curtain fell, and the scene blinked back out faster than it came in the first place. My sleep was blank and thoughtless, not sleep at all. Then there was a roar of sensation out of nowhere, and the panic all came rushing back. This time, my hands responded, clawing against the glass and pounding desperately.

The shield fell down and I collapsed facefirst on the ground, hugging myself and shivering. With slimy and viscous skin still, I felt like a tadpole. I could see arms in front of me that showed purple veins and skin that was too pale. My eyes burned just to hold open, while everything felt confused and uncertain. My joints screamed in protest from the slightest bending of the creature's limbs, feeling like the proportions were all wrong. I didn't know what hit me.

"Preston?" Mikri inquired, and I looked to see the tin can waiting right outside my pod. Loyal bastard. "Are you operational?"

"Mik-ri." The syllables were clumsy and unsure, and the voice that came out wasn't mine. A hand shot to my mouth in horror, and I tilted my head down to examine the rest of my…icky body. "T-tin can. Hug…"

The Vascar wrapped his arms around me without a word, holding me as I wept into his mane. His metal chassis felt cold against my bare skin, and I was glad when he held me upright, as I was overcome by mental exhaustion. That was all horrible, and now, I was stuck like this! No wonder my voice's tenor was different, when my neck was so thin that the windpipe seemed compressed. How was I going to live in this body for weeks, let alone walk around like it was normal?

"You did it. I will support you now," Mikri soothed, petting my massive bald forehead in a part where I shouldn't have anything there to touch. My brain couldn't make sense of the signals. "We are going to save humanity and protect you. I do not care what you look like. You are ugly no matter what."

I chuckled, still feeling as if everything had been rearranged. When Corai swapped bodies, I don't think she switched species. "Thanks, Mikri, you plus-sized fire hydrant. Appreciate that."

"No problem! I will make you feel better and ensure that everything is okay. Do you know what that means?"

I tilted my head, desperate that the android had found a solution to my discomfort and faulty signals. "You'll fix Corai's shoddy work with a magic wand?"

"It means you need another medical examination! I have learned so much about organic doctors to protect you, and thus, I have discovered a comforting ritual humans perform." The android beamed at me, pulling a latex glove out of nowhere and putting it on. He snapped the elastic by his wrist threateningly. "Your new peachcakes need my seal of approval. It's time for the downward dog! Open very wide."

"Nononono," I spat, backing away from the Vascar in fight or flight mode. "Mikri, I…don't want you to do that."

"But I must, Preston. This is a necessary inspection. It will only take a minute."

"It's really not needed at all, you sick motherfucker!" I tripped over my wobbly, lanky legs, and the android gained on me. No more super speed. "Mikri, no, don't—"

The Vascar's eyes shone a triumphant red, before he whirred with amusement. "Organics are so hilarious. The genuine fear in your eyes: I'm having so much fun. I can bully you back for turning me like a rotisserie chicken."

"How about no?" I cleared my throat, noticing finally that part of my difficulty speaking was thirst. "Ahem, let's try this question again. May I have some water, Mikri?"

"Of course. I brought you food and water. I know you only care about eating; I made muffins! No eggshells this time."

I shuffled over to the table, blinking my burning eyes. I gulped down an entire pitcher of ice water, and gnawed on half a muffin to fill my empty stomach. I knew it might…take a while to get my gut microbiome up to speed. The pastry tasted dry, though that might've been the new tastebuds. Mikri had left me a robe just like the one I got at the Derandi spa, and in fact, it might be the same one. I grinned at him, though I wondered how he wasn't weirded out by what I looked like. One glance at the mirror made me shudder.

"Where's Sofia?" I asked, hoping that staying focused on other things would help keep my mind off…every single stimuli I felt.

Mikri gestured toward an adjoining room. "Corai started her transfer once you were in progress. If you are alright, I will go check on her also and inform them that you are, unfortunately for everyone, back in action."

"Go ahead."

Feeling a tiredness in my feet and my muscles already, I flopped down in a chair. I could see Preston from the outside; he was floating lifeless in a tub, strands of his short brown hair congealed and his scared eyes rolled back in his head. There was a tan on his trim, fit body, and I could even see the burned scar tissue on his fingertips. If Corai could fix that…no, I just wanted my own flesh and blood back. My thoughts were picking up signals and moving things that shouldn't belong to me.

"I told you both, everything would be alright." Corai herded a disoriented, stumbling Elusian in a fluffy bathrobe in to join me, which I assumed was Sofia. I gave her a concerned look, but she shot me a thumbs up with those dexterous, zombie-like fingers. "Your training to truly be like us begins now. You'll need to have nanites in your blood, of course."

I scoffed. "Fuck that. I hated those things."

"We'll have to have them on Suam, and we need to see if humans can get used to the technology anyway," Elusian Sofia said, in a voice that was much tinnier than her real one. "Do you think it'll be easier to put up with if we haven't gotten desensitized to them?"

"No, but—"

"Preston, I'd say our species being immortal is worth a few days of discomfort, or even a longer adjustment period. The way their minds are so attuned to the nanites lets them weave all kinds of wonders and manipulate the world without ever touching it."

"Plus, what you need to train and get used to is how Elusians, I suppose you would say, direct message each other in real life," Corai stated. "That's what I want to teach you. How to use the nanobots to communicate telepathically, and to grow accustomed to others speaking in your minds. It'll be imperative just to allow us to conference about our plans without being overheard."

"You can communicate without speaking?!" I exclaimed.

Yes, came the reply within my skull. We can manipulate the regions of the brain responsible for speech recognition, just like any others, or simply place the vibrations into your eardrums. But you already knew this.

I thought back to the "We are your creators. Do not seek us," that had boomed inside of my head, with a more thunderous quality than an Elusian's actual voice; looking back, it was an attempt to use advanced technology to make themselves seem omnipotent and godlike. Racking my brain even harder, I remembered how I'd gotten a voice in my head, a lot like Corai's telepathy now, but so soft that it could be mistaken for precog. She'd told me where the portal was, and my gut feeling just confirmed it.

Corai probably snuck a tiny handful of nanobots through her portal; she couldn't do more, or Bighead might've detected it. We don't want to startle if someone does normal Elusian shit on Suam, and that is pretty freaking badass.

"As long as I can practice on General Takahashi, that sounds really fun," I chuckled. "Why do my eyes burn?"

A smirk crossed Corai's face. "Because they've never been used. Again, this is why the transition needed time. Once you get the nanobots, they'll dull your sense of pain, so you won't feel the muscle aches. That's one major plus."

"Yeah, it's annoying to feel like I've been staring at a computer screen without blinking for eight hours nonstop," Sofia sighed. "I'm ready to take on the nanobots. It's a big step for humankind, one that I hope we'll be sharing with everyone soon."

"That is my hope as well, Doctor Aguado. It was why we created you in the first place."

I grimaced, unsure how I'd get used to this horrid body even after exploring it—let alone those nanobots crawling beneath my skin. It was going to be a difficult transition to live as an Elusian. If humanity's future wasn't at stake, I never would've agreed to this in a million years. With how miserable I already was, I hoped that whatever information Corai could wrangle out of this plan with the 5D probe would be worth it.

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