NSFW Author

Catherine slowly got used to her new body. At first, even walking was a lot harder than she would have thought. It’s not so much that being younger, her new legs reacted faster than her old one.

It’s not either that her new body was slimmer and taller. It’s not even the trauma of the change of body.

One of the things that Philip had discovered was that even thought all humans were made the same, the neurone connections in each of our brains was differently mapped between each of us.

Sure, it wasn’t big changes, but when the soul in the new body tried to lift a particular finger, it would sometimes lower it or move the next finger.

After a few days or weeks of physical therapy, the client was always back on his or her feet and fully functional but it took some getting used to.

With Catherine, the job was harder because she had never been briefed on the process since her service had been purchased in secret by her late husband.

Of course, the mourning was also in full effect and emotional turmoil never helps during physical therapy.

Slowly however, Catherine began to be agile in her new body. She wouldn’t win any Olympic events, but then again, Lucy wouldn’t have either and it had been her body since birth.

Only one issue remained to explain to Catherine and it was always a little delicate. Clients were informed of the general details when they sign the contracts but Catherine hadn’t. Once again, Jim and Philip were with their new client in the conference room.

“Mrs. Clarkson”, opened Jim, “there is one additional matter we need to discuss and it’s the immortality of the soul.”

“Huh ?”, replied Catherine.

“You see, the initial soul associated with the body you are using is still living somewhere. It’s always the case. It’s floating in ether in another dimension, the dimension of souls. Every night, while you fall asleep, you own soul will drift away from this body during your dreams. The deeper the dreams, the further the soul drifts. It was possible, with our first method of transferring souls, that the soul of the original owner returned during your absence. We discovered that if we intervened fast enough, we could restore our client’s soul properly but if it waited more than a few days, it was too late.”

Philip continued the conversation.

“Initially, we asked our clients to call us every morning when they woke up, but the old soul often called the police in panic because they couldn’t understand where they were. The police inquiry was sometimes long enough to prevent us to restore our client. As a result, we created the sub-dermic security system and you have been equipped with it. It is used to ensure that we have enough time to bring you back. We don’t want to scare you, it’s just a security precaution.”

“Now you don’t want to scare me? Do you have any idea how strange all of this feels?”

Jim, tried to reassure her.

“We know. We try to inform our clients as much as possible. Your husband was told to inform you. We are really sorry.”

Philip took over once more.

“Every morning, when you wake up, after 30 seconds, you will hear a slight noise in your ears which will rapidly increase in volume until it makes you dizzy and eventually, will make you lose consciousness. It is generated by a small electrical device implanted between your first and second vertebrae which directly stimulates you nerves. If nothing is done, a cellphone signal will be sent to our office and a team will quickly retrieve your body and perform a restoration. You’ll probably be up and running before lunch, without any need for physical therapy.”

Jim clarified that her location would be tracked by the cellphone signal, before letting Philip continue.

“To deactivate the system, you only need to tap twice in quick succession the bump of your first vertebra with your right middle finger. You can do it before the ringing even starts. You know the trick to disarm it, but the original occupant isn’t here now and will not be able to do so herself, therefore causing her to lose consciousness.”

Jim continued with the speech.

“The system, which is recharged by your body heat also monitors your vitals. If you are hurt, in an accident or have any life threatening problems, it will actually call us and let us speak with you in your ears. You’ll be able to ear us via the system, and we’ll hear you via a tiny microphone. We won’t hear anything around you because it captures your voice vibrations through your bones. This will allow us to send the police or an ambulance and ensure to transfer you to a new body if this one is about to die too.”

“Wait, you mean that if I die again, you’ll bring me back?”

“Well, yes and no. You have a 5 year warranty. If you die accidentally or from a pre-existing disease , we’ll transfer you for free. After 5 years, you’ll need to pay for another insurance policy. However, considering how much money your husband had and that you have a new lease on life, we think you’ll be a repeat client of ours for a few more times.”

“Wow, this is so overwhelming”

The two men led Catherine to her room and left her to think. That night, she dreamt of future cities and future bodies, realizing that as long as she was careful enough and made enough money, she could be effectively immortal, leaping from one body to another.

That night, Lucy also made a realization. If other original occupants had been able to return, so could she. Unlike them however, she knew how to disarm the security system herself.

Like Catherine, she had realized that their services meant immortality, but unlike her, she didn’t want to have anything to do with it if it meant that living the next life caused to another girl as much pain and suffering as she had received.

No, if Lucy successfully regained control of her body, someone would pay for his. Someone would regret the day they had kidnapped her to use her body.

Philip and Jim were just cogs in the machine. She had to find who was ultimately responsible and crush them.