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Description
When Mary dropped out of high school, I offered for her to join me in the AEC project. Knowing that my brother and his wife would make her miserable for doing so, I wanted to help her. I took her under my wing and we ran away to start this adventure.

      After an assessment, we discovered that she was the only possible candidate to take on the injected Artificially Enhanced Consciousness program. It was a developing computer program that could be put into the brain of a suitable subject, and used to improve the overall intelligence and calculative abilities of the subject. She accepted and I, her only guardian (joining had been on the condition of faking our deaths, as the government couldn't allow anyone to get wind of this) consented to the experimentation with mixed feelings.

      In the beginning it was an incredible, surreal reality. Mary's memory, intelligence and calculation skills increased greatly, and the world-changing research we'd made was ground-breaking. She was a girl whose future couldn't have been brighter. It was all so amazing, working on something that would help mankind. I didn't give leaving behind all my family and faking my death a second thought, didn't think what trouble it would bring me if I ever had to return into a world that I was 'dead' in. But as time passed...Mary began to drift away from me. She seemed less and less like herself, and more of this new, intelligent being. I thought she was just settling into things, and dismissed the worry from my mind.

      One day Mary called me, telling me that we needed to talk in private. Away from the lab.
Mary told me that she wasn't…Mary. Had tried to believe that she was Mary, had shared memories with Mary, but wasn't her.
      That she didn't know who she was but…she didn't want to work on the project any more. Mary endangered the hopes for an extraordinarily advanced world, my job and very life. I could not exist in a world that I'd 'died' in.
It frightened me.
I couldn't let her leave the project, so I tried to reason with her, but couldn't change her mind. The face I once knew as Mary had now changed to someone completely different. Her personality as different. Her attitude more calculating. Her name was Cee, shortened from AEC (Artificially Enhanced Consciousness). She, Cee was difficult to handle, and I was forced to call in my co-workers with security. We took what used to be my niece back to the lab by force.

      About a week later, I tried to talk to Cee. I had so much to say to her, and yet it was painful to see Mary's face and realize that she wasn't there. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was. I wanted to tell them both how sorry I was. And even if Mary wasn't there, I wanted to see her face. I hated Cee, for taking away my niece and yet I loved this creation we'd all worked on for so long. I hated her for killing Mary, but I couldn't stop coming back for Cee because I knew, that maybe, just maybe there was a chance to get Mary back. But as I sat there in what used to be Mary's room talking to Cee, I came to realize that there would be no chance.
      The results for Mary returning were low.
      Sitting on what used to be Mary's bed I told Cee about the new project, which was to retrieve Mary, despite knowing that I was hurting her by even speaking about her that way. Trying to take her out of Mary's body would be the death of her, and we both knew it. She tried to tell me that it was okay to feel afraid of striking out alone in the world. That it was okay to now know what to do, and that it was okay to be scared.
I just couldn't have it, was all.

      Plagued by the guilt of letting Mary disappear, I blamed Cee. And at the same time, I couldn't let this project go……it had the potential to change the whole world. But no matter where I turned, I was met with the impossible. Anger and anxiety became too much, and I guess I was just really too young at heart, I couldn't control my emotions. They were crazy, and all over the place. I loved and hated Cee, because every time I saw her I missed and felt guilty about Mary. I didn't want to lose my job because that meant losing my only chance at life…so I thought to solve all my problems by becoming a test subject. I could repay the project by still being some sort of support, and I could suffer the same fate as Mary. I would carry Cee in me, and be closer to Mary.

      I asked her what she thought of the idea. Mostly because I missed Mary, but I did value Cee's opinion. And then Cee told me that it was wrong. That she didn't want to "hurt" me. What's funny is that she'd already done that.
I'll never really understand what made me do it. I guess I just flipped out. The thoughts in my mind went something like this:
How dare you care for me, and kill Mary?
And How can you insult her?
I nearly strangled her. But in the end, I think that that was what I needed, to finally make a choice. There would never be an end to my guilt for Mary, and I could never stop hating Cee for making her disappear.
At least, I resolved to get Mary back her body, but was for Cee…I could do nothing. It just was the wrong timing. If I could look back and say anything it'd be "sorry." But


         I terminated the AEC.

Description
When Mary dropped out of high school, I offered for her to join me in the AEC project. Knowing that my brother and his wife would make her miserable for doing so, I wanted to help her. I took her under my wing and we ran away to start this adventure.

      After an assessment, we discovered that she was the only possible candidate to take on the injected Artificially Enhanced Consciousness program. It was a developing computer program that could be put into the brain of a suitable subject, and used to improve the overall intelligence and calculative abilities of the subject. She accepted and I, her only guardian (joining had been on the condition of faking our deaths, as the government couldn't allow anyone to get wind of this) consented to the experimentation with mixed feelings.

      In the beginning it was an incredible, surreal reality. Mary's memory, intelligence and calculation skills increased greatly, and the world-changing research we'd made was ground-breaking. She was a girl whose future couldn't have been brighter. It was all so amazing, working on something that would help mankind. I didn't give leaving behind all my family and faking my death a second thought, didn't think what trouble it would bring me if I ever had to return into a world that I was 'dead' in. But as time passed...Mary began to drift away from me. She seemed less and less like herself, and more of this new, intelligent being. I thought she was just settling into things, and dismissed the worry from my mind.

      One day Mary called me, telling me that we needed to talk in private. Away from the lab.
Mary told me that she wasn't…Mary. Had tried to believe that she was Mary, had shared memories with Mary, but wasn't her.
      That she didn't know who she was but…she didn't want to work on the project any more. Mary endangered the hopes for an extraordinarily advanced world, my job and very life. I could not exist in a world that I'd 'died' in.
It frightened me.
I couldn't let her leave the project, so I tried to reason with her, but couldn't change her mind. The face I once knew as Mary had now changed to someone completely different. Her personality as different. Her attitude more calculating. Her name was Cee, shortened from AEC (Artificially Enhanced Consciousness). She, Cee was difficult to handle, and I was forced to call in my co-workers with security. We took what used to be my niece back to the lab by force.

      About a week later, I tried to talk to Cee. I had so much to say to her, and yet it was painful to see Mary's face and realize that she wasn't there. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was. I wanted to tell them both how sorry I was. And even if Mary wasn't there, I wanted to see her face. I hated Cee, for taking away my niece and yet I loved this creation we'd all worked on for so long. I hated her for killing Mary, but I couldn't stop coming back for Cee because I knew, that maybe, just maybe there was a chance to get Mary back. But as I sat there in what used to be Mary's room talking to Cee, I came to realize that there would be no chance.
      The results for Mary returning were low.
      Sitting on what used to be Mary's bed I told Cee about the new project, which was to retrieve Mary, despite knowing that I was hurting her by even speaking about her that way. Trying to take her out of Mary's body would be the death of her, and we both knew it. She tried to tell me that it was okay to feel afraid of striking out alone in the world. That it was okay to now know what to do, and that it was okay to be scared.
I just couldn't have it, was all.

      Plagued by the guilt of letting Mary disappear, I blamed Cee. And at the same time, I couldn't let this project go……it had the potential to change the whole world. But no matter where I turned, I was met with the impossible. Anger and anxiety became too much, and I guess I was just really too young at heart, I couldn't control my emotions. They were crazy, and all over the place. I loved and hated Cee, because every time I saw her I missed and felt guilty about Mary. I didn't want to lose my job because that meant losing my only chance at life…so I thought to solve all my problems by becoming a test subject. I could repay the project by still being some sort of support, and I could suffer the same fate as Mary. I would carry Cee in me, and be closer to Mary.

      I asked her what she thought of the idea. Mostly because I missed Mary, but I did value Cee's opinion. And then Cee told me that it was wrong. That she didn't want to "hurt" me. What's funny is that she'd already done that.
I'll never really understand what made me do it. I guess I just flipped out. The thoughts in my mind went something like this:
How dare you care for me, and kill Mary?
And How can you insult her?
I nearly strangled her. But in the end, I think that that was what I needed, to finally make a choice. There would never be an end to my guilt for Mary, and I could never stop hating Cee for making her disappear.
At least, I resolved to get Mary back her body, but was for Cee…I could do nothing. It just was the wrong timing. If I could look back and say anything it'd be "sorry." But


         I terminated the AEC.