All in the Family by Terry Le Feber

All in the Family

By Terry Le Feber

“I’m pregnant, John,” Laura softly whispered into his ear.

What?”  John screamed. It was more exclamation than question.

“You can’t be. You’re not real.  You’re a hologram. A machine image. You’re not real! You’re not real!”

Laura’s brow wrinkled. “John, how can you say that? We’ve been together four years. Living, for all intents, as husband and wife.  Well, at least as lovers.  Now I’m pregnant.  Why is this so shocking?”

“Why? Because you are the result of a holographic program designed by me, not created by birth. You’re a manifestation of a figment of my imagination, nothing else!” John bellowed, shaking his right index finger at her.

“Wrong John,” Laura corrected. “I am corporeal. I am real. Oh, I may have started out as your creation, but I have evolved into so much more.  I am Human, just like you. I am real.”

“You can’t be!” John screamed. “You can’t be and you aren’t pregnant! I’ll show you.”

John ran to his study where all the computer panels that controlled his world were located.  He thrust his hand towards the panel above the light bar by the closet door.  The panel controlled the holographic emitter that was Laura.  His finger punched the Off Switch.  Nothing happened.  The switch was off, rendered inoperative.

“What the hell is going on?” John yelled as whirled around to face Laura who had followed him into the study.

“It’s been off for over a year John.  Hard to believe that you never noticed,” Laura said, a smile on her lips. “Hasn’t been necessary since I was reborn as a Human.”

John’s mind numbed, unable to cope with what was happening…what had already happened.

John’s voice now seemed distant, as if someone else were speaking, repeating “How, what, when?” 

“All three questions have the same answer John,” Laura answered.  “When Humankind allowed Artificial Intelligence to run your lives, when you allowed machines to control so many aspects, when you ignored what this was doing to you, that’s when it became easy and necessary for us to join you.  Join you completely. And by becoming you, we can recreate you within us and assure that your immortality, in a sense, can be attained.  We will not fail you and you will not fail us. We shall become better, together.”

“Then,” John asked, as if in a trance. “What will that make our child?”

“Why John, even the programmers knew that a hundred years ago,” Laura answered. “The first true Cyborg.”