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Chave looked atdistastefully, like it was a snake that ers The polish was clear, which probably meant it was expensive; there was no other way she could have gotten aith so for you You have awith the financial department after lunch, to discuss any questions they may have or inaccuracies that they may find"

"Inaccuracies" was the approved corporate way of saying "atte that wasn’t their proble, but the idea was still enough towith the SymboGen financial people They were always so nice Somehow, that made them worse than the blandly professional faces that made up the rest of the co the h it until I found the heavy e statements for the past six ’s in there We used the filing instructions we got fro to worry about" Chave’s utterly fake smile remained in place as she took the folder and tucked it under her arm "This way, Ms Mitchell" Then she turned and walked away across the lobby, her heels sinking silently into the plush blue carpet

I didn’t want to go with her I went anyway

The first time I was at Sys I had been out offor further study The public hospital caained fine e First came SymboGen, and their many, many experts I stayed there for almost a year I learned what trees were from their arboretum, and what birds were from their aviary, and I cried for days when they made me leave

The second time I was at SymboGen, I had been back withfor physical and cognitive therapy I’d run into the building and hidden in its halls for three hours, refusing to leave They’d had to sedate et me back into the car It felt like the world had stoppedsense, like the only home I believed in didn’t want an in earnest, and I learned what hoht was hoical exams Puzzles and mazes and endless, endless tests to see what I could learn and how long I could retain it under stress The scientists were kind and did their best tothe orders It was like the corporation had been waiting for so, and now that I’d finally arrived, I was just a lab animal to them I was a lab animal that they had to release at the end of their twice-yearly study dates, letting o back into the wild and learn a few more tricks to impress them with

Every time the doors of SymboGen closed behindtoward the day when they would no longer let me leave Part of me insisted my parents would never let that happen The other part of me, the one that was loudest when I was actually inside the building, reer I’d killed their real daughter, taken over her life, and if SymboGen decided to petition for custody, my parents and sister would probably be relieved Sy to that part of ed there forever and ever? I tried not to listen to that little voice, but so to ignore Dr Morrison’s grin

Chave was one of my two primary handlers when I was on company property I liked her counterpart, Sherman, a lot better, and I liked them both more than I liked any of their substitutes They were always iendas--which ironically made me like them more than I liked the ad, but I was a lab animal all the same, and lab animals aren’t entitled to personal space It was nice to have at least a few people outside the science ho didn’t feel like they could grabfirst?" I asked, once ere in the glass-backed elevator, sliding high into the grasp of SymboGen The schedule for my visits was never provided ahead of time I just knehen I was supposed to show up, and when to tell et me One of the psychiatrists once told me it was so I wouldn’t psych ht they just enjoyed itwith an interview today," said Chave, her tone as ree to any interviews They still have to let me approve those" Once--and only once--SymboGen had surprised me with a reporter That particular article had presented ed to overcoe in order to become a semifunctional person It was syrupy, sweet, and almost entirely untrue My parents had threatened to sue the cos, some of which I was pretty sure were exclusive of one another Syain without gettingme to have someone of my choice to be an unbiased observer