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Chapter 13

‘You have to understand,’ Dr Holcoany desk, a cup of coffee cradled between his hands, ‘the procedure we performed on you, Eet that,’ I said ‘I doubt you go around doing brain transplants on people who don’t need it Although I don’t kno I got lucky enough to be the first ’Dr Holcombe cleared his throat ‘Er’‘Wait ’ I stared at hi You meanI’hing heartily ‘The youngest, definitely But not the first, by any means ’I blinked at him ‘Butwait a minute I just saw a docuo It said none had ever been successfully done on a hu before ’‘Well, none that we’ve ever publicized, no,’ Dr Holcombe said ‘None of our recipients has ever cared to make the procedure public Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact—’‘Recipients? You’ve mean you’ve done thisa lot?’‘Oh yes,’ Dr Holcoo We’ve been perfor it for several years now It’s extremely expensive – and still quite rare You came to us with injuries that, in any ordinary circumstances, would have been instantly fatal It was pure serendipity that a viable whole-body donor becaave out ’‘Viable whole-body donor?’ I echoed I was shocked ‘You meanNikki Howard? I can’t believe you just called her that I mean, Nikkishe was a person ’‘Doctor Holcombe is aware of that, E in a pair of leather chairs in front of Dr Holcoins and Mr Phillips, a ‘legal representative’ of Stark Enterprises, sitting on a couch a few feet away When I’d asked, ‘What does Stark Enterprises have to do with all this?’ Mr Phillips had said, ‘You’re actually under the care of the Stark Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery, a division of Manhattan General Hospital, of which Stark Enterprises is a primary donor It’s the one and only medical centre in the world that performs whole-body transplants Stark Enterprises doesn’t publicize the institute’s existence – or its connection with it, of course – because there are still some, er, bioethical concerns involved in the procedure ’‘You et a whole-body transplant,’ I’d said, ‘somebody else has to be declared brain-dead so they can snatch their body for the recipient’s use?’‘Er,’ Mr Phillips had said, ‘that’s si the matter a bit, butyes, ently now, ‘Nikki Howard suffered froenital brain defect that no one – not even Nikki herself – are of It was an aneurys tione off at any tio off at alravely injured Because there were so astore staff had requested that an ambulance, in addition to a teahout the day in the event that the protests during the grand opening grew violent – they were able to act quickly enough to keep her – and you – alive for transport to this hospital But once you both arrived here, it was quickly determined that neither of you had a chance to surviveat least, not on your own ’‘Right,’ Dad said, his eyes looking very bright for sohtness in his eyes was due to tears I had never seenExtreme Home Makeover, of course ‘By the time your mother and I arrived, you were on a life-support oodbye to you ’‘Until,’ Mom added, her eyes equally shiny, ‘Doctor Holcoht be one way to keep you alivebut that it was extremely risky And that there’d likely becomplications ’‘You mean like I’d wake up in someone else’s body?’ I asked ‘That kind of complication?’‘It’s true you’re notwell, you any more, Em,’ Mom said ‘On the outside, anyway But you’re still you on the inside That’s why Doctor Holcoht ahat had happened You had already been through so much You just needed timetime to adjust—’‘Oh God ’ I dropped my head into my hands I couldn’t believe this I couldn’t believe any of this was happening to meAnd that Stark Enterprises was apparently behind it‘Look,’ I said, fighting back tears How couldwith any of this? How could they have allowed this to happen? ‘This isn’t right You can’t do this It’sit’s sick ’‘Now see here, young lady,’ Dr Holco annoyed ‘What’s sick about it? Thousands of people are declared legally brain-dead every year, and thousandsin What is so wrong with providing those patients with a second chance at life? Besides which,’ he added, a little less irritably, ‘I honestly don’t think you have any right to coirl, and cairls would die – literally – to be in your shoes right now!’That’s when I realized that even though this h at one tiently lifted it, and then spent hours carefully stitching it into place inside someone else’s head – he didn’t know meHe didn’t know me at all‘But you didn’t have my permission,’ I accused him‘Ah,’ Mr Phillips said, ‘but we had your parents’ per look at Moht with tears asto die otherwise, honey,’ she said ‘You wouldn’t be here, if it weren’t for what Doctor Holcombe and his team did ’I just looked at her I may have had Nikki Howard’s heart now, but it felt every bit as heavy as‘Fine,’ I said, trying to sound reasonably adult – which wasn’t easy to do, considering how high-pitched and childish Nikki Howard’s voice was ‘But if Stark Enterprises really wants to keep this whole whole-body transplant thing a secretwell, it’s not going to stay a secret for long Because people are going to notice so is up when I walk into school on Monday and I look just like Nikki Howard, but I’ myself Emerson Watts ’Mr Phillips cleared his throat‘That isn’t going to happen,’ he said calain Why didon? ‘Yeah, it is I o back to school ’‘E back to school,’ Mr Phillips said ‘Because Eer exists ’‘What do you ht here ’‘Elanced at hi I couldn’t put er onBut I knew I didn’t like it I saw that Mo next to him, wore much the same look on her facesort of panicky, but sort of pleading at the same time They both looked over at Mr Phillips, then back at ot to the hospital,’ Dad went on, ‘and Doctor Holcombe here told us about the transplant, there werewell, there were certain conditions Things we, as your parents, had to agree to before they would consider doing the surgery ’I looked fros?’ I asked, wondering what on earth they could be talking aboutMr Phillips pulled a thick pile of papers from a briefcase beside his chair and handed me a heavy stack froes of fine print, neatly stapled, and notarized At the bottonatures‘Well,’ Mr Phillips said, flipping through the copy of the contract he had in front of hireed that, in the event that your surgery was a success, you would honour all Nikki Howard’s contracts, endorseed‘What???

? I looked frantically towards lued to the floor‘In other words,’ Mr Phillips continued, apparently thinking I didn’t understand what he’d just said Except that I had understood I was just hoping against hope that he rong, ‘you will continue fulfilling Nikki Howard’s duties as spokeswoman for Stark Enterprises Failure to do so will result in a full and immediate reiery, and possible legal ra‘Wait,’ I said My heart was starting to hammer, hard, insidewhat I think you’re saying?’‘I’, Miss Watts,’ Mr Phillips said ‘But if youthat if you do not honour all Nikki Howard’s Stark-related professional commitments, your parents will owe this hospital two al fees – and fines, including possible jail time, if confidentiality is also breeched – then yes, that is what I a ’No No, this wasn’t possible This was a hallucination The part with Gabriel Luna? That had really happened But this was unreal –‘Oh, and there was soreed to,’ Mr Phillips went on‘There’s roaned‘This part,’ Dr Holcombe said, ‘I can assure you is quite standard, Emerson We require it of all our patients For the protection of the institute We can’t let e do here get out, of course There are people – religious leaders, politicians – ouldn’t understand that e do saves lives If people were to leave here with entirely new bodies and faces, but still insisting they were the saested earlier, ould get out very quickly That’s e require all our patients to allow us to declare their previous identities legally dead ’My jaw dropped ‘But I’ally,’ Mr Phillips said, ‘I can assure you that you are It all comes down to the locus of identity Just what is the locus – or perceived location – of our identitiesour souls, as it were? Is it the brain? Or is it the heart and body? Nikki Howard’s brain, it’s true, is no longer functioning Her heart, on the other hand, continues to beat ’‘Herheart?’I laid a hand over uess I should say, I laid Nikki Howard’s hand over Nikki Howard’s heart I felt its steady thump-thump-thump Up until thatto n‘Emerson Watts’s heart, however,’ Mr Phillips continued, ‘stopped beating well over a o If all motor function has ceased in a body, and the brain is real definition set in place by a landmark 1984 court decision here in New York state, is deceased Whereas the person with the living brain and beating heart – in this case, Nikki Howard – is, legally, alive ’My eyes widened I couldn’t understand any of this Did this guy not realize I’rade? Granted I’ain‘What I’ to explain, Miss Watts,’ Mr Phillips said, slowly, as if by his taking more time to pronounce them, his words would make o, E to the current definition of the word as mandated by the laws of the state of New York – died ’I did not like the sound of this I did not like the sound of this one bit‘Wait,’ I said ‘So according to the state of New York, I’m dead?’‘Emerson Watts is dead,’ he corrected me‘ButI’m Emerson Watts,’ I cried‘Are you?’ he asked with a little smileIt was the smile that did it Suddenly I was afraid More afraid than I’d ever been inwhen I’d seen that plasht whereforward in my chair ‘Yes Why are you – Ito tellto sit there and tell me that I’m dead, and that Nikki Howard is still alive?’‘Not at all What I’ you, Miss Watts, is that you are Nikki Howard ’