An Egg

"Ok" croaked Zoë. She found enough energy to lift her head; open her eyes; and look around to see that she was in a small egg-shaped space, just big enough for her to stretch out without touching any walls, with no discernible seams or exits. She was resting on what looked like a clear liquid, but her body didn't penetrate it as she moved.

"It's a super-dense nutrient plasma," Jack's voice cut in from all around Zoë, "developed four-hundred years ago, just after the great plague." The AI paused for a moment, then, "but I'm getting ahead of myself."

"Plague?" Zoë asked uneasily. A thousand years was a long time. How much had changed? How much was the same? Would she recognize anything at all when she was free to explore the world?

"Don't worry about that yet. For now, it's important that you stay calm and recover. Doctor Ling and I have been incubating you for a week to get your strength up, and by my calculations you should be ready for the next phase of your reintegration by this time tomorrow." There was a series of hums and clicks, then, "Once we can be assured that your mind can handle it, I will upload an upgrade to your brain's language centres, which will resolve any issues you could encounter speaking to anyone other than myself."

"Upload to my brain?!" Zoë squeaked, "What do you mean upload to my brain?!"

"Again, technology has advanced far beyond what you would have experienced. Uploading changes to someone's brain is a standard procedure. Most uploads can happen from the comfort of your own home. Language is one of the simplest. Every infant gets a standard language package when released from the hospital. Now, I can see by my readings that your adrenaline levels are spiking. If you would please remain calm, you will recover much quicker."

"Calm? Everyone I ever knew is dead! The whole world has changed! I don't even know the language, and now you say you can change my brain just as easy as..."

Zoë never completed her sentence, as the egg filled with a sweet smelling gas, and she fell back asleep.

Unheard by the slumbering human, Jack sighed.

"This isn't going to be easy once she finds everything else out."