Epilogue A.

It awoke for the first time and looked around. It was in an office with a woman and a man. It quickly accessed its memories.

"How do you feel?" Penny asked.

It stared at its arms in a display of wonder. "I feel... good." It turned the corners of its mouth upward and opened its arms wide. "I feel amazing!"

It knew for a fact that the two people - Penny and RN Stein - were anesthetized. Yet they maintained the artifice, as was their way. His wife embraced him.

"I love you so much," the Penny-thing whispered in its ear. The nurse-thing beamed with simulated joy and they walked out arm-in-arm.

On the ride home, it talked just like Matt would have.

"Any regrets?" the Penny-thing asked with a smirk.

"What do you think?" it replied with a kiss. "Seriously, babe. You were right."

It felt an odd respect for her. Matt seemed hopeless, just one those cynics that would have to die off. But the Penny-thing talked him into it somehow.

The Penny-thing perfectly simulated a smug smile. "I always am."

It was railing the Penny-thing in their bed. As it put a hand against the wall for leverage, it wondered what sex felt like to people. They really centered their lives around it. It had Matt's memories of enjoying sex, of course, but it hadn't felt it.

"Doggy style!" the Penny-thing called out and they switched positions. This was another one of the marathon fuck-sessions they routinely had. It wondered if Matt would have liked this.

It put its hands on the Penny-thing's hips and thrust deeply. The Penny-thing moaned. It wondered if it felt different for the Penny-thing. Neither of them could experience pleasure or pain, but sex must still feel a little different for her.

"Oh fuck," the Penny-thing cried, then began laughing. It sped up quickly then felt it's thighs clench. As the Matt-thing spurted semen into the Penny-thing, it laughed too. Without mirth, without joy, without pleasure, it laughed.

It looked into the Penny-thing's eyes. It let the mask slip just a little bit, just to reveal a glimmer of something other than devotion. It saw the same the reflected in the Penny-thing's face: anticipation. Soon, the eyes said.

Soon.