It's true.

"You do?" Eric asked. He felt dizzy, like he might pass out. "Now?"

"Yeah," she said as she pulled out two objects. A small green ring and what appeared to be a laminated index card. That's her operating instructions, Eric thought as panic bubbled up in his mind. For when she's not a real person anymore.

"But we're not gonna do it right now, right?" He heard the edge of panic in his voice. If Stacy heard it, she chose to ignore it.

"I'd like to," she said. "I understand if you don't want me to. But I hope I can convince you that it's the best way forward." She put a hand on his and he stared at it.

Darkness was creeping around the edges of Eric's vision. His heart was pounding in his chest and he swallowed. "I... babe, those things aren't real. You won't be you anymore."

Stacy patted his hand. The feeling of being comforted instead of comforting added to his sense of unreality. "I will, though. Think about it. I'll have all of my old memories, my old personality, all of it. I'll still be me where it counts," she said as she tapped her temple.

"But you'll have to do whatever that fucking thing tells you to," he said and gestured to the script. She picked it up and smiled and Eric's heart melted. This was the biggest smile she'd had since the accident.

"That's the beauty of the system. These are special scripts made for transmutees. They won't do anything for a normal golem, because they have one overriding directive: to be yourself. My main command will be to continue to be Stacy."

"Then won't you still be depressed?" he asked.

"Not really, because I'll be doing what the script says. As long as I'm following the script, I'm fine. You should hear the way they talk about it. It's like all those other worries and sorrows fade away as long as you're following the script, and you literally cannot stop following it."

"So you'll be a blissed-out zombie?"

"Of course not," she said. "Think of it this way. When the accident happened, most of what tied me to this world was severed. I became a vestige, with no friends or family. The only thing tying me to the earth was you! It was enough to keep me alive, since I could never put you through the pain of losing me, but I lived in a cauldron of seething misery and pain.

"This will give me a purpose, a reason. I won't just exist because not existing would be worse; I'll have something I need to do and an attendant satisfaction that comes from doing it. Of course I'll worry and be sad and angry and bored! But the real rot, the thing that's eating away at my soul, is that my place in this world is gone. I'll still miss them terribly, but it won't be all I think about anymore."

"Jesus," Eric said. He put a hand to his forehead. "Where did you even get that? Is it safe?"

She nodded. "It wasn't easy, but I made some connections online. Eric, you have no idea how much this has helped people. I know I've asked a lot of you, more than any person should, but I'm asking you for one more thing. My love, will you please let me do this?"

Eric reeled drunkenly. This was most she'd spoken to him at one time in years. He could actually see glimpses old Stacy, that thousand watt smile, the perky enthusiasm that made her the most popular person on campus. He was silent for several minutes before croaking out an answer.

"Yes."