Epilogue B.

Penny slowly stretched and opened her eyes. She felt refreshed and energized after her long nap-

"Shit!" She sat up suddenly. Matt was next to her, already up.

"You ok, babe?" he asked. She scowled and jumped out of bed.

"No, I'm fucking late for work! What time is it? Why didn't you wake me up?"

Matt caught her hand as she hurried past. "It's Saturday, hon."

She stopped and glared at him. "You could have mentioned that before I jumped out of bed and had a panic attack!"

He pulled her back into bed by the hand and laughed. "You're so cute when you're upset." His face darkened and he added, "I miss that..."

"What do you mean, 'you miss that?' I miss being asleep, asshole!"

Matt was suddenly serious. "Penny, I need to introduce you to someone." He whistled and a woman who looked exactly like Penny sauntered in.

"Hi Penny!" she said and waved brightly. "I'm Penny!"

Penny turned to Matt with shock. "Is that- did you fucking clone me or something? What the fuck is going on?"

Her doppelganger laughed at that. "I win!" she exclaimed. "I said you were gonna say clones. Matt bet robots."

Penny waved her hand in front the of the other Penny's face. The woman giggled and playfully batted at it.

"Is she... stupid?" The girl vigorously nodded and Penny took stock of her. "And what the fuck is she wearing? She looks like a stripper! Matt, did you make some kind of sex doll of me? Why on earth would you do this?"

"She's so close!" the other Penny said and clapped her hands. "Can I tell her again?"

Matt firmly denied her request and turned back to Penny. "Say, Pen, you haven't thought about getting the anesthesia behind my back, have you?"

Penny was caught completely off-guard. "No!" she lied. "That would be a huge violation of trust-"

Matt tapped on a tablet and she stopped talking. Did he have that before?

"Yeah, I've just been working up the nerve to do it," she explained matter-of-factly. "I'm a little scared but excited."

"And that trust?"

"I won't be able to feel guilt, so even if you do find out it won't be my problem," Penny explained patiently. Wait, should she be saying these things?

"Aren't you worried I might do something drastic if I find out? Like make you take the booster?"

Penny scoffed. "First of all, how are you gonna find out? Second, you hate the first shot so much, why would you want me boosted? Third, you can't make me do anything. And most importantly, you love me and you would never lobotomize me like that."

The other Penny burst into laughter. Matt just smiled malevolently. "Penny," he asked, "what are you wearing right now?"

She was caught off-guard again. "Normal clothes. Matt, what's going on?"

"Details," he demanded.

She glanced down and did a double-take. "I'm naked!" Penny felt a sudden vertigo and Matt reached out to steady her. "How am I naked?"

"Imagine if you got the shot, then I made you get the booster. You'd be a moron, right? I'd want **** for what you did, but you can't get **** on a boosted." To emphasize his point, he slapped the other Penny hard on the back of the head. She giggled and gave a thumbs-up.

"So what could I do? Turns out I could make an Emulated."

Penny's heart sank when he referenced the line of extremely lifelike androids. "But there's debate whether they're even sentient! Is this poor thing some kind of fucked-up Emulated you made to make a point?"

He tapped once on the tablet and Penny felt a barrier in her mind crumble to dust. She fell to her knees with a wracking sob. The real Penny patted her gently on the back. "It's ok," she said cheerfully. "The sad part doesn't last forever."

"How about it, Pen?" Matt sneered. "Do you feel sentient?"

"You're a monster," Penny said in a dull monotone. Matt tapped the tablet and she rose. He took her by the arm and gently guided her back to bed.

"How many times have you done this?" she asked dully as he pressed her down onto her back. He leaned over her, a tower of cruelty. "This is the fifth time," he told her as he tapped on the tablet.

"...today."

Penny slowly stretched and opened her eyes. She felt refreshed and energized after her long nap.