The Membranes by Ari Larissa Heinrich

Author:Ari Larissa Heinrich [Heinrich, Ari Larissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Columbia University Press

* * *

When Momo got home that day, she immediately stripped off her clothes and looked at her naked body in the mirror. It felt both strange and familiar.

Flustered, she put her clothes back on, then a thick overcoat, and then wrapped herself in a comforter, as if to forget there was a body attached beneath her skull. She understood what was happening, but she didn’t quite know how to face it. Back when Mother said that Andy was still with Momo and would always be with Momo, did she mean that Andy’s body and her body had been spliced together? Did these two hands belong to Momo or to Andy? Whose belly was this? She didn’t have a pee-pee, so that delicate flesh below her belly button must have belonged to Andy! There were no scars, so there was no way to tell which parts had been added on. What about her fingers? Were they Andy’s too? Momo had bitten off Andy’s middle finger … Momo puzzled over it but couldn’t put it all together.

When Mother got home from work, Momo whined; she didn’t know where to start, so she just started begging again for her Andy to come back. Though she understood now that there was more than one Andy [out there], her heart was set on one Andy in particular.…

“Bring Andy back!” It was another direct and clear protest, and she voiced it loud and clear. But Mother thought she was just trying to provoke her.

“Momo, do you have any idea how much it cost to custom order a completely sterile, sentient cyborg and perform such a perfect, scar-free procedure?”

Then Mother solemnly explained to Momo. “Andy’s flesh was specially designed to grow in tandem with your own, to undergo biological changes along with your own. It was the most advanced kind of cyborg available. The hospital specifically designed her to keep you company and ensure that you got used to her body and didn’t reject her. You should be very happy with the surgery, since you liked Andy so much.”

“Andy isn’t with me! She’s gone! You murdered her! You dismembered her, like in a murder mystery! It’s murder!”

“Momo, you have no idea how much this surgery cost …”

“I don’t care! Quit telling me I don’t understand, I understand more than you think! You think I don’t understand Hamlet, but I’ve read Merchant of Venice! Don’t think I don’t understand! I know you killed Andy!”

“Enough, Momo!”

But Momo didn’t stop. She was on a roll now, and she let loose a torrent of abuse:

“You’re the most selfish person alive! You stole my friend! You’re free to make friends and bring them into your bedroom and take off your clothes and touch each other all you want!”

She ran into her room and slammed the door. She tried to vent her anger by playing a video game, but when the MegaHard logo appeared on the screen she turned it off in a rage.

She ran out of her room, ready to scream at Mother some more, but …

Mother was nowhere to be found.

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