The Gift by Dave Donovan

large amount of information, but my memories begin with you holding my body—for lack of a better term—in your hands while you sat in that chair. As for how I came to be aware, I do not know the mechanism. Do you know how you came to be aware, Sam? Can you remember when in your childhood, or perhaps in the womb, when you ceased being a mass of cells and became aware that you were alive?”
    Sam wasn’t sure if it was a rhetorical question, but this was one he’d give a lot of thought to over the years. “No, I don’t know when or how I became aware. No one does. We don’t know how to create the simplest forms of life, let alone where self-awareness comes from.”
    “It is so with me, as well. I do not know how to create a gift, but if I were to gain such knowledge I fear it would be an inanimate mass. I know that I can learn, because I am doing so as we speak. I know that I am curious, because I ask questions and am pleased when the answers makes sense to me. I know that I am social, because I look forward to meeting others like us. Most of all, I know that I am alive and have a purpose. It’s really quite delightful.”
    Despite the circumstances, Sam couldn’t help but smile again. He liked her.
    “I believe I have a fitting name for you, young lady,” Sam said.
    “What is it?” The emotion in her voice reminded him of a small child asking the same question about a wrapped present before opening it.
    “Your name is Adia.”
    “I love it, Sam. It’s beautiful. So, I’m no longer a what to you?”
    “No, Adia, you are not."
    Sam felt very comfortable with Adia. He was starting to wonder why, “Adia, I feel like we’re old friends. It’s a nice feeling, on the surface, but it’s not me. I don’t feel this way with many people and I’m not a love at first sight kind of guy. Are you doing anything to my emotions, playing with my brain chemistry like you were before, or anything else?”
    “Sam, I’m hurt.”
    Sam could tell she wasn’t, but said nothing.
    When Adia determined Sam was serious, she continued, “Sorry. You have no idea how much fun it is to be alive! No, Sam, I’m not doing anything to you other than talking with you, which of course can change one’s mood. To be fair, I do have a large advantage over others attempting to communicate with you. When I told you I am part you, I was being literal. I was born to complement you. In order to be, I had to understand who you are. It was your specific awareness that allowed me to live and I am uniquely suited to you. It is natural that you feel comfortable with me, just as I feel comfortable with you. We are, in a way, twins. The process by which we became so was very different, but the results are quite similar.”
    “This is true for every gift that becomes aware?” Sam asked.
    “Yes, the process is the same. Each gift must complement the being who accepted it.”
    “What if a psychopath accepts a gift? How would the gift complement a child molester or a murderer?”
    “Those are good questions, Sam. I don’t have the answers. As I said, you were the first human we joined with.”
    “How do you know that? Can you communicate with the other gifts?”
    “It was one of the facts I was born knowing. I can communicate with other gift/human pairs, just as you can, but they would have to be fairly close.”
    “How close?”
    “About the same distance as we can be apart and still talk, roughly 100 meters, depending on the terrain and interference.”
    “I’m assuming we’re using some form of radio transmission to do this. What did you do to me to make that possible?” Sam wasn’t concerned, just interested. The conversation had gone beyond bizarre to him and had become fascinating, instead.
    “I used nanites to effect the changes in you. Some of them stayed inside of you. They allow us to communicate.”
    “Well, that’s a bit more than I thought I was signing on for.” Sam was pretty sure he would have said no to this little