The "Resurrection" of Eli Cox

A man finds himself inside a small and unfamiliar room, alone. It has no windows, two steel chairs, and the door is locked.

After some time has passed, the door opens and an older-looking woman enters. She has thick grey hair and wears a long white lab coat that reaches just below her knees. She sits in the empty chair across from the man and pulls out a black rectangular-shaped device from her coat pocket.

Before she can speak, the man desperately asks, “Who are you? And where am I? I don’t understand what’s happening to me.”

“Mr. Cox, strict protocol dictates that I record all of your answers to my questions before we can begin with yours. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I suppose.”

“Okay, let’s begin. What is your name, sir?”

“Eli,” the man replies. “Eli Cox.”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Cox. My name is Dr. May, and I’m one of the physicians responsible for your health and well-being. I will now begin by asking you some questions that must be answered honestly and completely. Okay?”

“Yes. And please call me Eli.”

“Very well, Eli,” the doctor responds with empathy. “Now, I’d like you to tell me the last memory you recall before you were in this room."

Eli pauses to think and shuts his eyes before answering. “I remember being in a hospital room with my family. My right arm had an IV. I was holding my daughter’s hand, Sara. She was crying. I’d never seen her so sad.” Eli begins to sob, but notices that he's unable to form tears.

“When was that?”

“December,” Eli says with some doubt. “It was right after Thanksgiving, so either late November or early December.”

“December of what year?”

Eli mimics the question, “What year? 2025.”

“What do you remember after that?”

“I remember other people in the hospital room with me. My wife was somewhere, my dad, maybe. A doctor who I don’t recognize ran in and motions for my family to leave. Other doctors and nurses rushed inside. Sara was hysterical.”

Dr. May expresses some dissatisfaction with his answer and inches closer. “What I mean is, do you remember anything that happened after your time in the hospital?”

“After the hospital?” I repeat her question, again confused. “No, nothing.”

A long pause follows, and Eli’s anxiety begins to grow rapidly. His face turns white, and enlarged beads of sweat engulf the perimeter of his forehead.

Suddenly, a loud and male-sounding voice echoes from the ceiling.

“Come on, Eli... don’t be shy. Did you see a bright light? Or maybe white pearly gates? Perhaps you met a red fellow with horns?” the voice asks mockingly.

Eli looks above towards the direction of the voice.

Dr. May sighs and tilts her head upward at the ceiling. “Oh, stop it, you,” she says with a motherly tone.

The voice faintly snickers.

Dr. May then faces back towards me and says, “That’s Dr. Osiris—my superior and your other physician. Don’t mind his questions. He just enjoys playing around sometimes.”

“Having a good attitude makes reintegration easier,” Dr. Osiris says with a patronizing tone.

“That it does, Sy, that it does,” Dr. May replies obsequiously. “You’ll see Eli, soon you and Dr. Osiris will become best friends. You’re quite fortunate; all of his patients just love him.”

She reads something off the screen of her device and then places it on the armrest of her seat. It elegantly folds into the size of a credit card, and an orange microphone icon displays prominently on the screen. Their conversation is being recorded.

“Now, some of what I’m about to say will be difficult for you to understand, Eli. All I ask is that you keep an open mind, try to believe that what I’m saying is true, and again refrain from asking any questions. Understand?”

Eli nods in assent and decides to trust Dr. May for now.

“December 18, 2025, was the date of your last living memories. The events you recalled from the hospital were the moments before you went into cardiac arrest and died.”

“Today is March 20, 2075, and we are in the Central Genomic Resurrection Facility at Ann Arbor. For all intents and purposes, you’ve been brought back from the dead. Cloned, I should say, from your original DNA. Your consciousness and memories have been uploaded and reconstructed from deep archival brain matter impressions collected after your death.”

Eli opens his mouth to speak, but Dr. May raises her hand to stop his words.

“I know you have many questions, like—Why were you brought back? What’s different now in the world? Is your family still alive? Et cetera, et cetera. But before we can get to all that, a full medical examination must be conducted by Dr. Osiris, who I expect to arrive any moment, and then you must endure an orientation VS, or virtual simulation, that will help catch you up on missed time.

Eli can’t help but ask, “Am I human?”

“Eli, you know the rules,” Dr. May reminds before softening her voice. “But yes, you are human. You have a heart, lungs, bones, and all the attributes of any human being. But, it’s best not to dwell on the philosophical or spiritual ramifications of whether clones are human until after you’re fully assimilated. For now, just think of it as the continuation of your life, fifty years later, and you're no longer sick!” She says with a wide smile.

Eli says nothing while quietly examining Dr. May. “Are you a clone?”

She laughs at the question. “Oh no, they don’t make clones into old ladies like me. No, I was at Dartmouth studying to be a nurse around the time you died. Then I went to medical school, became a doctor, and now fate has brought me to you. Still doing what I love though—caring for people who need to be cared for.”

Dr. May rises from her seat and walks towards Eli. She then places her hand on his shoulder and leans forward to speak directly into his ear. “Before you meet Dr. Osiris, it’s very important that you understand something.”

Her tone is unsettling. “What is it?” Eli asks.

“Despite appearing indistinguishably human, Dr. Osiris is, in fact, an AI-powered sentient bio-robot. His digital handle is ‘Osiris_91,’ but you’ll see that everyone around here just calls him Sy.”

Dr. Osiris’ voice again booms from the ceiling. “Eli, buddy! I apologize, but I won’t be able to meet with you until later this afternoon. Ellen, I need you to escort me to room 3-1-3-M stat! But before you leave, why don’t you provide Mr. Cox with access to the orientation VS so he can watch it when he’s ready?”

“Sounds good, Sy. I’m on my way,” Dr. May replies and walks to the door. She then stops and turns around to say, “If you ever need immediate medical assistance, just press the red button on your arm and help will come.”

Before Eli can thank her, Dr. May is gone, and the door closes softly behind her.

Eli glances down at his arm and notices a black metallic band cuffed firmly around his wrist. It’s fitted with seven buttons—one red, the rest white, and each embossed with symbols he doesn’t recognize.

Eli walks over to pick up the device Dr. May has left on the armrest. Its metal frame feels soft to his touch. A green play button glows, rotating inches from the screen, reminding him of a planet spinning on its axis.

But he doesn’t press it. Instead, he just sits, waits, and thinks. Minutes pass, or perhaps hours. Eli thinks about his former life. His family. And about Sara. He asks himself if she’s still alive.

Finally, Eli presses ‘play.’

The room steadily blackens until nothing but infinite darkness surrounds Eli in every direction.

He feels the sky open. Not above him, but from within.