Page 125 of The Restoration Program

“You’re overreacting.”

“You could have broken something! You didn’t even let me check on him—”

“Nicole just—just SHUT UP!”

It had been five days, but the memory of Ryan’s shout lingered like a flu she couldn’t shake. With him shut away in the bedroom for a remote work meeting, Nicole felt safe enough to have a video call with Darlene during her lunch break.

Nicole was perched in her usual seat on the coffee table. She couldn’t be very good company while she listened for any sign that Ryan would intrude, but she tried. For all Darlene knew, Nicole was patching things up with Ryan. She hadn’t found the strength to say otherwise.

Darlene laughed at a video she was sharing on her screen, and Nicole chuckled weakly along with her, though she had no idea what she was laughing at.

Nicole secretly had a different tab open to a news livestream playing on mute. The text along the bottom of the video screamed:PROTESTERS SET FIRE TO GOVERNMENT BUILDING.

Aerial footage displayed the state capitol building surrounded by firetrucks, flashing police lights, and heavy smoke. People scattered across the pavement like ants. The broadcast switched to a ground view. Officers forced vicious protestors back.

Picket signs were abandoned on the steps of the building.Human Rights For Humans Only. Stop Playing God. No More Restoration.

Nicole blinked hard. It was only a matter of time before Darlene would check her phone and see the news alert. This wasn’t the first protest against NüPrint legislation, but it was the first that had turned violent.

As much as Nicole wanted to prolong this moment of peace with Darlene, she couldn’t look away from the newsfeed.

The audio of Darlene’s video cut short, interrupted by an ad.

“Damn, they always put these things in the worst spots,” Darlene groaned.

“I thought my life was over,” a man on the ad said.

Nicole stiffened and switched to Darlene’s shared screen. In the video, a NüPrint man walked toward the camera, casually standing on a kitchen counter. Darlene made a small noise of realization and started to move the cursor to skip the ad.

“Hang on, let it play,” Nicole said. “I haven’t seen this one.”

The shot cut away to a NüPrint woman lounging on an open windowsill. “I thought I’d never feel the sun on my skin again.”

Cut to a man on a loveseat, a tiny man sitting on the armrest at his side. The NüPrint, his voice choked-up, said, “We thought we had to say goodbye.”

The first man on the counter reappeared, stopping near the edge. “But the Restoration Program has given me a second chance.”

The woman on the window. “A second chance to live.”

The couple. “A second chance to love,” they said together.

A pleasant female voice spoke over the ad. “The Restoration Program is ready to accept more patients than ever. We are equipped with accommodations, support, and ongoing healthcare. If you or a loved one are in need of a second chance, contact our offices for a free consultation.”

While she spoke, clip after clip showed NüPrints smiling as they used accommodations in public and interacted with normal people. It was an alien planet compared to reality. The ad closed with the Program logo and the hallowed words in elegant script:“What was lost has been restored.”

Nicole itched to look at the forums and see if the new commercial had been picked apart yet. However, she was more likely to find threads flooded with new of the fiery protest rather than another squeaky-clean ad from the Program.

The shared video resumed playing, but Darlene paused it and stopped sharing. Her face filled the screen instead. She gave a long sigh, looking hard at Nicole like she might be able to read her mind through the call.

“It really is like a business now, huh?” Darlene remarked bleakly. “No more saving lives because it’s the right thing to do.”

“Not for free, at least. I’m lucky they were still hunting for guinea pigs after my accident. That new couple I mentioned from the group?” Nicole’s voice caught, but she cleared her throat. “Bethany and Erik?”

“The love birds?”

Nicole nodded. “They had to pay full price. Ryan helped them get set up with a debt consolidation loan and a strict budget. Erik’s an adjunct professor at the university. They’ll be paying off her Restoration for the rest of their lives.”

“A hundred grand is nothing to sneeze at,” Darlene muttered. “But… I guess you can’t put a price on getting someone you love back from the dead.”