“It is done,” he said, emerging from the hygiene room with a sense of violation.

I ate things. Processed them. And they passed through me. How egregious. If only his data storage would dump this memory as well as everything else that had happened in the last half cycle. A secondary failure in synapses, particularly one so specific, seemed highly improbable, but then, this entire situation defied all logic. Part of him still believed this was a dream, but he’d slept and woken and shouldn’t that have returned him to reality?

“There should have been smaller physiological signs,” Qalu said. “I suspect you didn’t recognize the cues and ignored them when they were subtle, until they manifested as pain. That’s not the typical experience. Most beings begin learning about their bodies from birth.”

“I don’t understand.” How Helix loathed saying that, over and over. Her words made sense separately, but what were these cues that he was supposed to identify?

She paused as if to consider her response. “I’ve never had to describe it before. This is familiar, like when I was trying to explain sleep. So many things, I’ve never taken the time to break them down. I take the process for granted. How curious.”

“I would be grateful for any information you could provide. It would be preferable to avoid repeating this trial.”

This was the last discussion Qalu had expected to have on her first day with Helix.

She had expected to teach him many things but among them, she hadn’t envisioned so much focus on…biology. On a certain level, that made sense since everything about possessing a body was new to him. Hopefully, he would master this aspect swiftly because this topic was simultaneously amusing and awkward.

After some reflection, she said, “Tightness. A sense of being full? Minor pains and pressure. When you detect those sensations, you need to repeat this process. It will become more comfortable with practice.”

“I doubt I would ever describe it thus, but thank you for the information.”

“The hollowness you noticed before, that’s hunger. It’ll occur periodically as you get accustomed to your new life.”

“An endless cycle of consumption,” Helix said in a despondent tone.

“You may come to enjoy it, especially as you develop palate preferences. Speaking of which, we should eat before I assess your functionality.”

“Is there no other way to sustain organic life?” he muttered. “There must be meatlings who have transcended these tedious processes.”

“There are nutritive packets tailored to reduce waste, but they’re not very enjoyable. But if you find eating objectionable, I can procure them to reduce your discomfort.”