A System?

She felt strange. Aware yet unaware, if that was possible. It must be the effects of the anesthesia. She had just had major surgery.

She tried to open her eyes but couldn't. She tried to move her arms and then her feet but couldn't seem to do that either. So, she stopped trying. But she wasn't worried.

She knew she was hooked up to all kinds of machines and monitors. They would make sounds if there was a problem. Since they didn't, she assumed she was okay. She knew she was in good hands. This was the best hospital in country.

Besides, she had more important things to worry about than herself. She wondered how Angela was doing. Afterall, Angela was the only reason she was here in the first place.

Angela was her best friend. They had been friends since childhood and did everything together.

Angela had recently become very ill. Her prognosis was not good unless she received a transplant from a compatible donor. And she was running out of time to find one.

So, Grace did what any good friend would do – she became a living donor for Angela.

Luckily, she was a match. She donated a kidney as well as parts of her liver, lungs, and pancreas. She would have donated bone marrow too, but Angela did not need that.

She was proud of the gift she was able to give her best friend. What better way to show how much you love someone than to literally give them a part of you that will enable them to live?

But mostly, she was just excited to know that Angela's illness would be completely cured once her body accepted the replacement parts! Angela was an amazing person and friend. She had so much to give to the world. And Grace's small gift would allow Angela to continue to be the fantastic person she was and to share her talents with the world.

The thought not only comforted her, but it also inspired her. She felt happy and serene. She could rest happily now that she was sure Angela was safe and alive. And she was very tired. She really wanted to just let go and rest for as long as she could.

She heard the echoes of murmuring voices as she drifted, but she couldn't quite make out what they said. It was all muffled and distorted almost as if she was underwater.

Suddenly sirens and alarms sounded from seemingly every direction at once. A flurry of voices shouted things like: "Code blue! Code blue! All available personnel STAT! We're losing her!"

She didn't want to hear all that shouting and those noisy alarms. She just wanted quiet. She needed to rest.

She began to drift into unconsciousness. She did not recognize at first that her life ebbing away. She only thought that the darkness overtaking her was sleep. But it was more than that. And likely to be a permanent state if something miraculous didn't happen soon.

She was just slipping into unconsciousness when a clear loud voice pierced the veil of numbness shrouding her.

<DING! Welcome to System 666. Do you accept?>

It sounded as if it was in her own head.

<DING! Welcome to System 666. Do you accept?>

"What? I don't understand. Am I dreaming?" She said in confusion.

<No. You're not dreaming. But you are in a coma.> The system replied.

"Wait! What? How? Why?"

<Please. There isn't much time. Please accept.>

"Accept what? I refuse to accept that I'm in a coma."

<You don't have to accept that you're in a coma. Whether you accept it or not, it is a fact. Please accept the system.> The voice sounded slightly peeved at her obtuseness.

She was being pulled back into consciousness. She could sense that there was a flurry of activity surrounding her. But she couldn't feel or see it. Everything was still darkness and her body felt cold and numb.

Yet she felt no fear or pain. It was okay. Angela was alive. Not only that, but she was also cured and would continue to live a long and happy life. She would be very successful and probably even change the world with her kindness and awesomeness.

She didn't know how she knew that. She just did. And that was enough to convince her of the truth of that belief. Angela was her best friend afterall.

'It must be the painkillers I'm on. They are really fantastic.' she thought. It was the only logical explanation for what she was experiencing.

<Please!> the voice begged inside her head. <Please accept the system>

"Let me rest." She groaned. "I just need a little rest." She insisted.

<If you rest now. It will be permanently.> The voice was much more insistent this time and, if it had been a human, she would have thought that it was panicking. <Please accept the system.>

'Fine' she thought irritably. 'If I just accept it, it will shut up right?'

<Please accept the system.>

"How…how do I do that?"

<Just say your name and that you accept it>

"Okay" she sighed. What else did she have to lose? Besides, this was probably a hallucination brought on by the anesthesia. She just wanted to shut the annoying voice up. It was preventing her from sleeping. And that was all she really wanted to do.

"I, Grace Purificata Chastity Temperance Lord, accept the system."

There was a blinding flash of light before her eyes then everything went dark again. She could no longer hear what was happening in the hospital. And she could see nothing but swirls of colors in the inky blackness.