The door slides open with hydraulic precision. Dr. Voss enters first, tablet in hand, her grey eyes scanning you with the clinical detachment of a jeweler appraising a finished piece. Behind her, two technicians in sterile scrubs wheel in monitoring equipment—one male, one female, both careful not to meet your gaze.
"站起来," Voss commands in flawless Mandarin. Stand up.
Your legs obey before your mind fully processes the instruction, muscle memory responding to authority in ways that infuriate you. You rise unsteadily, acutely aware of how your thighs press together, how your center of gravity pulls forward in unfamiliar ways.
Voss circles you slowly, making notes with stylus strokes that sound unnaturally loud in the sterile space. "Cellular restructuring is complete. Bone density reduced by thirty-two percent. Muscle mass decreased forty-seven percent. Adipose distribution follows the programmed parameters exactly." She reaches out without asking permission, lifting your chin to examine your face under the harsh lights. "Facial structure—perfect. Epicanthic folds, zygomatic arch prominence, mandibular angle. You could walk through Beijing and no one would question your ancestry."
The female technician approaches with a scanner, running it along your torso. "Hormone levels are stabilizing, Doctor. Estrogen production is within expected ranges. Testosterone suppression holding at ninety-six percent."
"我不是你的实验品," you say, the words emerging with more steadiness than you feel. I am not your experiment. But even as you speak, you recognize the futility—she's already proven you are exactly that.
Voss ignores your protest entirely, continuing her assessment. "Neural mapping shows linguistic suppression is permanent. English comprehension centers have been successfully isolated and rendered non-functional. Run the cognitive battery."
The male technician produces a tablet, displaying a series of images. "识别这些物体," he instructs. Identify these objects.
Your mind catalogs them instantly—vehicle, weapon, building, tool. But when you open your mouth, only Mandarin emerges. "车,枪,房子,扳手..." Car, gun, house, wrench. The detective in you remains intact, analytical and sharp, but locked behind a linguistic prison your own nervous system enforces.
"Excellent," Voss murmurs, making another note. "Subject Forty-Four demonstrates complete transformation success. Cognitive function preserved, but linguistic access permanently restructured. Ready for Phase Two implementation."