My death grew more difficult to recall as time passed. How many centuries had it been? Thirty? Forty? More? People, though, I remembered well: my family, soldiers with whom I had served, the generous Mrs. Potts, and even the reviled Sebastian, but most of all—Cindy. I knew in my heart she existed somewhere in the world, though I hadn’t seen her since that cold, rainy night in January 2009.

Existence had become easy … too easy. No work to do, no money to differentiate the levels of society, little contact with my fellow citizens. On the rare occasions when I ventured from my perpetually dark homecube, I found the brilliantly lit, sterile hallways deserted.

Why go out, when all necessities lay within an arm’s length: the food synthesizer (tuned to my special needs), my bed which transformed into a sofa at the touch of a button, and the omni-screen. The cycle of days and nights blurred into a constant state of being.

I kept a Van Helsing pill in the bathroom cabinet. The insipid black pill patiently waited like an ebony-hooded executioner for the time when eternal existence, which many mortals longed for, became unbearable.

***

On my E-palm, I scrolled through the list of prostitutes in my sector. Damn, so many were artificial. Finally, Renee Libertine. Obviously not her real name. She was young—nineteen, same as my physical age, so I selected her.

While I waited, I clicked on the omni-screen and found an old war movie from the twentieth century. The sanitized, heroic combat never approached the horrific nature of actual warfare. Thankfully, all armies had been disbanded for more than a millennium. I never thought I would see the day.

My door chimed with the notes of Lorena, an old song no one remembered. The door slid open, and Renee, a slight girl with a sad face, entered. She began to unbutton her blouse.

“What do you prefer, Jake? It is Jake, isn’t it?” she asked. “I do everything.”

“Wait, you don’t have to undress.”

“I see.” She started to kneel.

I stopped her with my hand on her shoulder. “No. I, uh, just want your blood.”

“Oh, you’re one of those. That’s why it’s so dark in here.” She sat on the bed. “Okay.” She pulled back her collar. “I’ve done this before.”

“Let’s talk for a few minutes first.”

She rebuttoned her blouse. “Fine.”

“So, you’ve had your blood taken before?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged and tilted her head toward the omni-screen. “We could watch porn if you want.”

“Let’s not. Why do you do this? Just curious. A long time ago, women had sex for money.”

“I’ve heard of money but never understood it. It hasn’t existed for eons.”

“So, why do you do this?” I repeated.

“Everyone has to do something, right? I’m good at it. Are you ready yet?”

“I guess.”

“Careful. Don’t take too much. I don’t want to die.”

I sat on the bed beside her. “I know what I’m doing.”

Her fresh blood—AB negative. What a treat. It beat the hell out of the artificial options from my food synthesizer. I drank slowly, relishing every drop. I released her, still desiring more.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. A little tired.”

“That’s normal. Go home. Get some rest.”

She stood. “You can call me again if you want.”

After she left, I lay in the darkness, savoring the aftertaste of her blood on my tongue.

***

I felt no remorse for the anonymous enemies I killed during the war. They would have killed me. Having survived that brutal, futile conflict, how could I have foreseen my death only a day later? I had no second thoughts about dispatching Cindy’s would-be murderers. But taking her life … that haunted me. She should have had a choice, but there was no time. I had not killed since, though I would have slain Sebastian had not the love-sick Oney McBride done the deed.

Now I simply existed. I could not be destroyed by most conventional means. Other than a fire, which could consume me, or an explosion, which might rip me to pieces, I could survive pretty much anything. Science finally recognized the plight of those cursed with eternal existence. Thus, the Van Helsing pill. Only my desire to seek closure with Cindy kept me from taking it.

***

My thirst for Renee Libertine’s AB negative blood drove me to call her again.

She surprised me with a hug. “I’m glad you wanted me, Jake,” she said with a fragile smile.

“Uh … you tasted good,” I managed. A lackluster response, so I added, “And you look nice.”

Her eyes drifted toward the omni-screen. “Let’s start with some porn.” She converted the sofa to a bed. “Come here. Lay next to me.”

The screen lit up with a pair of couples exploring every possible combination. Renee snuggled close and kissed me. It had been a long time since I had been with a woman in that way. A century or more. I did my best to please her, while selfishly anticipating the taste of her blood, which would come after.

Contrary to my nature, we fell into a pattern of meeting once a week. It had always been easy to draw women whenever I wanted, though I never committed to a relationship. In the beginning, I couldn’t reveal my true nature. It took centuries for society to accept me and others of my kind. By then, my desire for sex had waned. An occasional woman satisfied my needs.

***

“So, you’ll never die?” Renee shifted beneath the sheets and gazed at the ceiling. “That sounds marvelous.”

“It has drawbacks. It’s often boring. In the old days, I could go places, meet people, and have experiences. There’s no outdoors now. Everyone is isolated in their homecubes.”

“Who wants to go back to those times? Outside sounds scary.”

“I want to go back. I’m out of sync with today’s world.”

“But you’ve got me,” she chirped.

I stroked her cheek. “I don’t know why you like me.”

“It’s the blood thing. The danger makes it exciting. I could die if you make a mistake.”

“I don’t make mistakes. I’ve done it thousands of times.”

“Oh, Jake, don’t ruin my fantasy.”

I slipped my arm around her. In time, the “blood thing” would become passé, and she would stop coming. I might miss her for a while, but truthfully, I had always preferred a solitary existence.

***

My door chimed. I had not expected a visitor. It had been months since Renee’s last visit. I approached the door as it slid open.

A powerful blow struck me in the chest. I recoiled, caught myself, and prepared to return the attack. But I froze. Cindy! She stepped inside and stood stiffly as a statue in the darkness of my homecube. A harsh, critical expression contorted the face that I remembered. I should have sensed her presence before she entered, but my powers had waned. I found no words.

“Cat got your tongue, Jake? Have you forgotten that ancient expression?”

“I … I …”

“Come on, Jake. You must have something to say.”

“Uh … you look great.”

“Damn you. We, you and I, look the same as we always did.”

She had me there. “What do you want?”

“Can’t you come up with a better welcome than that?”

“You hit me, hard.”

“You deserved it.”

I took a deep breath. “Yeah, probably. I knew you would come. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“That’s a little better.”

“Let’s sit and talk.”

For a while neither spoke. I searched my soul for the long-lost feelings I once had for Cindy but only found worn-out memories. Though love had died, a connection remained.

“The gunshot hurt,” she said. “But your actions hit harder.”

“There was no time. Besides, you were in no condition to …”

“Damn, Jake, I’m not talking about the transformation. I get that, but you never opened up about yourself in all those months leading up to that night. You had chances.”

“Would you have believed?”

“I don’t know. You could have easily proved it.”

“I held back. I feared losing you.”

“Well, you lost me anyway, didn’t you?”

“You ran. I looked for you.”

“Too late, Jake. That night, I wanted to get as far from you as possible. My transformation had just concluded as the cops were arriving. I fled the scene and became a missing person—a cold case without a solution. At least I could forego paying off that damn college loan.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I once loved you. Then hated you for what you did. The strangeness of my transformation left me unsettled. I wanted to kill you. That being impossible, I hid among the homeless. Their plight aroused empathy. I stole money and gave it to them. They needed so much. Alone, I couldn’t make much of a difference. I changed my strategy. I learned how to project my will, and seduced men in positions of power. Through my influence, a few initiatives were established, which helped a small percentage of the poor. Still, it was not enough. The Sisyphean nature of the task wore me down.” She paused, then continued. “I lived many places in various guises, as I suppose you did. Each advancement of modernity alienated me to a greater degree. I retreated into myself, though by that time, the Van Helsing pill offered a way out, but I had a score to settle. My rage has faded over the centuries. I feel neither love nor anger. Still, the lack of closure drove me.”

I reached for her hand. “I did it out of love.” She withdrew from my touch. “That night, I had finally resolved to tell you the truth. If I had offered you a choice, what would your answer have been? Would you have opted for transformation?”

“I don’t know. I might have said yes. I loved you.” She shrugged. “It’s a moot point now. The moment for us passed millennia ago, give or take a century or two.”

I heard sorrow in her voice. I shared the feeling. “How did you find me?”

“It was your girlfriend, Jake.”

“Girlfriend?”

“Renee Libertine. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten her so soon. She let it slip that she had shared her blood with someone else. When I touched my tongue to the wound in her neck, I tasted you. She wouldn’t reveal your location. It took a while to track you down, but here I am.”

“Did you and she …?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty insistent about sex. The girl has no boundaries in that regard. I guess you know that.” After a pause, she asked, “What has your existence been like?”

I looked down and rubbed my forehead before raising my gaze to meet her eyes. “Contrary to your experience, my transformation exhilarated me. Powerful beyond belief, I traveled widely, learning much about the fascinating diversity of mankind. In time, even that became repetitious.

“These days, I read a lot. I have vicarious experiences through efiction and sometimes movies, but everything is right there.” I gestured toward the omni-screen. “The abolition of cemeteries saddened me. No places left for remembrances. All have been exhumed and cremated, as the law requires. They say the ashes are in a repository … somewhere, but I doubt it.”

“Yeah, I doubt that too.”

“So, what now?”

From her pocket, she drew a clear vial containing a small black pill. “This, I guess,” she said. “Are you ready?”

“I’ve been ready. The authorities will have to be notified. They’ll collect our bodies for cremation. We’ll need a witness, but who?”

Cindy gave a wistful smile. “I know someone.”

***

“Don’t do it,” Renee pleaded. Her initial pleasure at finding Cindy and me together faded as she learned of our plan. A single tear tracked slowly down her cheek.

“It’s okay,” Cindy said, and gave her a hug. “We’re ready. Our time has passed.”

I touched Renee’s shoulder. “We need you to log into the Van Helsing site and verify our … uh, cessation.” After a pause, I added, “Our decision is final.”

Renee composed herself. “I shouldn’t have been surprised. Both of you seemed sad. But why not live forever?”

“It’s not living,” I said. “We died long ago. We simply exist now.”

“Before you go, transform me. Please. I want to live forever.”

“It’s not living. It’s existing. I thought you didn’t want—”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“It’s not as exciting as you imagine. You’ll probably regret it.”

“No, I’ll love it.”

Cindy turned to me with a thoughtful glance. “Well, Jake, what do you think? She has a choice, unlike me.”

“Damn. It’s something I’ve avoided.”

“That’s okay, Jake. I’ll do it if you don’t want to. She has great blood. Let’s do it together.”

I had been outvoted. “Okay.” I turned to Renee. “Take my advice. The authorities will provide a Van Helsing pill upon request. You will always have a choice.”

Renee gave a solemn nod and lay on the bed.

Cindy and I took turns. Her AB negative blood went down easily. Renee died silently in Cindy’s arms.

Afterward, we took the pills and lay beside Renee’s body. The world began to slowly and peacefully dissolve. Just before the darkness took me, I felt Renee stirring. A new phase of her existence had begun.