50%
The world was blurry at first, he felt dissoriented. When his vision came into focus he could see someone in a white coat sitting on a chair in the middle of a small room. He couldn’t feel anything, couldn’t even blink. The man moved closer and typed something on a nearby keyboard. He recognized the man now, it was his personal physician, Dr. Becker. But there was someone else, on the operating table behind him, it almost looked like… his thoughts were interrupted by the doctor: “Hey, Conner, can you hear me fine?” Becker asked. “Yeah I can hear you, is this-” but he was interrupted by the doctor again “Yep, I booted your copy, that’s you on the table” Becker said, pointing to the unconscious body behind him. It made sense now, Conner was the copy, it was recommended that patients allow their primary physician a copy of their consciousness for just such a time as this. “What happened?” Conner asked, he could hear his own voice echo back, it sounded like himself, but there was something off about it at the same time. “You really did it this time Conner. I don’t know what you were doing but you took a 6 story fall from an apartment window, it’s pretty bad.” he replied. “What’s the problem, why did you boot me up?” Conner continued. “Well, “ the doctor said, scooching back his chair, “ looks like you smacked your head real good on the way down.” he gestured towards a large scar on the side of the body’s head “I ran some tests and you’ve got severe hemorrhaging all over the right hemisphere.” Becker finished. “So, what are the options? Can’t you do another augment, or synthetic tissue?” Conner asked. Becker tapped his pen a few times on the arm of his chair, looking somewhat concerned, “Well, hypothetically I could do synthetic, but the damage is so deep, it’s not practical. Could wind you up with years of rehab, and severe memory loss.” he replied. “What about augmenting?” Conner prodded. “As you know, normally that would be the easiest option, but Conner, you’ve already had a lot of procedures like this and… you’re already at over 30%. With the amount I’d have to replace... it’d push you over the 50% mark. You’d legally be an android.” Becker said. That was never something you wanted to hear. Conner fell silent for a few moments before asking the question he already knew the answer to “Any other options?” he said. Becker took a deep breath and tapped his pen again, “well... the other option is, I let you go.” he said, “At this point, the decision is yours, and I’m gonna be honest with you Conner, if I were in your position, I might pick the latter.” That was what Conner liked about Dr. Becker, these days it was hard to find a good physician, especially a cyberneticist, but Becker was one of the most honest people he knew. Conner mulled things over in his head. He looked at his limp body on the table, his shiny new cybernetic arm glinting in the bright operating room lights. Whatever decision he made here, it would change the course of his life. “Alright,” he said, “I think I’ve made a decision.”