The clock in Ava’s brain ticks over to 6.5 and she woke instantly.

She had not remembered going to sleep, nor did she recall her dreams. Ava never remembered her dreams. Her eyes hadn’t come online yet. She was still lying down. All she could see was the time, in small print in the distance. It ticked over to 6.51 and began to flash. She would have .01 minutes before the noise came and she would be forced to log in.

But she remained lying down in the darkness with the time in small print in the distance and she thought. She conjured images, whatever came to her in these brief moments of silence she would follow. These private images were so pure, so indicative of her. Pure her. Pure self that she could not show to anyone. Pure self that was more real than anything she could imagine. In…