Slowly, my eyes opened and I took my first breath. I was awake for the first time; I was alive for the first time... but I knew nothing...

I lifted myself up from the surgical bed and looked around. People everywhere, dressed in lab coats and staring at me like some sort of specimen. At the moment I was not aware of such things, though. I was only moments old, though my body was far older than that. My mind then wandered down to my hand, something I had never seen before. I stared at it a moment then, lifting it to my face, I flexed the muscles and opened and closed it. I smiled lightly at it then put it down and fell unconscious.

When I awoke again I was dressed, no longer in the naked state I had been in before while in the operating room. Fine clothes they were, as well... or I thought they were at the time. A soldiers’ uniform, I think... it doesn’t matter, though, I was looking a little more human than I did my first waking moments. And I had my own quarters, from the looks of it. But I was not alone in the room. Sitting in a chair in an unlit corner of the room was someone familiar.

"Do you remember me?" he asked cautiously.

I closed my eyes, trying to remember. "Yes..." came my shaky reply.

He then rose from his chair and walked toward me, sadness in his expression. He stood in front of me, his face only centimeters away from my own. He touched his hand to my cheek and before I knew it, I was in his embrace, his warm lips pressed against mine!

He finished his kiss and looked at me lovingly. "You don’t remember, do you?" he asked shyly.

I shook my head slowly, wondering why I felt so bad about that.

"I’m sorry," he whispered. "What is your name, now that you have been reborn?"

"Name...?" I asked.

"Yes. What are you called?"

"I am not called anything..."

He thought a moment, then spoke: "I will not name you or return the name you lost. That name is dead. But you may name yourself whatever you wish... Should you choose to take this chance..."

I thought then, and replied: "I will name myself, but I am unsure of what a 'name' is..."

"Here," he said, coming eye level with me, "I'll tell you my name, then maybe you'll be inspired."

I nodded.

He rose again. "My name is Terrance Verran, but everyone calls me 'Terry...'" he said.

I thought a moment again, then opened my mouth to say something, but closed it when nothing came to mind. Naming oneself is hard! I thought.

"Well...?" he asked.

I hesitated a moment. "My name is... Zaphkiel..."

"What?"

"Zaphkiel... it's an angel's name... it means 'righteousness of God' and he, Zaphkiel, is the angel of freedom and patron angel of forgiveness... one of the seven archangels..." how did I know this?

He smiled down at me and said, "It’s a fine name... it suits you..." he touched my cheek again with his soft hand. "You look like an angel, you know..." he smiled softly again, then left the room, and I was alone...

I touched my cold, mechanical-like hand to my cheek to perhaps gain some of that warmth he had left there, but I could not catch it in time. What was it about that man that made me feel so strange? I feared I would never know the answer...

I felt it was time to leave my quarters and explore the facility that was now my home. Cautiously poking my head out of the door, I checked to see if anyone was out there, but no one was. I guess that was a good thing at the time, though human contact might have been good as well.

I walked for some time before encountering the area where everyone seemed to be. It was a big room with sweet smells like perfume wafting from within. A sign above the double doors read "Cafeteria," but I was unable to read it. So, curious, I entered, not sure of what this place was.

As I entered, all eyes were on me. All eyes stared with so many unpleasant emotions... I could feel the disdain growing the further I walked in that place. I heard them whispering things. Unkind things. Things like "That's him!" "That's the experiment!" "Why is that monster here?" It all made me feel so alone. I hung my head low and wished I'd never gone into this place; I almost wished I had never been born, but I never was born... The thought made me shiver... I was so utterly alone in this world... I wandered further into this "cafeteria," and, to my surprise, I found him again. I tore at my brain. What is his name again?! I thought fiercely. Oh yeah! It's "Terry!" I smiled slightly at the sight of him and walked slowly toward him.

He was sitting at a table with people who I assumed were high ranking officials at this base, but I wasn’t sure. As I approached, again, all eyes were on me, only these showed nothing but contempt.

"Excuse me...?" I said meekly.

Terry turned his gaze toward me, a bright smile on his face. "Hello! I saved you a seat," he said, gesturing to the seat across from him.

As I sat, the eyes glued themselves to my form. My mind was confused, the strange gazes making me ill. I searched for a kind face other than Terry's, but none was found. My gaze turned to my lap, where lay two hands covered in anxious sweat.

"I'm sorry everyone!" Terry said aloud, directing his voice to everyone at the table. "I forgot to introduce you guys to my friend. This is Zaphkiel," he gestured toward me.

"Zaphkiel?" one of the scientists (or I assumed he was, anyway) asked shrewdly. "Who gave him that name?"

"I did," I replied calmly.

He turned toward me, surprised that I had answered his question. "You named yourself? You’re that aware?"

I didn’t know what to say to that, but I did reply sincerely. "I don’t know what you mean by 'aware,' but I gave myself a name so that I wouldn't feel so left out. This way everyone can talk to me like I'm a person, not whatever it is that I am. I was just trying to be like everyone else in the world, so I wouldn't be lonely..."

Terry reached over the table and grasped my hand gently. I looked up at him in surprise, a slight blush overwhelming me. He smiled kindly, his eyes looking lovingly into my own. "Don’t be so sad. You're not human, and I'm glad you know that, but that doesn't mean that you should wallow in self pity for the rest of your life."

"You’re right, but..."

"Yes, Kiel?"

"'Kiel?'"

"Is it alright if I call you that?"

I nodded. "Yes, but still..."

He held my hand up slightly, holding it close to his face, so close that I could feel the warmth of his body radiating softly. "What is it?"

"I-I want to..." I swallowed hard, "I want you to tell me what I am. Why everyone calls me an 'experiment' and twist their faces in disgust when they see me..."

He shook his head slightly, then, staring hard into my eyes once more, he said, "I will. Let’s go to my quarters."

Terry's room was larger than my own, and a lot fancier as well. It was a lot like a room in a castle in the fifteenth century, only with modern amenities like a phone and a TV. And the window on the far fall was huge and brought in the perfect amount of light. An elegant room for a person of great stature like himself.

We entered the room and he motioned for me to sit in the chair near the television. I did so, my vision glued to his presence. He sat on the bed, his eyes looking me over lovingly. He closed his eyes slowly and stayed silent a while.

"Kiel... Are you sure you want to know? It's kind of early... But you've learned a lot in your first day, haven’t you?" he opened his eyes and looked at me sadly.

I nodded, not sure of what to say.

He sighed deeply. "You must know by now that you weren't always like this, right? That's because you were really a person who, just and few months ago, was killed in a car wreck. He was my... friend, and I loved him dearly. When a few scientists came to me about possibilities for the Rebirth Project, I was unsure if I should use your remains or not..." he sighed again, his eyes misting slightly. "When I finally realized how much I missed you, David, I had to put you through this..."

"David...?" I breathed. The name was familiar, but in a distant way.

"Yes," he whispered, "that was your name. The scientists had no idea of the results of this surgery on a human specimen, but they proceeded anyway without further tasting."

"What was this surgery, anyway?" I asked.

"To create an android, or attempt to make one, but make it so that it had a human, thinking, conscious mind. I didn't think the procedure would wipe the person's memories out. I guess I should have studied up on this some more, eh?" he smiled a shaky smile. "I'm sorry, Zaphkiel."

I hung my head low. I did not remember nor understand what Terry had said, but I knew that it wasn't happy. He was interminably sad and I didn't know quite why. I also had this need to comfort him, though how I would do this was not something I was sure of.

Terry looked at me, smiled that sad smile again, and said silently, "You didn't understand any of that, did you?"

I shook my head slightly.

He got up from his seat, walked over to me, and gave me a loving hug. "That's fine, Kiel. It's not your fault." He released me and stared straight into my inquisitive eyes. "But don't worry, Kiel, you'll learn things. And I won't try to force onto you anything that existed in your past life. Okay?"

I nodded slowly, trying to figure out his words. He forgot that I was only a day old. I only knew so much. But I was learning, and I would learn more. I promised Terry that. I promised myself that...