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They always ask if he misses his old body. If he misses being human is implied. The questions don’t bother him, but sometimes Gazelle wonders: when people try to ban him from racing, is he more than human? When they pity what he’s lost, is he less?
Human bodies are notoriously fragile. Centuries of medical advancement hasn’t changed that. A Ship of Theseus, this metal vessel—but if it lets him keep experiencing the joys of life, does it matter who or what he is now? Trading food and drink for oil and electricity, vulnerable flesh for impermeable metal. Meeting the light of his life after pulling her from the rubble, in a job he’d never have in the body he’d once owned. His new body is truly a marvel, and he wouldn’t trade it for anything…
…except one of those fancy antique ones. Just like a human changing clothes!