I took my first steps in my new body, then turned to look at my robot savior. “Thank you,” I whispered.

“You’re all right now?” she asked.

“More than all right. It’s like you’ve given me my life back.” I looked down at my metal arms and hands. “Or something like a life, anyway.”

“I’m sorry I can’t put you back in your human body,” she said. “It would be possible to clone a new one for you, you know. Your DNA was encoded along with your personality. But there are anti-cloning laws in place and we can only get away with a limited number of exceptions. Usually they save those for…strategic purposes.”

She actually looked embarrassed. How did a robot manage that? Then I realized—this robot actually had a human’s full body language. “Were…you a person, too?” I asked.

“I still am a person, hon,” she said firmly. “And so are you. Flesh or steel, nothing can change that unless you let it.”

I hugged myself. “I feel like a person again, now.”

She nodded. “Good. Then let’s talk about your future.”