"You can't go around being Jonathan Michael Durriper," I said.

  I still couldn't believe what was happening. I knew @auroraloon had brought a human with her, but an origin! He had to have been in cryofreeze for centuries. And he wasn't just any origin.

  @mickeymouse was a mercenary, an assassin, a rogue independent. He knew things no one should know. He got into places no one could get into. No one knew much about @mickeymouse beyond that. He just popped up from time to time as a story. Sometimes he was good. Sometimes he was evil. Every time he was dangerous. @mickeymouse and his faithful robot @holyshit were legends. Scary legends.

  The four of us had locked ourselves back in the medical room. I was still trying to re-acclimate to this updated view of the world, but we had to figure out what to do with John while focusing on our mission.

  "You need a new name," I continued. "And only the four of us should know who you are. I would have wanted @bitchfrog to know anyway, as our medic. It's private medical information, sort of, anyway. If one of the others figures it out, it will give us a good idea of better ways to keep your identity a secret."

  "He has frostbite, so we need to keep it simple," noted @auroraloon.

  I hadn't thought about that. Frostbite has a few different effects and is common post-cyrofreeze. We could expect John to have problems remembering parts of his prior life, and it could also affect his memory in the short term. It doesn't last. His new memories would help him, and gradually he should remember more and more of his life from before he was cryogenically frozen.

  "I can give you a few medicines to help you with that," @bitchfrog added, her nurturing doctor manner taking over. She approached the medical stores nearby, searching for pills for John. "Most importantly, you will need rest and to take it easy. Don't worry about overstimulating your brain. You might feel overwhelmed sometimes. Just breathe and close your eyes if that happens, and remind yourself that it is good. It will help your mind heal."

  "Thank you," John said.

  "Tell people your name is Michael Johnson," said @auroraloon. She explained to the rest of us. "It will be easier for him to remember, as a variation of his name, and there are plenty of Johnsons, so if it does come up and he needs to cite his origin, it will be generic enough."

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  I was a little worried about that connection, the link between names, but he did need a new identity. "Can you sort out official backgrounds for him?" I asked. He would need to start over with official documents and genetic markers. For now, he was fine, but eventually he would need them.

  "Maybe if your friend, @zerogstar, can help." @auroraloon was pensive. She sat on her hands and leaned forward, thinking. "I'll make something up about who he is. Easy enough to say he was a Solar Union prisoner. I can use my Union connections to help @zerogstar. Could take some time, but can be done."

  "The good thing," @auroraloon added, "is that no one really knows what @mickeymouse looks like. His origin was thought to be lost centuries ago, and @mickeymouse destroyed the records, so we can create a new identity pretty safely."

  I raised my hand to get her attention. "I think maybe we shouldn't say that name." I was referring, of course, to @mickeymouse. "Just to be safe. The one person who might find him more easily than others is that guy. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but unless we need to, can we just … not say his name."

  I was expecting the roll of the eyes, but she nodded in affirmation and leaned her chin on her hand, still cross-legged on the chair in the corner.

  "Michael Johnson is fine," that smooth voice of John cut in. "And I can be useful, you know. I don't just want to be lying in bed trying to figure out this future world."

  If he was anything like @mickeymouse, I had no doubt he could be useful. That was a scary thought as well. But he was still human. I decided to ask the blunt question. "Do you want us to prep a port for you? Do you want to become an aiways? Live forever?"

  John, I mean Michael Johnson, didn't miss a beat.

  "Of course, I do. Didn't enter cyrofreeze for nothing. I'm kind of surprised I'm still human, to be honest."

  "They need to make sure your mind is intact first," @bitchfrog explained. "Eventually you'll be fit for porting, but you need to recover from the frostbite first."

  "Okay, then," said John with a nervous smile. "But yes, eventually I do want to become what you said."

  "An aiways," I repeated. "We need to get you a handle as well, a new @name like mine or @bitchfrog's. It's unusual for people to go by human names."

  "He shouldn't pick it," @auroraloon said. "That guy, or any AI, would probably have a list of names that might link back to him. Most of our names mean something to us. His needs to be meaningless, random."

  "Agreed," I said, "but picking an @name takes longer than picking a movie on movie night. Just look at @biclops."

  "She's trying to pick something meaningful, though," corrected @bitchfrog. "She asked me about it while tending to the elves. It'll take her longer."

  I shivered and shook my head and limbs. Time felt like it was moving faster than it should.

  "Fair enough," I said. "But we're going to be arriving on Ida soon, and we need to prepare. When you have an @name picked out, just let us know, and we can introduce him to the crew."