Flora didn't remember dozing off, but her next conscious thought was the apartment phone ringing in a polite but shrill jingle. Groggily crawling over Rose, Flora awkwardly grabbed the receiver and mumbled a confused hello.
"Good morning, Miss Flora." The warm but authoritative voice of Dr. Van Der Merwe filtered through. "I apologize for disturbing your sleep, but it's 9:30. They're waiting for you in the circulation lab..."
Flora's eyes flew open. "Oh god, I'm so sorry!" she stammered. "I'm on my way over RIGHT NOW!"
"Well, don't hurt yourself in your rush," the doctor advised, but Flora had already leaped out of bed. Looking around the room wildly, she located her clothes in the living room and hesitated before putting them on. They were dusty, stained, and had been purchased for five dollars from a pawn shop. She'd literally make a better impression in a Sartonic bathrobe until she could buy new clothes.
Seconds later she dashed into the hall wielding the instruction pamphlet and clad in a fluffy white robe adorned with the Sartonic logo on the breast.
Several minutes later, she reached the circulation lab and, huffing and puffing, dragged herself through the door.
GOOD MORNING , greeted a robotic voice; Flora couldn't tell if it was automated or just heavily filtered. PLEASE REMOVE YOUR CLOTHING AND ATTACH THE NODES ACCORDING TO THE DIAGRAM .
It was referring to two printouts of a genderless human's front and backside. A number of circular sticky nodes were sitting on a small table beside a large treadmill, and Flora did her best to place them on her body to match the image.
VERY GOOD. NOW, PLEASE RUN ON THE TREADMILL, STANDING UP STRAIGHT AND ASSUMING A STEADY, MANAGEABLE PACE.
Flora was not in the mood to do more running, so her steady and manageable pace was pretty pathetic, but nevertheless after fifteen minutes the voice seemed pleased. It ran her through several other basic exercises, from push-ups to jumping jacks to cherry pickers. Then a television turned on and a smiling female trainer demonstrated different yoga poses for her to hold.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH , the voice finally affirmed, as Flora left downward dog for the last time and dragged her sweaty self off the mat. THE CIRCULATION BASELINE TESTS ARE COMPLETE. SHOWERS ARE AVAILABLE TO THE LEFT, PAST THE BATHROOMS. WHEN YOU ARE READY, PLEASE PROCEED TO LAB 31 FOR YOUR HORMONAL EXAM.
The shower was public, but luckily it was empty when Flora took hers. She wondered what sort of folk she'd see if she were ever to walk in when someone was using it. She showered the bare minimum and left for Lab 31 as soon as possible; after starting off late she didn't want to keep whatever staff member was handling her physical waiting.
But even though she was prepared for anything, it was nothing short of abject shock that crossed her face when she walked in and saw who was waiting for her. "Kojurro???" she gasped, observing him in a Sartonic labcoat and a nametag. "What are...how did you get here?"
