You have to understand the circumstances behind the so-called murder. I was getting frustrated. I was on the verge of a massive breakthrough, but my fantastic science was being delayed by the absence of sufficient subjects. The bodies I was using continued to decay, then I could wait weeks or months before the next one became available.

There was also an interesting moral issue I was experimenting with, whether I could order Kevin's body to commit an act that he would never have done whilst alive. Whether I could go beyond the simple mechanics of repeating his lifetime behaviors and create a new Kevin, one in my control, one in my power, one who would murder without qualm.

I now had so much data on the link between brain chemistry and bodily activity that I no longer needed months of experiments before a person died; I could predict the brain mechanics of a person I'd never met. I was able to develop a program that would enable Cecilia to issue the commands automatically, without my looking over her shoulder. This freed me up to do other work and enabled me to develop the micro-computer that could be installed within the brain; the mind within the mind I called it.

The mind within a mind meant that there was no limit to the number of corpses that Cecilia could control, no limit to what I could achieve. That led to my finest hour. Getting Blair and Bush to confess on national TV to their war crimes in Iraq. My techniques were so refined by this stage that nobody even noticed they were dead. There were just a few stitches that we easily covered with makeup. I watched their subsequent executions live on TV, two corpses being fried in matching electric chairs. The world cheered!

I went a bit crazy after that, I admit. I'd become such a perfectionist that I was annoyed that any imperfection existed. The French, in particular, infuriated me by being far too French. Really French, unnecessarily so. With my new army of animated corpses, I was able to invade France and within a few weeks had killed the entire nation, bringing them back to life just a little bit less French.

Maybe I should have stopped there, on a cultural high. Maybe I was wrong to kill every single person on the planet. It's just that my corpses are so perfect. So much better than living people, all errors and irrational thoughts eradicated.

Well, you are, you're perfect. Wonderful. Sitting there reading this story, completely oblivious to your own death, unaware that the red fluid throbbing through your veins is just a dyed version of my hydro-electric power.

Believing that it is your mind enabling you to decipher the words on the page, when in fact it is just a computer program, the computer in your brain, mindwithinamind mark 3.

I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I felt it important that you should know, after all, science has to remain honest and open if it's to remain ethical. I'm not here to deceive you; I'm simply endeavoring to advance mankind's knowledge. It's all ultimately for the greater good of the human race.

I hope this news doesn't spoil your day. I've programmed mindwithinamind mark 3 to ensure that something really wonderful happens to you within ten minutes of reading this. It involves chocolate, sex and ready money.

Ultimately everything I've done has been to ensure that you have a pleasant post-life experience. I really hope you enjoy the rest of your death.

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