“Lieserl, you were—constructed. You know that. You’re being forced through a human lifecycle at hundreds of times the normal pace—”
“A year every day.”
“Approximately, yes. But there is a purpose, Lieserl. A justification. You aren’t simply an experiment. You have a mission.” She waved her hand at the sprawling, friendly buildings that comprised the House. “Most of the people here, particularly the children, don’t know anything about you, Lieserl. They have jobs, goals—lives of their own to follow. But they’re here for you.
“Lieserl, the House is here to imprint you with humanity. Your experiences have been designed—George and I were selected, even—to ensure that the first few days of your existence would be as human as possible.”
“The first few days?” Suddenly the unknowable future was like a black wall, looming toward her; she felt as out of control of her life as if she were a counter on some immense, invisible snakes-and-ladders board. She lifted her face to the warmth of the Sun. “What am I?”
“You are... artificial, Lieserl.
“In a few weeks your human shell will become old. You’ll be transferred into a new form... Your human body will be—”
“Discarded?”
“Lieserl, it’s so difficult. That moment will seem like a death to me. But it won’t be death. It will be a metamorphosis. You’ll have new powers—even your awareness will be reconstructed. Lieserl, you’ll become the most conscious entity in the Solar System...”
-Ring, Ch. 1