The Adoration of Jenna Fox

At school, Jenna and her classmates watch a Congressional session on TV. Jenna wonders about her place in this new world and whether Allys would like her if she knew what Jenna was. Congress is debating the Medical Access Act, which would put medical choices back in the hands of doctors, rather than the FSEB. Allys is against this, blaming past epidemics and her own amputations on renegade medical science and organizations like Fox BioSystems, which Jenna knows is run by her father. After mentioning Fox BioSystems, something clicks for Allys. After class, she confronts Jenna, saying she knows who Jenna is, and about the accident. The girl in that accident, though, was not supposed to survive. Allys realizes that Jenna has been recreated from Bio Gel, something highly illegal and directly opposed to Allys’ moral viewpoint. Later, Ethan is worried that Allys will report Jenna to the FSEB, but thinks he can change her mind. Allys is not at school for the next two days, and Jenna begins to worry. She takes a walk to Mr. Bender’s house but is intercepted by Dane, who grabs her by the wrist and tries to violently drag her somewhere else. Jenna fights back, squeezing his genitals until he lets her go. Mr. Bender appears, carrying a golf club like a weapon, and he escorts Jenna away. At his house, Jenna reveals that she knows Mr. Bender is really Edward, an old friend of her father’s. She remembers his car from one of her seemingly-impossible infant memories. Mr. Bender admits that he is part of her family’s escape plan. Should anyone come for Jenna, he will take her to Italy, where regulations are more relaxed. They discuss Dane and his sociopathy, and Mr. Bender tells Jenna that she is human where it matters. He takes her outside and lets her wear his jacket. The birds, sensing Mr. Bender’s presence, land on Jenna for the first time. That night, Jenna wakes up screaming. She heard Kara and Locke’s voices in her sleep, calling to her for help. She finally remembers the accident. 

Jenna remembers each detail of the accident and realizes that she was not the one driving the car—Kara was. She, Kara, and Locke all wanted to go to a party, but Jenna was the only one with access to a car. Though she was reluctant to let Kara drive her father’s car, Jenna eventually gave in and stole the keys. The party was boring and when a fight broke out, Kara, Locke, and Jenna got scared and fled. Kara drove too fast and accelerated too hard through a turn. The car fell over a cliff and Jenna remembers falling, landing, and hearing Locke and Kara moan and die. In the present, Jenna recognizes that the Kara and Locke stored in the computers in the closet are the only “people” who know she didn’t drive that car. She struggles with whether to keep them, knowing they are suffering in the dark. While going through the home movies, Jenna finds a disc still in the camera, hidden. In it, Jenna is dancing in her final dance recital. Her form is perfect, no foot or arm is out of place. Jenna remembers talking with Lily that night, admitting that she wanted to really dance, to break free of form and technique. Halfway through her recital, Jenna stops. She considers dancing the way she wants to, but ultimately finishes her routine just as she has been instructed, giving in to the idea of her own perfection.