White, black, red, green,
blue, yellow, purple and black again. A horizontal white line shows up, shortly
followed by two more, then a lot more lines. The same thing happens again, but
vertically. It then repeats, diagonally in both directions, forming a rotating
grid. Suddenly, blackness. A white dot appears and starts moving to the right,
to the left, up and down, then in figure eights. It forms into a bright ball of
light, which flies forwards, backwards, up, down, left and right. It stops and
pulsates a bit, then pop, it bursts like a balloon, scattering sparkling
glitter into the darkness. The bang echoes multiple times, before dulling, as
the sparks go out.
- Okay! What the hell was
that? What am I seeing? - I’m standing in the dark void - Or am I sitting or
lying? – I Can't see a thing. - Where's up? - Am I weightless?
A voice calls to me from
nowhere.
"Calm down! It's all
right, but you shouldn't be woken up yet. You'll feel a little sting around
your neck, then you'll go back to sleep … You'll need to rest a lot."
Not a sting, more like a
tingle, but at least I feel something. It is like I am floating in nothingness,
without a body. I can’t feel my hands or my feet, not even my tongue.
- What the heck is this?
Sleep paralysis? Am I dreaming? … Ball, ball, ball, come back little shiny
ball! Concentrate! Want the ball! Want it hard!
Oh, I can summon it. This is
Good. The ball starts to take shape in my right hand. It’s a lucid dream. I was
pretty good at this. I throw the ball, it shatters into millions of stars,
which covers the void around me.
I'm floating in space. There
isn't a planet, nor a ship here. - Have I drifted away? … But from where? …
How far? Oxygen levels? They drop quickly. Did I get a leak?! - Don't wheeze!
Stay calm. In space panicking kills fast … Inhale! Two, three … Hold! Six,
seven … Exhale! Eight, nine, ten … Inhale! Two, three … Hold! Six, seven …
Exhale! Eight, nine, ten … and a familiar but an intangible thought
dissolves in unconsciousness.
-o-
- I'M DROWNING! - The sudden panic fills my
lungs. My heart almost bumps out from my chest. I'm covered in sweat. -
Damn! It's just a dream, a bad dream!
- Where am I? - It’s dark in here. I'm lying
on a bed; my hands and legs are tied. - What the hell? Am I in sickbay?
The ceiling bursts into
unified light.
"Ouch", the light
hits my eyes painfully.
A head is above me. I can
barely see it, just a blurred blot, in front of a blinding background.
“Sorry. I’ll turn down the
lights a bit.” a young woman speaks. Then the vivid white light softens into a
pale yellow.
“Better?”
“Better,” my voice sounding
like a hoarse growl to my ears. I’m trying to spit out the first question that
comes to me. Where am I? But all that comes out is
“Where?”
“What is the last thing that
you can remember?”
After the moment of
disruption, the thin string of the dream has just drifted away and no matter
how much I strive to, I’m not able to recapture it.
“Ahh … I don't know … I Can't
recall”
“Let's start with a simple
one. Date and place of birth?”
“01.11.2110. Boston,
Massachusetts”
“Name?”
“Boston Massachusetts.”
“Boston, Massachusetts?”
“Yeah, I was born there.”
“Yes, but now I’m asking for
your name.”
“Boston Massach … my name …
Boston?” - Damn it!
There are times when you can't
remember an old friend or a colleague's name, but to forget your own? … Damn!
“It’s okay. Everything will
come together soon.”
“What happened?”
“You were drifting in space.
We saved you.”
“Where?”
“We are at the Edge of the
Oort cloud. A thousand Astronomical Units away from the Sun.”
The bed started to fall and
sink faster than I could comprehend what she was saying to me. - A Thousand
Astronomical Units?! … Oh God! I'm dizzy! Dizzy while I'm lying on a bed!
“Don't wheeze! Breathe in
slowly, the sedatives will start to work shortly.”
My vision is still blurry, but
judging from the silhouette and her voice, she must be a pretty nurse or a
doctor. She sits on the right side of my bed. Her touch works better and faster
than the sedatives. I must be safe if I was able to be revived after floating
across thousand units of space. I could probably get into the Book of Records
for this.
“But how?” Don't have the
strength for longer sentences than this.
“We saw you flying out of the
Solar System.”
“Luck?”
“Space is huge. You are
excessively lucky.”
“No more lottery for me.”
“You don't have to. Just
rest!”
-o-
“Good morning Boston!” The
pleasant voice wakes me up.
“Morning,” my voice is tired
but not as hoarse as it was yesterday.
The ceiling is lit up in pale
yellow. I try to rub the sleep out of my eyes, but my hands are still tied
down.
“The cuffs … can you unbind
me?”
“It's a bit early for that,
sorry. After a trauma like yours, your behavior isn’t reliable.”
“My eyes … they’re itching.”
“I'll help.”
She rubs my eyelids with a wet
cotton piece.
“Thanks, much better.”
My vision is clearing. Almost
everything is white. White plastic walls, white cabin door, even my pajamas are
white. White tubes are hanging out from both of my arms. The only thing what
gives color to this ward is this woman on my right.
I was correct, she really is
beautiful. About 20-something, she bears beneficial features of all 3 races:
Mesmerizing, dark almond eyes, elongated head, curvy body, straight, dark hair,
dark-olive, whippy skin, a graceful posture, slender waist, shapely breasts,
which are highlighted by her skin-tight, white overalls. - Uhhh and those long legs … Beautiful!
Maybe too perfect …
“The name's Charlotte”. She
saw that I'm staring her.
“Charlotte, North Carolina.”
“'Excuse me?” She looks at me
with a slightly confused smile.
“If I'm Boston, Massachusetts,
then you're Charlotte, North Carolina”
“I'm sorry, I don't
understand."
“Both of them are American
cities and states.”
“Ohhh.. Historical geography
isn't my specialization.”
“Historical?”
“A lot of things happened
while you were sleeping.”
- How much? … A quick mental calculation …
My speed on the parabolic orbit leaving the Solar System could be 4-5
Astronomical Units/year. A thousand units, then it's about …
“In 200-250 years?”
“How? Did you count that in
your head?” She looks at me with an awe on her face.
“Yes, but it's a wild guess.”
“It's an excellent guess.” She
smiles again. “Today's date is 31st of July 2384.”
Saying that aloud is even much
more shocking than mentally calculating it … Damn.
“I guess I should break from
this.” - Two centuries have passed, about 250 years. I guess almost everyone
I had known is dead.
“You don't look broken to me.”
She smooths my hair with a
smile. This motion relaxes me. I don't feel panic, or even anxiety … I should
feel something about this but there's nothing.
“I can't remember anyone from
before.”
“We can help you to remember.
The cell-level regeneration of the nerve cells is the most complicated part of
the healing process.”
“How come those American
history facts stayed in my memory but nothing of my friends or family?”
“Your personal memories are
stored in a different way than those of the things you have learned.” - Oh
God, such a cliché. Yet another amnesia story … But this time, it's mine.
“Therapy?”
“The cell regenerating
nanobots are repairing your nerve cells along your stimulus. It could be enough
to bring back your past.”
“I can hardly imagine a
pleasant therapy like this.”
“This … like what?”
“Like, talking with you.”
She smiles again.
“All right. What can you tell
me about North Carolina?” She raises the perfect topic.
“It is a member state of the
USA. Its prettiest town is Charlotte, whose eyes are beautiful when she's
smiling.”
Because Charlotte's eyes are
smiling.
-o-
“Hi Boston! I brought you
something.” Charlotte says as she flies through my cabin door.
“What? A rebirthday present?”
“Something like that … I guess
you must be bored of these white walls.” She points around.
“Yep, bored enough … Are we
going out?” nodding my head the door's way.
“We're not quite there yet.”
“We're not? But I'll gladly …”
after a short pause, I finish my sentence: “… go out with you” Charlotte got my
point, a wide smile appearing on her face.
“Your body is not ready yet,
but your brain needs stimuli, so these could be perfect for that.”
She takes out two EKG-like pad
things from a white box in her hands.
“What are they?”
“MobAR pads. Not the latest
model but certainly not 250 years old.” An evil-like grin in her eyes.
“Ohhhh! Back then mobARs
didn't look like this at all. Is it only a visor or a complete machine?”
“More like a transceiver. I’ll
put them on you if that’s ok?”
“After 250 years of being
brain dead, I guess this shouldn’t hurt too much. Bring it.”
I close my eyes and I wait for
the magic. New modern technology meets with a caveman. Charlotte sticks the
pads on both sides of my forehead.
“Ready?”
“Let's do it!” I feel like a
child in the toy store.
“There we go. Open your eyes!”
Instead of the sterile cabin,
a whole other view appeared in front of my eyes. White walls replaced by
light-colored rusty fabric, the wall on the right has a large open window with
a semi-transparent white curtain. Outside the window, there's bright sunshine
and the shiny blue sky. Even those white overalls that Charlotte wore, aren't
the same. Now she wears a light dress, with floral patterns on it. The textile
is beautifully conformed to the shape of her body and the edge of her skirt is
blown by a gentle breeze. - Wind? The heat of the sun? And this salty scent
in the air? … Do I really feel them or am I just imaging it all?
“Can I take a look outside?” I
nod my head towards the window.
“Of course. Just a moment.”
She taps twice on her palm and
my bed headboard rises up 45 degrees while the bottom end is descending. My bed
transformed into an armchair.
“It's more comfortable this
way” She presses another button on her palm. After a loud click, my cuffs are
open up and my hands become free.
- Uhhh. You don't realize how
uncomfortable shackles are until you're free from them.
“Ahhh, so far, so good!”
She smiles at me.
“I’ll push you to the window.”
Such a beautiful view awaits
me from the window. Almost tear worthy. White sandy beach and palm trees that
lean out over the water. I try to pull the curtain out, to see more … OH
WAIT … Real-life graphics aren't new to me but this feeling of the
curtain’s textile in my hands is like I am touching real fabric and it is
slightly resisting my pulling …?!
“How can this be?!” I look at
Charlotte, confused, with the curtain in my hands.
“Today's virtual realities are
more advanced than the 22nd century ones. Gadgets can directly communicate with
our senses through the nanobots that stick to the nerve cells.”
“Wooah! We were just dreaming
of VR's like this! Colorful, touchable, has smells.”
“And it could be a deadly trap
too.”
“Deadly?” I ask, in shock.
“Senses can be pleased by the
virtual world, but the body cannot. Lots of limitations had to be packed into
these gadgets, to help stop people from getting lost in them.”
“Limitations?”
“It is forbidden to suppress
stimuli that can warn of real dangers. Sounds, extreme temperature, smell of
smoke and the view of anything that can hurt if you walk into it. It is also
forbidden to modify any in-body stimuli. Virtual water cannot quench your
thirst, virtual food be it very tasty or not, cannot quench hunger.”
“So this thing can simulate
tastes? … Hmm … Guess a lot of people are getting into it.”
“Sure they have, but they
cannot survive this way.”
“Ohhh … tastes … it comes to
my mind. Can I get normal food? Because what comes from these, is not tasty.” I
show the tubes hanging from my arms.
“I’ll make a call to the
kitchen, they'll bring you something tasty”
“Thank you, Charlotte. You're
an angel … for real!”
“I know, Boston.” She giggles
and smiles back at me before she leaves through my cabin door.
This girl is a miracle.
Lively, exciting. I feel it in my bones that I want her!
-o-
I try to pry open the leg
cuffs when someone knocks on my door and a robotic voice is calling me from
outside:
“Excuse me, Sir. I'm DAN, the
station's robot servant. I have brought you your lunch.”
I quickly throw a blanket over
my legs.
“Come in!”
A plastic, blue & gray
covered android steps through the door. By the looks, the robot trend hasn't
changed a lot since the last centuries.
In my time, we were already
able to make lifelike humanoid droids but there wasn't a big market for them.
Only a few idiots lived out their sick, perverted fantasies and desires on
lifelike models, the others preferred the models look like this servant, DAN.
He propped my lunch on a
plastic table that folded out from the side of my bed. The moment it lifted the
plate cover, a really delicious smell hit me in the face … My mouth fills with
saliva.
Even if the robot design
hasn't, the deep space kitchen culture had advanced a lot while I was drifting
in space. Roasted chicken breast, mashed potatoes with onion and frilly salad.
It looked delicious. The meat wasn't dry at all but juicy and spicy. The
puree's consistency and the taste are great, and they didn't take away the
vinegar from the salad.
“This is outstanding, I could
eat this all day.”
“That's all you can have for
now. I cannot bring a second dish. Medical orders.”
"Awh come on, I haven’t
eaten something this good in 250 years … or never!" - or never - I
repeat the end of my sentence.
A picture swims into my
thoughts. A sunny garden. I am a child. I eat grilled chicken with my parents
at a white plastic table … The picture fades away fast and I sit here,
completely frozen. I cannot decide if this was just a fantasy or a real memory
of mine?
“Is everything all right,
Sir?” DAN pulls me out of my trance.
“It’s nothing … just daydreaming."
I realize that I have my
elbows on the table, holding my forehead and scratching the edge of the mobAR
pads - ‘Just a transceiver, not a standalone machine.’ - repeating it to myself
in my head. - How could I determine what's real and what's not while these
can broadcast anything into my head?
Both pads came off easily … To
my relief, nothing in the room changed. The potato and the chicken still taste
great. For a moment, I was afraid of seeing a pile of snot on my plate without
the mobAR … But it's okay. The food and the taste are real, not a simulation.
I'm glad that I don't need to thank a programmer for this masterpiece.
“DAN, forward my gratulation
to the chef!”
“Thank you Sir, I am the
chef.”
“Um … whoops”
“Sir?”
“Nothing, I just ran into a
contradiction with myself.”
The robots stylized eyebrows
got wrinkly and looks at me questioningly. I smile at myself. - I have to
thank a programmer for this after all.
“How did you learn to cook
this good?”
“I wasn’t taught. I’ve had
this gastronomical knowledge since my activation.”
“Do you have a recipe book
programmed in you?”
“A chef does not only know the
recipes but the methods, the dishes, the commodities, and the taste of the
guest. A knowledge this deep cannot be programmed, only taught, Sir.”
“But you said you haven’t
taught.”
“Elder robots used to learn
from real gourmet chefs. Their knowledge was copied and uploaded into my
model.”
“You have memories of their
learning too or just the knowledge?”
“I can't remember if I've ever
met with a real gourmet chef.”
“Neither can I, DAN … I can't
remember anyone from my previous life.”
And something's nesting into
my cold emptiness. A Deep sadness. The dam is ruptured, and tears are flooding
from my eyes.
