Friday, January 26, 2018

Part One - Chapter 1 - Awakening

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.

Part One - Awakening at the Edge of the World

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The First Part has been Published in E-BOOK

Due to the rules of amazon.com , the whole content of the novel cannot be published on the web for free, only 20% is allowed.  Th...