Chapter 1

 

Psyches. Ghostly memories. Cyborgs. Augmented humans. These became part of the everyday life for Shane. Particularly the ghostly memories. Memories of Billy kept haunting Shane. Even in this era of cyborgism and augmented humans. Shane finished uploading some files into his cyberbrain, but he still could not shake his thoughts off Billy. Even with Shane’s enhanced learning abilities at breakneck speed, he still could not forget about Billy. Shane’s enhanced learning came with being an augmented human. He arranged to meet up with his friend, Hannah, that afternoon. Hannah was half White, half Korean. They agreed to meet at a cafe. Inevitably, they would bring up Billy in the conversation.

Shane could still remember the first time he started to vent about Billy to Hannah. They were at a diner.

“I know what it feels like to lose a friend that you thought you could count on. I’ve been there,” said Shane.

 Hannah gave an inquisitive look back at Shane. He started recalling and telling Hannah about his friend, Billy, who he considered close to him, but after several years, Shane discovered that this so-called friend kept many secrets from him. It was never made clear to Shane whether he kept these secrets out of embarrassment or any other insecurities. Everything Shane learned about Billy turned out to be pretty shady and it made him question if he really knew who Billy was. After a while and with some distance from the now former friend, Shane decided he never actually did.

Hannah’s jaw dropped and remained there as Shane recounted his story of his personal experiences with Billy. When Shane finished, it was as if the room was put on mute. The two of them sat in silence across from each other for a few moments.

“Gosh, I’m so sorry you went through that,” said Hannah.

“Thanks. I’ve been waiting for the technology to catch up on memory removal. We already can play back our dreams or project images of what we’re thinking, yet they still haven’t found a way to erase memories we don’t want.”

 Shane’s observation was accurate. The technology exists now where people can play back what they dreamed and can even show people through images what they are thinking if they have the proper projector to do so. Some advancements included helping people with trauma who have memory suppression or recalling forgotten memories as forgotten memories, but nothing yet manifested in actual memory removal. 

“But don’t you figure memory removal can be dangerous? I mean, doesn’t that entail you’re technically damaging your brain?” asked Hannah.

“Yes, that’s what they say, and that’s why they still haven’t figured out a safe way to invent it. They’re estimating maybe another ten years, but it could be sooner. Who knows? I’m hoping for sooner, and I’ll accept whatever the risks are. Any dangerous potential should be minimized by then once they have something reliable on the market,” said Shane.

“You really want this, don’t you?” said Hannah.

“Well, yeah,” said Shane.

Shane was going to have to wait. He was going to have to wait and sit on the memories of Billy for now and for a while. 

 Hannah became aware of how crestfallen Shane had become after he divulged to her about his falling out with Billy for the first time. Now they were sitting at a cafe, and Hannah knew that she would have to check on Shane to see where his head-space was concerning Billy. Shane just wasn’t over it yet.  

Hannah started off the conversation by asking Shane how he was doing these days, to which he replied, “Taking it one day at a time.”

 Shane just kept remembering Billy, no matter what he did. Meeting up with Hannah like this sometimes felt like he was repenting for the past—repenting for being friends with Billy.

“So, how are you dealing with that? I’ve always told you none of it was your fault, and it was completely out of your control. What happened was sad and shocking, but you need to learn how to move on now, Shane,” said Hannah.

“Yes, you’re right. It’s just been difficult since little things still remind me of him. There’s just one thing…”

“One thing, what?”

“One thing I didn’t tell you about him. Are you ready to hear this?”

“I suppose.”

Shane went on to explain the one thing he concealed about Billy, the one piece of information that was possibly the darkest part of him.

Hannah listened intently without interrupting as he continued. She was a superb listener. You could even say she was like a therapist to Shane. A quirky friendship, for sure. It was hard to tell what Hannah was thinking at any given moment since she was quite stoic in certain situations, but goofy and bright in other moments. In a way, Shane hoped and believed that Hannah could lead him to what he was searching for-a way to erase his memories of a particular former friend.

“Stay away from these people, Shane. I mean it.”

“You’re probably right.”

 Hannah looked at Shane carefully. He seemed conflicted. Like he wanted to find out what Billy was up to these days. The outcome of that wouldn’t result in anything good.

Shane babbled about how AI memory-altering technology could not come soon enough.

“I know you’ve been longing for that for a while now. You’ll have to remain patient, though. I suggest you try virtual reality therapy. It’s been out for a year now, and I’ve read some pretty good testimonials about it. We can go check out a VR therapy spa that opened up nearby us in two weeks if you want to go together,” said Hannah.

“That sounds like a fantastic idea! Yes, we should. Thank you for suggesting that!” said Shane.

Hannah then held her stare on Shane. It wasn’t threatening. It didn’t make him uncomfortable. He kind of felt himself just falling into her eyes. It was as though he entered a trance. Shane’s notion of time had become very still, and it was like the world just froze. As if nothing else mattered in that moment. All that mattered was Shane and Hannah. And nothing else.

Hannah was doing something. Shane’s world dipped into a black hole in those few seconds she gave him the hard stare. Like stepping through a portal. Though it was only a few seconds, it felt like an eternity. Time and space had blended and virtually ceased to exist. Shane got a sensation like he was floating in the air. It was very meditative, but with his eyes wide open.

Nothing made sense anymore, and yet, this was the only thing that seemed to make sense. Shane just couldn’t tell what it was. Hannah had done this before. Shane guessed he just didn’t really mind or question it that much. But maybe he should? No, he couldn’t bring himself to do that. He didn’t want to start questioning Hannah. So Shane just let it, whatever it was, take its course. They went through and through repeatedly. 

 He saw the world speed up around him. He stood on the moon and saw the Earth before him. It was a rather familiar feeling, kind of like he had been there before. He saw Hannah at different stages of her life. Her younger self, her present self, and even glimpses of her future self. He saw her interacting with people and when she was alone. It was like he was watching a movie of her life play out in front of him. And then he saw her across the street from where he was standing. He glanced away and back, and then she wasn’t there all of a sudden. Everything was just so visceral. But he trusted Hannah. Whatever this was that she was doing, she had a reason behind it. And even though he didn’t understand the reason, he trusted her. You could say his faith in her was too much, but nobody’s perfect, right?

 And then, finally, Shane disengaged from the hard stare, and they both snapped back into reality. 

Hannah put her hand on Shane’s shoulder and said in a suddenly much deeper voice that commanded your attention,

“Just be careful, alright?” said Hannah.

“Yeah, sure. I will,” said Shane.

Hannah carried a gift of gab with her, but no one could tell what it was. It came with her being an augmented human, like Shane.

Shane felt better. Not totally rid of his haunting from Billy, but significantly better after that episode.

 In the days ahead, Shane eventually realized he needed to give Hannah a break from venting about Billy. It was getting old, and Shane recognized that. So, he decided to try something different.