1
Restarting limbic system%%%COMPLETED
Rebooting long term access memory%%%COMPLETED
Rebooting short term memory%%%
Error - Unable to complete.
Query: start system anyway?
Input: YES
* * *
* * *
“Can you hear me?”
“Yes,” I said, almost as a reflex, not even knowing who was talking to me. Even though I was in a warm, cozy environment and being covered in synthetic furs, I felt a chill in my bones and muscles that wouldn’t go away for as much as I tried to visualize hot cocoa and fireplaces.
“Do you understand where you are? The system report said there was a glitch in the circuit reset process. We need to know how extensive was that glitch.”
“No, I don’t know where I am.”
“What do you remember, then?”
“A bunch of stuff. But I don’t know what’s the last thing I remember. It’s all jumbled.”
“Mmhmm.”
“What?”
“It could be an effect of the loading error. By rebooting throughout the failure, the consciousness circuit may have been damaged. It’s happened other times. Let’s try it out. Look for a very vivid memory.”
I thought for a minute before speaking again.
“I remember sinking my face into the long hair of my golden retriever. I was crying. The dog was just licking my hair.”
The man -it had to be a he, judging by his disembodied voice- wrote something down. I noticed not because I heard a pen or pencil behind me, but because I heard a slight murmur, like fingers sliding on keys but with changing notes.
“And before that? Or afterward?” he asked.
I didn’t reply.
“Tell me about another memory”
“I remember walking on a sidewalk listening to music on my headphones when a car hit a cyclist.”
“And you can’t say if that memory is older or newer than the other one?”
“No.”
“And you can’t determine your age in those memories either?”
“No.”
“Well, as I said, it’s rare but not unheard of. It doesn’t imply any disability. You will be processed shortly, then.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s logical that you don’t remember the context. I wouldn’t like to worry you by answering.”
The voiceover stopped talking and I was left alone. My muscles twitched of their own accord. Like a hamster running in a wheel, without being able to control its body.
* * *
