#Characters_2

"Is existence tied to memory?... I don't remember a thing, am I dead?"

No dedication for the miserable — you need to smile...

"I thought my smile would be my victory... turns out your memory is my victory."

Chapter Fourteen:

35 hours later...

DR. WATSON: How's the patient in room 17?

NURSE: Mr. Caribe's improving, he might be discharged in two days.

WATSON: What about the patient in room 11?

NURSE: Improving by the hour, and honestly, it's strange!

WATSON: Very good... let's go take a look at him.

They head to room 11...

WATSON: Oh... you're awake... how are you feeling right now?

(No response from Adam)

WATSON: Why aren't you answering me?

ADAM: What am I doing here?

WATSON: You're being treated!

Is my condition serious enough that they'd send me abroad?

WATSON: What? What "abroad"? You haven't traveled anywhere!

ADAM (in Egyptian dialect): So you're messing with me, talk to me straight.

WATSON: What? I don't understand you.

ADAM: Do you speak Arabic? | WATSON: No!

ADAM: Where are we? | In the hospital. | ADAM: I mean, what country?

WATSON: America.

Fuck, how's that possible?

WATSON: What country were you expecting?

ADAM: My homeland. | This is your homeland...

ADAM: I'm not American!

WATSON: You are... here, this is your ID.

ADAM: Fantazia William John Bansal? Hahaha, are you messing with me? My name's Adam.

Watson starts worrying this might be some kind of identity disorder!

ADAM: Get me out of here — tries to leave

WATSON: Wait, your father needs to come get you!

ADAM: My father died a long time ago, when I was 9.

Watson follows Adam through the hospital hallway: Where are you going?

ADAM: To my house!

WATSON: Where's that? | ADAM: None of your business!

Watson loses hope, since Adam's already standing at the exit door!

ADAM: Damn it... I've really had enough of this!

WATSON: Hello, Mr. William, your son woke up and he's trying to run off, can you come?

WILLIAM: Please keep him there until I arrive, doctor!

ADAM: What are these streets? Am I really in America?

Watson goes over to Adam!

WATSON: Fantazia... Mr. William's on his way to get you.

ADAM: I swear to you, he's not my father, my father's been dead a long time!

WATSON: All right, all right, you're Egyptian, your name's Adam, and the government wants you, and Detective William's the one covering your treatment costs — can you wait for him?

ADAM: Fine, I'll wait for him!

After Detective William arrives...

WILLIAM: Hey there, Dr. Watson, how's my son doing?

WATSON: I'm worried about him, Mr. William.

Why, did something bad happen to him?

WATSON: He's saying his father's dead, that he's not your son, and also that he's Egyptian!

Detective William's gripped with fear that this is the first step of Fantazia pulling away from him, that he'll end up alone again, without his son Andrew or his adopted son Fantazia...

WILLIAM: Ahh, don't worry, we took a trip to the Pyramids and he loved it so much, we're always joking around about going back to Egypt again!

WATSON: You mean his passion for revisiting Egypt affected his thinking and awareness a little?

WILLIAM: I'm a detective, not a doctor, that's your call to make!

WATSON: Would you let him stay here under my care so I can run some tests, just to be sure?

No, no, don't wear yourself out over this, we'll go home and everything will be fine!

WATSON: All right, whatever you say, Mr. William.

Adam cuts in: Seriously, you actually believe this nonsense, doctor?

WATSON: You're embarrassing yourself — does this sound like the mindset of someone who's 19?

Adam laughs mockingly: 19? Seriously? I'm somewhere between 22 and 23.

William, talking to himself: What are you doing, Adam? Where are Fantazia and Slberter? Did something bad happen in the unconscious?

WATSON: Mr. William, can I have a minute of your time?

William closes the room door... Go ahead, what do you want to say?

WATSON: He's lost his memory, and it's likely he's formed a new one, full of a lot of complicated stuff!

William, in shock: Lost his memory? God, that's a real problem.

WATSON: Don't panic, sir, with time he'll remember everything.

WILLIAM: No, he's different from any other case... all right, thank you, we should get going.

William opens the door... Fantazia, we need to go, come on.

ADAM: My name's not Fantazia, I'm Adam.

WILLIAM: My apologies, Adam, we need to head home, come on.

William drives, Adam beside him, remembering the moment before Fantazia went to Jeffrey and Lateena's wedding...

Flash_Back:

SLBERTER: Mr. William, I've only got a minute before Fantazia and I swap again... Luxy loves parties and drinking — if he shows up drunk, scold him, and don't let him be late for college; and if he shows up unconscious, know that Luxy swapped with Adam and he's drunk.

And if you find Adam with no memory, not remembering a thing about you, or the investigations, or the friends, or the unconscious, or consciousness, or the characters — know that we're finished. I need to get back to Lateena's house. See you...

Back:

William, talking to himself: How did this happen, Adam? How do I get you to remember everything again?

ADAM: Is my mom waiting for me there?

WILLIAM: Huh? What?

Mom, is she waiting for me?

WILLIAM: Your mother passed away years ago, and I adopted you, you live with me now.

Adam, with zero emotion: Doesn't matter... now I'm an orphan, adopted, living in America, and lost my memory — how ironic, hahaha.

William remembers something Slberter told him: betting on women — if he agrees to the bet, know that Luxy's present.

And if you see me being greedy, wanting anything in someone else's hands, that's PLUNDERER.

Charisma, cunning, and overconfident arrogance — that's Fantazia.

Intelligence, cunning, and puzzle-solving — that's me, Slberter.

Sad, and my father Sad San / gloomy and talking about suicide, Master Dark.

Arrogant with a love of killing, that's D.O.C.F.G.

.

.

.

WILLIAM: Want to make a bet on something?

ADAM: What?

WILLIAM: Any girl I pick — think you can make her fall for you?

ADAM: Don't care.

WILLIAM: What about some jewelry?

ADAM: That doesn't tempt me.

Want to close out the current case?

ADAM: I'm not a detective, so no.

WILLIAM: Did you feel sad when I told you your mom died?

ADAM: No! And stop asking questions, and don't bring up my damn mother... she was murdered, and you all thought it was a robbery gone wrong — you were asking me so many questions, you were there with the police at that whole incident!

William, joyfully: So you remember, then?

ADAM: I remember you were investigating with me, and I remember I tore up a bunch of papers, and a passport too, and stole my mom's gold — but I don't remember why I was wearing glasses?

William reassures himself: Good... with time you'll remember everything.

ADAM: Where to now?

WILLIAM: Home — after I investigated your mother's murder, I adopted you and had you live with me.

ADAM: Are you single?

WILLIAM: Yeah! I was married, had a kid, but we split up.

ADAM: How do I get my memory back? Because forgetting everything is really bothering me!

WILLIAM: You used to write in a diary, and you kept it hidden from everyone.

Adam laughs mockingly: My diary? Seriously? Was I writing stuff like that?

WILLIAM: Yeah, when you were "Slberter," you'd write!

Adam, confused: Slberter? What's that?

WILLIAM: Slberter and Fantazia... consciousness and the unconscious, the characters?

ADAM: Are you sick, sir?

WILLIAM: I'm just trying to get you to recover your memory!

What about that "19" on my ID?

WILLIAM: That's a long story.

They reach the house, and Detective William's still telling Adam the whole story

ADAM: So you and your family control the country?

WILLIAM: We're not alone, there's 3 other families.

ADAM: Bansal, Docker, and Cadol — what's the fourth family?

WILLIAM: Remember Joseph, from the story I just told you?

ADAM: Joseph Anir?

WILLIAM: Yeah, the Anir family's the highest authority! Come on, let's go inside!

ADAM: Your house is really nice!

WILLIAM: This is our house, mine and yours... so, you cook well, do you remember that?

ADAM: Yeah, I used to write down my mom's recipes!

WILLIAM: Good, what are you gonna cook for us?

ADAM: Fish. | WILLIAM: Great, I'm craving it right now.

45 minutes later...

Here, the food's ready, let's eat!

Looks delicious, kiddo.

So I got registered as your son, and my fake mother died — same story as my real mother?

WILLIAM: Fantazia William John Bansal!

ADAM: And I've got citizenship too, and I've been investigating with you for years, and I enrolled in the police academy?

WILLIAM: That's exactly what happened!

ADAM: And my name became Fantazia? | WILLIAM: I already told you that.

WILLIAM: This food's really good, why aren't you eating?

ADAM: Maybe I put poison in it to kill you?

William keeps eating: You're not good at jokes, kiddo!

ADAM: Doesn't matter, I just don't eat fish at night!

WILLIAM: I need to tell you something you told me two days ago... if you come to me with no memory... "free your instincts and read your diary."

ADAM: I don't write a diary, but I'll look for it!

William points at Fantazia's room... This is your room, and you used to write in here too!

ADAM: Was it that hard for you, as a detective, to find my diary?

William smiles: So you know I looked, then? Still a genius — but yeah, it was hard for me to find it!

ADAM: "Everyone knows, but understanding's the hard part — knowledge and understanding are different things" — but I understood from what you said that you didn't find it easily!

WILLIAM: I'm starting to doubt you've actually lost your memory! | ADAM: Why?

You're still just as wise as ever.

ADAM: Wise? Good, Wise Adam.

WILLIAM: I preferred Wise Fantazia and Wise Slberter.

ADAM: Who's this Slberter?

WILLIAM: When you put on your glasses and turn into a genius, you call yourself Slberter!

ADAM: That's actually funny!

WILLIAM: Psychologists call your condition dissociative identity disorder, and you call it multiple characters.

ADAM: Idiot psychologists... they don't understand anything, always rambling.

WILLIAM: Wow... you still hate them?

ADAM: I always hate that category of people... mind if I smoke?

WILLIAM: Reminds me of the first time you smoked in the house in front of me, hahaha!

ADAM: Are you always gonna keep telling me things from a past I don't remember?

WILLIAM: I'm trying to get you to remember... here, take this pack and lighter, they're yours now.

ADAM: How much do the cigarettes and lighter cost?

WILLIAM: Why?

ADAM: I don't take things without paying for them.

WILLIAM: See, that's exactly how you've always been!

ADAM: Principles are principles... how much are they?

ADAM: Are these the glasses I used to wear?

WILLIAM: You remember them?

ADAM: I remember wearing them and treating my mom kindly, I don't know why?

WILLIAM: Because you become kind and smart when you wear them!

ADAM: I always hated that woman, I don't know why I was ever warm to her?

William, surprised: You always used to miss her, when you were Slberter.

ADAM: Screw this... here, take these $30, found them in my pocket, I hope it's enough to cover the cigarettes and lighter.

WILLIAM: $5 is enough — but these cigarettes and lighter are yours, not mine!

ADAM: You're gonna take payment for my own stuff from me? So you're a nobody, then?

WILLIAM: There's the arrogant Fantazia for you... but no, I wasn't gonna take the money from you.

ADAM: Are you gonna help me look for my diary?

WILLIAM: Already did that... now it's your turn.

ADAM: Fine, I'll search on my own.

Adam searches under the bed, in the closet, the drawers, every corner of the room...

ADAM: Didn't find anything here.

WILLIAM: I figured you'd find it.

Why are you so sure I hid it here?

WILLIAM: Because you'd lock the door, write, then come out with nothing in your hands.

Mr. William, you got work tomorrow?

WILLIAM: Yeah! | ADAM: Come on, let's go to sleep, I think I know how I'm gonna find it!

WILLIAM: Where are you gonna find it?

(mockingly) Don't ask me where it is, 'cause you'll get an answer you won't like.

WILLIAM: Screw you, you damn thing, always hiding secrets from me.

That's exactly why they're called secrets, 'cause nobody knows them except whoever owns them.

I know there's a reason I hid that notebook — if it turns out trivial, I'll let you know what's in it.

WILLIAM: I thought we were family, but whatever, I'm going to bed!

ADAM: Screw family, I've always hated family, you all think with emotion when it comes to family... just like my damn mom and dad did.

WILLIAM: What did they do?

ADAM: Don't remember, hahaha.

William goes to sleep, and Adam starts smoking and tidying up his room

ADAM: This is really bugging me... memory loss happens from a blow to the head, but he's saying I was at a wedding and just lost consciousness out of nowhere.

Come on, Adam, analyze this...

Adam grabs a notepad and starts writing down his observations

I've lost my memory

I had multiple character disorder

One of the characters used to keep a diary and hide it

I used to wear glasses and treat my mom kindly

I became a genius, famous detective

My name is Fantazia, not Adam — so that's the name of the dominant character

I free my instincts when I lose my damn memory

There are instincts, and characters <<< this is an illness

The hidden notebook's connected, 50 percent, to me remembering

It's hard to get to this notebook... so it's not in this room.

There's 3 bedrooms in this house, a living room, kitchen, and bathroom.

I need to search them — probably my Egyptian tricks will help me here... same as when I used to hide cigarettes in the kitchen or bathroom as a kid in Egypt.

Leans his back against the wall... Ahh, I've got a rough day tomorrow.

Walks into the bathroom to take a look...

No broken tiles, nothing weird on the wall.

Let's rule out the bathroom from the suspect list... just like a real detective.

Adam goes to sleep, wakes up at 7 AM...

Mr. Williaaam, come on, wake up, quick, quick, quick...

WILLIAM: What's wrong with you, kiddo?

You're gonna be late for work.

Still early.

I brought you breakfast!

What'd you make us?

Just eggs and cheese.

Thought you were gonna cook the fish from last night!

Eating fish in the morning would wear you out.

WILLIAM: Thanks for the thoughtfulness, really...

They finish breakfast, and William leaves for the office...

ADAM: Come on, let's get to the hard work...

Adam searches through containers and vessels, finds nothing inside them except black bags... a ton of empty black bags...

ADAM: Just like Egyptians, never change how they hide things...

Welcome to my hands, you damn notebook.

Reads the first line... "Don't tell anyone you found this, or what's in it. Everything's been written by Slberter's hand."

Dear Adam,

Consciousness × Unconsciousness

This is what you were — a person (the host) inside 11 characters, each one reflecting an instinct inside you, a feeling, a memory, and each of us has a different age — believe it or not, you, as Adam, were 9 years old.

Your age and name were agreed upon, and it was set to match Fantazia's reality.

Meaning: your name became Fantazia, and your current age was chosen to match Fantazia's age.

ADAM: So it really is multiple characters... Fantazia's the first character, then, this is interesting.

The characters, in order...

Itan

Slberter

D.O.C.F.G

Fantazia (the substitute host)

Luxy

Sad San 10

Master Dark

Plunderer

The Shadow (I'm not allowed to say his name)

Noy

You, the host, Adam

ADAM: Good names, I like them — but how do I get them to show up?

If you lose your memory... know that D.O.C.F.G has taken control of the unconscious.

Dear Adam, the unconscious isn't your subconscious mind — don't mix them up...

When this happens, the unconscious disappears, and you can't swap with us anymore.

You have to free your instincts to get back control as the host.

It's easy for the rest of us to free ourselves and come back, but it's hard to free D.O.C.F.G and get him to submit to you again...

*Free your instincts for our return.

The first character (Fantazia), the substitute host, has more privileges and higher authority than the rest of the characters.

But if you control this whole world, then you're stronger than everyone, stronger than your own instincts.

You were kindhearted, and gentle, and your world was good, and we all loved it.

We used to share information — anything you knew, all of us knew too; anything we knew, you knew too, with a few exceptions.

You didn't know much about the unconscious, but you knew a lot about us.

ADAM: You damn character, I don't know a thing right now.

Dear Adam, in here you'll just find a lot of situations, your new identity in America, and names of your friends. I didn't write much about the unconscious, but under the desk you'll find a lot of money and gold that belongs to your mother.

Act naturally, and don't worry about us — we don't actually die unless you die.

Luxy hid a lot of cash inside the wall behind your bed.

Dear Adam, we are your instincts.

The instincts are: plundering and selfishness

Power, control, and domination

Intelligence, love of knowledge, and cold calm

Sadness

Depression, to the point of suicide

(Strategy, and a passion for war and killing)

Love and emotion

Warmth, and a love of making others submit to your orders

And the dark instinct... makes everyone taste the same bitterness you tasted in the past (be careful of this one)

ADAM: Good instincts for someone like me, but these two — the ones in parentheses, and the dark instinct — make me feel a kind of fear.

A phone call interrupts Adam's thoughts

Reads the name, finds it's Markely

ADAM: Who's this Markely? presses the answer button

MARKELY: Fantazia?? How are you, man?

Adam, thrown off for a moment: Ahh, yeah, I'm Fantazia... good, who's this?

This is me, Markely.

Markely who?

Markely, your friend, and Jeffrey's — you really don't remember me?

I don't remember anything, do you know where I live?

MARKELY: Yeah, why do you ask?

ADAM: So you can come here, you and everyone who knows me.

MARKELY: Are you being serious?

ADAM: Yeah, I'm not joking, man.

MARKELY: Should we come to you now?

I don't mind whatever time works, you'll find me here!

MARKELY: I'll call Jeffrey and his wife to come with me... his wife's your friend too.

ADAM: My friend married my friend? I don't accept that.

MARKELY: She was my ex, man, you're the fun new addition to our group.

ADAM: Really? I'll wait for you, can't wait.

MARKELY: 15 minutes and I'll be there.

Markely drives to Jeffrey and Lateena's house in Las Vegas

And knocks on the door...