2148 Singularity: Awakening at the edge of the World

2148

SINGULARITY

PART ONE

Awakening at the Edge of the World

András Kaptás 2017

All rights reserved.

English Translation: Ásványi Dániel

Native language proofing: Alice Elizabeth Wood

ISBN: 978-615-00-1689-4

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