Spaceship Situationship

01 - Xander

"Good morning. I hope you had a good rest."

A screen in front of me flits to life, lighting up the entire room. I wince and close my eyes, almost blinded by the brightness.

I feel sick.

"My name is Xander, and I am you. Nice to meet you, future me!"

The cheery voice coming from who-knows-where continues babbling on as I stumble off of a bed, realising that I can't feel my legs. The throbbing in my head accelerates into a pounding, and the sounds from the recording devolve into a screech that rings in my ears.

I flail my hand into the air, desperately reaching for the screen, and finally, slap it into a mid-sentence pause. Then I let out a sigh—or, at least I attempt to. What comes out is more of a croak.

After resting a few minutes—breathing slowly and deeply, opening and closing my fists to move my fingers, feeling the blood rush back to my legs—I prop myself back up on the bed and cross my legs as I survey my surroundings. Bright white walls, pristine and clean, flickering fluorescent lighting overhead, and the smell of cleaning detergent.

This couldn't be... a sanatorium?!

Realizing the answers may lie in the screen in front of me, I give it a poke, feeling rather sorry for attacking it with brute force earlier. A young man appears on screen. He has a dimple in his smile, large black eyes, and dusty brown hair parted in the middle and swept outwards.

"Good morning. I hope you had a good rest. My name is Xander, and I am you. Nice to meet you, future me!"

I blink at him. "Nice to meet you too?"

"I know you're confused right now, but don't worry, because this video will explain everything. First of all, your memory of the past 17 years of your life has been completely wiped."

Wait, wait—what?

I try to remember something, anything. What happened to me before I woke up here?

"We are currently on a spaceship—"

"A spaceship—!?"

"And unfortunately, if any of that is scaring you right now, it's a bit too late to back out. I guess you can thank me for your predicament right now."

Is this guy, who is smirking from the other side of the screen, really me? Why would I do this to myself?!

"Now, are you ready for a lore dump on the story of your life?"

"I... guess?" Don't worry, I know he can't hear me. I'm not insane, yet.

"Your name is Xander Z-64, born on the beautiful planet of Crete, where you were selected from an... honestly somewhat brutal and slightly traumatic process," he pauses in reminiscence, "for a mission to colonize the planet Xiole in the Andromeda sector of our universe."

He's wearing an expression of pure pain. The guy looks like he's been through it.

"You've been refrigerated for the past 30 years, during which your memories have been slowly expunged from your brain, like I mentioned earlier."

Why did he say it like that?

"Why did I say it like that? Huh..."

I chuckle at myself, but then burst into a fit of coughs. I guess 30 years of being refrigerated does that to you.

"Anyways, please don't worry about your memory and enjoy yourself now. I made sure to tie up all loose ends," he smiles. I recognize it immediately as bittersweet.