Faces, Names, and Memories (completed)

Chapter 38 - The Project

The LEs push me down the hall quickly, but not quickly enough that I don't get a good look at my surroundings.

We enter a large room that gives me a deja vu feeling. But, when we turn the corner, and I see what takes up a big area in the room, I understand why.

Jaz is attempting to recreate my father's time machine.

I gasp involuntarily.

"Good, you recognize it," An LE comments.

I quickly regain my composure, but it's too late, they've already seen the recognition on my face.

They shove me over to a table with a crude metal chair nailed to the floor in front of it. I'm plopped into the chair, and to my surprise, the handcuffs are removed. Metal clamps around both my legs. I look down and see each leg is cuffed to the legs of the chair. That's why they removed the handcuffs.

"Here's your job," The second LE announces as the first unrolls a big paper on the table, a blueprint for the time machine. "You're going to help us finish this."

"What if I don't know how?" I ask the LE without looking at the blueprint.  

"Then, I hope you remember fast," The LE replies.

The first LE tapes the blueprint down to the table. I still don't look at it; I know I'll recognize it, and that will probably show on my face.

"Beetle, Tubby," The second LE calls. I look over my shoulder and see two scientists coming up to him. "If you need anything, these two will get it for you."

"Have fun," The first LE tells us, and they hurry away.

"So, the rumors are true?" One of the scientists asks me. I'm sure he's the one the LE had referred to as "Tubby." He's only a bit taller than me and has quite the gut. His graying, balding head does not help his appearance. "You're really the Jade Vera?"

"Yes, I am," I answer, no point in lying; they already know who I am.

"Wow, you haven't changed a bit. You look exactly like you did when we went to science camp together," The other scientist, the one the LE had dubbed Beetle, says. He's younger than the first scientist and has curly brown hair and glasses with big lenses that make his eyes kind of beady. I'm guessing that's the reason for his nickname.

"We went to science camp together?" I ask him.

"Right, you wouldn't remember that because you have amnesia," The scientist says. "I'm Marcus Freedlander, well Dr. Freedlander now. I sneezed on your automated painter, and shorted it out, so you only got second place instead of first."

"Oh, well I don't remember going to science camp, so I guess you're off hook," I say, giving a dry attempt at humor. It's really weird being around someone who knew me before I woke up. Especially since we're supposed to be the same age.

"Wow, that coma really did something to you. The Jade I knew never let anyone off the hook, especially people that messed up her stuff," Dr. Freedlander comments.

"I'm not that Jade," I say with a shrug.

"You at least remember working on this, right?" The other scientist asks.

"Vaguely," I lie. I still haven't looked at the blueprint. "I remember my dad working on it, but not much else."

"Well, I hope, for all our sakes that it comes back to you," The other scientist replies. Dr. Freedlander nods in agreement.

"Did you guys know about it before?" I ask them.

They shake their heads.

"No one did," The older scientist says. "Everyone who knew what your dad was building was working on it with him. A few months after Jaz came to power, a bunch of LEs stormed the VeraTech records building, where I used to work. They told us to search for files related to Project Y, but no one knew what that was. They forced us to look for it anyway. We combed through every unencrypted file in the network, and it took months. By that point, we figured that Jaz was looking for the files related to the secret project all of you had been working on. We definitely knew it when he told us to go through the encrypted files as well. Finally, someone found it."