This Place Only

Chapter Eleven - Missive

Chapter Eleven

Missive

I’m not sure how long I stood there staring at the icy majesty of Saturn’s rings. This man wanted a reaction from me, but I was hesitant to give it.

“From what I’ve been told,” Applewhite began, “your memory was tampered with during the encoding process onto the QHD. Have you been able to piece together anything going further back than the day you left?”

I explained that it was like looking at a massive jigsaw puzzle that had been tossed out over a football field. Some of the pieces were right side up. Others faced down. Still others were on their side and obscured.

“I have the impression, though,” I added, “there’s something my old self wanted me to remember. Something important.”

I was still staring at the glittering, surreal landscape when Applewhite snapped his fingers crisply.

“I was hoping you’d say something like that. It’s actually why you and I are speaking at this moment. I’m having the Xeronix building monitored as we speak in a desperate hope of recording some of what happened to you.”

“You can… put my memoires back together?”

“No, Sire. Only you can do that. But perhaps I can help you along. I do know things about you and what has happened, but it’s possible my information is from another timeline.”

“Meaning?”

“I could tell you what I know, but it might be false. At least for the you I’m speaking to.”

“But how—” I began.

A soft chiming filled the air and I stopped. It was familiar. Yes, I’d heard that sound before, but where? When?

“Please, have a seat,” the ancient man instructed as he moved back to his desk. “It’s about to happen.”

“We’re receiving, Mr. Applewhite,” a female voice said through a hidden speaker somewhere on the desk.

“Good, good,” he whispered to himself.

Not knowing what else to do, I returned to my chair and waited. It was then that the reality of being on a moon of Saturn hit me. Incredible!

“Procedure complete,” the same remote voice spoke, “We were unable to duplicate any of the data you requested. Collapse of this probability curve is inevitable due to failsafe Xeronix protocols. Reverting to primary timeline in approximately three minutes. Miscellaneous data will reach you in twenty seconds.”

“Thank you, Althea. What did we get?”

“Global climate from the special array linked to the appropriated T-unit, the space-time fluctuation index (which we already knew) and… hold on… there’s something else. There’s a final data packet. It’s huge! Full integrity, too. It’s… the compressed physical scan of the subject’s body. It flashed on an unencrypted temporal channel just before transfer. 8.6 kiloquads on a hyper-mobius loop.”

Applewhite rose from his seat quickly and said, “Now that’s interesting.” Staring intently at me, he asked, “Do you recall your human form? Your face?”

I admitted that I could not. Memories of those last moments did not include one of me looking into a mirror. Even thinking back on my original voice was strange.

“Perhaps this could be the key that unlocks (or, perhaps, solidifies) your fractured past.” Applewhite, now smiling, spoke a set of brief commands to an unseen computer.