Remember (22 page)

I know exactly what to do, merely walk out of the room. The insane ability — yet untapped — rushes the environs into a blurred frenzy. The scenery goes beyond any mortal feats of perception, somehow forcing a long forgotten sense to reinitiate. I intuit going out the door, turning right, walking up a flight of stairs, and stopping on the edge of the roof. We fly into a high jump off the roof, keeping our body narrow and straight, pleasing a new urge. The invisibility failing at downward speed necessitates swift accomplishment. I prepare to land kneeling, compressing as broaching ground impact. Rolling over face up, pounding the ground, throws me into standing. My quick reaction to every minutia occurs without thought. Circling a group of soldiers — all marked as friendly. Following the line in the sand, so to speak marking the path, avoiding any and all incognizant, running at an incredible speed into a two-story fence harboring spikes! Instinctively jumping right up, rolling tucked over the fence, I stand ready for anything.

Noticing a group in the distance, I sprint there. My arrival goes unnoticed by everyone there marked as targets. This receives a message to touch each target, depositing a piece of invisibility behind. The pearlescent mirrors shine in the near ubiquitous grey. A countdown sounds… one… two … three…the targets crumple into neat mounds all around.

At the epicenter of the carnage, there swirls a black cloud dropped out of the heavens. Shortly stabbing me by throwing a sword. Engaging the new target, my suit becomes a prickly defense and attack arsenal of spines. I enter the ominous black gas quagmire to perpetrate my continuing attack. My defense articles toss away a hastily thrown enemy sword, the first of an unrelenting black bolt barrage and other metal armament, with glimpses of a humanoid dripping in black ooze. One bolt penetrates my defenses. A surge of adrenaline jumps me away almost 100 yards, the black mysterious weapons system staying immobile at enemy camp. I withdraw my attack/defense scheme, my most powerful option requiring a high degree of precision jump onto the target. The jump is ready. Jumping as high as possible, everything grows small. The suit changes shape, directing me over the target. The invisibility flenses off to near me feet, the gray underlayment remains for my protection. I plunge into the high reaches of the dark cloud, then impact with the force of a small earthquake. The cloud disperses with the disintegration of the enemy.

Secured behind the invisibility barrier, a high pitch whine signals an intruder alert. A cold embrace runs up along with an associated numbing climbing through. A black film tarnishes the lustrous finish. I yell for help, no one there to hear my cries. Everything that is mine, my body, my thoughts, my feelings, ceases to exist. I gasp my last breath.

(—)

A loud sound startles me. I wake up, in my bed, Stephens Institute apartment. The sound emanated from flailing in my sleep. I managed to clear my coffee table with my thoughtless actions, and then my alarm went off, right on time. I look up through the skylight into the early morning twilight. The day marches forth through the gloomy cloud covered sky. I force myself up to face the day and get ready.

I eat breakfast at my sofa and table, while my thoughts wander to the location of the windows relative to everything else. The skylight and windows swaddle the sofa, now with the first hints of the suns warmth. Unbeknownst to me, I contrived keen design functionality, a few changes after moving in, mostly with the furniture and some with the architecture. The once tiny square window takes on a more organic shape by the addition of a staggered edge and surface area. The walls molded by square building blocks allow repurposing to any function. I have to go, now.

I leave my apartment. The tough night, tossing and turning for most of it ends here. At around 4, I finally got some sleep. The stress of making a life changing decision weighs heavily on my conscience. I have to make a choice in the next week, or the Agent will make good on his promise. Sometimes, I just want to make some choice and get this all over with. Something good finally happens, Claire walks by in a white suit. I catch up with ease. Everything starts returning to normal.

"Hi, Claire. How are you doing?" I notice she’s wearing a black tie over a navy shirt.

"Never mind me, what's on your mind after your long and difficult journey to faraway lands?"

"Not what you might think. I've been thinking about my college days."

"That is way more pedestrian than I would imagine. I'll go along with you for now. My strongest suit has always been my memory, long term that is. I used to think my intelligence wasn't big in the equation. This thought process entailed long hours toiling over a seemingly endless pile of assignments. Sometimes even rereading some part to get a better answer. The work eventually paid for itself. What about you?"

That was too much unneeded info about her intelligence. I feel obliged to do the same.
"I did well. The best part has to be the social side. You know, spending time with friends
outside of class
. Academically, study groups saved my skin many times. Independent study didn't help that much, now group study was a totally different story."

"How is your study going?" Claire adjusts her messenger bag more securely over one shoulder. The need for a bag of any size seems unnecessary with all the pockets we both have.

"I'd say good. If you asked me yesterday, not so much."

"What changed?" This has her attention.

"Yesterday, I missed my ride, just by secs. It was so disappointing. I thought this. is. it. I won't make back in time. With Gary's help, I still made it."

"I had that issue a lot growing up. I somehow overcame it."

"How do you think that changed?"

"Maybe, being late prepared me to be on time.”

I chuckle at this line of reasoning.

“Do you ever get the feeling your whole life has been preparing for one ultimate goal?"

"I've never thought of it that way. It just seems like a haphazard process. By some chance everything turns out okay."

Claire reserves her rebuttal with a breath. "How was your trip otherwise?"

"The conference had some highlights. Other than that, not much to report. How was it around here?"

"Not much, I think enough happened last week to last a month,
at least
."

A brief glimpse of the marionette Irena assaults me.

Claire gives me a short wave and goes into the office.

A small group of people wait outside. I go to meet them, even though I have to get a few things before explaining the study to them, so I make my excuses. I go to my desk for the surveys. The conference room needed for the presentation sits across the hall. I get mentally prepared to go through all the material.

"I'm ready for you. Just come with me."

Leading them across the hallway into the expansive, bright, window lined room, I set the surveys on the side table, and go to the head of the room. As they enter the room, I think to give them directions. "As you come in, please take a pad from that table."

I put my pad on the conference table, establishing a connection with the presentation screen. The first image shows up with a title page, 'The Best Methods to Promote Learning'. Everyone has a seat and a pad in hand. "Let's get started then."

I give a sec for everyone to quiet down. "You are all here to participate in a study about learning. Let us first review the basis of learning, as it is understood. Currently, there are four forms of learning we know of. Long-term potentiation or LTP, positive reinforcement, fear conditioning, and adaptation. LTP utilizes a repeated action like memorization or practice to imprint something new into the mind. Long-term memories are produced this way. Adaptation relies on the brain’s need to maintain function. The brain works around obstacles like hearing loss. Fear conditioning and positive reinforcement — both specialized forms of LTP — work through the interface between the amygdala and hippocampus. Events that precipitate an emotional response stick better. Fear conditioning results in reflexive behavior, while positive reinforcement teaches. “Almost everyone is looking through the survey, not really listening.

The next picture glides in, a neural pathway. "The neuroscience explanation of LTP hinges on the production of two neurotransmitters. One having to do with the ability and the other glutamate. A repeated action stimulates the release of glutamate. It produces an excitatory effect on the neurons. The learned pathway stays open for a longer period of time. This helps the learned ability to stick by creating physical changes in downstream and upstream cells."
The idea of a retrograde messenger fell down with improved electron microscopy. The electrical stimulation alone causes the changes.

The next series shows the methods I will test. As I talk about each one, its image becomes bigger. "The most innovative method we will test resides with selected neuron excitability.” This statement perks up the heads of almost everyone, and the wide eyed ones continue looking. “A modified piece of tech will physically affect the cells to reduce the threshold for stimulation. Unfortunately, this will include the addition of new tech. near the neurons. This is a tested procedure, that isn’t harmful in any way. We will also consider your baseline through a survey. It takes into account your aptitude for the subject and your current level of happiness. Other triggers will also be used. This study has additional participants from other research sites to give us a bigger sample."

The final picture is of a pleasant scene and the message 'Thanks for your Participation'. "If you want to continue being a part of this study, please start filling out your survey. If not, thanks for coming today. In a few minutes, I'll be ready for one of you. Just walk across the hall and through the door. At the end of the next hallway, I'll be waiting. I thank all of you, again."

I leave the room with my pad, go to the lab, and get everything ready. That includes the tech injection node, double checking the programming, and getting the lab chair prepped. I fill the empty injection node. Placing this white box on the loading shelf fills one chamber with tech. I also load an inert solution as a control.

Some people will end up getting the tech, and the others get nothing. I take out the node. Now, wait for a participant to show up.

Someone comes and settles on the lab chair. I put the node over the outside of his forearm (accessory cephalic vein). It starts dispensing.

"Let me just get some background info, okay?"

"Sure." He sits there like a stick, permitting just his mouth to move.

"I have your name. Yuri Yana-kos-kov right?"
Did I pronounce that right?

"Yes."

"What is your interest in the study?"

"Mostly, just the free class,” He pokes at his temple. “I've been constantly trying to improve my knowledge on a wide range of subjects."

I press both sides of the node to release it. "You're all done. Thank you for answering my questions. When you have finished your survey, just leave it on that side table, in the conference room."

Yuri jumps to his feet. "Not a problem."

(—)

The next group will enter around 1. I take a break on the balcony. It hangs outside the conference room sliding door. Everything seems better out here. In fact, the first time I've been happy, since the dinner out with Gary's friends. Everything just makes a little more sense, clarity. I can just escape my worries to be out here. With a slight sadness, I go back inside.

As I enter the office for my lunch, Claire, Gary, and Dr. Mekova are already eating at a conference table. I get my food and join them. They are having a convo about the trip

"The highlight was meeting up with some of my old friends. We had a great time at 'Masala', one of my father's restaurants," Gary says. He scoops more salmon out of the parchment paper structure and puts it on his salad.

"It has been ages, since I've seen any of my friends in person. We each live in such geographically different locals." Irena looks wistfully upward at some long remembered memory.

"As for me, I see them about once a week," Claire answers. Claire reaches into the mysterious messenger bag and pulls out a container of trail mix with lots of different nuts.

"That is good," Irena says. She pierces a vegetable chunk the jumped from her devastated lasagna with an unusually harpoon-like knife.

Knowing Gary, he has covered everything else.
"The food was also fantastic. I was surprised it wasn't that spicy… Hmm… Irena, how is your study going?"
I put Irena on the spot.

"It is going well. The first batch of cells is ready to be tested. I'll be spending a lot of time down in the basement, with the animals," Irena replies, more than happy with the isolation.

"What about you, Gary?" Claire managed to open the snap-top container with one hand and without any difficulty. Now she sprinkles the mix into her leafy burrito before each bite.

"I've come up with something. Can positive or negative dreams have a measurable and cumulative effect over time?" Gary responds in a dryness yet utilized. He starts chewing his wild salad of salmon, juniper berries, blueberries, dandelion, and various small green leaves for a sparse lunch compared to his normal.

"That will give me a chance to explore AI sim. The AI's can give a realistic sensory experience of a situation, and they want to do it." Claire's look expresses something, strangely, like glee. “Does anyone want some?” She slides her trail mix around. We all take some of her homemade treat.

"That could come in handy." Gary leans back with satisfaction and loudly crunches on the sesame seeds, roasted peanuts, and rolled oats crispy as potato chips.

"My study is going good. Half of the subjects have been takes in." My culinary expertise extends to ramen with dehydrated vegetables over a campfire. The pasta in front of me is a fusion of Italian and Indian with the spice of chili powder, the tanginess of parmesan, and the nutty sweetness of roasted spaghetti squash.

"How are your preparations for your class going?" Irena inquires.