Writer Games: Amnesia

Sneak Peek!

Prometheus ran his fingers through his hair nervously. Although he only had a few more weeks to finish planning out the Games, he didn't have much planned out. All he knew was that, if he was to keep his position as Head Gamemaker for any longer, his Games needed to be perfectly planned, memorable, the whole shebang. It certainly didn't help that one of his most trusted advisors had just been arrested, indicted in a conspiracy about the Games.

A commotion erupted outside Prometheus' door, and he turned his head. His door wasn't quite soundproof, but it was impossible to tell what was going on outside, even if it was right outside his door. Then, with a small crash, his door opened to reveal Anatolius holding Florentina back. Anatolius seemed to be struggling to hold onto the fairly small woman, but he smiled nonetheless.

"She's just a little confused right now," Anatolius smiled. His grip on Florentina tightened.

Surely enough, as Prometheus once again looked at his former colleague, he recognized the confusion in her eyes, like that or an infant first hearing thunder. Blood stuck to her nostrils, and there was a large red mark on her jaw. Prometheus was certain that if Anatolius held any tighter, his fingers would entirely go through the woman's arms. Had he not known who the woman was, he might not have recognized her at all. "Why did you bring her into my office, Anatolius," Prometheus asked uncertainly.

"They wanted me to show her to you." His words hung menacingly in the air for a moment, no explanation as to why she was being shown to him. Prometheus knew her fate well enough, he'd been one of the people to vote on her punishment. He voted for execution, honestly the most merciful option. He was overruled though, almost every other person on the board voting for a new form of mental manipulation, worse than hijacking they said.

"They call it Tabula Rasa," Anatolius explained. "They take someone, and they wipe all of their memories, and then they come back as someone entirely, or almost entirely, different. Any rebellious thoughts Florentina might have had are gone forever, she thinks she's just a taxi driver from Hematite. Or, at least they're going to add that in." Anatolius' eyes lit up with excitement as he explained the treatment. Although he was known to be the more physical of the two, he was intelligent as well. He had to be to maintain his position.

Beside him, Florentina stared blankly at the room around her, a far cry from the woman she once was. Intelligent, observant, curious, Prometheus couldn't help but wonder what else had been taken away from her. Her face was unreadable, though. Not because she was good at hiding her emotions, as she had been before, but because she didn't seem to be experiencing any at all

"They said that, now that they've had a successful trial run, they can go through the whole program in about an hour, and they can even leave certain memories, so the possibilities are endless!" Anatolius smiled once again, this smile somehow different from the one he flashed upon entering the room.

Although Prometheus knew the demonstration was intended as a threat, a grim reminder of what could happen if he too failed, he couldn't help but smile, thinking about the possibilities the program presented. "Return Florentina to wherever she belongs, and then return yourself to my office," Prometheus instructed Anatolius. "We have quite a bit of planning to do."