Today would be a big one....
Bruce, the Secretary General of the United Nations of Earth, has spent centuries trying to protect, develop and unite humanity.
When a distinctly non-human arrival seems to offer a way to do this, once and for all, he wi...
I'm not where I was. I don't know where I was. But now I'm here. In a brain. I feel another, much smaller mind inside it with me. It's terrified and it's sleeping. I imagine giving it a hug and tell it that it is a part of me. There is nothing to fear. It seems to be placated by this and returns to its rather creatively carnal dreams.
I think.
I am different. Before I knew my parts were there, but it was hazy and disconnected. I was like water vapour, blown by the wind, engulfing the world. Now there is the same amount of water, but it forms a lake. In the centre of the lake there is a fountain. I am the fountain. Before I was the sum of my parts, but only part of my parts. From some there was almost everything. From some, I now realise there was nothing. Now there is everything from every part. Whole realms of parts I had been unaware of now form an integral part of my mind, and I form a part of theirs, but differently to this one. This one is my home. I hope he wants to be my home, because I'm very unsure as to whether there is anything I can do to change it.
I become aware of the minds without bodies. One in particular wishes me well. She smells of incense and has a pale face.
The body that houses the brain that houses me starts to wake up. I'm not sure I'm ready for this. I've been dreaming for so long, everything I have ever seen has been second hand, at a remove. Will this be too much for me? No time to think.
His eyes are open. There is a ceiling above us. The daylight is blinding, even though some of my parts remember the sun without the haze, for me this is overwhelming. I hear thoughts in the brain I'm in, so much louder than all the others. In Spanish. That's okay, I know Spanish.
Quien eres? Como puedes estar en mi cabeza?
Who are you? How can you be in my head?
Relajarse. Soy un amigo. Como un amigo. Supongo.
Relax. I'm a friend. Kinda. I guess.
"JOEYYYYY!" A friendly voice called. A woman. Mother. He has a mother. Interesting. And an English name.
Si hablas ingles?
Do you speak English?
Poquito, muy malo.
A little, very badly.
Tienes un nombre ingles.
You have an English name.
Mis antepasados eran refugiados gringos.
My ancestors were gringo refugees.
Ah. Okay.
"Ven a desayunar puto perezoso!" A man's voice this time. Breakfast. I've never had breakfast before.
We shuffle down the stairs together. I get the disconcerting feeling I'm causing him discomfort. I find some nanobots and tweak them until he feels happier. We sit at the table. His mom seems nice. Loud, fills the room despite being slim. Young, but isn't everyone?
"Are you okay?" She asks, "you look like shit."
"Thanks mom" oh wow that feels odd - I can feel his mouth making the words. What a sensation. "I'm okay - just not feeling totally myself, you know how it is."
"Probably just some weird dream coz of all that crazy shit you kids gorge yourselves on in the 3T." She says "Gorge yourself on this instead." A tin plate slaps on the table. "Speaking of the 3T, whaddya make of this new version? My Lord, the things I've found out about our neighbours! Did you look yet? Of course you didn't! Well, señor y señora Vasquez...." She continued. I didn't listen because I already knew about everything she was saying. Joey didn't because he was bored.
We chewed on medialunes- the sweetness was overwhelming for me. I had never imagined something so visceral and potent as first hand taste. We washed it down with piping hot and smoky yerba mate. Joey's mom was eyeing us suspiciously.
"Seriously, Joe, what's the matter with you?"
You tell her.
I struggled a little to control the jaw and tongue, but pulled on the memories of everyone that they forgot about, memories of learning to talk and walk. I opened it and closed it a few times. Then realised I didn't know what to say.
I searched for an appropriate phrase. I was in a hurry so grabbed the first thing that sounded vaguely like what I needed to say.
"Take. T-t-take. Take me to your leader. Umm... llévame hasta tu líder!"
The crash of broken porcelain indicated that I may have made a mistake.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
