The Cyber Age

Chapter 2: The Explanation

Braden was entirely ready to scream. Who is this guy? What was he doing here? What the heck was happening? Nothing made any sense to Braden. It's almost funny.

He wants to know who this guy is and why he's here, but Braden doesn't even know why he's here. Braden was ready for a good, long explanation, but honestly, no explanation would do for him right now. He couldn't remember anything.

"I should probably explain, well, not completely. That would knock you back." Said Timothy. Braden remained speechless, uncomfortable and feeling entirely unsafe, while Timothy got situated.

"Braden, you have been a part of a program called Cyber Four, a unique team of genetically modified individuals. You volunteered a year ago and you been a part ever since. I apologize deeply for having to erase your memory.
There was an incident. I tried to save you from something that would have killed you by erasing it from your memory, but I accidentally erased the whole past year of your being in this program and bits of your previous life as well. " Said Timothy.

Wow. A whole year ago. That made Braden seventeen. Okay. So that explained why he was here and his memory loss, if this guy was legitimate. But the box things, Braden still wondered about them.
"Alright, Timothy." Braden was really upset. To be honest, he was quite livid.

No one should tamper with another persons memories, even if it's life or death. "Suppose I have been a part of this program, this 'Cyber Four' thing. Suppose you aren't a some twisted, gay, pedophile, and I'm not a kidnapping victim. If you're not a complete whack-job, than what the absolute heck am I doing here?" Said Braden, who was scared, but mostly mad.

Timothy walked across the room, pointing to a large bookshelf. Timothy took one off of the shelf, holding it out to Braden. "See these books?" Said Timothy. Braden was getting impatient. "The box things?" Braden answered.

Timothy went on, "Those are simulators, holding several terabytes worth of video and interface storage. When your hand touches the binary code on the books, you will enter the book's simulator." Said Timothy.

Braden took the simulator from Timothy's hand, thinking of his next question. "And what are these rings on my finger?" Said Braden. Timothy grabbed Braden's hand, touching the rings.

"They're telepathic transmitters, allowing you to enter the simulated reality." Said Timothy. Braden examined the simulator. It looked identical to a black, hardback book with black plastic where pages should be. When you opened it, however, it was a thick box with a screen.

This was all too much for him. The simulators, the program, the memory loss, so many things were going through his head right now. Mostly questions. Questions about, well, everything. Why he ever joined the program. What happened to his mom? Who Timothy really was.

He didn't know who he was. He knew who he said he was. Unless he had someone else to confirm, Braden wouldn't be positive of anything.

Braden pretty much wanted to know everything he that was erased from his memory, but he figured he'd ask the big questions later. For now, he'd just stick to the small ones.

"How many simulators have I completed?" Asked Braden. He didn't know why he even asked that. Timothy smiled, stroking the top row of books. "As of today, all sixty." Said Timothy.

Wow. Braden hadn't the slightest clue. "Do you remember the crash?" Said Timothy. So he knows about that. "That's all I remember." Braden replied. Tim registered an uneasy face. "Good. You, um. . . you were in a coma for a month. Your mom didn't make it out of the crash alive." Said Timothy.

Braden stopped.
He stopped everything.
He stopped thinking.
He stopped breathing; his heart skipped a beat.

His mom.
Dead.
The world's best mother.
Dead.
Because of him. Braden scolded himself. No! Don't say that! It was an accident. He thought. Deep down though, he knew. He killed his own mother, unintentional or not.