The Cyber Age

Chapter 10: The Homecoming

Braden was completely shocked and taken aback. He had no clue what was happening. Was any of that real? Could his mom have actually survived? It didn't even seem possible. Braden remembered when they were in the group test, and he'd considered that maybe his memory hadn't been erased, and maybe he'd just gotten there. Maybe that was true, and he had just started dreaming when he made impact with the eighteen wheeler. Could that even be possible, though? It all seemed so real, Braden couldn't even imagine it being fake. Then again, most dreams were like that. But not like this. Not exactly. "Alive?" Braden asked in shock. His mom was dead seconds ago, and now she's standing face to face with him. "Yes. Thank God, that airbag saved my life." Said his mom. Braden was ecstatic, but at the same time, something felt very wrong. Braden just shrugged it off, though, because his mom was alive. That was all he cares about. Just then, Tristan came running in. He was dressed nice and looked like he had come straight from work. But. . . why would he be here? He hadn't spoken with them in months. This was all a bit odd. "He's awake?" Said Tristan. Braden's mom smiled. "Yes!" She said. Tristan walked over and say on Braden's hospital bed. "Hey! How are you feeling?!" Said Tristan. "Mom, where are Kendall and Brent? I thought they'd be here from now. I had to come all the way from work, and I still got here first." Said Tristan. "Kendall should be here soon. She went out to get Braden some balloons when I called her." Said Braden's mom. Wait, wait, wait. Kendall was here? This didn't make any sense at all. Kendall wasn't real, was she? She was just a part of his dream. . . unless this was a dream and that was real. "Moira? I'm back with the balloons!" A voice yelled from outside the room. It sounded like Kendall! This was getting really weird. Kendall and Brent rushed into the room. "Hey, babe! Are you okay? How do you feel?" Said Kendall, rushing over to his bed, sitting next to Tristan. Brent stood in the doorway. Braden was taken by surprise. Babe? Did she just call Braden babe? Now he knew for sure that something was very horribly wrong. Braden decided to just ask, since they were all here. Maybe something had happened and they knew about it. "Why am I here? What about the mission? What about RuPERT!?" Braden asked frantically. "It's okay, honey. It was probably all just a bad dream." Said Moira, Braden's mom. A bad dream? Huh. A bad dream... Maybe it was all just a bad dream. Maybe he woke up before it was over. So no World War III, IV, or V? No RuPERT? No Timothy? No simulators? No. . . anything? Was it was all a nightmare? Just to be sure, Braden had to ask his mom. "What year is it?" Said Braden. His mom chuckled. "Sweetie, it's 2016. You should know that. Could he have amnesia?" Said Moira. Braden sighed of relief. It wasn't 2416 anymore! Braden was so happy he could scream. "Yeah, maybe. I don't remember anything except colliding with an eighteen wheeler." Said
Braden. Moira frowned, looking very concerned. "I'll go get a doctor." She said, quickly leaving the room and rushing down the hall. You could hear her from down the hall, saying how he'd awoken and not remembering anything. "How long was I out?" Braden asked Kendall. "About two months. We were all worried sick." Said Kendall. Braden inhaled deeply. Two months. On the bright side, it wasn't four hundred years. There was one thing bothering Braden, though. The fact he didn't remember anything. He remembered the Kendall in his dream, but he doubted that she was like that in real life. Plus, he hadn't remembered Kendall or Brent being in his life at all. How was that possible? Everything still felt. . . wrong. There was so much explaining to be done. Braden thought he'd start with a simple question, though. That always did good. "When you walked into the room, why'd you call me babe?" Said Braden. Kendall gave a shocked look, almost the same look she gave when he came out of test sixty. That shocked look. "We've been dating for a year, Braden. Please, tell me you remember me." Said Kendall. What?! Him. . . and Kendall?! He only remembered her in his dream! How the heck could they have been dating for a year?! "I'm sorry, Kendall. I had a dream about you, but that's all I remember. I really might have amnesia." Said Braden. Kendall held a shocked face. She looked devastated. Braden could almost feel her pain, as if they were linked. He couldn't co to he watching her forget. Braden got choked up. Her face said it all, and Braden felt terrible for her. Braden's mom came back in with the doctor. "Okay, Braden. I have a really tight schedule today so let's be quick. Is there anything you remember?" Said the doctor. Braden shook his head. "None of this, no. All I remember was this dream I had when I was unconscious." Said Braden. His mom looked terribly worried. Kendall put her and over her mouth, and walked out. She could t do it anymore. "Yeah. You have amnesia, alright. No way to be sure, but it's very common after suffering bad concussions like you did. Amnesia is selective, though. It's a bit rare to forget absolutely everything." Said the doctor. The doctor was in a white lab coat, like you'd expect. He was a man, and looked a bit older. He had a name tag that read, Dr. Frank. Braden obviously presumed that was his name. As the silence grew, the doctor decided to continue speaking. "Well, if that's all he's experiencing, he should be alright. You guys can go home. Just try and live like you have been, and hopefully he will start to remember things." Said doctor Frank. "You'll have to fill out a bit of paperwork, though. But I don't think that'll take too long." He continued. Everyone seemed unbearably sad. "I'll take you to the car, Braden" Said his dad, voice low. Braden's dad helped him out of bed, and Brent followed them out into the hall. Braden's mom stayed behind, and the doctor showed her the papers to fill out. As Braden, his dad, and Brent were walking out, Braden realized the hospital was much bigger than he'd realized. It took them thirty minutes just to get out to the parking lot. "You're gonna go home with your mom, in her car. Kendall, Brent and I are gonna go shopping for a bit. Our cabinets are bone dry." Said his dad. Braden nodded, still feeling very off and disoriented. His dad pointed to his mom's car, which was parked right next to his dad's. Braden got in the passenger side, sitting down and shutting the door. He looked around, hoping to strike some miraculous memory regain. He didn't see anything he remembered. Just a picture of him and Kendall tucked away in the rear view mirror. That didn't ring any bells, obviously. Braden thought to himself for a bit, waiting for his mom to get there. Him and Kendall? This was his first time to seriously think about it. It didn't seem right. He had to admit to himself, he did have a crush on her in his dream. Maybe that was because they were dating in real life. It still didn't seem right, though. He didn't even remember her in real life. Braden waited in his small seat for about thirty minutes, until his mom came to the car, holding tons of paperwork. Since his mom didn't have a free hand, Braden leaned over and opened the driver seat for her. She smiled. "Thanks, sweetie! See anything you recognize?" Said his mom, sliding into the driver's seat. Braden shook his head. "No. But what's this?" Said Braden, pointing to the picture of him and Kendall. "That's the picture I took on your guys' anniversary. You really don't remember?" Said his mom. Braden shook his head again. "No." Braden replied, sounding sad. His mom sighed of sadness, and started the car. Around him looked like town he remembered living in, so at least he remembered that. But apart from that, he was clueless. They drove for a good, while, silent most of the way. His mom got on the highway; Braden didn't have a clue where they lived now. "How long was I out?" Braden asked. "Oh, about two months." Said his mom. Braden sighed to himself. At least it wasn't any four-hundred years. That was a plus. It was a long drive back home. Braden would ask an occasional question, and his mom would answer. Braden was avoiding asking a particular question, but he decided to go ahead and ask it. After all, if he never asked, he'd never know. "When we got in that crash, what saved me? I mean, what saved you?" Said Braden. His mom held a straight face. "The car in front of us. Along with air bag. The policeman said that the car was hit in such a way that it did not absorb the shock, still releasing the airbags. The doctors and policemen said it majorly reduced the blow's impact. I don't know why you were more hurt than me." Said his mom. Interesting. Braden wondered why she hadn't been affected himself. It was actually very strange. Soon, the car pulled into a driveway. They were deep into the forest; surrounded by trees. The house was a giant, three story log cabin. The wood looked spruce, and it seemed extremely vintage. "Nice house." Said Braden. His mom turned to look at him, a look of desperation on her face. "Please don't tell me you don't remember the house!" Said his mom. There was a bit of a pause in silence, as Braden didn't know what to say, or how to say it. "I'm sorry, mom." Said Braden. His mom looked very depressed. This was all a lot for her to take in. "It's okay. It isn't your fault. It's no ones fault." Said his mom, unbuckling her seatbelt. Braden did the same, as he and his mom opened their car doors at the same time. He and his mom walked to the front door. As she was about to open the door, his mom smiled. "Prepare yourself, it's pretty cool." She said, as she opened the door. The house was big, very, big, but the main thing Braden noticed was that it looked shrouded in country style. The dark stained wood floor, the setup of the living room, and the kitchen. It was all southern. "Do you want to watch TV? I've gotta get started on your dinner. The cabinets are pretty much bone dry, but your dad will be back soon. I've gotta decide what we're actually going to have." Said his mom. Braden nodded. "Sure." He replied. The couch was leather, and curved around their giant big screen TV. Braden didn't see the remote, so he did what he always did. He searched in the cushions. Like always, thats where he found it. He turned on the TV. Nothing good was on, like usual. He decided to turn on the news. It was on commercial. Great. If there was anything Braden hated more than giant, tyrant cyborgs, it was commercials. Braden was about to change the channel, when the commercial ended, and the news was back. Amazing. "Thank you for those messages. Now we have a special report from Mary LeCroft, one of our favorite reporters." Said the anchorman, switching over to the reporter. "Hello, and this is Mary LeCroft. Today I have proof that Google has invented an AI cyborg prototype, that thinks and acts like us." Said the reporter, as the camera view shifted over from the reporter, to a man sized robot. One thing caught Braden's eye. On the robots head, was its model name. And as he read it, the reporter spoke his thoughts. "They're calling him RuPERT."