The Knowledge

Chapter One

      I wake up in a cold room, unsure of where I am. The only certain thing in my mind is the idea to introduce myself. I speak into the dim haze in front of me, my words bouncing off concrete walls.

"Hello. My name is Edward Porter." My words are hesitant and short, with space in between. Movement draws my eye to a woman I hadn't seen before, who's sitting on an old wooden chair a few yards away.

"Oh!" She gasps. "You're not supposed to be awake yet... I'm sorry, my partner handles this. I don't know what to do. She just left to use the bathroom, she'll be back soon." She glances towards the door, also wood, and then back to me. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Marie." She says hurriedly, seeming also unsure. She pronounces the name like MAH-REE, instead of like the word marry, the way I've heard it before.

Heard it before! Where have I heard it before? Do I know any Maries, or perhaps Marys? Do I only know the name from the famous biblical figure the Virgin Mary, or do I have a friend or family member with that name? Do I have friends or family members at all?

My mind is a blank- I can come up with nothing, just things that seem like common knowledge. But doesn't everyone know their own mothers name, and shouldn't that therefore be classified as common knowledge? No, that doesn't quite fit- it's personal for each, and a little too personal to be deemed common knowledge.

This is why they picked you, whispers a voice in the back of my head. But picked me for what? And who are 'they'?

Marie is staring anxiously at the door, so old it looks like it's about to fall off it's rusted metal hinges. When the door finally opens, I'm surprised it doesn't squeak. The woman is tall, blonde, and smiling, in stark contrast to Marie, who is short, brunette, and frowning worriedly.

"Marie? What is it, dearest?" Asks the blond woman. She tosses out the term of endearment like it doesn't mean anything. I get the feeling she calls everyone that.

"Renae, he's awake." Marie replies.

"What? And you didn't come get me right away?" Renae admonishes, spinning towards me. "Come on, up out of the Pod." She hoists me up by my shoulders, and helps me take one shaky step out, then another. I realize I'd been sitting in a kind of pill-shaped bed, with blue sheets and white glass. A sliding door retracts over the opening of the pod as the entire thing turns off, lights flickering out and slight hissing noises releasing from the walls.

"How do you feel?" Marie asks me. Renae glares at her.

"Confused? I'm not quite sure what's going on." Once again, my voice sounds croaky and hoarse, and my words are unsure. I don't remember anything, but things keep popping into my head. But important things, friends, family, job- none of it is there.

"It makes sense you'd be confused. You just exited the Hypersleep Pod, which keeps you in a stasis for exactly a hundred years. We thought you were due to wake up in two hours, so the records must be off." Renae supplies, which tells me a little but, but not a lot.

"So, what year is it?" I ask.

"Well, what year did you come from, dearest?" Renae asks, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I don't-" I pause, wetting my lips. "I don't know." Renae and Marie exchange a worried look.

"Well, it's forty-seven-fifty-six, just so you know, okay?" Renae answers, worry tinting her voice. Marie hands me a cup of water, which is strange, because I never saw her get up. Renae is pacing now, as well, and I never saw her move, either. Did I black out?

"Thank you," I say, taking the water. "But, what am I doing here?" Renae stops in her tracks, and Marie's smile seems to freeze.

"What do you mean?" Renae's smile seems to freeze, and her feet stop pacing.