Hello, My Name Is...

The Memory Wipe

"I thought I was going to prison," Shy said, taking a seat at the desk.

"Oh, you are," The Genius replied sitting across from her, "however, this is your first time getting arrested, so I'm going to explain what will happen."

"You do this with everyone?"

"Yes! Though usually, not personally. However, all my servants, I mean, employees, are busy right now, so I have to do it."

"But wait, everyone knows what happens; you said what the consequence is for saying your name, or, in my case, writing it. You go to prison and your memory gets wiped."

"Yes, but do you want to know how it works? Or just go into the memory wipe blindly? It's actually a very draining process," a smile crept onto his face.

"If it's so draining then how come I didn't feel any different after you wiped my memory of names?"

"That was once, if done repeatedly, it will drain you. Plus, that was easy, picking out names. But now, I'm removing an entire event from your memory."

"But-"

"How many stupid questions do you have?" He asked impatiently.

"I-I don't know-"

"Then let's just get on with this."

The Genius explained that Shy would go through a month of prison, and memory wipe, also explaining the process.

"It's going to be done just before you get released, that way you're not confused as to why you're in a cell."

"Only a month?" She asked.

"Do you want it to be longer?"

"No, but it seems a bit short for something that you put so much emphasis on."

"You know, most people just thank me for not giving them a longer sentence. But to answer your question, I was advised to make it a month instead of a year because the process of memory wipe was considered torturous. Anyway, enough chatting, let's get you to your cell," the smile returned, more menacing this time.

After the girl was locked up, The Genius thought about her; she was relatively simple-minded, panicky, and kept to herself. He held her journal. Tomorrow it would be burned. It meant a lot to her, but it had memories. Memories which would be forgotten by the end of the month. She could always buy a new one; after all, he only deleted memories, not the personality. Her friends called her Shy, they weren't mistaken. A smile spread over his face; over the surveillance system, he heard the sixteen-year-old child in the prison below start singing herself to sleep. She had a pleasant voice, one full of innocence and hope.

* * *

A long month passed, all that was left to do was the memory wipe.

"What all is going to get deleted?" Shy asked anxiously.

"What brought you here; you writing out your journal entry," The Genius replied.

"What about my stay here? Will I remember that?"

"Yes."

"Will I remember this?"

"You will remember your entire punishment, but you'll forget about trying to write your name."

Shy was led to a room with a single chair. A nurse checked her health.

"How long will it take?" Shy asked the woman.

"The memory wipe itself will take minutes. Afterwards all depends on your own reaction." She responded sadly. Turning to The Genius she said, "The girl looks underfed. What happened?"

"She refused to eat. It doesn't matter. Let's just start."

At the park, The Genius beamed a signal through satellite to wipe out names. But this time, Shy was hooked onto some wires; The Genius had a computer in the other room. His fingers moved diligently, typing out instructions on a tablet that were being sent through a program on the computer. Suddenly, there was a gaping hole in her memory. What happened? Why was she here? The questions flooded her mind as the nurse rushed in. Unable to lift herself as the panic grew, people carried her out. The Genius ordered them to put her down. Everyone left at his command. He sat down next to the trembling girl, "It'll soon be over, you'll be able to go home once you calm down."

"Genius..."

"Yes?" an unusual softness to his voice.

"Who are you?" She sat up to face him. "Why are you doing this?"

He stroked her hair, "You wouldn't understand. You're not well. Let's take you home."

Everything went black.