Our Manufactured Reality

Chapter 6: A Mirrored View

The feeling I felt next was indescribable.

As we stepped out into the sun for the first time, I felt joy; overwhelming joy.  That is the only way I can describe it because I have no other joyous memories that come close to this.  Sure, finding Charlie was a close second, but feeling the sun on my back and no longer being closed-up in cement was a dream.

If I had other memories to compare to this moment, I might have not been as happy as I was.  Lack of understanding is the best thing that can happen to someone.  And loving the little things in life is the best way to live.

When my feet crossed through the doorway, Charlie and I broke apart and reveled in the majesty of our fallen world.  It was broken but it was the only world known to us.  I danced in the sunlight and twirled through the crisp leaves on the ground.

Bringing myself back to the others, I ran up to them, "This is amazing!  We're outside!"  I felt so wild and free.

"I know!"  Charlie answered, having the same feelings I was, "Look!  Leaves!"  He kicked them up into the air and we both laughed in utter relief and hope from the simplest thing:  Nature.

Soon the excitement died down, and taking a deep breath of contentment, I surveyed my surroundings more closely.

Trees and bushes spanned out as far as I could see.  Clearly wild, the environment had been growing lots on it's own since the bombs.  The Earth could live on it's own.  This realization was a happy one because it meant Charlie and I could come to know a world that was similar to the one from before.  Sure, everything was a little more overgrown, and man-made things were scarcely untouched by time, but I thought I could learn to call this world my home.

"This... will be harder to navigate than I thought.  My calculations said most of the trees and shrubbery would be gone, but it will do.  Come along you two, we should get moving."  A.I.M. started hovering as if nothing new had happened.

Still caught-up in the moment, Charlie and I both asked, "Where are we going?"

"To find the descendants of the people who built this facility.  You want to see if there is a way to get your memories back, don't you?"  He turned to face us.

"Uh, yeah!  Sure."  I stepped into stride with Charlie and followed A.I.M.

"Wow,"  I whispered to Charlie, "I didn't even know that was a possibility."

"Me either,"  He responded just as surprised, "Worth a shot."  He shrugged and playfully elbowed me.

I shoved him back, grinning from all the fortune we'd had so far.  Maybe all isn't lost.

~~~

As nightfall approached, my legs began to wobble.  Exhaustion was beginning to overtake me, and it didn't help that I'd been asleep for the past 200 years.

"Hey, A.I.M?  Do you think there's anyway we could stop for the night to rest?"  Charlie had noticed.

A.I.M. kept hovering along, "I suppose."  He seemed a bit agitated.  As if annoyed that humans had to rest and eat and drink, "There should be an abandoned convenience store up ahead.  We'll stop there."

"Okay, thanks."  Charlie walked closer to me as if preparing to catch me if I toppled.  He should have been very tired himself, but that kind personality was taking over.

"Thanks, Charlie,"  I half-whispered.

"Anytime,"  He replied. He's got to be the most caring person ever, I thought.

Once inside the dusty, ivy-covered store, A.I.M. address us, "Alright, gather what supplies you need, and get some rest.  I will wake you in the morning,"  He spoke in an "all-business" tone and promptly powered himself down in the corner of the store.