MHG-V1-2 (Initial Draft)

Chapter 2 - My name is Teruko

A.2

Ken slowly opened his eyes, his dimmed vision clearing to show a foreign ceiling. He tried to sit up but all his bones ached with incredible pain. With frustration he relaxed his muscles and sighed deeply.

"Oh, dont move yet," came the kind voice of a woman who rushed over to him. "You must be in a lot of pain. Here, I'll raise the bed for you."

Ken felt half the bed angle upwards, bringing him to a half sitting position. He could see now that he was in a hospital room, a private room, with a tv, sofa and cabinet. The woman standing next to him was dressed in a nurse's uniform and smiled as she looked at him.

"Where am I?" Ken asked painfully.

"Hospital E.2." The nurse replied. "You were very lucky to make it out of that bomb blast alive. You've already been through restorative treatment so after a few more days rest you should be good to go home."

"Bomb blast?" Ken asked confused.

"Yes, at the subway station. You were found at the perimeter of the blast hiding in a maintenance cabinet and then brought here. Dont you remember?"

Kens thoughts slowly came back as he remembered that strange girl talking to him on his ear piece. So she had... saved him?

"I remember a little.."

"Anyway you should get some rest. If you need anything just call."

"Uh.. my earpiece?" He asked, sensing that his right ear was bare of the small electronic device that connected him to the internet.

"Its right here." The nurse said. "Would you like me to attach it for you?"

"Yes, please."

Ken waited as the nurse picked up something and attached it to his ear.

"There you go."

"Thanks."

Ken closed his eyes as the nurse left the room and shut the door.

"Finally she's gone." Came a female voice.

"Huh? Who's there?" Ken said, snapping his eyes open.

"Have you forgotten me already?" The voice asked, "even after I saved your life."

Ken suddenly recognised the voice. It was the girl who had spoken to him at the subway station.

"Who are you?"

"Do you want to see?" She asked. "Turn on the holopad."

"Holopad? I cant move.."

"Its accessible by voice activation, stupid. Just tell it to turn on."

"Uh? Holopad, on."

The air next to Ken's bed shimmered suddenly as a device attached to the floor came to life.  It continued to shimmer as thw shadow of a human form came to view and then suddenly it snapped to life and there stood a young girl, about the same age as Ken, standing beside the bed.

"Wow, it looks so real." He murmered.

"Finally we can see each other." The girl said. The voice had now transferred from his ear piece to some speaker system built into the holopad, so that it sounded more realistic.

"How do I look?"

It was a strange question, one that Ken didnt know how to answer. She looked cute, wearing a matching skirt and blouse. But he wasnt sure if it would be appropriate to answer like that.

"Um, good.."

"Good?" The girl said narrowing her eyes and stepping forward to lean over him. Ken was awstruck by how real she looked. He could almost forget she was just a holographic projection.

"Good enough to be your girlfriend?"

"Huh?"

They looked at each other akwardly for a moment before she broke the silence again.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Ken asked.

"I just asked you to be my boyfriend and you say well what?" She said angrily.

"But I dont even know you."

"What do you want to know?"

".. your name?"

"Oh. Im Teruko." She said.

"Im.."

"..Ken." Teruko said smiling. "I already know a lot about you."

Ken hesitated. Was she a stalker?

"So?" She asked.

M-maybe we should meet in real life first." He suggested, thinking of anything to derail the question.

"Real life? But thats not possible."

"Why not? Do you live in another country?"

Teruko shook her head. "I live here."

"Here?"

"Everywhere." Teruko smiled playfully. She moved back a little and sat down on the bed. Ken wondered how that was even possible.

"What do you mean?"

"I live on the internet." She said.

"You mean you spend a lot of time on the internet?"

"No, I mean I live on the internet. I dont have a human body. My mind exists on the internet. Thats why I can be everywhere amd nowhere all at once."

"That doesnt make any sense." Ken replied. "How can someone live on the internet? Only something like an ai.."

"Im not an ai." Teruko said, shrugging her shoulders, "but I also dont know how its possible. I just know that it is. It has been since I can remember."

Ken looked down at his hands. Obviously this person was spinning lies. She had been stalking him and now she was making up ridiculous stories to cover her tracks. He was of the mind to disconnect the call inmediately.

"What are you thinking?" She asked.

"I'm wondering how you can prove yourself." He said. "What you've just said seems pretty impossible."

"Ask me any question." She said. "And ill answer it."

"Anyone can do that." Ken said.

Teruko creased her brow and thought hard. Suddenly an idea came to her.

"If you want proof, I'll show you where my hardware lives."

"Your hardware?"

"Where im 'stored'. Normally it would be a secret because if you knew that you could destroy me, but... I trust you."

"So where is it?" Ken asked, dubious.

"I cant tell you like this. Ill give you instructons to get there once you're better. Then ill have to hack your way through the security perimeter to get you in to the complex and then in to the room where I live."

Ken looked at her with doubt. Was she really serious?

"Then I'll ask you my question again." She said. "Until then, goodbye."

Teruko stood up, looked at him with a sad face and then disappeared.

Ken breathed a sigh of relief. She was gone. He closed his eyes. What was this all about? Was it real or some kind of scam? It couldnt be real but.. ken had been in holo conferences before. The hologram had never been so clear. That wasnt a fault with the dislay technology but with the recording technology, so unless she had some kind of super new camera system there was no way she could have filmed that image. Then was it 3d? It had been way too clear, way too realistic and way too fluid to be 3d. Unless it had been generated by some kind of super computer.