Brian Saves the World, Maybe

Chapter 10 - Revelations

"Your parents were Observers."

The words echoed in Brian's mind. He and Aunt Carol now sat in a dimly-lit room with a couch and armchairs. The layout of the room made Brian think of a psychiatrist's office. Maybe that's what I need right now, he thought. He tried to make sense of what Aunt Carol was saying. "What? How..."

"Your parents didn't know what they were. When I tried to open their eyes, they thought I was insane."

They didn't know? Brian thought. How could they not know? He looked at Carol with a confused expression.

"When they took you to a facility for your chip implant, I knew I had to do something. I tried to stop, them, but— I failed."

This was too much to take in. Brian stared at the floor, as Carol continued to speak.

"Your parents loved you, Brian. They didn't know what they were doing. Their Observer programming had taken over. I am sorry I took you from them, but it was the only way to save you."

Brian looked up. "Wait, you took me from them? You told me they didn't want me."

"I told you what I had to. I did what was required to keep you safe. If I hadn't taken you when I did you would have become an Observer, like them."

Brian's eyebrows furrowed. "Is that why they died in that car wreck? It wasn't really an accident, was it?"

Carol looked at the floor and spoke in low tones. "I believe it was caused by the Borae."

Brian shook his head, trying to process this. He had no memory of his parents, but learning that he was the reason they had died was chilling. Then he remembered something else Carol had said, and frowned. "You said, I would have become an Observer? What does that mean? I'm not an Observer, then?"

Aunt Carol looked at him and hesitated before speaking. "It's complicated."

Brian sighed. "Make it simple for me."

"Once your bio-chip was implanted, it couldn't be removed. Not without killing you. But your chip was never registered. I was at least able to save you from that."

"What does that mean?"

"With an unregistered bio-chip, the Borae and other Observers didn't know you existed. And because of that, they never activated your chip."

Carol's eyes seemed more distant as she continued. "But I knew your bio-chip would eventually start to wake up on its own. And when that happened, we had to be ready."

That must have been the cause of the dreams, and the random headaches, Brian thought. Then he started thinking about TV, and shuddered. He considered mentioning the voice to his aunt, but for some reason, he held back. He had too many questions on his mind, anyway.

"Aunt Carol, how did you learn about all this? How did you get here? And how did you find me?"

Carol looked at Brian, frowning for a moment, and then stood up and began pacing a small pattern in the room.

"We were all Observers, your parents and I. The bio-chips were supposed to keep us ignorant, but something went wrong with mine." She paused for a moment before continuing.

"I was able to hear them," she said, pointing upward. "I grew up thinking it was normal. If I mentioned something about it, people just thought I had an overactive imagination. I didn't start questioning things until I was much older, when I learned of their plans. I didn't want to be a part of that, and when my sister had you, I didn't want you to be part of it either. They enslave us, with these things they put in our heads. We think we have a free will, and we do... Until we don't." Her voice trailed off.

Brian had felt like he was in a sort of trance while listening to this. There was a long pause, and Brian thought maybe she was done speaking, but then she continued.

"I sought out others that were like me, that could hear them also. We formed a sort of, support group."

Brian found himself imagining a group of people sitting in a circle of chairs, with a banner above them that said, "Observers Anonymous."

Carol continued, "Eventually, I learned that not all of the Borae wanted to plunder Earth. For a short time, I was able to communicate with one of them."

"You talked to one of the Borae?" Brian said, in surprise.

Carol gave a faint nod. "We came up with a plan."

Again, Brian thought of TV. Could that be who she was referring to? But he said he wasn't Borae, right?

Aunt Carol muttered a few unintelligible things, before continuing, louder this time. "He helped me save you from being registered. He also told me your chip would wake up someday, and that, when that happened, you would be special."

Brian grimaced. "Special? Special in what way?"

She seemed to ignore the question. "Your chip activated. That's how we found you."

"What? How?"

"We had your chip signature. And when we were informed that your chip was waking up, we began tracking it."

Brian shuddered again.

Carol stopped pacing and looked straight at Brian. "Now let's talk about that voice in your head."