𝐈𝖘𝖆𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖆

𝐏𝖗𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖌𝖚𝖊

𝓉'𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽...

When the police found her she was already dead. Reporters flocked, making their unprecedented way into the heart of the scene. I guess this was normal to everyone by now except for me. Never in my life had I experienced something so surreal. My hands were still shaking. I recognized her as the woman I had been taking internet technology courses with. We occasionally sat together and she would calmly talk about the struggles of a university student. One time in class she asked the professor if holograms could ease the grief of those who had just lost a loved one to which he replied.

'Maybe?'

Perhaps I should have been more polite in sharing my research with her. You see — before I started school, I had always celebrated the culture celebrations of what's known to the world as "The Day of the Dead". It's a three day holiday from Mexico that revolves around the living honoring the dead and supporting them on their spiritual journey. The police later came and I went to my Holography class but I continued to be shaken. It was October, the newly hired professor talked about the 'Día de Muertos' (Day of the Dead) as if it wasn't already obvious. After the lecture our assignment was to take what we had learned about the holographic process... and put it into action.

Our project was simple enough, holograms, could be made using different methods. Knowing myself better than anyone who knew me, I used the lab's brand new drone. So, I took the hard light projector and went to work. Hooking the device port behind my ear, connecting a frequency via neural lace around the brain.

That's when it hit me... I relived it.

I wish I hadn't.

The memory of her death as it transferred into my recent experience channeled directly into the drone. A hologram of her appeared noisy before gaining its full visual clarity. Every part that made up her entity was purely projected through a color of purple pixels. From the looks of it her clothes she wore last were the ones also from my memory. With that remaining the same I quickly started to log my finding. Hours went by and class ended. I went home, cooked instant rice in the microwave and booted my old projector to start my homework. But it acted funny, like an old tv on the wrong channel. Static. Black and white snow. A 2D animated avatar appeared, "Do you know why I died?"

The character on the screen took a face similar to her — the one I had made per the hologram system. Same clothes, same hair, same shoes... I just sat there, staring. A part of myself really wanted to know more, but at the same time I thought. 'What if this is actually just idea of a bad joke or worse, a virus?' People certainly weren't the best here in Mexico. The avatar addressed me again this time frantically.

"I'm a rogue virus made by the company Biofizer to collect personal data for the purpose of realistic holograms of the deceased for grieving loved ones. Thank you for creating me. Now, I need you to go to this address, please don't let anyone see!"

This all seemed like some sort of plot in a novel by Gibson.

"What do I get for helping you?"

It responded, "You'll have the information to tear down Operation Nahuatl and sell it to a journalist."

"This type of technology isn't going to help humanity, please, believe me." A side job for a few extra pesos? I had no qualms about that at all. In an hour, I found myself at the address.

Sra. Maria Elena Garcia de Perez Nezahualcoyotl

108 Piso 8 - 32A Iztacalco, Col.

Agricola Pantitlan 08110 Mexico, D.F.

This was weird.

It looked like a regular house. The lights were off and the smell of good food permeated through the air leaving a rumbling growing deep from within the pit of my stomach.

"Are you sure this is the right spot?"

I asked the questioned hesitant to know the answer, however, this was actually during the holidays. A most joyous time in which no one would certainly wish to suffer through losing a loved one. After knocking upon the red wooden door frame, I heard the latch unlock. From the sounds of it, everyone was talking as if during a fiesta of some kind? A burley male has swung the door open, he bore a mustache that was just as epic as his belt buckle.

"Hola! Como esta?"

[Hello! How are you?]

Who was really suffering here?!

I placed my hands into the air in front of him and gave a wave after he didn't answer back. It was almost as if I was transparent, a ghost. Clearly, I was standing right in plain sight, yet there came a shrug from his shoulders as he closed the door behind him.

"Uh..."

I replied to myself as instantaneously there came a loud banging kaboom if trumpets and horns from a mariachi band. That's when I felt it! A cold chill ran down my spine as the hologram appeared before my eyes once again reminding me of that awful scene.

"Dios mío!"

[My Goodness!]

She shrieked, her ghostly eyes creating for a mystical treat. They glowed amidst the pairings of two painted flowers upon her face. Her frame still remained petite. She bore a look of disappointment. Crossing her arms as she sighed in relief.

"¡Deberías haber visto tu cara! ¿Es casi como si nunca hubieras visto a una persona muerta?"

[You should have seen your face! It's almost as if you've never seen a dead person before?]

Again —

I hadn't just witnessed her death, I had relived it. I felt it too! Of course I didn't tell her but it also wasn't like I had asked for it either. The phantom-like form pointed to the others celebrating from inside the casa and backyard area. A smile formed across her holographic face; the features resembling and reminding him of a sugar candied skull during Día de Muertos. The patterns in her vocal cords sounded off, glitching in its pitch as she spoke once again letting out a sigh.

"[̲̅m̲̅][̲̅i̲̅] [̲̅f̲̅][̲̅a̲̅][̲̅m̲̅][̲̅i̲̅][̲̅l̲̅][̲̅i̲̅][̲̅a̲̅]."

[My family.]

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