How the Brain Works in Space

Chapter #3

      Ferris's eyes fluttered and rolled over to the other side of the bed, hugging a small clump of blankets under his arm. He slowly stretched and opened his eyes to a blurry world. Ferris tried to recall what happened, and eventually, those memories appeared in his head. His body tensed, and he tried to make sense of the blurry objects around the room that he could tell didn't belong to him.     He quickly made out a bedside table and patted around for his glasses, and with his luck, he found the familiar rounded frames. Ferris blinked a few times, taking in his surroundings. This place was unfamiliar, but it still looked like some form of a fancy apartment or a fancy hotel room. He slowly pushed the blankets off of him, though they called to him to sleep longer. A feminine voice greeted him as he stepped onto the soft carpets.

     "Good Afternoon, Mr. Ferris Towne. My name is Aahori." The voice said.
     Ferris whispered the name to himself a few times, recalling where he heard it, "You were with Ryuu."

"Correct," Aahori stated blandly

"Where are you?" 

"I am an AI, a personal assistant to Ryuu."
     

Ferris nodded slowly, convinced that he died
    

  "New clothes are on the far chair, and breakfast is waiting for you downstairs."  

     Ferris tried to remember the night before, wondering if and how he died. "A-am I dead?"      

     A small device popped out of the wall, making the young man jump, and scanned him. 

     "No, everything seems to be in working order," Aahori said, "I will leave you in peace, come eat when you are ready."      

      Ferris stood puzzled and disoriented but still followed the instructions, believing this was some sort of a dream. He picked up the dark green sweater, layered that over a new white button-up, and fixed the belt on his black trousers. He took a deep breath and walked over to the mirror on the far side, and to his surprise, he didn't look too bad. Ferris fixed his glasses and slightly smiled at his reflection, before opening the door.      

     He almost forgot what had happened the night before. It almost seemed like he was just over at his friend's house to have lunch, but his logic knew that wasn't the case. The halls were decorated with paintings, some of which Ferris knew, and others that were unfamiliar. The walls where a light beige, but he sound see they were metal as well. He looked at the walls only for a moment, wondering where he was, was this an apartment of some sort?      

      "You'll the find the bathroom to your right and the dining area of the kitchen a little farther down, still on your right." Aahori's voice broke the silence, making Ferris jump.      

     "Thank you," The guest said, as he still looked around for a source of the voice.      

     "Yes, of course." And with that, Aahori's voice mysteriously disappeared again.     

     Ferris found the dining area eventually and looked at the areas that seemed well-decorated and other areas that looked worn and looked like they needed repairing.      

     "Fer!" A soft voice called him out of his thoughts      

     The guest turned around to see Ryuu sitting at the table. He smiled at Ferris and stood up to greet him.      

     "What's going on?" The guest took a step back from who he knew to be his friend.      

     "I know I have some explaining to do, but you need to eat and know it wasn't a dream, and you're not dead."      

     Ferris mentally checked that off of the list of possibilities.      

     Ryuu looked like he met with Ferris at a café like everything was normal. He looked like it was a casual day, wearing his shirts tucked into black jeans, as he always did. It seemed too normal but also so strange. Ferris sat across from his colleague, who appeared extremely relaxed.      "Where are we?" The guest asked, looking over at Ryuu.      

     "Well, you're going to want to eat."      

     "where are we?" Ferris asked again      

     "You always get the same at that one corner restaurant," Ryuu laughed," Aahori, two scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice."     

     "Ryuu," Ferris stated in a stern voice, "Where am I?"      

     His friend sighed, "Fer, it's going to be a lot to process, just eat, please."      

     A young woman exited the doors, carrying a tray of food. "Here you go." She set the tray down in front of Ferris.      

      "You heard her voice, but this is Aahori, she's the AI that's been guiding you." Ryuu slightly smiled back at Ferris who had curiosity gleaming in his eyes, but still confused and furrowed his eyebrows.    

       "Pleasure to meet you, Ferris." She smiled and bowed slightly.     

     "You too?" Ferris was unsure of what to respond with.     

      "She's only a part of the world you're about to see, just try to trust me, I'll help you as much as I can, especially since we were able to turn off the beacon."     

      Ferris had forgotten about it and quickly to Ryuu, "Where is it?"     

     "It's safe, eat before your food gets cold." Ryuu stood up, "I'll leave you to your thoughts." He turned and left through the same door Aahori used.      

      Ferris looked at his food, then around the room for a clue. His stomach growled and begged him to eat, so he settled for the meal and answers later.     

     Finishing the meal, the guest looks around to see if anyone would come back. Much as he hoped, Aahori came back and took his plate "Ryuu will be waiting for you in the library." She looked Ferris dead in the eye before turning and leaving.      

     The young man stood up and ventured back into the hall. He retraced his steps, knowing he had passed the library at some point before.      

     Opening the door he found the stone floating in a blue projection, and Ryuu standing to the side viewing the stone with a book in his hands. "Hello," Ryuu said looking up from his book, "Now I can answer any question you'd like to ask."