Someone to Remember Me: The Anniversary Edition by Brendan Mancilla

Author:Brendan Mancilla [Mancilla, Brendan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: action, Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Publisher: Brendan Mancilla
Published: 2014-07-22T04:00:00+00:00

None of them were lying. That much became clear when surprise and suspicion flooded the expressions of Eight and the others as if they had reason to fear him and not the other way around. Nine foolishly introduced himself, half expecting Eight and the others to announce the joke’s punchline at any moment. When the revelation did not come, when the presence of genuine distrust continued, Nine was convinced of their story’s authenticity.

“Then you know who we are?” Eight barked. Some things never changed. A bossy Eight was, apparently, one of them.

“Yes. When I checked last, you knew me too,” Nine said.

“Not well enough to keep me from killing you, apparently,” said Null.

“That’s a complicated story. It’s not black and white,” he replied defensively.

“Isn’t murder generally black and white?” Twenty said with pungent derision. Being without their memories hadn’t exactly stopped their personalities from resurfacing. A domineering Eight. A sarcastic Twenty. A calculating Null.

“Not here. Not for us,” Nine corrected him. “I’m desperate to hear about you four. How did you wind up in Rose Garden without a single memory?” He prodded them and each recounted their experiences. Eight was particularly resistant to discussing Seven, revealing that there had originally been five of them. “How did Seven die?” he asked, poking the sore spot that Eight wanted to avoid.

“Where to start? He touched the Sphere, ventured into a structurally questionable school, beat back the monster multiple times…” Twenty listed off, rolling his eyes.

“The monster?”

“You know, the giant dust cloud terrorizing the city,” Twenty drawled.

“Oh. That.”

“What is it? The Unimatrix at the Great Library could only give us bits and pieces,” Ninety-Nine urged.

“You want a history lesson? Now?” Nine gawked.

“Why not? You know it. We don’t. Make with the knowledge,” Twenty insisted.

Nine scratched his head and wondered where to start.

“Start from the beginning,” a compassionate Null advised him. It was strange to hear her speak to him, completely unaware of their relationship. The woman’s body was the same but her mind was different. Maybe if her personality was the same then she might be able to feel the same things that the original Null felt? Maybe the things she felt towards him before losing her memories could return…

He began: “Haven itself was a fairly prestigious society. Almost noble, in a way. They established themselves as a hardcore meritocracy where you had to be a scientist, doctor, or mathematician to even consider running for office. Being an island civilization came with certain growing pains. When the city consumed the island and required more manpower and attention than the government could dedicate to the task, the scientists at Grand Cross invented Artificial Intelligence. You’ve already met the last remaining prototype, the Great Library’s Unimatrix. The AdvISOR was the final goal: one sentient program, restrained by certain software laws, to administer the everyday operations and to safeguard the citizenry.”

“Which did not happen,” Twenty intoned. “The AdvISOR killed everyone. It purged the city.”

“Maybe, but the AdvISOR didn’t become a problem until the very bitter end,” Nine recounted with the memory of the city’s fall still fresh in his mind.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.