2085

by Alejandro Volnié

  “Indispensable! But this time it will be loud, so my colleague and I can learn even your deepest buried secrets. Consider your previous hindsight as a mere rehearsal that will facilitate this new attempt. We will begin with the oldest memory that you keep from your childhood. Well, we are all ears.”

  From this moment his long monologue began, and it would only be interrupted to have short periods of rest.

  During that day and the next two, only the man’s voice telling his life would be heard inside the room.

  His whole story would end up exposed in great detail, starting with the years when he lived under the care of his parents in a modest apartment in the old center of the city where now the corporation that had employed him was settled.

  His childhood was typical to a middle-class child. His father worked as a mid-level executive for a bank devoted to serve the residents of their community, which was run by its owners and located near the family home. This let him return home for a while almost every day to share lunch with his kindred. He also avoided the many hours that others wasted every day moving through the congested streets.

  His mother took care of him full time until he reached the age to attend elementary school. This relaxed her daily schedule and allowed her to get a job as an assistant manager in a small company that traded on fabrics, which soon resulted in the economic upturn that later on would get them used to vacation frequently, as well as granted them access to certain luxuries.

  Not having outstood in school, his childhood and early adolescence went on among his working days routine and his many weekends of relaxation, during which his father used to take him somewhere in the north woods or the southern open plains to spend time fishing, hunting or just camping.

  The countless times he slept under the stars made him develop a strong sense of attachment to nature and a deep love for adventure.

  The landscapes where father and son used to share their adventures got indelibly engraved in his very deep to make him feel a part of nature itself.

  After entering the middle school his relationship with his father gradually loosen up. New friends and new activities that came along with them began to fill his leisure hours, so weekend hiking with his father began to be less frequent each time, until finally it got to a stop, thus leading him to distance from the man who shortly before was still his best friend.

  All those parties and sleepless nights shared with friends made him once and again get into arguments with his mother, impeding the good communication that had existed between them before. This situation would last for long.

  While deep inside he always had felt great love for his parents, his independent nature and his newfound assertiveness made him embrace wild life more vehemently every time, which by the way was the regular behavior of youngsters within his community .

  As time went on he was admitted in college to attend business school. During this stage some of the most significant events of his life would strike.

  It was his freshman’s year when he first ran into Lucy and an instant attraction that would last for the rest of their lives happened between them.

  Although she was attending art school, the most common thing was finding them together at any time. They spent weekends and holidays together no matter how small their spending budget or how irrelevant the activities they shared.

  Their relationship soon took them away from the rest of the friends group and they became formally a couple to everybody’s eyes.

  His new relationship and the apparent calm that it had brought to his life made his parents look upon Lucy with favor; after all, the coexistence between the young lovers and they had increased because the four of them shared a few hours each week, especially when they dined together on Saturday nights at some fashionable restaurant.

  The corporate merger fever that arose in the early twenties took its toll on the peace of the recently renovated family life.

  The banking house for which his father worked was swallowed, along with many other small financial institutions, by a large conglomerate, causing the man to lose the job held since long ago.

  The picture was far away from flattering. The head of the family would never again find a job that would meet the level of expectation that his career path made him look for, and his 53 years of age were not an advantage when trying to get a new position, especially in a labor market abundant with bidders who outmatched him in terms of youth, and often more, also in degree.

  As family savings financed the costly education of the only child, supported only by the income of the mother, who still retained his old job, the father plunged into depression and he would never get out from it.

  A few years later, when his only heir had managed to finish graduate school, despair and the emptiness in his life finally caused effect.

  In a cold December morning the former head of the family was found lying inert on his bed, only accompanied by the empty bottle of sleeping pills he still held in his right hand. This event changed forever the mother’s cheerful attitude.

  The part-time job that her son served as an executive in the area of personnel for an industrial firm became a full-time occupation, which allowed him to contribute more significantly to household expenses, but only until he married Lucy and they settled down by their own.

  The relationship between mother and son remained close over the years. At this time, she kept the job she had had for long, while the progress of the young executive, which had stalled for a while, was accelerated when the company he was working for merged with the same corporation that years ago had absorbed the bank from which his father was fired.

  The feelings from this new turn of his fate triggered a fight within him. He could not forget the harm done to his family when his father lost his job, which finally dragged him to death; though on the other hand, the meteoric impetus that this would bring to his career and the many new possibilities provided along, and all this added to the significant improvement in his income, made of this an opportunity that would hardly repeat throughout his life.

  In the end Lucy played a decisive role in the acceptance of their new future by encouraging him to take the opportunity without regard, setting aside the emotional burden that his decision carried along.

  His mother was never satisfied with the direction he had chosen for his life. The deep scars from the events that led her to widowhood would be a heavy burden for the rest of her days.

  The constant reproaches she made him for having accepted this new position in that despicable conglomerate were causing him deep distress, and this led to a rift between them, to the point of turning home visits to his elder mother into sporadic events.

  Sharing life with Lucy fulfilled him. In her company gradually he was seeing his elder years approach. Although both had wanted to be blessed with a child, their activities had forced them to postpone the event again and again, until Lucy reached an age in which it became impossible.

  Their dreams of giving birth to a child were renewed when human replication surged by the end of the first half of the century.

  Countless were the times they discussed the issue, meticulously analyzing the pros and cons of making such a decision; however, their immense frustration at having let slip the opportunity to materialize their love in a child finally overcome their doubts. Resorting to almost all of their savings, Lucy got enrolled in the long waiting list to undergo the new procedure.

  The date to show up at the lab finally came. The new body was already in the recommended development point and optimal condition. None of them would ever forget the impression of setting eyes on it for the first time.

  The complex procedure was meant to start with a mental backup, and then the information obtained from it had to be implanted into the new container. Later, after the new body had woken up, the old body had to be eliminated. This process triggered a strong disorder in Lucy’s behavior that persisted for many months.

  Once with a rejuvenated body, Lucy chose to wait before ge
tting pregnant. Adjusting to her new anatomy, now of a 27 year old woman, would not be easy. The evident difference between their apparent ages gave rise to some friction between them.

  Over time a solution to this would come. A new promotion in the career of the mature executive granted him as a fringe benefit the right to replicate on behalf of the corporation. He understood he had to profit from this opportunity if he pretended to save his now unsettled relationship.

  Not stopping to think it twice, he underwent the procedure. This took him back, just as Lucy had done before, to the body age of 27 years that was the norm.

  As soon as he adapted to his new condition harmony returned to his home life, despite that since then his mother refused to receive him again. To her, the act that now both of them had committed was a true sacrilege. Although the woman was not exactly a devout, she had lived all her life according to her religious beliefs, the very same that she had tried to instill in his son since childhood. Deep inside she refused to believe that now he had willingly committed an act so abhorrent.

  The new youth enjoyed by the couple brought about the resumption of a number of activities that once had been forgotten.

  Their weekends, full of outdoor activities, and the renewed vitality that now had invaded them caused the longed for pregnancy, what had prompted them to replication, to be postponed again and again in order to preserve their freedom.

  And the years went on, until the next promotion in his career involved making a commitment to the leader not to procreate. Discussions between the spouses returned as before, with the only difference that now the roles had been reversed. Lucy begged him endlessly to decline the new promotion. However, he could tell that he was approaching the top of the organization. What until that time had been but a silent longing, began to appear as feasible. He was dazzled by the possibility of climbing to the summit of power, since, if accepting the appointment he would be positioned just two levels away from the leader through the ranks.

  The social status they would reach thanks to his new hierarchy would allow them to rub shoulders with the most important people, making them part of the elite of the community. For the child of a middle-class couple this could truly be considered an exceptional achievement.

  Finally, the husband’s will prevailed. He had once more resigned to paternity; this time for good.

  As the weeks kept passing, the voltage between them decreased, relieved by the surprises and the delights of their recent welcome into the sophisticated world of high society.

  The affection that bound them had proved to be strong enough to endure any challenge. Their relationship became once more that of their best times. Both knew that their best chance of being loved lay in staying together, so the loving care they mutually dispensed went to its peak and stood there.

  As years kept passing they found that they had aged again. This time Lucy did not want to undergo replication. Her husband’s endeavors to convince her stretched along several months, once again bringing winds of disagreement that would shake the peace of their home. He was transformed into a villain every time the subject came up in conversation, while she simply refused to listen.

  The situation was desperate, since if failing to replicate they would lose their acquired social privileges. His position within the corporation would be compromised to the point of risking his stay in it. The rules were clear when stating that after the age of 50 years replication was mandatory for all members of the leadership and their partners.

  For no apparent reason, a morning like any other Lucy decided to submit to her husband’s will and consented to undergo the process for the second time. Soon both had been rejuvenated again.

  This was the last time that discord altered their long lasting mature emotional relationship.

  14

  The cool air of dawn gently swayed the drape before the slightly open window. Inside the room, a just bathed recruit was finishing to don his uniform. His wet hair looked still disheveled as he buttoned his dark thick cotton shirt.

  This morning he was quiet. The task that had kept him busy for the last 72 hours, reviewing his personal history, had enlivened his spirit. In fact, the only trouble that afflicted him at the time was a slight pain in the throat, which by the way, it was to be expected after having talked for so many hours each day since the beginning of his stay at the camp.

  The pounding of Professor Naim’s knuckles on the door made him turn to say:

  “Just a minute! I haven’t finished dressing yet.”

  He hurried to put on the boots, tied the laces quickly, and then hastily passed the comb through his head.

  Opening the door he greeted the amiable visitor:

  “Good morning. Every day you get here a little earlier.”

  The enigmatic professor’s smile showed as always before responding:

  “Good morning. It is part of my job to be unpredictable to you. Are you ready for our cruise?”

  “I am, and this time I intend to keep my bearings.”

  The professor’s laughter was immediate, and with this he started the route as usual.

  This time he was ready to do whatever necessary to avoid confusion along the intricate path. In his mind he had noted the direction of his room, which he had found easy to do seeing the sunrise through the window.

  At every step and after each turn he strove to figure out his new position in relation to the original reference point; however, this time their route crossed through a large hall crammed with small workstations, bounded by screens that rose to obstruct the view, and whimsically arranged in geometric patterns to shape a twisted maze. In the end this was enough to beat the purposeful recruit before the unchanging smile of his guide.

  As the door opened he got to see professor Kilgo, waiting inside like every morning since his arrival, and leaning back in his armchair. He looked up from the documents he had been studying to address a quizzical gaze to the visitor while uttering the usual short question:

  “Well, where does the north is today?”

  The submissive defeated expression on the face of the man who was arriving, accompanied by the sideways movement of is head, was enough for an answer. A loud unisonous laughter did not delay to arouse deep from the abdomens of both professors, who seemed just to live watching for opportunities to laugh.

  “Until yesterday we devoted to explore your past up to the point where you think to remember it. This activity has been tremendously beneficial to us, as refreshing your memory has allowed you, even if inadvertently, to once more get in touch with the way you used to see the world where you dwelled during the early years of your life. I have made a list of all the times when you had to make a decision that would affect your path for the rest of you days. Now we intend to make you find out where the strength that made you defect came from, abandoning your late years life, which to the eyes of others looked successful and peaceful, to sink in an uncertain strive just to survive barehanded in a place you knew nothing about. Do you agree with me that your decision could hardly be described as logical?”

  “Indeed. Abandoning a happy home and a well-paying job is from every point of view against the dictates of common sense; however, deep inside me an absolute certainness of having made the right decision persists in spite of understanding that even greater risks are still to come.”

  “You are a person whose intelligence can be classified above average. The fact that you have come this far proves it. Therefore, you are liable to be assailed by thoughts that might make you hesitate during your mission. It is essential that your belief to be doing the right thing be greater than any doubt that might attack you. Our work, henceforth, will be to help you get the self-assurance you will require to succeed. We will begin by reviewing your relationship with your father, which it seems to have changed from very close to quite distant. Can you explain us why?”

  “My father was the best friend I ever had. I bear great regret for having abandoned him during the last years of his life. In my chil
dhood we used to spend long hours talking and making plans for our next trip. During those years the countless adventures we lived together in contact with nature were what gave meaning to my existence; the sensations, sounds and smells that used to come along with them still give me goose bumps when they repeat without notice. During the days I spent walking through the forest to get here, the presence of my father accompanied me constantly. I could find him in every sound, in the aroma of damp soil, in water reflections in the streams, and even in the smell of my sleeping bag. He was a strong man with great attitude, he always had the answer no matter what was the question, and every time I hesitated or fainted he was there to carry me, but he always encouraged me to resolve small predicaments seeking strength within me. His presence wholly filled my entire childhood, and it was but the years of my adolescence what gradually brought us away.”

  “How did this happen?”

  “As the years passed I was given more and more freedom. My new friends and the lots of parties, gatherings or just leisure evenings that I shared with them, most of the times wouldn’t be approved by my parents. When weekends came and I found him packing his gear to go on a new tour I felt guilty because I knew he expected me to go with him; however, he never reproached me for not doing it, but I could sense a tinge of sadness in his expression. As for me, each time I pulled away from my mind every thought that could make me feel bad and went back to my activities. Many times I quietly regretted not having shared those adventures with him, but never let them know.”

  “What happened between you after your father became unemployed?”

  “By then I was in college. Our long talks, which had abounded in my childhood and disappeared years later, finally were back, but sporadically. At that time my father began increasingly to space his weekend outings, I guess because of the financial hardship the family had fell into; he could be found sitting at any time of day in his favorite armchair reading a book or just deep in thought. Our scarce conversations used to be about school or my recent love affair with Lucy, to whom, by the way, he showed great kindness, and sporadically about the guilt he felt for having come to a point where he had to survive from our household savings and my mother’s discreet salary. Still, he urged me to keep on until achieving an academic degree that would allow my career to move faster. I could sense his grief for having lost his job to someone younger and more prepared. Pain overwhelmed me every time I saw him brought down to this point, and that made me avoid spending more time with him. I could not bear to find he had become a sad and lonely man, and could not understand what it was that made him stick to life.”