I look over to Claire’s choices just out of curiosity more than anything. She picked out medium length brown hair, an unchanged chin, a smaller, medium sized nose, cheeks higher and fuller, and her eyes offer a big change from brown to a pale blue. We touch the wall again to recapture the changes.
Now names. For me: Dominic Bergstrom and Claire chooses Sloane Newlo.
Claire peeks at my choices. “Are you ready for this? There is no going back.”
A quick confirmation. “If you’re fine, I’m fine. How we look doesn’t matter.”
“Hit the grey one to start. I suggest the white one too. That’s up to you. If the pain becomes too much, it’ll self-activate.”
“No prob,” I say as I hit one switch.
Epilogue
Nothing Left to Say?
Sun 7/15/18 7:21 a.m.
I sit in a chair situated near my bed, look out over the city sparkling in the early sunlight with a smile on for I don’t know how long, and truly happy, even content for the first time in a long time. The' sun peeks through from the opposite window.
The pad in my hands contains the hard evidence one way or another — from Irena’s computer to my hands, a journey of 6 months. The randomized table from her study Memory Reconstruction waits here in its full detail. The table, decoded with the names of each subject, shows me: Conor Abby, patient number 58-264-9673, group reconstruction, success rate 95.74 percent, current tracking none after 8/30/17. That marks the end of everything. I guided Claire through my experiences, trusting her almost completely, despite some bothersome, residual doubt.
This time, this place is just perfection, life as it should be, my work just a few flights down. The hospital finds a place to host our skills, of medicine and environmental engineer. Everything we need exists right here in this building. Restaurants await in this apartment, down stairs, and further down below ground (the utilization of an old military bunker as prime building area). Everything we could possibly need — all just on a different vertical plane from coffee places to stores to gyms. If we want to go somewhere else for something, that’s easy too. The best thing about this place lies in that bed over there.
There amidst the fluffy beige sheets on white — the point of my affections — ignore the mess of hair strewn about her head and face to see what’s inside. That, what draws me in everyday of my entire life. Claire would hate to hear these words uttered in her presence. My thoughts stay my own with Claire sleeping in that bed, looking peaceful here, more than ever at the Institute. It brings untold joy to me just watching over her.
Claire starts to awaken in the early light of 6 a.m. I go to her in bed for a kiss. We get the bed ready for the next day, the job finished in right order. I grasp her hand and walk her to the bathroom. The security of her warm hands is immeasurable. The ring I felt a need to give rests in safe keeping upon this soft but strong hand.
Acknowledgment
This book wouldn't have been possible without my family’s' support (Sathiya Karthikeyan, Vadivel Karthikeyan, and Lakshmi Karthikeyan), the nurses helping with my care, and all experiences life gave me. My friends at CritiqueCircle greatly helped my words become more approachable. Also the subset of beta readers: Riskit Adesaogan, Lakshmi Karthikeyan, Sathiya Karthikeyan, and Cori Nelson (for plowing through two drafts.) Finally the people at Createspace and Kindle Direct Publishing for getting my words into paper and pixels.
About the Author
I'm an immigrant from India and a United States citizen for over 10 years. Having no formal qualification besides high school, I started on a journey to become a writer in 2012. My intelligence, lifetime medical treatment experience, memory, and determination make me the writer I am today. Future works to come.
Learn More
Visit www.girishkarthikeyan.com and subscribe for future news.
My Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/girishkarthikeyanauthor/
All Things Must Come to an End
Murder?
Life Support
Cause and Effect
20 Questions
Dreamed Regrets
Legal Representation
Conflict of Interest
Disrespect
Anxiety
Due Process
Hostile Psychology
Pep Talk
Do No Harm
White Hat
Closing Arguments
Victim
Opposing Points of View
Blank Slate
New Reality
Road to Recovery
New Day
Finally, Answers
Pressure Testing
Tech – abbr. technology
Technical Issues
Discharge
Home
Nothing but Questions
Naming Ceremony
Non-resident Aliens
Dreamed Woes
Survival Instinct
Pieces of a Puzzle
Assimilation
New Faces
Office Politics
Tech Rescue
Indoctrination
Mental log of Agent 7429
Answers
Epiphany
Absolution
Test Results
Dream State
Tiresome Questions
Insider Info
Doubts
Entanglement
Unconscious Musings
Motive
Empty Promises
Offer Tendered
Mental log of Agent 7429
Foreign Relations and Diplomacy
Accommodations
Natives
Logistics
Persuasion
Closure
Recruitment
Compulsive
Mental log of Agent 7429
Complications
Dead Drop
Gun Shy
Looking for Something?
Hard Sell
Assembly
Romanticism
Mental log of Agent 7429
Questions
Physical Rigor
The Day Job
Interruptions
Reality
Noontime Highlights
Kiss and Tell
Mental log of Agent 7429
Murphy's Law
Surreality
Newborn Anxiety
Sheep's Clothing
How was Your Day?
Ricochet
Reunion
Back at Work
Aftermath
Fallout
Hypnopompic State
Veracity
Mental log of Agent 7429
End of the Line
Mercifully Sunset
Creation Story
The Question of Treatment
Preparations
Necessary Treatment
A Woman's Secret
Extracurriculars
Finding Claire
Experienced Partners
Unnecessary Distractions from Real Life
Looking Within
Things Don't Stop, Ever
Nonsensical Muse?
Stuff that Really Matters
Under the Influence
Last Minute Choices
Confessional
True Intentions
New Lives/Lies
Epilogue
Nothing Left to Say?
Acknowledgment
About the Author
Learn More
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