Blinking rapidly out of bewilderment, Dr. Campbell asked the painfully obvious question. “Hosts? More than one?!”
“That’s right, Dr. Campbell. You’ll be completing three neural transfers in the next thirty-six hours.”
She backed up in horror as if she’d been asked to break the laws of physics, then blurted out, “You can’t be serious!”
Chapter 5:
What Lies Beneath
“You can’t be serious!” I said, still angry that the police had shocked me.
I was surprised at the words coming out of my mouth because I still couldn’t see anything. Then, more words came out of my mouth.
“Mom, Dad, no!” Finally, my eyes opened to the ceiling of a concrete building.
I heard chatter all around me. I sat up, noticing that I was in what appeared to be a holding cell. There were seven other men sitting around, who more or less looked the part. From across the cell, one of them was ogling me with a shitty grin on his face.
“Isn’t that cute? He wants his mommy and daddy!”
He had an average-build, a sunken face, and was covered in bad tattoos. I had no idea why he was mocking me. Part of me just wanted to kick his ass, but I knew it would only make things worse for me. I did the next best thing that came to mind.
“Will you be my daddy?” I gave him the sexiest wink ever and puckered my lips in his direction.
“Why, you little…”
He was about to lunge at me when another cellmate held him back. “Danny, stop. He’s not worth it.”
Instead, Danny growled at me. “If I ever catch you on the street, I’ll beat you an inch from your life.”
I nodded. “Looking forward to it.”
The fuss in the room died down, and Danny went back to talking to the guy next to him. I had a moment to gather my thoughts, and I took advantage of it. Looking down at my chest, I could see where the stun gun prongs had hit me. There were scorch marks in my shirt, and the skin underneath still hurt from the burn. I was a little dizzy, but the longer I was conscious, the better I felt. I peered around the jail cell, immediately realizing that it looked much different from what I’d seen on the holo-shows. Even with eight grown men in it, there was still plenty of space, and it was remarkably clean except for the area immediately around the auto-toilet in the corner. I was surprised to see old-fashioned cell bars holding us in. Oddly enough, the hallway behind them was pitch black.
My attention was then diverted downward where I saw a thin band around my right ankle, and every couple of seconds, a tiny, green light would flash from it.
Next to me was a large, pudgy man with a red face. He slumped against the wall with his eyes closed, making nasally noises. It all seemed to be a failed attempt at sleeping. With his portly appearance and labored breathing, he was the epitome of miserable. Still, he seemed harmless enough, so I leaned in to ask the burning question on my mind. “Who do I talk to about my charges?”
He let loose a congested cough and shook his head as he opened his eyes. It was as though my question had really disturbed him. He proceeded to snort and cough even harder and then leaned over to spit out whatever had made it into his mouth. I fought against a quiver.
He finally turned to me and got unnecessarily close. “What’s up with your eye?”
He had the audacity to ask such a question given his bloodshot eyes. I blinked and sighed. “It’s a long story. Now, about my charges?”
He was about to respond when he was seized by another coughing fit, right in my face.
I turned away. “Dammit. Cover your mouth!”
He recovered with some deep breaths and responded, “You don’t know why you’re in here?”
I shrugged. “I got into a fight. The police showed up and stunned me. I lost consciousness, and now, here I am.”
He slowly moved his head up and down like he knew what I was talking about, then continued to talk through his nose. “They hit you with Zeus. Consider yourself lucky that you only blacked out. That makes it turn off. Otherwise, they shock you until you shit yourself and you gotta sit in the squad car in your own mess. Then, they dump you in here like that. It’s not fun for anyone.”
“Ugh.” I shook my head.
He nodded sluggishly again. “I know. Anyway, go tap on the auto-glass over there, and a cop will come by. You can ask him.” He finished his response by inhaling hard through his nose, and this time he swallowed whatever he managed to pull in.
I shuddered and looked at the bars. “What auto-glass? All I see are bars.”
“That’s a holo over auto-glass. You can tap it.”
My eyes opened wide. It looked real to me. “So, I just go tap it?”
“Yup.”
Timidly, I got up and walked over. Raising my hand, I extended it between two bars and, sure enough, tapped something solid. But strangely, nothing happened. Tapping again, my ankle brace changed, and it caught my attention. The light had turned yellow. I turned back to the fat man and noticed that everyone in the cell was quietly looking at me. Still, he motioned me to do it again, so I turned back around and lifted my hand up. I hit the glass with force, and my ankle bracelet turned red. I was immediately filled with regret.
Zap!
Another jolt shot through my body, and I was blown back into the cell. Laughter rolled from behind me, but it was the least of my worries. Just when I thought it was all a joke, the image of the bars and black background disappeared, leaving the actual auto-glass to look through a normal looking corridor. An officer was standing on the other side.
“Inmate M3-8-6-211, do not touch the auto-glass again!” His voice rang over the speaker in the room.
I stood up. “I need to know about the charges against me.”
More laughter came from behind me. A random voice clued me in as to why. “He can’t hear you, fool!”
I mimed to him that I need to talk. He initially waved me off, but I persisted. He finally pointed to the holo-pad embedded in the wall near the edge of the cell. I went over and cautiously tapped it. Two virtual buttons appeared: a red one for emergencies and a yellow one to talk through the speaker in the hallway. The yellow button wasn’t active yet. I looked back at the officer, and he tapped something on his end. The yellow button shone, and I tapped it.
“Who can I talk to about the charges against me?”
“You’ll have a hearing tomorrow.”
“Can I message a friend?”
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, nodded.
But that led to my next question. “How?”
Without a word, he tapped the screen on his end, and a blue “Message” button appeared on the holo-pad. He barked, “You have five minutes,” and the image of the bars and blackness flashed back up.
I tapped the blue button and went to work constructing a quick message. I hit send and looked back at the slob who had set me up. He was still grinning like a fool, but instead of yelling at him, I simply made a statement. “Not cool, man.”
His face got even dopier. “Everyone’s gotta learn at some point.”
I would have glared harder at him if I could, but I was content to sit off to the side.
As my mind moved past the events in the cell, I couldn’t help but think about the damn mind supremacists who’d attacked me. They were terrible fighters, and even worse people. Honestly, the punks could have believed whatever the hell they wanted if they’d just left me alone. But I started to think that was the problem. Their ideology, or “System of Faith” as they called it, was based entirely on harming, maiming, and even killing other people. People they had deemed less than themselves. Had I not been able to defend myself, it was entirely possible I’d have ended up in a body bag. It would have been the worst way to go after all I’d accomplished in the last several months. Helen would be beside herself with grief. Mom would be ruined. Pure Mind
s United had tried to take everything from me, so I made a vow to myself. They would pay for their abusive beliefs. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know when. But they would. I was damn sure of it.
I waited another thirty minutes, and the auto-glass flashed clear again. “Inmate M3-8-6211, you’re free to go. Please step to the door to your left.”
Buzz!
The inner door unlocked, and I pulled it open. I walked into the small space before the other door, and the door behind me closed. I heard the click signaling that it locked.
Buzz!
The outer door popped open, and I walked through. Junior was waiting for me on the other side with a concerned look on his face. A contrasting image of his father flashed through my head, and it felt good knowing that Junior was looking out for me.
“Ryan, man. Are you okay?”
I nodded, reaching out to shake his hand. “I am. Thanks for bailing me out.”
He pulled me in from the shake and gave me a big hug. “No worries. I didn’t have to bail you out. Because you were alone when you had the episode with the knife, there was one to press charges. They said if you have medicine, you should take it, and if you don’t, you need to get some. What’s going on?”
Anger washed over me instantly. “Alone? Medicine? What the hell?” Junior looked really puzzled, so I explained. “Some assholes from Pure Minds United jumped me, and the police showed up when I was beating the shit out of them.”
His expression broke. He shook his head and waved me off. “Say no more, my friend.”
He led me to the jail personnel holding my netphone and then to the officer with the app to remove my ankle bracelet. We headed out to the precinct’s parking garage and Junior’s auto-car where he sat in the driver’s seat and I went to the passenger’s. He pulled up the auto-driver and tapped in my address. Our seat belts zipped around us.
“Obviously, I didn’t want to say this inside, but East Twelfth is kinda known for having a lot of scumbags on the force. Drug dealers. Racists. Mindists. You name it.”
I frowned. “Why doesn’t someone clean it up?”
Junior sighed. “Too many connected people with too much at stake. The last couple of street cops who filed complaints about the culture got fired. Then, they were viciously harassed until they moved out of the state.”
I shook my head at the reminder that money and power ran everything. Junior interrupted my dreadful thought and pointed at the side of my head. “Did you get cut?”
My hand shot up to my ear, and I realized that I had forgotten about it while I was in the cell. “Oh yeah. A cheap shot from one of those punks.” But when I felt the area, the gash was gone.
He nodded. “They used the artificial skin, but they didn’t even clean around the edges.” He scoffed. “They’re not even trying at this point. It’s a damn shame.”
I rubbed off the dried blood, overwhelmed with frustration. I decided it was best to change the subject. “How have you been?”
Junior took a deep breath. “Great. I picked up a few paying cases from friends. I’m thinking about getting a building or renting some office space. Working from home seemed awesome at first, but I’m starting to think otherwise. There’s been a handful of nights where I get so deep into my cases, by the time I look up, it’s already midnight and I didn’t even eat dinner. I guess I can’t complain. Anything’s better than doing the dirty work of local politicians.”
The conversation naturally subsided as we drove the ten kilometers to my new apartment. Before I exited the car, an awkward feeling welled up in me and I was compelled to get Junior to agree to something. “Listen, it was kind of embarrassing, getting arrested. Can we keep this between you and me?”
Junior squinted at me like he was trying to make out my motives. He looked away for a second, and then back again. “It’s not my story to tell. Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Thanks.” I reached for the door button.
He put his hand on my shoulder. “Ryan, don’t let your pride get in the way of doing the right thing. I know from experience that sometimes it’s better to just be honest with yourself and your loved ones.”
I had the sudden urge to tell him about Sarah’s letter. “Well, Junior…”
His eyes got wide. “Yes?”
But something stopped me. “Thanks again. It’s nice to have someone who always comes through.”
“No problem. Talk to you later.”
I exited the car and waved as he pulled off. When I turned around, I couldn’t help but sigh while looking up at my building. I had always been a truthful person, sometimes to a fault. But finding Sarah’s note had made my mind swirl, and I couldn’t shake it. First, I lied to Helen about the letter. Next, I was going to lie about going to jail. Why was I doing it? And where would it end? The answers to my questions escaped me, and I couldn’t fight the urge to move forward.
I headed inside and took the stairs up to my floor. I arrived at the door and pulled out my phone. I’d missed ten holos from Helen and five from Mom. I flipped past those and pulled up the door unlock app, then tapped the button.
I was instantly ambushed.
“Ryan, where the hell have you been? Are you okay?” Helen hugged me.
I reciprocated. “Yes, I’m fine. Sorry, I was…” I looked into the living room. I saw Mom stand up from the couch. Since I’d found out the truth about my childhood, she and I hadn’t been very close. So, I was a little taken aback at seeing her in the apartment. But I was even more shocked by the man who was standing next to her. It took me a second to figure out exactly who he was.
“Jim. Is that you?”
I disengaged from Helen and wandered deeper into the apartment. Mom hugged me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the man.
“It is, Ryan.” He nodded.
I let go of mom and stepped up to Jim. Speechless.
He smiled and offered to shake hands. I obliged, and he reiterated their concern.
“You’re all right? Your mother and Helen were worried sick.”
I stepped back, feeling the immense pressure to explain myself. When I opened my mouth, I was a little surprised by what came out. “One of the other mechanics needed help with the new shipment of cars, and I had forgotten to charge my netphone. It was just my luck that the holo-pad on the bullet was out too. Sorry, everyone.”
Their faces conceded that they bought it and then they took turns unknowingly egging on the guilt.
Helen hugged me again. “Holo us from a friend’s phone next time! Hell, ask a stranger!”
Mom was Mom. “You always checked in before your procedure. I know you’re more than capable now, but you should always do that.”
I nodded. “You’re right. It was a mistake. Again, I’m sorry.” I turned and changed the subject. “Jim, what are you doing here?”
He turned to Mom. “Your mother and I were actually on a date when Helen called looking for you.” He turned backed to me.
Before I found out about the past, I had been begging Mom to get back into the game. Now that it was a reality, it felt a little strange. Knowing exactly why they had parted the first time added to the feeling. My mother had refused to tell me the truth about the accident that left her injured, me paralyzed, and my father dead. Jim didn’t want to be part of the lie.
Mom jumped in. “Since you now know the truth, I figured I owed Jim an apology.” She turned to Jim. “Hurting him was definitely a regret of mine, but one I could always justify so long as I held onto my secrets.”
He butted in. “And I told her that while I disagreed with her decisions, I understood why she made them. The main thing for me was that you were all doing well. Then, I asked her to dinner. Call me old-fashioned, but I wanted to talk a little more personally than on a holo.”
Mom looked longingly at Jim. “He was sweet back then, and it was refreshing to see that
hadn’t changed. I’ve just had so much time on my hands in the last few months that it sounded like a lot of fun.”
The whole day had been strange: from bigots, to jail, to Jim. I couldn’t control my thoughts from spinning wildly. It was then that the oddest notion came to mind.
Charlie’s biological parents!
I’d always wondered what had happened to them, but even when Charlie was around, they were a nebulous blob in his memories. I never knew anything about them. So, why the hell were they suddenly clear as day in my mind? Hector. Susan. The realization was accompanied by a confusion that was frighteningly reminiscent of exactly how I felt after the migration.
Oh no! He’s back!
I instantly began to dig deep into my subconscious to find Charlie’s presence, racing through the areas of my mind where I last recalled him. As I darted around thought after thought, it was like having a word on the tip of my tongue but being unable to bring it to the fore.
“Ryan? You okay?” My eyes came back to focus to find Helen with a concerned scowl.
I shook my head. “Sorry. It’s just been a long day.” I turn to look at everyone. “If you all will excuse me, I’m going to get some fresh air on the balcony.”
I had insisted that our new apartment have a balcony because, just like it had been for Charlie, it was a great place for me to decompress. Heading through the sliding doors, I sat down in the patio chair and quietly listened to the sounds of the city. I took deep breaths until I was finally able to calm down, and just when I felt like I would slip into a deep relaxation, a question popped into my head.
Did the letter bring him back?
I looked across the balcony to see the planter where the letter was stashed. It seemed to be key in whatever was happening to me, but it felt like there was something else as well.
The shock from the officers!
And just like that, my state went from confused to complete discomfort in my own skin for not knowing just how I came to be in Charlie’s body. In trying to calm those feelings, I did exactly what I did the last time I’d had them. I pulled out my netphone and tapped to bring up Tony’s contact. He had been true to his word on that day in the Garden of Gods and Titans. I hadn’t heard from him since he’d hinted that the history of the mind migration procedure may not be as simple as it was told. I also hadn’t reached out to him for a while because I was busy putting my life back together. But I hoped that he was still snooping to find the truth and might have something more to tell me. Maybe he knew something about Charlie.
Between Two Minds: Revelation Page 9