Crossroads TBA
Fiction By John Anstett
"How are you feeling"
The voice was kind but direct to him as he started to open his eyes to the overwhelming light.
"Take your time" she said. The voice was both relaxing and encouraging
The young man lay there for another minute as he calculated his position, laying down, head slightly raised. He grabbed on to the sides of the bed, a bed for certainly more functionality then comfort, why was he in a hospital. He raised his hand to shield the light and realized it was not so bright, once his eyes adjusted.
"What happened?" he asked as he was trying to spark some sort of memory but was distracted by how dry his throat was.
"That is a good questions" the attendant said as she poured some water for her patient. "but more importantly, what do you remember?"
He took the cold metal cup and drank, thinking the water was colder than it had to be , maybe more than it should be without ice. He took a breath and thought about the question and really tried to think, while his sense of discomfort grew and brought on a strong emotional response.
"I think you owe me an answer first! Who are you , where am I?" He wan't mad but quite frustrated, and that feeling pushed him forward like a motor pushing a boat. He sat up a bit more for effect, using most of his energy to do so. But it did allow him to look at her without looking directly at the ceiling. For her part, she remained calm, placed her hand firmly on his chest, not to push him down but to make sure he did attempt to move any further as her other hand pressed a button and raised the top of the bed to match his current angle.
"One answer is fair. My name is Kate and I am taking care of your medical needs, both physical and mental. In order to do that, I need to be asking the questions. What do YOU remember?"
Her touch, her tone, even the warm brown color of the room was meant to be calming, he knew this and thought to fight it but he did need more information and more time to recover, that was most clear in his head. For the rest of his head he found empty. He could think and he knew things, but no specific image came to mind. He looked at Kate, certainly lovely, not that she was his type, but she was projecting an air of confidence and control that was to be respected. He realized she was dressed more casually than he would have expected, not a uniform but professional. She gave him a look as if to say 'I'm waiting', so he thought some more, tried to remember. He pictured a path, sitting here with Kate, then he turned around and walk back down the path found the bed and the light and then darkness. He could imaging himself walking into the darkness, he was not a afraid. He was not lost, it was all just darkness, not indication of where to go, nothing to feel his way and just silence all around until he heard a voice.
"What. Do. You. Remember?" and suddenly he saw the light and the bed and the room and Kate standing next to him, leaning in close so she could whisper but she make herself be heard. He also realized she was taking his pulse, ever so subtly and that led him to realize, he was not hooked up to anything, no IV, no monitor. What kind of hospital was this, if if was one at all. He looked at her again, she was not threaten but clearly this was urgent as well as important.
"I don't remember anything before this room. Why is that?" he said calm and clear and without panic. At this point, it felt more like curiosity. This is where and who he was and he had to build on that.
"Thank you, that is helpful." Kate said as she straighten up and step away, not dismissive but it did release some of the pressure in the room. She typed in some notes on a pad as she continued. "As for your question, a very good one i might add, that is not not for me to answer. It is not.... medically relevant."
At this point he was sitting up. He almost dared to stand up but he head was spinning a little from the sudden movement and a little because he could not believe what he just heard. The nurse tried to make sure he did not stand but the look she got was enough for her to remain quiet and keep her distance. The young man repeated the answer in his head before saying it out loud. "Not medically relevant. How is it not medically relevant? I supposed the fact that I am not sure what my name is is also not medically relevant? What else is wrong with me? Why am I even here if it not for my lack of memory? Where is here?"
At that point Kate raised her hand and he stopped talking, thinking for a moment she was going to say something. She went back to typing, every once in a while raising a finger which kept him quiet but ending up being more of a focus to make sure she got all the notes. "Ok, I think that answers everything for me. One last thing, if you can stand and walk to the door, you can go."
He stood up slowly, more because of the frustration than concern. Looking around the room, he saw his exit for the first time. He also saw what thought must be a one way window. Who would be watching he wondered, knowing Kate was not going to be of any help. He gave the widow a stern look as he waked to the solid door and just before turning the handle he looked back and waved to the only person he knew, the only name he knew. 'Ever forward' he thought as he opened the door.
The second room in his journey was similar to the first in that is was simple warm beige in color with nothing on the walls, warm lights for the ceiling and another one way window. What was new and different this time was that there was another door on the opposite him and past a plain brown table in the center of the room with a chair on either side and instead of a lovely professional female to check up on him, at the other side of the table sat a handsome gentleman. Beyond his professional look, there was no more similarities to Kate. As clearly as he was male, he was also clearly not the same species. The smoothness of his forehead and cheekbones looked like they could have been altered but the color and smoothness of it seemed natural if just not of HIS nature. He was also more charming and more talkative.
"Hi there, welcome. Please come sit down. I understand this is strange and unexpected, trust me I know, I had a similar situation a few years back but no, you don't want to hear about that. Introductions are our first priority, I am Kaylub. I will be giving you more information but first you need a name, you see three cards here, you just have to pick one and turn it over and ..."
"Johnathan Dorian, that will be my name" the man took control as a sign he had any control. He did sit, swinging his leg over the chair and sat leaning back slightly with his arm resting comfortably on his spread legs, confident and open with just a little of defiance of the situation he was now clear he was put in by someone.
"OK, Johnathan, I see where you are coming from, I think that will work." Kaylub smirked as he collected the cards. "It is a rather human name, which is curious but has some style which I think is a good sign. My last name is Thetherford, which is actually NOT human so names can be deceiving. You certainly seem ready for the next step but I just want to prefaces by saying somethings I can't tell you quite yet, it's not that you don't have a right to know or that it is not important, but the process that is set up here was agreed upon and it is important for what we are trying to do. Trust me, it will make your job easier, or least that is the intention. But let me start at the beginning."
Kaylub took a deep breath and looked briefly at the mirrored window and drew imaginary circles on the table as he spoke. "The first clarification is that of time, I am sure you understand the concept as it applies to a single place: a day is generally the amount of time for a planet to rotates on it's axis and a year is how long it take for that planet to revolve around a star. Well, once you get away from one place, those words have little to do with time and more about astrological events, as such we will refrain from using such terms."
Johnathan nodded at a slight angle to indicate he understood at some level without disturbing the flow as his instructions continued.
"Similarly, race and alien takes on a whole new meaning in a galaxy level, we are all alien to someone and all members of one world may not be the same race. As to not confuse the matter, we will refer to everyone as a group of people." Kaylub paused to see a look he was unsure of the meaning.
"You want me to consider them all equal" Johnathan said with confident and boldly continued, "that is why you took my memory. Which would lead to the fact, I am to be some sort of judge or mediator in some intergalactic situation."
A smile came of the face of Kaylub. "So close, but yes you are expected to treat everyone equally. You are expected to help resolve issues between groups of people but no, we did not take your memory from you, you simply never acquired any. It is a remarkable process and a joint effort even, to give someone knowledge without experience yet to still be an individual with personality. I hope you keep in touch, I would love to hear the stories you are going to hear. How they will be received without any background to judge..." he was interrupted by a loud and quick rapping on the glass, at which point he cleared his throat and folded his hands in front of him. "Any questions before I proceed?"
'Any questions?" he thought how absorb, all there were was questions. Knowing nothing the only questions were what and why there was noting. Now there as so much more to question but he dare not let it overwhelm him. He had the feeling his importance was more than he was prepared for yet. Johnathan tried to look contemplative as well as calm as re realized, this was his preparation. "I think I shall save my questions to the end, I am quite sure our hosts would like us to keep on schedule, please proceed."
