Case - 3 : A Sudden Death.
"So tell me! How did you do it without going mad!" Gaia asked me with an excited look on her face.
"What's there to explain!? He flicked the switch and here I was all memories recovered." I tried to foreshorten the dramatic arc a little but Mom instantly caught on.
"No troubles?" She asked eyeing me suspiciously.
"Well...a little bit." I honestly nodded, what was I supposed to do after all? Lie? Well, right now I was going to be a good boy.
"What is it? Out with it!" Gaia urged me, it felt like she was more interested in the gossip than I was in relaying it.
"The AI you guys mind wiped was also revived when my memories were rebuilt."
"*gasp* Oh lord, what then?" She exclaimed clutching the rag she was using to dust everything tightly.
"The worst part was, that the AI had set up a plan so that when it was being revived it would infect the machine it was reviving in with a virus that would give it total control."
"...what happened then? Did the…" Gaia asked with a slight tremble in her eyes, leaving the terrible scenario unsaid.
"No luckily, I chose not to infuse those memories into myself because Dad said I might gain a split personality."
"So my advice did help you after all!!" Atlas interrupted by beating his own drum.
"But how do you remember us then!?" Gaia asked the important question.
"The AI that recovered began to infuse its memories into me, but the machine it was using quickly stopped once the AI tried to infuse itself into me? That was counted as excess since it was beyond my lifespan of forty-three years. It was stored inside my Neural Interface instead."
"So the recovery machine stopped the AI from coming back?" Atlas asked.
"Well, partially.", I responded a little confused.
"Partially?"
"Yes, partially. Since the AI is currently active, but it is stuck in my Neural Interface and cannot do anything apart from seeing what I see and hearing what I hear. It can also use the neural interface to some extent to talk to me and show itself to me by making a holographic projection, but it can't do much else."
"*sigh* that was adventurous." Gaia sighed and unconsciously wiped the sweat that had formed on her brows using the cloth she was just dusting with.
"I know what we're missing!" Atlas exclaimed as he suddenly stood up much to my and Mom's surprise.
"What do you think we need right now!?" Dad asked turning to look at me.
"A good rest?" I muttered.
"No! You fool! What you need is a good stuffing! This calls for a party!!"
"How are we going to have a party with the two of you hiding here?" I asked the logical question.
"Don't worry Son, we can go out after disguising ourselves!"
I looked at Mom to make her try and reason but the AI in my neural chip, Dave 2.0 was faster than her in responding, 'Give it up, he is unstoppable when he's like that.'
"*sigh*" Mom also sighed as soon as she saw Dad already getting ready to go out. "He gets like that sometimes. Nothing you can do about it."
"Fine, I guess. We're going outside to have lunch then."
"Yes! And Dinner too!!"
"...Sure." I nodded. "So, where are we going?" I asked with a soft look on my face.
"Oh! I know a good place! But your Dad doesn't like to go to that place at all!"
"Which place?" I grew curious but before Mom could respond a memory from my childhood stood out to me, "Ah, you mean that place! EcoTreat!?"
"Yes!! I knew you'd remember it!"
"Well, I just got my memories back so I kinda do. Why doesn't Dad like it? I remember that was a great place!"
"..." Mom froze up a little but continued anyway. "...because that was the last place we all had food together."
The room's tone shifted to become solemn, the same shade that felt cool earlier now felt dark and depressing while the heat that blew in through the windows made the room feel stale and unclear.
"Don't worry! I'm with you guys this time, aren't I?" I said in a proud tone as if I was immortal and nothing could ever happen to me.
"Fine! Let's go then!" Dad exclaimed adding to the pot of excitement so that the room could become cool and exciting once again.
"Vanessa, could you book Raivesh once again please?"
"On it.", Vanessa responded and I imagined her virtual avatar nodding because Dave 2.0 was nodding in front of me like I had given him the order instead.
'What should I do with you?' I asked the little boy in my vision.
'What do you mean what should you do!? Of course, keep me! I'm going to be very helpful to you!'
'What can you do that I can't already do using Althea or Vanessa?'
'....I can show you your memories!'
'Like I'm going to allow you to touch my brain again.'
'...'
'So you're useless.'
(￣ヘ￣)
'The value of life is not in its use! But it's possibilities! We could become good friends!'
'Like I'm ever going to befriend a guy that tried to steal my body from me!'
'...fine...you can dispose of me. Get rid of me if I'm such a burden to you.' the little boy said in a depressing manner and began to fade away into dust.
'We'll see, who knows like my AR glasses, maybe you'll become useful again.'
'I will become useful! I promise!' The little boy said with fake energy as he gathered back all the parts of him that had turned into dust.
"Raivesh is waiting for you on your landing deck." Vanessa interrupted and I was grateful, lest I fall prey to emotional blackmailing from a twelve year old child.
"Come on Mom, Dad, let's go."
"Wait! I haven't even gotten ready yet!" Mom yelled.
"Whose clothes are you going to wear? Gracewell's? Do they even fit you?"
"Yes, there are a few good ones in there, I spotted them while cleaning today morning!"
"Fine, I'll ask Raivesh to wait outside, be quick."
"That's the worst thing you could've said son.", Dad told me giving me a pitying look.
"I'm quick! Just give me a few more minutes! I'll be out! Soon! I promise!" Mum said in a hurry as she dashed to the room where she'd found Gracewell's clothes.
Dad too left to slip into some of my more comfortable clothes leaving me to go out and make small talk with Raivesh.
"Sir? You called me once again sir? So early?"
"Yes, it seems we'll be going out for a party today."
"Party sir? I know just the place for it!"
"Maybe next time Raivesh, we've already decided on a place today."
"Oh? Where sir?!"
"EcoTreat!"
"Oh!! I was going to recommend the same place, sir! It's run by my cousin only! Best place to eat sir! I will get you a fantastic discount also sir!"
"Thank you, but it's alright, I have the mood for spending well today, tell me some of the better dishes there."
"Hmm…best dish there sir, fish! Try fish and you'll remember why you fell in love with that place sir! It's a perfect place for fish!"
Listening to the word 'fish' so many times in one sentence, I was sure Raivesh had subconsciously trapped my mind into believing eating fish was the best thing for today.
"Sure, I'll have some fish." I nodded.
Waiting nearly another half hour for Mom to get dressed I, Dad, and Raivesh waited, chatting about the current politics of Inception City, wondering who the next mayor would be.
"Sir Bradley is a good choice I feel.", Raivesh said.
"No, Sir Bradley only looks clean on the surface.", I interjected.
"He's corrupt?" Dad asked with shock clear on his face.
"Yes, he's more corrupt than the running candidate, Christopher Knight." I explained.
"Phew, I did not know that."
"Me too Sir. I will make sure to inform all my family and friends that Christopher is the better candidate, sir. I will tell them to only vote for him."
"Come on boys! Let's go!" Mum said coming out rocking a pair of jeans and a leather jacket like a biker.
"You look like a gang member Mom." I deadpanned.
"Shit! I knew it!"
"No, no! He was only joking dear, you look fine!" Dad interrupted suddenly as he pinched me behind my back.
"Yeah, Mom I was just joking.", I explained myself as Dad stopped pinching me to play along.
"Oh? You were? Nice then, I'll not have to change my clothes again then."
'*phew*'
I internally sighed as I realized just why Dad had pinched me.
'I thought only Gracewell did such strange things. I guess all wives are the same.'
'I should go see Riyane soon.'
'I should also show her to Mom and Dad. They don't even know they're grandparents yet, I think.'
'I'll show them her pictures in the Restaurant.'
We all slipped into the PTV as Mom and Dad sat in the back seat while I sat on the front seat along with Raivesh.
The ride was smooth, thankfully.
We swerved deeper into the city, moving past the big businesses until we ended up on the landing deck a small restaurant in the city's tallest building.
'Radmeire Towers.'
'Eco Street.'
I got out and opened the door for Mom and Dad as we entered the same restaurant we'd arrived at thirty years earlier at.
The restaurant where I'd had my last afternoon lunch.
As we entered the restaurant, the fragrant smell of spices and dishes entered our nostrils as the mouthwatering taste promised to us held us spellbound for a second.
"It smells great.", Dad said with a positive smile on his face.
"Don't jinx it!" Mom followed and I entered following them.
We wandered around the restaurant searching for a place to sit for a while until the waiter noticed me and guided us to a table for three, right under an antique grandfather clock.
"Raivesh said fish was the best dish here."
"Oh? How does he know?"
"His cousin owns the restaurant I think. Or maybe even works here? I don't really know."
"This Raivesh, he seems to be connected to everyone in some or the other way, you know? Tomorrow I might just learn he even knows the president." Dad said a little confused.
"Haha! No way." Mom laughed at my joke.
I suddenly suspected that the reason no waiter guided us to a table immediately was because Mom looked too much like a gangster.
Her laughing in the biker uniform felt more like she was about to rob the place and was just waiting for her friends.
"Let's order fish then." Mom said.
"Fish is the dish your Mom makes the best." Dad explained.
"It is?" I asked as another core memory surfaced in my mind.
A memory where Dad was vomiting and I was bleching into a bucket after we'd eaten fish at home.
Dad nodded strictly and turned to me to hide the serious winking gymnastics he was doing as he nodded at me.
"Oh yea! I remember that one time Mom made fish and it tasted amazing!"
"You do!? I thought you'd forgotten all about it! Unluckily you both fell a little sick after that so I had to stow it away for the dogs, but they didn't eat it too for some reason, I guess they hated fish."
Suddenly without warning, I thought I heard a *twick*.
"ARRGGHHHHH!!!!! HELPPPP!!!!!!!"
*COUGH* *COUGH* *COUGH* *COUGH*
*CUKOOO* *CUKOOOO* *CUCKOOO*
*DING* *DONG* *DING* *DONG*
The grandfather clock behind us rang a loud alarming noise as I looked at the table in front of me that was seated around the belt area where food was up for self-service and saw a man trying to grab his neck as he collapsed and began to choke on the ground.
Frothing from his mouth and his lips turned blue along with his face as he struggled for breath and finally slowly died before anyone could act.