Galaxy Girl

Chapter 1

She was in between worlds. She slipped through the folds of different dreams. She was an aimless shadow, seeing blood and bone, jewel and stars.
She didn't know how long she'd been like this. How much time had gone on, weeks, years?
The voices echoed throughout her mindless reality. Everything became the same. Life became a routine.
Wake up.
The two boys always appeared. They would be a shadow like her, and she would stretch her arms to them. Then they would disappear and it was always so...
Wake up.
They appeared before her now, a haunting grey in the darkness. Today was different. Even her dream self could sense it.
Wake up.
She mused that she knew them from somewhere. Maybe from a particularly memorable but random argument a store, or maybe from seeing each other on daily occasion, but never speaking. Or being friends and so, so much more.
Wake up.
I want to wake up, she realized. I really do.
Wake up.
She fought the darkness and looked for that tiny sliver of connection with the outside world and then...
She woke up.
*
Every thing was...white.
White blanket, white hospital gown, white light that blinded her sleep worn eyes so that they looked away.
Of course, there were no doctors or nurses in sight. The robotic system in the room would have monitored all her movements, and alerted a hospital official if she was awake. Probably one of them was on their way here at the moment. She didn't know how she knew all this, she just...knew.
In the glass, she caught a glimpse of her reflection. Her eyes were a warm shade of light brown. Her skin was light, leaning towards both light skinned and dark skinned. Mixed race. A smattering of freckles covered her face, in the space between her eyes and her cheeks. To complete the combination, a wild mop of hair that went down her shoulders to parts unknown.
The pale wood door opened gently, making way for a nurse in a pale blue uniform to get in. "Hello," she said cheerily. "My name is Nurse Chen." Asian, Miranda noted. The almond eyes and dark her told the rest."How are you feeling today, Miranda?"
Hmm... she was a Miranda? It sounded wrong coming out of the nurse's lips. She just didn't...sound like a Miranda. Miranda supposed that she was supposed to remember her name.
Of course I'm supposed to remember my name, she chided herself. My name is Miranda...Miranda...
Panicking, she tried to remember anything, anything. But all there was was an empty hole were her memories were.
Nurse Chen's carefully detached but warm voice snapped 'Miranda' out of her racing thoughts. Miranda realized she had been asked a question.
"I don't remember anything" she blurted, the first thing that came to mind.
The nurse's eyes were sympathetic, but not surprised. Miranda wondered how much she knew.
Nurse Chen clicked on her techie. A techie was a hologram device that could be accessed with a watch, but when one had their contacts on, they could access it, instead of clicking on it, by saying, techie access. The techie recognized its owners voice and responded only to that. Then a flat, wide hologram would appear in front of you, but not directly on top of the watch, with a screen that you could touch, of course. The hologram was much like the old mobile phone, but with added features. When voice commanded, it could move away from you and extend into a screen. As large as the ancient flat screen televisions, which had gone out of date the moment the techie was released. The news could be watched through your techie, and soon, every news channel had an app. It could also become smaller, in the shape of an old tablet screen so you could play gaming applications. And your techie recognizes your touch from the moment you click on it, so the moment someone else touched it, it went on full lockdown, unless you give it your express permission. Plus it had the old 2d and 3d formats and the 5d hologram for movie and tv show formats. The techie came with a small device to put under your ear for calls. But one could get the techie hearing implantation surgery and won't need one anymore.
The term techie had developed from an old joke. Its full name was Advanced Technological Hologram Screen. Everyone had mused that the creator was a techie, and since so many things were named after their creators, it had become a joke. Soon the whole world was referring to it as a techie.
Miranda regarded the nurse as the hologram appeared in front of her. The nurse looked up and asked "You okay, hon? Is there any pain around your head.?"
Miranda smiled slightly. "I'm fine," she replied. And she meant it. "I feel fine."
                                                                                                  *
1 day, 2 showers and two helpings of lasagna later, Miranda stood admiring the painting in Doctor Morgan's office.
"Very beautiful isn't it?"
Miranda jumped and turned to see the elusive Doctor Morgan, a middle aged man with mostly grey dark hair and sky blue eyes.
"A conplex work of art. Carefully done." Miranda turned back to the painting, an exquisite floral work.
Doctor Morgan made his way towards his desk. He muttered "Techie access" and the hologram materialized onto the table, around a glass spot on the edge of his side of the table.
Doctor Morgan smiled and shifted his gaze to Miranda, who was standing awkwardly beside his painting. "Where are my manners?" He said cheerfully. "Sit,sit!" Miranda sat down.
Doctor Morgan's eyes became solemn. His blue eyes bore into hers, making her feel small. "So you know that you have an...unusual condition due to your-"
"Yeah, I fell from a building yes," Said Miranda impatiently. Nurse Chen had become a little chatty at lunch and indulged her in the details of her accident. Not on her past life though. Doctor Morgan continued "Well, your accident caused severe trauma to your hippocampus. It is a miracle you survived really."
Doctor Morgan watched her carefully. "Young lady, to be blunt with you, you have severe amnesia. Though you have already figured that out," he noted, noticing her unsurprised reaction. The techie had gone blank.
He placed his finger on a fingerprint recognition button on his desk, and part of the wall opened to reveal a small voice recognition machine.. Doctor Morgan murmured into the small voice recognition machine "File 147" and from the drawer beneath it, a file appeared which Miranda presumed to be File 147. "This is your file. Everything on you, really."
Miranda started reading.
Name: Miranda Bennett.
Laughter bubbled up in her chest. Her last name was Bennett!
Age: Seventeen
Parents: Unknown. Guardian Sara Bennett, died last year.

Status: Emancipated Minor

Miranda sighed as she read the file. Who was Miranda Bennett, really?