Fallout 4: AR

10. The Memory Den

Plugging into the pod caused a light quivering to thrill along my nerves, an almost dizzying feeling. I gratefully closed my eyes against the vertigo, and focused on home. Home. The word seemed to take on greater meaning and depth as I tried to remember as much as I could. "Yes, that's right," the tinny voice buzzed from a great distance, "I think we're getting something. Just relax, I'll take it from here."

The electrical pulse flared and I lost consciousness.

-0-

The buzz of a voice slowly came into lucidity. "...coming around now. Listen to me. Can you hear me? What is your name?" The voice paused, and I turned the words over in my mind, bringing recognition to consciousness. "Open your eyes, slowly, if you can. Listen to me. Can you hear me? What is your name?"

"Mmmm...ugh," I forced one eye open a crack and immediately regretting it as light speared into the back of by head. "Ow. I can hear you." My voice sounded odd in the confines of the pod, slurred and uneven.

"That's promising," the voice soothed, brusquely. "Now for some cognitive tests. What is your name?"

I tried opening my eyes again, this time with a little more success, squinting at the light. "Anne."

"Good, good." A pause. "What is one plus two?"

"Three."

"Good. If I threw a baseball at your head, what would you do?" The questions were coming faster.

"Duck?"

"Excellent. All right, I'm going to open the pod now. You've been in there for quite a while, so be careful and take your time exiting." The glass panel opened up with a hiss of hydraulics and a dusty odor. Sitting up to detach my Pip-Boy from the pod's system gave me a moment to see the four faces of my observers. Dr. Amari had a look of professional concern. Hancock was grinning broadly, lightly tossing a small jingling bag of bottlecaps. Next to him, Fahrenheit scowled darkly at the bag Hancock was holding, her fingers tapping an irritated rhythm on her crossed arms. MacCready stood leaning against the door frame, face completely expressionless, eyes staring fixedly at me.

Getting out of the pod was a bit more difficult than getting in. Hancock graciously offered me his hand, which I took gratefully. Once I straightened mostly upright, he switched his arm to hold me around my waist, chuckling happily. "I knew your story was too crazy not to be true. Thanks to you and Dr. Amari, I won my bet with Fahrenheit." Not completely steady on my feet, I leaned into the Ghoul's support. He was warm and stronger than he looked if he was able to hold me upright. Spying a couch near the door, I leaned in its direction, half-pulling Hancock over with me to sit down. Dr. Amari followed, a small orange and white disk file in her hand.

"When you plugged your Pip-Boy into the lounger, it created some kind of feedback into your system, almost overwhelming my equipment." She paused to add in an aggrieved tone, "I was unaware that your Pip-Boy is actually connected to you, internally. This is the first time I have ever heard of such a thing, and it lends veracity to your story, along with your memories." The doctor tapped the back of my hand, pointing out the buried sensors. "Intriguing."

"Have you seen anything like this before?" I asked, not daring to hope.

"Hmm," she pondered. "Not to this level of sophistication. I have heard of cybernetic enhancements, but they are extremely rare, only able to be made by certain organizations with the technology and resources lost to the rest of us." At my crestfallen expression, she reluctantly added, "this is far beyond anything I've ever seen before. That flash, the disintegration of the world around you..."

"I thought I dreamed that." I said, startled.

"Oh no, that was quite real. It happened, and you went from there," and she pointed down, "to here. Quite astounding, really."

"Do you have any idea how it happened?" I pressed, almost begging.

"I do not." Three words that would change my life, again. That's it. I'm stuck here. I put my suddenly heavy head in my hands, cupping my glasses.

"However..."

"Aw, come on Dr. Amari," Hancock implored the oblivious woman, "stop dancing around the subject; you're driving the poor girl out of her mind. Do you know someone who might know what's going on here? Our friend just wants to leave our delightful company and go back where she came from." To this jab, he added slyly, "not that I blame her, after seeing her home!" He gave me a wink and a lopsided grin when I raised my head to look at him.

Dr. Amari stiffened at Hancock's words. "I... might know of an organization." She added quickly, emphasizing, "but I can't say much more than that! I do know they don't have the technology to pull something like this," and here she waved the small disk in her hand, "off. However, they have some of the most brilliant minds I've ever known." She turned to address me directly, "With your permission, I can send a message to this group and see if they're able to, and interested in helping you out."

"Yes!" I agreed unequivocally, "yes, please! Is there anything else I need to do?"

"No. Yes." Dr. Amari corrected herself. "Go out and show that you're worthy of being helped. There are lots of nasty things out there in the Commonwealth. The more you stop them from hurting people just trying to make an honest living, the better. If this group likes what they see, they'll contact you. Good luck."

"Thank you, Doctor." I said with all the grace I could muster. Great, more killing, I couldn't help the bitter thought.

"You're welcome." She handed me the disk. "Hold on to this. It's a compilation of the most relevant memories we discovered pertaining to your... travel... here. Someone with the right expertise might find it useful." Once I secured the disk in my jacket, she added, "The mind is a very delicate thing, and you've been through a lot recently. Be careful out there." With that parting advice, she turned back to her work and we made our way back up the stairs.

Irma called me over as we passed her couch, "I couldn't help overhearing what was going on. I have a friend. Nick Valentine. He works out of Diamond City. If you need information, trust me honey, he's the best." She gave my hand a quick, encouraging squeeze, then let me go to catch up with the others.

I caught up with them just as we stepped out into the square. "Wait a minute?" I asked, startled. "How long was I in that thing?"

The sun had already set, faint stars gleaming overhead beyond the blaze of neon signs and dingy streetlamps. I stopped short, staring at the three as they turned around. Hancock was the only one to answer, giving a one-shouldered shrug. "Longer than normal. We, uh," and he appeared to choose his words very carefully, "we had to examine your memory in detail, and Dr. Amari had the good idea to record what happened to you on that disk." He didn't quite meet my gaze. "It took a while."

Now why don't I quite believe he's telling the truth? I felt the blood drain from my face, followed by a rush of embarrassed anger. There are some memories that never need to see the light of day. Fuck! How much did they see?

"So, Sunshine," he said in a more upbeat drawl, abruptly changing the subject. "looks like you have some do-gooding to do, if you're going to attract the attention of this mysterious organization Dr. Amari can't talk about... and keep your bargain with me." He rubbed his hands together in satisfaction. "So, decide where you want to go, and go do good!" Grabbing Fahrenheit into a quick twirl before releasing her to glower at him, Hancock sauntered back to the Old State House and his office, humming "doo bee good bee dood bee goo" in a light tenor rasp. Fahrenheit followed a few steps behind.