"I've saved three memories: the day I told Ravi, the day he approached me about developing the idea, and my meeting with him and the founder, which went quite similar to yours, except you were far more composed." Arch rubbed his heels together. "I didn't realize they'd threaten you too."
I scoffed. "Why wouldn't they? If they're ready to threaten Arch Kenton, their prodigy, what do they care about a nobody like me?
"You're not a nobody, Selene. You're amazing. I've always thought you were, and when I asked Ravi about a timeline for your project, I believed someday it would lead to you getting that recognition that you deserve. Here, see it for yourself."
With a shaky hand, he popped the chip in the device, and it projected a date from 8 months ago, Arch's full name and the phrase 'unaltered memory captured June 27th, 2070'. The memory's date and the capture time were six months apart.
Inno-Tech lab's sterile eggshell-coloured walls and stainless steel tables were projected into my living room in 3D, with Mr. Singh standing in a white coat, observing us. My past self was there with Gina and a few coworkers as we put away the various parts of a prototype. I turned to Arch with a bright smile and my hair smooth and calm for once and asked if he was coming with us for supper. He said he'd catch up, but the memory's focus stayed on me until I shot him a slight wave and whatever he did made me smile again. Arch stood and walked toward Ravi, who was staring off as if taking digital mental notes.
"Mr. Singh, I had a question when you're free."
Ravi and his bushy eyebrows looked at us or Memory-Arch. "About this project?"
"No, about more of a personal project, one a friend is working on."
He smiled in that warm way Ravi used to appear in my memories. "What is your friend developing?"
"She or I rather was curious on her behalf how long this type of product would take to get to market."
"What type of product is it?"
"Memory enhancement."
"In what sense?"
Arch rocked on his feet and the video focused on his and Ravi's black shoes. "It records them, so they're easier to access, especially for those with conditions that speed up memory loss."
"Like a personal memory cloud. That's clever. Will it be fully specialized for those with conditions, or can it be broadened to everyday consumers?"
"I imagine it can be broadened."
There was the beginning of the death of Remember-All. Arch had probably meant well, trying to make the product more appealing to develop, but not realizing the lengths Inno-Tech would reach to make this marketable and appealing to those who needed it the least.
Ravi stroked his goatee. "And this is your friend's idea, Selene, I presume."
"Yes, she doesn't know I'm talking to you about it, but she's worked quite hard on it during her personal time, and I wanted to see what the odds of it making it to market would be. It's impressive, from what I've seen, and I've been telling her it's perfect for the Innovative Ideas Pitches."
"If it can get through development and human trials, the odds are high enough, but it will take a considerable amount of time and investment. However, if she were to take on a well-known partner like yourself to lead the project, investment would rise and the time to market would decrease."
"That's not what she's interested in. How long?"
"On her own, ten to fifteen years after the pitch is accepted."
Arch sighed and rubbed his head. "That's too long."
"Inventions need capital, and capital comes when the investors know and trust the inventors."
"Selene has developed products before, very successful ones."
Ravi's smile was more pitying this time. "None in the memory or neural fields and never at the scale you have. It's how the industry works."
The memory faded as Ravi walked away, likely scheming about stealing my idea. Unknown inventors never thrived because people saw them as targets to poach from. But Arch had revealed very little about how it worked and functioned, so where did Ravi get that information? Arch was still hiding things.
At least he had been true to his word in presenting the idea as mine, but something had changed. I kept in mind memories changed each time we recalled them, so although this had technically not been altered by technology, Arch's mind may have tweaked a few things, whether intentionally or unintentionally to convince himself he wasn't the villain.
And Inno-Tech was in the market for altering memories, so they may have handed him these altered memories marked as originals as a tool to get me on board if that tech was developed and ready. However, based on earlier tonight, they didn't care about my involvement.
Arch asked if I was ready for the next memory, and once I nodded, Ravi's office came back into view, raising my blood pressure and causing my hands to clench.
"Mr. Singh, what is this about?" Arch asked from the chair opposite Ravi's large wooden desk. "Is there a problem with Prototype 467?"
That had been a project we'd finished about seven months ago.
Ravi leaned forward on his elbows in a fitted suit this time. "A few weeks ago, you brought up a project that might be perfect for Inno-Tech this year."
"Really?"
"Memory recording."
"That's Selene's project. Should I call her?"
Ravi bit on his lip and released it. "I've done a bit of poking around to find out more about it."
"She never mentioned that."
"Virtual poking around, lab video feeds and such, and the entire thing looks quite scalable and doable within a shorter time frame if it's done right. And it would be ideal for the Innovative Idea Pitches."
The colours in the room seemed to brighten. "That's amazing. She'll be so thrilled to hear that."
"There's a catch."
Arch leaned toward the desk.
"Selene cannot lead the project."
"But it is her project."
"No one will get excited about an inventor they don't know branching out into memory tech. But Arch Kenton shifting into it, that's an idea investors will get behind. You've revolutionized food and next the mind. If that's your big focus, the money and media will follow." Ravi smiled.
My hands balled into fists. How did he have such little regard for intellectual property rights? He saw us as interchangeable pawns.
"Selene is far more knowledgeable and competent than I am. You must have seen that in the footage."
"And we can offer her a support position, especially if you find her insights valuable."
"We can't do this!" Arch's voice remained firm.
Ravi cleared his throat and stood.
"Inno-Tech can and will. You worked on this project on Inno-Tech property with Inno-Tech tools, making it the property of Inno-Tech. I'm coming to you as a courtesy, Arch. You can decline, but Inno-Tech has claimed the idea, and we can assign it to one of our specialists instead. It won't draw as much buzz and funding, making the wait for Mrs. Mintz longer."
Arch inhaled a sharp breath. "Why are you mentioning Mrs. Mintz?"
"It's why both of you are doing this, isn't it? Should you take part, we can give her mother full, complimentary, lifelong access to the invention. You and Selene would get raises and be pulled off of the internship floor for good, pending the successful completion of this project."
Arch's arms crossed over his chest. "And if I refuse because this is morally wrong on every level?" His tone seemed both sincere and pissed.
"You'll have no influence over product development. Selene's mother will wait in line like everyone else for the invention after six to seven years of coming to market and be subject to the regular fees, which are projected to be quite high. I've seen footage of Mrs. Mintz, and I hope that she can wait that long."
Ravi's words made me want to strangle him and burst into tears. If this was all true, he was the true monster, or Inno-Tech was if the founder had passed down those statements.
Real-time Arch offered me his hand, but I couldn't bring myself to take it.
"I can't do this to her, Ravi. It's unethical."
"You can't help her mother? She'll understand this is the best way to approach the project."
Ravi's words made my insides swirl like I was sitting in that damned chair all over again.
"Why don't you ask her? I suspect otherwise. She needs to be involved in these discussions. That's how you can get me on board. by involving her. If you don't, I will."
"That raises a point I forgot. Because this is still a classified project, should you tell Selene about any of Inno-Tech's plans for it without our digital written consent, you will lose all rights to involvement, as will Selene and her mother will never have access. In addition, you will face the security breaching fee outlined in all Inno-Tech contracts."
A number five times the one they showed me flashed before his eyes.
"And to save you the heartbreak, we have developed memory scanning technology in-house. It's very helpful in situations such as these because the vital-sensing lie detectors were fooled too often. You'll be quite impressed with the amount of detail it can access, including internal thoughts, which I remember you and Selene love to share. So consider what is best for her and her mother. Is it that she has an ethical communicative partner and mother who will suffer avoidable memory loss and be barred access to the technology to help her, or is it that the technology to save her mother's memory is developed in time for it to help her? You have two weeks to decide."
It didn't surprise me a bit that Ravi and the Inno-Tech team would go that far. And it had been me who had suggested working on a small part of the prototype at work after hours given they had the tools I needed for the complex modifications, but I had never thought that would give them the right to steal my invention. Not when I'd most of it at home... unless Inno-Tech considered this apartment block their property, which knowing what I did now, I suspected they would.
Ravi's office faded until the room returned to Arch and I, who sat on my apartment's gray couch.
"So I chose your mom because you can find another boyfriend and love again, but you'll never get another shot at helping her. I should have never asked Ravi that question, and I will regret it for the rest of my life, but I am glad it will help your mom."
Arch stood and brought his teacup to the dish sterilizer, leaving the chip and reader on the glass coffee table. He'd mentioned three memories, but we'd only seen two, so I suspected that was why he left it.
"I'll see you at work, Selene, and I am deeply sorry for ruining your invention and hurting you."
His hazel eyes met mine before he headed for the door. I clutched a pillow to my chest, unsure what to make of this entire evening. The Arch I knew and loved appeared in those videos, and it all made sense. Inno-Tech had manipulated me into agreeing to things I did not want to do, and it seemed they'd done the same to him. But was this version of Arch, the one who'd loved me and cared for my family like his own, all an illusion? Could I risk trusting him and being betrayed again?
Not as my boyfriend. My heart knew that much. But perhaps as a colleague or eventually friend, if he proved his loyalty.
Word count: 1951
Total word count: 19, 368
Shout out to Annkreeves who has a compelling, contemporary romance and thriller 'The Escaped Con's Hostage'. It explores important topics of abuse and mistreatment and challenges the idea of who society considers the 'bad guy' vs who truly is. As she always does, Ann handles the topics with finesse and care and manages to create a strong romance with depth and complexity.