Chapter 2: Question

The door creaks open and Doc strolls into the room.

"Alright, I talked it over with my coworkers, and we've made a decision" he says as he closes the door behind him.

I sit up straighter and look expectantly at him

"We think we should let you settle in here before we start working on recovering memories," he says

"What! Why?" I ask, my face dropping 

"We don't want to overwhelm you with more information than we need too. Especially since you've just woken up from a long recovery. I think with your particular situation, it's best for you to get comfortable here first. This is a new place for you, even if you had context with your own memories." He says

"Why does my... 'situation' change anything?" I asked so

"Well, with normal amnesia patients, I'd suggest you go back to your old routine at home. That isn't a possibility here. But even then you'd be stuck at the hospital while we work things out, and we wouldn't bombard you with information while you're recovering..." he clears his throat as he finishes rambling

"But you'll recover just fine, I'm sure of it. All the memory will all come back with time." He says as he sits on the rolling chair again

"But I don't even know who I am! Can't you just explain that much. I'm fine, I'm recovered. I can handle it" 

"No, you need some time first." He shakes his head

I let out an irritated sigh and lean against the back of the bed.

"It'll be alright" he tries to reassure me

"This is far from alright," I grumble

"I know this is all confusing, and a bit scary." I glare at him but he continues without acknowledging it, "But I can promise you that you're in good hands. And if a month has gone by and you don't remember anything, I will do everything I can to help figure something out. We will find a way to help improve your memory."

I listen to the sincerity in his voice as he speaks. And it does help ease the irritation. At least a little bit. I think he means well, I can tell he's trying at the very least.

"... Fine" I sigh. Not like I have a choice anyway, I can't make him tell me.

"If it makes you feel better I am going to explain other things to you. Which I was hoping I could avoid. I really didn't want to overwhelm you with anything. But you do deserve an explanation. So I'll go ahead and explain why you're here." he continues

Finally! I think as I sit up straighter

"You are currently in a facility named DMR. Which stands for "Daniel's Medical Robotics." He starts slowly

"Medical... robotics? So prosthetics?" I ask, then glance at my arms and legs. 

"More than prosthetics." He smiles softly

"... I have no idea what else you could be talking about" I deadpan when he doesn't elaborate 

"Well... Prosthetics is a good term for it. We do make robotic limbs sometimes, but we make more than that. Bone replacements, organs."

My eyes widen, I want to ask how that even works but the bigger question is what that means for me. Because I am not missing any limbs.

"So, you are a cyborg, a human with robotic replacements. That's what my program specializes in. Almost everyone here has had something replaced, even some of the staff." He explains

"So... what about me?" I ask

"Your replacement was part of your brain and skull" he says, pointing to the right side of my head

"My what-" I ask, reaching up to touch my head. Instead of touching skin, I feel a warm metallic plate underneath my hair.

"Your hair covers it pretty well. It's grown out a lot during your recovery." Doc says with a smile

"Holy crap... This is insane..." I murmur

"Do you need a minute?" Doc asks

"No, I'm..." I take a deep breath, "I'm good."

"It's a lot to take in." Doc says. I nod in response, and he goes quiet. Silently watching my reaction.

At first I'm just in shocked silence. 'A cyborg... that's not possible... It's not real.' But right now I'm actual proof of it being very real. Curiously, I tap at the metal. It makes a 'ting' sound. This is weird. It feels weird. And I would look at it if I could. I wonder if it looks futuristic and advanced. I guess it's cool, but a little overwhelming. I look back at Doc and he smiles softly in return. 

"Why... did I need this?" I ask, pointing to the metal

He shakes his head, "I can't answer that."

"You-" I start, then take a breath. He already said he won't tell me anything about myself or my past. 

"Right... Wait-" I start, "did this robot stuff mess with my memories?" I ask

"No I don't believe so. We've been keeping an eye on you to make sure there are no complications with the equipment and everything went smoothly with your recovery."

"Except for the memory loss..." I grumble, letting my hand drop back down

"We're working on figuring out what happened as we speak." Doc answers, and hesitates for a moment like he wants to say more. But he doesn't. He just clears his throat and continues the conversation.

"Well, you're going to be staying in here for the time being. You've gotten through the majority of recovery, but you still have to stay in here under careful observation for a week . It will also help you come to terms with everything." He explains

"... So, what happens after the week passes. Do I get to go back home?" I ask

"No, you can't leave. Not yet anyway. We are currently hidden from the world because of the government. They didn't approve of the idea of making robotic parts. Which is a long story. But our mission is top secret, no one can know about you guys. Which is why you don't have any personal devices or contact with anyone outside the facility. You can't leave because your robotic replacement could accidentally be revealed. And as much as I want to send all my patients home, without government approval you'll just be in danger." Doc sighs, "So, we will just move you to another room. And you'll be free to roam around the building." Doc explains

After a moment of silence Doc looks back up at me, "Do you have any more questions?"

"Uh, no I think that's it" I reply

"Alright, I'll go ahead and get this into your files" he gestures to his clipboard before standing up, "if you need anything just press the green button on your bedside and someone will come in"

I look behind me to see a small remote beside the bed. It has multiple different buttons that could move the bed up and down, and a big green button at the top.

"Ok, Thanks," I say, turning back towards Doc

"I'll see you in a bit" He smiles before leaving

I stare at the door after he walks out. I reach up and tap on my robotic skull again.

This is so much to process...

I stand up and slowly walk back to the bathroom and stand if front of the large mirror again. Moving my hand to pull my hair back, I see the metal plate. Smooth silver with minor blue details... not super impressive looking. The skin around the metal is a bit sore, which I find out after rubbing at it. And as soon as I put my hand down, the metal disappears under my red hair. This really doesn't feel real... but this is my life now. It's almost funny. Doc says it wasn't the robotic skull that caused my memory to go. But I bet anything it was.

After walking out of the bathroom I find myself wandering around again, this time pausing by the exit door. There really isn't anything stopping me from checking it out. I spare a quick glance at the ceiling for cameras before opening the door. No sounds of footsteps or voices, so I slowly open it wider before peaking my head out. Just... a plain white hallway. Literally, everything is white. The walls are painted bricks, the floor is tiled, and-

Tap tap tap

I close the door quickly before I fully registered that I heard footsteps. And I quickly walk back to bed. I'm relieved when no one walks in, and the steps go past the door.

After a few hours pass I realize how slow time is going to go by while I'm here. There is not much to do. I already checked everything out, and I can't walk around for long without getting tired. So I just sit in bed and try to think of something. What is it going to be like here when I leave this room? What other cyborgs am I going to meet? How am I going to get my memory back... That last thought crossed my mind more than anything else. Familiar things would be a great start... But I don't recognize anything here. I'm tempted to try my reflection again. But I don't get a chance to.

I hear a quick knock on the door before it bursts open. I look up to see the boy from earlier, Jack, walking towards me with a warm smile on his face. When he reaches me he quickly holds his hand out in front of him.

"Hello, again. I know dad already introduced me but I wanted to get to know you better. Your name's Zeke right?" He asks

I take his hand and awkwardly shake it, "Yeah."

"Nice to officially meet you. How's quarantine going?" 

I give him a confused look but he explains before I even ask, "This is quarantine, the room you stay in to recover."

"It's boring." I answer

"That's fair, not a lot to do in here... Want to play a board game?" He asks

"What?" I ask as he walks over to the cabinets. I watch him open one of the bottom ones and pull out a large box I saw earlier.

"We try and keep some games in the rooms for entertainment. This room has board games" he says, placing the box on the bed and pulling out the board games one by one.

"... Well it beats sitting here doing nothing" I shrug

"You can get the first pick, but after that I want to play Life." He smiles

I look at the different games as he pulls them out. I recognize a few, but only with a fleeting familiarity. I go with the one that looks the most interesting.

"Connect 4?" Jack asks as I pick up the box

"You said I get to pick. This is what I pick" I shrug

"Alright. I'll get things set up." He says and starts putting the rest of the games back into the cardboard box. I sit in the rolling chair and glance around with a frown.

"Where are we supposed to play?" I ask

"Hold on a second, I'll show you." He smiles as he places the box down on the floor

He then walks around to the other side of the bed. He grabs onto a small handle and pulls out a tray, then adjusts the arms so that the tray sits above the bed.  I stand up and we both sit on opposite sides of the temporary table. I set the box down and dump out its contents. Jack grabs the instructions and pockets it.

"Alright, this game is pretty easy to play. Do you know the rules?" He asks

I shake my head. As he starts to explain I realize I might already know how this game works. But I let him continue without interrupting.

We play a few rounds. He wins first, but then I win each time afterwards.

"Hey, would you be willing to play a different board game with me sometime after you get out of this room? I have a few people who agreed to play, but I need one more player." Jack asks as he sets the game up again

"I guess." I shrug

"Oh, by the way. Dad wanted me to tell you that he can give you some more information after this week is up. Your full name, some rules and how we do things here." Jack continues

I frown. A whole week...

"I wish I knew more myself, but I never look at people's files. I just like to learn about that stuff from the patient themselves. But that's going to take a while for you. I guess you are a mystery to both of us." 

"Yeah..." 

"Well, maybe we can try guessing, see if that helps you remember the little stuff"

"Guessing? What are we guessing?" I ask, completely forgetting about the game

"Y'know, like your age and your favorite color."

I stare at him for a moment. He really wants me to try guessing things about myself? But if it could actually help bring back some actual memories...

"Ok... I guess it's worth a try" I shrug, "I think I'm 16, and my favorite color is..." I look around at the colors in the room for ideas. I know what colors are, but I don't know which one I like.

"Blue"

"I would have thought your favorite color would be orange. And I think you are 17." 

"Why 17?" 

"Cause you seem like you're my age. I'm actually going to turn 18 soon."

"You're almost 18? You look younger. Like... two or three years younger." I laugh

"Yeah I know, I get that a lot." He smiles

"...What else can we guess?" I ask

"What's your favorite animal?"

"... Ok I have no idea for that one."

We continue to talk, both of us throwing questions around. I learn more about him than me, but I'm still glad that someone else cares about helping me remember things.