Chapter 2


    It''s not easy to predict what the future holds. In 1970, people were certain the 2000s would bring us futuristic flying cars and a lifestyle like The Jetsons. In 2000, they thought our world would be overrun by advanced artificial intelligence, or we''d have to endure dystopic civilizations. In 2030, they figured we''d destroy Earth by 2060 with an asteroid-induced apocalypse or WWIII. But none of that happened. What did happen are the slow and subtle changes in how we interact with one another. We act with more kindness towards our townsfolk and neighbors, regardless of origin or political persuasion. We strive for equality and justice for those who are disadvantaged. Yes, technology advances rapidly, but underlying it all are core values from when humans first formed tribes. Let''s look at San Francisco in 2104: Buildings still exist, but now they''re taller, sturdier, and better for the environment. Cars still run, but on cleaner fuel sources. Yet relics from the past remain in place, too—like Fenway Park sitting alongside new construction. This is what life looks like when the past meets the present: you can find the Golden Gate Bridge standing as a relic of old engineering surrounded by the Presidio’s lush green pastures that existed long before Spanish colonization began in 1776. On the other side of town, massive skyscrapers tower over the city, casting shadows in every direction; these sky-high residences and corporate buildings filled San Francisco when its population increased drastically, requiring people to make adjustments in order to survive. You can even find entire neighborhoods where groceries, dentist offices, gyms, entertainment centers, and housing all occupy the same floor. Our story begins at one of these skyscrapers in downtown San Francisco, where Liam woke up after blacking out 80 years ago.


    Liam opened his eyes to a blinding white scene. His neck was stiff like he had been sleeping for days. He quickly noticed the stark, sterile room: nothing but white walls and flooring. He lay in an exam chair with an IV connected to him, bandages wrapped around his head. He had no recollection of how he got there or what happened prior. On the desk was a tablet, and Liam could hear people talking outside the door about him waking up and asking for someone named Tithonus.


    A series of quick, frantic footsteps reverberated along the hallway in a rhythm. Boom. Boom. Boom. The rhythm was broken by a louder, heavier footstep that got closer to the door.


    “How long has he been awake? Has anyone gone in there before me? Does the board know?” a male voice asked. “Good.”


    Knock. Knock. Knock. The door opened, and Liam saw an unexpected figure: a tall, muscular man with black skin and wavy black hair, blue eyes, and a sharp jawline; he looked like he could star in an action movie, rather than be a doctor.


    “Liam," he said. "I''m Dr. Tithonus. May I come in and have a chat?”


    Liam, scared but eager for answers, nodded as the man stepped inside, towering above him in his white lab coat.


    Dr. Tithonus took out a notepad and sighed as he spoke again. “Now, I know you must have questions—”


    “Where''s Sarah? Is she hurt?” Liam interrupted anxiously.


    The doctor looked puzzled, “Sarah? Who is that?"


    “My fiancé! I was with her and then… and then… I don’t remember what happened next. I woke up here."


    Dr. Tithonus furrowed his brows while taking notes. “So, your last memory was with this woman called Sarah? Alright, Liam, listen closely. I need to explain some things to you, and it''s going to be quite hard to hear. So, we''ll take it step by step, okay?"


    Liam felt his heart racing—something had happened to Sarah; that much he knew already. Oh God, did they fall off the cliff!? he thought.


    “So, let''s start with today''s date. It''s December 5, 2104. Can you guess what day it is?”


    Liam was immediately thrown off; yesterday had been the summer of 2024, from his perspective. He stuttered a baffled “what?”


    The doctor chuckled before saying, “I''m not sure how to explain this. Maybe I should just show you.” He gestured towards one of the plain white walls in the room. Liam must have had an incredulous expression on his face because the doctor smiled at him knowingly before nodding towards the right wall.


    Liam’s expression dropped as he absentmindedly moved from the chair towards what used to be a wall, now replaced with an eight-foot window overlooking the skyline. He took in his surroundings: tall buildings everywhere and people down below looking like ants. On the distant horizon was an ocean with boats sailing in the harbor, creating a feeling of familiarity. He scanned his surroundings desperately searching for clues of what city he was in, and then his eyes locked onto a small pyramid-like building, which he instantly recognized as the TransAmerica Building in San Francisco. His memories began flooding him with brief images of when he was young—jogging across the Golden Gate Bridge each morning until fate had him trip right in front of a blonde tourist, Sarah, who nursed his twisted ankle at a nearby café.


    Liam stared at Tithonus in disbelief.


    “It’s real,” the doctor insisted. He motioned for Liam to put his hand out.


    Confused, Liam had to ask him to repeat himself. “Pardon?”


    “From where you are standing, stretch your arm out. Go ahead.” He pointed at his own hand for emphasis.


    Liam obeyed, and suddenly realized he could feel air on his fingertips; he heard a soft wind too. How was that possible?


    He then felt something solid appear in the same place he''d just stretched his hand out—but he didn''t see the doctor press any buttons or do anything else.


    “How did you—”


    Tithonus smiled. “The window rolled itself down. Technology can be quite helpful if you use it right. It''s so clear that you can''t tell where the edge of the glass starts or ends! Be careful when you reach out again, though. You can pull your arm back in now."


    Liam followed his advice and looked up with wonder.


    He then, glanced away, and the wall was back to its ordinary white color.


    “Liam… No, you did not time travel, but this is still the future. It''s possible because your consciousness can be downloaded and even saved: that concept existed even when you were young. My company made it a reality, and with great success, it worked very well in all the first trials. Our trust in it grew, which is how I ended up here like you. But that same confidence led us to some problems. We followed all protocols, yet we had an unexpected power outage that disrupted the process for Liam''s data by a millisecond; less than a quarter of his data got uploaded correctly, while the originals were corrupted. How old do you think you are?” Tithonus asked.


    “Twenty-five,” Liam replied without hesitation.


    Tithonus looked at him with regret in his eyes. “Liam, you had lived a wonderful life until you were 105 years old. You are the fourth volunteer we had for this process, and should have waited before doing yours as the last one… But unfortunately, a millisecond without power is all it took.”


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    “How is this possible?” Liam said incredulously.


    “Well, it all goes back to the era we call the Illumination, when scientists managed to unlock more of their brains. Just a small percentage was enough; like switching on a lightbulb and—” the doctor began to explain.


    “No, not that,” Liam interrupted. “What happened to me?”


    “For you, think of it like everything after turning twenty-five years old is gone. You''re essentially twenty-five again. But don''t worry, we''re doing our best to bring your memories back," the doctor spoke slowly, trying to be reassuring.


    Liam started to pace back and forth as he muttered: “Again?! This is my first time. No, this can''t be real."


    He looked up in hope as the doctor continued: "Liam, take a moment to process this. I know this must be difficult for you, but trust me, I''ll do whatever it takes to get your memories back. I''ve contacted your family so that they can help jog some of your lost memories, maybe spark something."


    The word “family” gave him a sliver of relief, which was quickly replaced with fear—what family? His mum? His dad? He almost asked if they were alive, then stopped himself. He wanted to cling on to a tiny bit of hope that his mother would walk through those doors laughing and telling him this was all just some sick joke.


    "Send him in," the doctor murmured towards thin air.


    A man walked into the room, and he wasn''t Liam''s mum. He was probably in his sixties and had salt-and-pepper hair, wore a San Diego Forty Niners hoodie and skinny jeans (which no old man should ever wear), and sandals, like a scrawny stoner version of Liam''s dad.


    The man glared at Dr. Tithonus with displeasure and then glanced at Liam. His expression changed as he realized who Liam was. I’m his dad? Liam thought, stunned by this new information.


    “Liam, I must stress how important it is for you to know what I am about to say next. We are working on getting your memories back, but only have a brief period of time before the likelihood of recovery plummets,” declared Dr. Tithonus.


    The man shifted his attention back to the doctor. “How much time? Weeks? Months?” he asked.


    “Three days,” replied the doctor.


    The man yelled in anger, “Three days! How can this be possible? Look what you did to him! I have to look after my—”


    A loud ringing pounded Liam’s ear as information overwhelmed him. He couldn’t remember how much longer the other two talked, only that he blankly left the office. Now, standing next to him, was a total stranger in an elevator, taking him to some foreign place, where even more unknowable faces were supposedly his family. He stood there and focused on the top number: three hundred and two. That''s a very tall building, he thought. Then, his gaze dropped to fifty, then the middle number one, and finally landed on that lit-up button labeled "G." All the numbers melted into the walls and the doors opened. Liam hesitated for a second, as if searching for some other route, but after gathering himself, he stepped out of the elevator, followed by this man, who he now knew was his “son”. As he emerged into the hall, a guard jostled him roughly, startling him back into reality. Armed men still exist today, Liam thought. Some future.


    A rectangle glowed on the ground, though there were no light fixtures illuminating it. Liam and his son marveled at the sight as they approached and saw a couple, both dressed in business clothes, standing in the box of light. There was total silence, but when Liam looked over at them, their faces were expressionless and glassy. Then suddenly, a loud “HA HA” rang out and startled him. His son explained that they weren''t just standing there; rather, they were communicating… Like texting on a phone, but without needing to vocalize it.


    Liam looked back and noticed that they made faces—squinting eyes, scowling brows—just like he did when messaging people on his phone.


    The car had a mirror finish and in the reflection, Liam saw himself, his son, and the businessman reflected on the side of the car. It looked like they were in a hallway looking at it. As he looked on, the car seemed to rise off the ground like a magic trick and hover for a few seconds before the side door whooshed open.


    The businessman’s eyes were dark, as if they were missing something. His face was ashen, made whiter by the glare of the sun. His hair was whitish gray and cut short.


    The car was seamless, like a giant piece of chocolate. It had no headlights, no engine, no reflectors, not an airbag in sight. It floated on the road, moving closer and closer with a soft hum that faded farther than you could see. Liam could not see a driver.


    “You’re a real hoot, Tiff. See you tomorrow,” the man said as he climbed into the car, the door lid opening and closing with a vertical motion. The woman, still gazing at the parking lot, replied softly, “Yeah, see you then.”


    Liam didn’t see the man hop in the driver''s seat, nor did he see a driver, but the car took off anyways. Huh, must be self-driving cars, he picked up quickly. That''s not too surprising, they were working on that during his time too.


    The next car that pulled up was a bit bigger, like an SUV, but it looked more like a turtle shell. Gray, with just one door in the center.


    "That''s us," his son exclaimed as he ducked his head and stepped into the car. It had leather seats lined around the inside in a horseshoe shape—a look that reminded him of a limousine.


    "Hello, where do you wish to go?" said a calm and soothing British voice from somewhere in the vehicle.


    "I messed with some settings and set it to have this British accent," he said jokingly, as if embarrassed he got caught, even though Liam hadn''t asked anything. "Athanasia Complex Presidio, San Francisco, California, please," his son replied. Liam wasn''t sure what the first word meant, but he remembered the Presidio of San Francisco.


    The car started driving off and out of the parking garage into an enormous underground tunnel—like a highway without a sky. As soon as they reached their destination, the windows tinted black.


    "Presidio? Is that where you live?"


    "Oh, no," the man shook his head. "The company who messed all this up is called Athanasia… stupid name, I know. But no, I live in San Diego."


    Liam nodded his head in understanding. "Ah, that explains the shirt."


    The man smiled slightly before continuing. "Ya 49ers! Damn, we were so close this year too… If it weren''t for those stupid Vancouver Seahawks, we would''ve won the World Bowl!"


    As Liam listened, he began to realize that he was not on his own timeline. He glanced out the window, even though he could not see through it. He replayed the moment when the man who supposedly was his son walked into the doctor''s office—it felt like it all happened in a flash, though hours had passed. He recalled the man didn''t look at Liam again after introducing himself as his son. Instead, the man became like a time bomb and the doctor seemed to be part of a bomb squad trying to figure out which wire to cut without setting it off.


    Liam pieced together some of what was said: lots of legal jargon about suing and fixing the problem. It didn''t matter to him, there was only one thing he wanted to know: Where was Sarah? Then he realized that if this person was truly his son, then he must know her name.


    Back in the car, hope shined in Liam''s eyes as he turned toward the man and asked, “You’re my son?”


    “Supposedly. This is all very strange to me.”


    “So. That means I got married. Had a kid. Maybe kids. So, where is Sarah?”


    “Who?”


    “My wife. Your mom.”


    “Dad. Mom’s name is Emily… I don’t know any Sarah."


    This new information sent Liam into a fit of rage and confusion, and he started hyperventilating. "Wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong! You''re lying! Where am I? Why are you doing this to me?"


    His son put his hands up in a gesture of surprise, asking "Dad?"


    “Don’t touch me! Don''t call me Dad. Stop. This is too much. Pull over so I can get out.”


    “Calm down. We can''t do that,” exclaimed the dad.


    Liam searched for door handles, but there were none—he felt more and more trapped by the moment.


    “Let me out! Please, please!” begged Liam. He was becoming increasingly frantic and began to demand the car comply. "Lower the tint!" The windows darkened before fading back to clear glass from the side windows to the roof, revealing they were still underground, surrounded by hundreds of cars barely moving, although Liam could tell from the tunnel lights that they were going faster than ever before.


    “See, we can’t stop, but we will be there soon. Just calm down and we''ll figure this out. I knew it wasn''t a good idea," said the son.


    “Where are you taking me? Why there? You said you don''t live there."


    “The Presidio… They have housing there. It''s basically a place where they will look after you for the next three days until they sort this out."


    “I don''t want to go there."


    “Well, yeah, do you think I want to fucking be here? It was your idea." His son was clearly getting frustrated by now. "At least you''ll get to see the kids and Andrew."


    “I don''t know who Andrew is or who these kids are."


    "Yeah, well, you never seemed to know them anyway."


    Liam felt terrible without understanding why. He stopped talking in an effort to regain his composure, leading to a deafening silence. He had so many questions, but he wasn''t sure he wanted answers.


    Three days. Liam had three days to figure it all out. What happened to his old life? His parents? Sarah?


    The car announced they''d be there in ten minutes, and the older man spoke up: “My name’s Liam. You named me Liam after the person you loved most—yourself. Just call me Lee.”


    Dismayed and speechless, Liam remained quiet for the rest of the journey, endlessly repeating the thought of only having three days left in his head.