There was something. He was thinking about something just a minute ago. No. It’s gone now. He can’t remember what it was—seemed important. He felt as though he was awakening into a dream, not from one. Was he asleep? His eyes started coming into focus. He tried to remember something else. Something basic. Like, where he was. The darkness was fading, and he could slowly take in his surroundings. He was in a chair. It was a strange chair. Like it was there, but it shimmered, and he couldn’t really focus on it. It was completely white. Not a bright, uncomfortable white. No fluorescence.

The light in the room seemed to seep from the walls into the room, but very subtly. There was no furniture other than the chair he sat in. There were no sounds either. He could actually hear his own heartbeat in his ears.

He smelled something. He couldn’t place it, a fragrance like a flower or a tree or fruit, but sweet and safe. He was calm. This was all supposed to happen. He knew that somehow. He didn’t know why he knew that, but he did, and that made it OK, even if he didn’t remember anything and had no idea why he was there.

Somewhere deep within his mind, he had this absolute understanding that he was OK and would be fine. He knew something would happen soon. He wasn’t meant to be waiting long. Just long enough to awaken and get comfortable. Wait, that was a weird thought. How did he know that? He felt calm, though.

Finally, a robot appeared from the left side of his vision and walked before him. As he looked at her, he was intrigued. The robot’s body was in a feminine form and moved with a fluidity that almost made it seem graceful. It was still obviously mechanica. He didn’t remember seeing the feminine gender used in a robot before. But then, he was not remembering much right now.

The robot approached the waiting Griffin and stopped. It had a very sophisticated design. Chrome and tensteel, with gyroscopic limbs and no visible wires. Remarkably intricate. The eyes and mouth gave it the surreal look of an “almost” human. It is a unique bot, to be sure. He’d never seen one like it.

It paused in front of his chair as if to let Griffin take them in and accept their presence. The look on their face was pleasant and, for some reason, added to the calm feeling that Griffin continued to feel as they approached. This was all supposed to happen. Nothing unusual. But how did he know that? The robot’s glowing, icy blue eyes pulsed a couple of times. An indication that it was processing something.

“Hello. My name is May,” they finally said with a light English accent. “Her” voice was beautiful. From then on, he would think of her as a “she” or “her” because her voice was beautiful. Exquisitely synthesized, it sounded soft and strong at the same time. One of power and a promise of good things to come. She seemed to inspire him with her voice instantly. Just those few words, she said. He sat up a little straighter in his chair.

“Umm, Hi,” He said a bit sheepishly. His mind tried to sort out everything as it’s happening in these first few minutes since he found himself…where he is.

“OK. Current situational factors.

Awakened in a mysterious white room.

Check.

Experiencing a powerful lack of memory.

Check.

Encounter a feminine English robot with a hypnotic voice.

Check.

No problem.

“Let’s see what’s next.” he thought and maintained a rapt focus on “May.”

She nodded to him, a slight smile on her lips. “Welcome to Infinite Odyssey. You are at the beginning of an amazing journey. I am here to guide you to the first steps and to find the right place for you in this universe you will become a part of. I will spend a little time with you to discover your talents and maybe some hidden things that will give you power in the Infinite Universe. Are you ready to start?”

Her voice almost hypnotized Griffin but immediately said, “Uh Yeah! I’m ready!”.

She smiled at him, “Good to see you are eager to get things going. First, you may have noticed you do not have access to memories from your life before this moment. This is temporary, and they will return when you return to the world you came from. You are in another universe now, and to help you enjoy the adventure and excitement of this world, it’s essential that you don’t think of yourself as anything other than who you are in this world. Does that make sense?”

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He nodded, though it was a bit confusing.

“You will find that you have access to your intellect and interests based on your life outside this universe and your hopes and desires there. This will give us a spring of knowledge and understanding to pull from in the next few minutes as we decide where you start in this new world.”

Griffin felt his heartbeat begin to speed up. He was excited now to find out what would happen. Who would he be? He didn’t like this place where he wasn’t anybody. His past and future are both out of reach of his mind.

“OK, let’s get started, shall we?” she said. “First, do you know your name?”

He thought about this for a moment. He couldn’t remember. His own name. Why could he not remember at least his name?

“No,” he said, sounding dejected.

May consoled him. “It’s fine. Most don’t remember their name. Let me ask, what would you like to be called, both first and Ser name?”

Now, this seemed important. He thought about the name he would use, and it bothered him. Then he felt a spark. Was it a memory? “Griff..hmm...Dale...Dalen Griff. Dalen Griff. That sounds pretty good, right?” It seemed like a perfect name to him for some reason.

“That’s a perfect name and a good place to start. By choosing this name, we will pull from your feelings and interests close to you in the world you live in, as you are still tied close to that world, although you don’t have specific memories of it. That can be good or bad, but in your case, I think it’s perfect…”

She seemed to think for a couple of minutes. He knew for a robot, this was a long time. It took most AIs a fraction of the time to think through things than humans did. He waited patiently, watching as her eyes pulsed a couple of times.

“Dalen Griff, what motivates you?” she suddenly asked.

He knew right away, “To fix what is broken. To improve what can be improved!” Where the heck did that come from? He guessed it sounded genuine, but he didn’t know he felt it till the moment he said it.

“Good! Excellent, Dalen Griff, a great response,” she said. She then went back to silence for a bit. Her eyes pulsing again, this time several times. He wondered what those pulses were.

“Dalen Griff, what do you seek?” she said after a few moments.

Of course, he knew the answer, “To find the hidden things that can save us all.” What the heck? He didn’t even know what he meant by that. It just came out of his mouth.

“Nice, Dalen Griff. It’s a bold goal. Bold indeed.” She paused again, but not for as long.

“Dalen Griff, you are someone special. Do you know that?”

He smiled. He didn’t know that. “Um, thanks.” He looked at her and saw sincerity and respect in her expression. He didn’t know how this artificial being could pull that off, but it did.

“You will find out very soon for yourself, but you have been chosen for a place in the Infinite Universe that is truly unique.”She paused a second. He waited. He felt a surge of energy and excitement. He had no idea where this was going but couldn’t wait to hear it.

She looked him in the eye, her face showing a sense of awe, and her smile seemed to light up.

She paused again. A shorter time now. “First, let me tell you a little about the universe you have entered. Here, things that your imagination has only conceived of can happen. This is a universe of amazing technology and wonders. One, I think you will fit in very well. From this very brief conversation and my intuitive algorithms, I think I know a place for you in these many worlds that will give you a challenge, excitement, and the chance to make a real difference in this universe...and beyond.

“Are you ready to take a look?”

“Oh, Yes!” he blurted, “I can’t wait.”

He saw her smile at his enthusiasm. She moved back slightly, and a very detailed holograph map came into view. It looked like a map of a million stars at first...It spun and looked as though it was focusing in...or flying towards a part of this magnificent view. He saw many things as the “map” changed, adjusted, and zoomed in on a group of planets and a sun. The sun seemed familiar but somewhat different. It glowed somewhat amber instead of what his knowledge told him his sun looked like, which was yellow. And around this amber sun were several colorful planets. Zooming the beautiful, realistic map in more, they were orbiting a single planet in this star system. a green and blue planet that looked somewhat familiar but different in many ways from what his knowledge gave him of the planet he was from...his memory of certain things remained available, though not perfect.

Then, the map showed the surface of this world, and the zoom was almost in. He could see a beautiful city and an area of thick jungle.

Then, the image moved quickly to a point above a small village near the jungle and slowed there. Now, it focuses on one building—a simple but beautiful structure. There is obvious care and patience in the design of this place, making it seem fresh and new while having an elegant look yet having the older, unknown, mysterious quality of a temple or some other revered place.

As the image continued to focus, he could see a large open area before the front door, which had lush landscaping. May’s face returned to normal, and she smiled at him. “Did you enjoy our little tour of our little area of the galaxy?”