The setting sun streamed in through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, casting its glow on a pale, gaunt face. The woman curled up on the bed weakly opened her eyes, the blurred world around her gradually coming into focus.
The tall, spacious room felt eerily empty. The overwhelming whiteness seemed to press in on her from all sides, breeding an indescribable terror. Startled, she felt a tightening in her throat, and she forced her eyes wide open.
She found herself lying naked on the bed, covered only by a pristine white silk blanket. She frantically scanned the room, attempting to find some clue to her whereabouts, but couldn't make sense of it.
She tried to pull the blanket up to her neck, wrapping herself tightly, as if it could provide a semblance of security. But the slightest effort caused a sharp pain in her right shoulder, and tears started to well up in her eyes, dripping onto the pillow.
She recalled everything that had happened since she left the Central Park Hotel in San Francisco the previous afternoon, and was once again overwhelmed by darkness.
------
Outside the Central Park Hotel in San Francisco, Xia Nan hailed a taxi straight to Professor Albert's lab. The day before, she had received an email from Professor Albert, saying her memory extraction was scheduled. After three years of persistent pleading, Professor Albert had finally agreed to have her as the first clinical trial patient for the memory extractor.
Xia Nan calculated the time. The journey from the hotel to Professor Albert's lab was roughly 40 minutes, and the memory extraction would take about two hours. This would allow her to return just in time for dinner. She had the excuse of buying a dress; she could pick one up at the mall on her way back.
She had to keep this from Chen Chen. He had always opposed her search for her lost memories. Chen Chen believed that amnesia was the brain's way of protecting itself by fading traumatic events, and he wished Xia Nan would let go of her obsession. And she might have, had she not realized that these memories might be linked to a child.
Three years ago, during a routine check-up, she was informed that she had once been pregnant and given birth. It took her a week to digest this shocking news. She was convinced there had been a mistake and consulted a renowned gynecologist for a second opinion. However, the conclusion remained the same.
From conception to birth, it takes ten months. The pain of childbirth is unforgettable for any woman. Yet, her memory of this event was blank. Where was the child? Who was its father? Why couldn't she remember any of this?
Her mental state deteriorated rapidly, plagued by nightmares. In her dreams, a disheveled child screamed at her in anguish. Wondering how that child had survived in this world after being separated from its mother, she feared the worst.
Despite racking her brain for any relevant memories from her past, she came up empty.
The root of it all was the memory she lost. At fourteen, she had been in a car accident and was in a coma for an extended period. When she woke up, she had no memories of that time. This was what her parents had told her, and she had believed them without question. But the revelation about the child shattered the lie they had spun for her.
What had truly happened? Driven almost to madness, Xia Nan desperately wanted to recover her lost memories. This memory concerned a life and her past emotions. Professor Albert's memory extractor was her only hope. She wished to uncover her past before marrying Chen Chen, to confess that she had borne a child. If Chen Chen could accept this, she would wear his engagement ring.
------
The journey seemed smooth. The roads were almost empty, and within half an hour, Xia Nan arrived at Professor Albert's lab at Stanford University. It was 2:30 in the afternoon.
Professor Albert, who had been absent from the public eye for five years, looked as kind and genial as ever, though his curly hair was now more gray. He wore a light gray cardigan and the same gold-rimmed glasses Chen Chen had worn during his PhD. Xia Nan used to visit Chen Chen often back then, so she had become quite familiar with Professor Albert.
After some brief pleasantries, Professor Albert led Xia Nan through the lab to a small room on the west side. She knew this place well; it used to be a storage room but had since been renovated. The walls were now soundproofed, though the lighting remained dim.
In the middle of the room was a deep brown leather armchair. On a small table beside it lay a shiny silver elliptical device, roughly the size of an infant's head.
"Is this the memory extractor?" Xia Nan approached the table, crouching down to get a closer look. So this was the much-talked-about device in the scientific community.
"I call her Mnemosyne."
"Mnemosyne..." Xia Nan repeated softly, "The goddess of memory?"
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"Hahaha, named after the goddess of memory, she's my other 'daughter'."
Professor Albert gestured for Xia Nan to sit. As she turned to face the armchair, a sudden wave of anxiety washed over her. For a brief moment, she felt a pang of fear. She slowly stood up and cautiously sat down. The armchair was surprisingly soft, as if it were enveloping her.
"The process is divided into two stages: memory extraction and memory decoding," Professor Albert explained. "Mnemosyne extracts all memories from your brain and stores them on a memory chip."
"And then?"
"Mnemosyne needs to confirm that you are the owner of the chip. Once verified, it matches your brain's memory decoding mechanism and replays the extracted memories at a speed of a million times the original, completing the re-input of memories."
"So only I can access these memories?"
"Of course. Memories are the most private part of a human being. Are you ready?"
Xia Nan sat stiffly, nodding. For a moment, she considered backing out. Perhaps Chen Chen was right, and her amnesia was a form of self-protection against some horrible event. But if these events had occurred in her life, she needed to piece together the missing fragment of her memory to become whole again.
Professor Albert placed a mesh cap filled with small metal pieces on Xia Nan's head and handed her a small 50ml cup of sedative.
"Your journey of memories is about to begin!" A graceful female voice emanated from Mnemosyne's body.
The sedative began to take effect, her eyelids grew heavy, and the figure of Professor Albert standing in front of her became increasingly blurry. She lost consciousness, and by the time she opened her eyes again, it was already five in the afternoon.
The red indicator light on the memory extractor had lit up. A memory chip protruded from the top of Mnemosyne, indicating that the memory extraction was complete. Now, there was the decoding process. During this process, Mnemosyne would match the memory decoding mechanism of the chip's owner's brain, helping the patient unlock their memories.
But where was Professor Albert? Xia Nan noticed that he wasn't in the room.
"Professor Albert! Professor Albert!" Xia Nan called out towards the doorway twice, but no one answered. She had to decode her memories quickly and then rush back to the hotel.
Xia Nan got up to find Professor Albert. Fortunately, she was familiar with the place. She guessed that Professor Albert must be conducting an experiment in the lab and lost track of time. For scientists like them, it was quite common.
Strangely, the lab was empty too. "Professor Albert! Professor Albert!" Xia Nan tried calling out to catch the professor's attention, but still, there was no reply. Could he have gone out? Xia Nan quickly dismissed the idea. Professor Albert wouldn't forget that he had a participant undergoing the first trial of the memory extractor.
"Professor Albert!" Xia Nan screamed. She found Professor Albert curled up beside an experiment table.
"Professor Albert!" Xia Nan cried in terror, quickly approaching him. It was then she clearly saw a dagger plunged into Professor Albert's chest.
Xia Nan felt her entire body stiffen instantly. She wanted to check for Professor Albert's breath but her hands wouldn't move. After much struggle, she managed to get her right hand close to his nose.
No breath!
Professor Albert was dead!
What should she do now? Xia Nan's mind was blank. A thought flashed through her subconscious: she needed to leave immediately, or she would be suspected as the murderer!
At the entrance of Stanford University, there were no taxis in sight. The Super Brainwave really paralyzed the city. Xia Nan didn't want to stay a second longer. As she bent down to take her phone from her bag to call an Uber, suddenly, a bright blue Ferrari stopped in front of her.
A striking Western face leaned out from the car window, a beard trailing from his chin up to his temples.
"Is that really you, Xia Nan?"
"Will?" Xia Nan was surprised to see an acquaintance here, her worst fear realized.
"It's been years. Don't you recognize me anymore?" The man gave a radiant smile.
"No, I just didn't expect to see you here!" Xia Nan replied, her voice shaky, trying to send Will away.
"It's hard to get a cab here. Let me give you a ride." Saying this, Will got out and opened the car door for her.
"I've already called a cab. It should be here soon." Xia Nan hesitated to get in, fearing that Will might notice her distress.
"Dr. Xia, your lying skills haven't even graduated elementary school. I've been watching you for a while. You haven't even taken out your phone. Get in."
Caught in her lie, Xia Nan was at a loss for words and reluctantly got into Will's car.
"Central Park Hotel in San Francisco?" Will guessed Xia Nan was attending Nofi's buffet dinner.
"Yes." Xia Nan nodded, forgetting that she still had to buy a dress.
Will started the car. Throughout the journey, Xia Nan remained silent. She wasn't paying attention to what Will was saying. The image of Professor Albert with a knife in his chest kept replaying in her mind.
"Are you alright? You seem unwell." Noticing Xia Nan's pale face and lost look, Will pulled over.
Xia Nan didn't respond. She didn't even realize the car had stopped.
In the silence, Will's nose was filled with the scent of her perfume, stirring something inside of him. Overwhelmed, he leaned in closer to her.
Suddenly, Xia Nan came back to her senses.
"What are you..." Before she could finish, Will, driven by intense emotions, overwhelmed her. She tried to push him away and flee, but in the confined space of the car, and against a physically superior man, she couldn't escape.
Xia Nan was filled with despair, looking lifelessly at the car's ceiling like a fish gasping for breath after being pulled ashore. A deep and powerful force surged against her womb. Each impact felt stronger than the last, shooting directly into her mind. She felt unfamiliar fragments flying in some corner of her brain, creating a déjà vu sensation similar to the present moment. However, this fleeting feeling vanished in an instant, leaving her grasping at it, unsure if it was an illusion or something drifting from a corner of her memory.
Suddenly, a force surged to the top of her head, the pleasure emanating from her womb affecting every pore of her body. It felt as though her blood would burst forth. She convulsed, uncontrollably letting out a soft moan.
This moan provoked an even more intense assault from Will. Unable to bear such shame, Xia Nan felt betrayed by her own body. She bit down hard on Will's right shoulder, as if wishing to take him down with her.
"Ah!" Will cried out like a wounded lone wolf, a chunk of his flesh bitten off by Xia Nan. The pain halted Will's advances, and he collapsed next to Xia Nan. Overwhelmed by terror, Xia Nan fainted.
"It was so horrifying!" Recollecting the events, Xia Nan shivered. Then, an even more immediate question struck her: "Where am I?"