Frozen in time, the digital hologram on the desk of his study reminded Ben of happier times— His father with his arm around his mother— and his 12-year-old self, standing in front of the two of them at a beach in Thailand.
His father, a major businessman and entrepreneur traveled for his work, and on this rare occasion he opted to take his family along. This happy image would soon be replaced with sorrow however— moments after it had been capture—his father would be dead.
Waylaid by the thieves and bandits that roved the beach to target tourists, his father lost his life protecting his family. Ben could still hear him screaming to his mother, “Take Ben and Run!! Run!!” just before he was gunned down. It was his father’s steadfast defiance, and self-sacrifice that saved him and his mother that day, enabling them to escape and flag down the police for help. At the cost of his father’s life, he and his mother would survive.
It was only seven years later when Ben was just a freshman in college that his mother developed an aggressive form of cancer, and perish as well. Orphaned and disillusioned with life, all Ben could think about was his failure to save first his father, and then his mother. No matter how irrational everyone told him such thinking was—a 12 years old after all, couldn’t take down a pair of armed gunmen any more than a 19-year-old could singlehandedly cure the world of cancer—he continued to blame himself. He became obsessed with finding a way—as he put it—to cheat death.
Shortly after his mother’s death Dawson founded the BioDepth corporation from which the biotechnological culture known as the “Settlers” was derived. The best innovation since the wheel. Dawson couldn’t help but wonder what his mother might think about it. In the first few years of his enterprise he believed that she would be rather proud of him and his accomplishments, but now he was not so sure. As he muddled through these thoughts, he felt the subtle vibrations of his ear chip, informing him that someone was wishing to speak with him.
Not wishing to be disturbed, Dawson impatiently snapped, “Yes! What is it!” The onboard AI voice coldly informed him, “It’s your wife Mr. Dawson, she would like to speak with you in the other room.” Dawson irritably smirked to himself wondering just what this latest disturbance was, asking his AI, “What does she want? Why doesn’t she just call or text?” The AI then droned on in its cold monotone, “She says its urgent sir, and she needs to speak to you face to face.” Sighing in resignation, Dawson finally acquiesced, “Very well”.
The five feet that Dawson walked from his study, down the hall and to the living room seemed like an eternity, but as soon as he poked his head around the corner there was his wife waiting for him. With a quizzical look on her face she immediately asked, “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Dawson drawing a complete blank, starred at her before echoing back, “Forgetting something?” His wife then lifted up a pair of concert tickets as she angrily informed him, “Tonight’s concert!”
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Shaking her head in disgust and disappointment she complained, “Oh please—please don’t tell me you forgot!” In reality, Ben had indeed completely forgotten all about the engagement, but as any husband might, not wanting to admit his fault, he pretended as if he knew all about it. Dawson intoned, “Oh, no way Carrie—there’s no way I would forget that.” Carrie raising an eyebrow at him, then accusingly asked, “Really? Then what time is the show?”
Now Dawson knew he had a problem, because at this point, he had forgotten who was even performing, let alone what time they would be on. His irises instantly glowed red as he began to shuffle through that day’s schedule, but even Ben Dawson’s lighting fast apps weren’t quick enough for his wife who immediately shouted, “And don’t even try to look it up! Just admit you forgot Ben!” Ben muttered awkwardly, “Uh…um… I’m just refreshing my memory that’s all.”
But before Ben could find the event in question on his calendar, Carrie informed him, “Don’t worry about it, Ben. It’s over.” Ben stopped his shuffling now and looked at his wife with a hint of concern. She had quite a way with smattering her words with dramatic finality, and for a moment he wasn’t sure what she meant by “its over”—she almost made it sound like their entire relationship was over. But Carrie mercifully clarified, “The concert is already over Ben.”
Ben then stuttered, “B—b—but it can’t be.” Causing Carrie to angrily snap, “Well—for someone who spends hours in the other room staring at old holographic family photos! Yes, it can!” Knowing how much trauma her husband still held in him from his tragic childhood, she instantly regretting her harsh words. Carrie hopped up from the couch where she was seated, and walked over to her troubled husband. Placing a hand on his shoulder she whispered in his ear, “I’m sorry baby. I didn’t mean it.”
Ben then sighed, “No—no you did mean it. And you have every right to have said it.” Carrie let out a surprised, “I do?” and becoming increasingly concerned asked him, “What do you mean?” Ben then sighed, “You and I have been married for 15 years now, and for every one of those 15 years you have put up with my petulant displays of grief and drama all throughout.” Carrie now switching gears completely into the role of comfort, hugged her husband by the waist as she informed him, “No baby, it’s alright. I know how much your mother meant to you. You don’t have to apologize for that.”
Ben sighed, “No, I realize now that this has gone on for far too long.” Ben then looked down at his wife as she rested her head on his chest and continued, “I think its time I finally pulled the plug on Bio-Origins.” Even though she never cared much for it, Dawson suddenly stating that he was canceling the crown jewel, flag ship vessel of BioDepth industries, “Bio-Origins” came as a shock all the same. Carrie pulled away from him surprised, “But that’s your life’s work!”
Dawson nodded, “Yes, it is rather ironic. It was my vision of somehow bringing my poor dead mother back to life that kicked off the setter revolution in the first place. But in actuality the development of the setter was just a consequence of my main goal to understand life and death in the first place.” Ben sighed, “Yet we’ve achieved so much in augmenting and improving the human condition—” Dawson trailed off, as if the words had caught in his throat. Finally, shaking his head as if shaking himself out of a fugue, he acknowledged, “Yes, I have done things previously believed impossible but perhaps some things just aren’t meant to be after all.”