Alternative

| Epilogue - Part One

Three months later

Innocent until proven guilty is a lie they tell to prisoners to keep them calm. It's what they told me every day while I awaited trial, and now that the time is here, my lawyer decides to petition the court for a psychological review. He says a person who is in their right state of mind would not, could not steal from unsuspecting people.

A part of me is thankful he's new to the job and doesn't know criminals. Because isn't that what makes a crime? To be cruel to those who don't see it coming?

Like Elizabeth did to me.

And I did to all of those women I ripped memories from.

But none of that matters. My review is only minutes away and the clinic's room is cold. I have no time to think of how awful my crimes were, how illogical and immoral. I only need the doctor who walks in to see that I am in my right mind so I can get this trial over and done with. Serve my time.

Then get back home to my wife.

Emery, I miss you so much.

"Ms. Rayna Guzman." The door to the room opens. A tall, slender man walks in. As he turns his blue eyes towards me, he smiles and nods before brushing waves of black hair behind his ear. "I'm Nathaniel Roik, the doctor doing your medical exam today."

I watch as Mr. Roik closes the door behind him then steps closer through the minimal room. With just a grey table and two chairs between us, there isn't much space to cross. He places the small metal box he carries in his hand on the table once he's in front of me.

"Hello, Mr. Roik," I say with a casual, lazy hand wave.

He adjusts his medical jacket before pulling out a chair for him to sit on. "Nathan," he says as he makes himself comfortable. "I think it's easier to get to know my patients if we are on a first-name basis."

I lift my brows as I look at him. To be on a 'first name basis' is a little personal. But I guess for what I need to get done, I'm sure he knows my first name, last name, and social security number.

Calling him Nathan can't hurt me anymore than I've hurt myself.

"Sure, whatever you say." Despite my crimes being non-violent, I am handcuffed to the table. I lift my wrists and my restraints clink against the pressure. Glancing at my metal bounds, I sigh. "I know my lawyer said this is needed before I can get through with my trial. So, if we can do this as fast as possible, I'd appreciate it."

"Oh?" Nathan laughs as he pulls his box closer to him. With one finger, he undoes the latch. "What makes you think this is a speedy process? Psychological reviews common for you?"

The look on his face makes me laugh. A crooked smile paired with eye wrinkles. He looks to be a lot older than he's behaving right now. Maybe the jokes will make this go by fast.

"No, not common," I say, leaning back in my seat. "But I think you probably reviewed my file already and know what I did for a living?"

Nathan doesn't look at me as he opens his box all of the ways and pulls out two silver spheres from inside of it. Alt-Life spheres. I blink as he places them beside the box. Sometimes I forget how deep Alt-Life is in the medical field, more than just entertainment.

"Oh, I know. A memory harvester." Nathan pulls out a tiny projector; digital and compact. It's not much bigger than the spheres beside it, but when he presses a button on the side of the small device, light emits from its camera and covers the wall to our right.

I look at it as the white square flickers without an image.

"It was your job to retrieve memories and you'd give them to your partner, Joe, for editing. Am I right?" Nathan closes his box and pushes it aside. "That was your job?"

Clearing my throat, I nod. "Yes."

He smiles as he places his hands over the spheres. Slowly pushing them in my direction, he doesn't take his eyes off of me. "Then you'll know how this works. No different than those mem-uploads you all do. Just..."

When Nathan removes his hand, I grab the spheres. I roll one of them between my fingers. "There's no fun involved." I look at him. And inhale sharply. "Is this all you need for my review?"

He nods and leans back in his seat. "That and your cooperation."

|||

The setup is different than what I'm used to. The tiny projector digitally connects to the spheres I press to my temple. There aren't any warning messages or windows displaying my moods, temperature, or mental states. This doctor is reviewing my memories, nothing else.

I bite my lip as the white square protected on the wall changes to blue.

"So, what are you looking for when you do this?" I glance at Nathan as he gets up from his chair and approaches the wall. He places his hands behind his back as I observe him. "Do you need me to recall a day or something?"

"Your case is a little interesting," he says as he rocks back on his feet. "Usually when I'm called to do these, I'm told to review the memories that may have spurred the crime and connect them to a mental issue that may excuse the crime."

He looks at me with a weak smile. "Now, I know there's a lot going on with your case, and you weren't the one who killed Ms. Araullo, but the two of you seem linked somehow. I need to review instances in your past and she may appear. I just need to locate valid reasons for your criminal actions."

"Criminal? Me?" I clench my jaw. "That woman, she was the one who hurt my wife. I did what I had to!"

He sighs and bites his lip. "I know, I understand completely. But if I go far enough back, perhaps I can find information that may excuse you. I just want to give you the warning that she may appear."

"But I..." I pause.

Nathan lifts his brow. "You don't know her, right?"

I shake my head.

He looks back at the wall. "But you admitted to your lawyer you feel as if you do, you just don't remember."

I bite my tongue. Yes, I did tell my lawyer that. The right thing to do is be honest with the person defending you.

I need to be honest with Nathan, too.

"Okay, look..." I lean forward on the table and close my eyes. "I hit my head pretty bad when I was a teen, okay? There's a lot I don't remember. She's... probably a part of that time."

When I lift my head, I look at him and see I have his attention. Sitting up straight, I push my hair back and show the scar nestled within my hairline. "Ever since it happened, I lose track of... a lot of things."

"Interesting." Nathan nods and looks back at the wall. "I'll keep that in mind as I review, okay? It won't be long."

Suddenly, his tone is dry. Medical. And I know I have no choice but to listen to him. "Do I..." I look down at my hands as I rub my fingers together. "Do I think of a specific year or something?"

"No." Nathan's smile returns as he approaches the projector on the table. He presses another button on its side. The blue square on the wall turns red. "I got it from here."