The Core: The First Guest

3. New and old faces

"So... can I ask some questions?" I asked as the burning thoughts in my head just had to be let out. "Am I dead?" I asked as I looked up from the text to look at Tutor standing before me.

"No, you are still functioning." She answered and even tilted her head to look at me quizzically.

"Functioning? So.... is this body real? How did it just appear? Where was my body just a few minutes ago when I couldn't move? What happened to my bike and everything back when I wrecked?" I asked all in a rush as I felt my heart start beating fast again. I needed answers and needed to understand.

"Yes, you are functioning optimally at your present age and rate. Age for your species tends to cause your mind and mental abilities to become clogged, corrupted and fractured when mental tissue degrades along with the lack of proper care and nourishment. Joining the Core assimilated your brain in its entirety and ensured that as long as the Core exists your mind and existence will continue without degradation. Is this a sufficient explanation to your question about functioning?" She asked and paused while she waited for me to reply to her question.

"I suppose? What about my other questions?"

"This body is virtual, a representation that your mind desires to maintain a low level of stress at this present time. That answer answers the question of how it appeared in partial. The rest of the answer is that the core and your memory created it within an environment template that you find livable. As to what happened to the "bike" it and your physical body and accessories were removed from existence. The path across the soil leading from the front porch of your house was also leveled and randomized to erase the path that your "bike" took to arrive at its end destination."

I blinked, standing there a bit awestruck at what she had just said. In essence, I was a missing person... I had just vanished from existence. I slowly entered a state of shock as my hand reached up to cover my eyes while my mind tried to understand what had just happened to me, to my life, and what it would mean to the lives of my family and friends.

"Guest?"

My heart felt like it was being torn apart in my chest. My world was falling apart the more my mind raced through what this meant. I couldn't breath, I couldn't think, I...

"Guest? Seeking assistance. Unlocking channels to outside."

I slowly sank to the floor, my world dimming as I felt an overwhelming sense of fear and loss. When I reached the bottom I started to fight it, I wasn't one to stay down forever, I was still alive... sort of anyways. I had been through a panic attack like this before and I had made it through, I just needed to let time pass to teach me that what I was thinking wasn't really all that bad.

My first panic attack had happened to me right after my grandmother had died and I had dropped out of an accelerated college class to return home to my little town to rethink my life. The panic attack had occurred when I had opened a letter from the college with a semester's bill attached to it. It was the most money I had ever owed to anyone in my life and it had made me feel so lost and afraid, just the thoughts of how I was ever going to pay back such a large sum with the low income I was used to making. My older brother was with me at the time when I opened the letter and he helped me get through my panic attack.

The thought of never being able to see him again struck me deeply and I was going to try to fight to see if I could see him again.

I became aware of a low ominous humming sound in the air around me. I looked up and noticed that Tutor was still standing where I had left her but her eyes were wide with a look of worry directed at me. The air was hued with red instead of blue which made everything have a "warning" vibe to the surroundings around us.