Chapter 24 Memories

Chapter 24 Memories
In a lab, a blonde-haired man sat in front of a computer, a pen tucked behind his ear as he smiled at the display on his screen. Behind him stood Andrea, holding a tablet in her hand and typing rapidly. As she worked, the display on his screen shifted.

On it was the neural mapping of a human brain, which revolved constantly, with different areas lighting up rhythmically in response to Andrea's hand movements.

"The human memory sets them apart from every other creature," the blonde-haired man spoke, his tone soft and gentle, but his eyes hiding great apathy.

"Most animals recall to develop survival patterns and everything else is simply hereditary instinct. Hence animals are hardly malleable. Humans, on the other hand, have contextual memories, episodic memory, and general memories. All of which allow us to create, to feel, to survive, socialize, and learn," he paused and turned to Andrea, who raised her head and nodded at him.

"But most of what makes us who we are, is hidden in the memories we can't recall. Like the marks left on a mold after a key has been imprinted on it or..." he paused and rose, typing rapidly on the keyboard.

". . . more accurately, footprints on a beach; Some deeper than others, some easily washed away by the sea, some eternal."

He paused again and a ripple of emotions flashed through his eyes.
"You will be more of me. Love where I appreciate, hate where I avoid, desire where I want. You will feel everything I have thought... and more"



Gabriel felt a rush of conflicting emotions.

His vision blurred, and he felt something like a screen obstruct all of his senses so that he watched silently, trapped within a dark space. He felt something powerful within him, something overwhelming, something more than he could comprehend and a desire to worship this feeling flooded him.

His body felt foreign, and his mind minuscule.

"I-" Zina opened her lips to apologize but as she stared at Gabriel, all she saw was that arrogant smirk and cold eyes.

Her vision blurred and before her was no longer Gabriel but a figure she both longed and dreaded to see.

Her face instantly drained of color and she took a step back, her mouth agape.

"Adam," she muttered in shock.

Gabriel watched all of this but felt utterly trapped and paralyzed, unable to move, speak, or even think; the world seemed alien to him.

"Human memory is malleable, but yours is not... and you are not human"
A voice resounded seemingly from everywhere and his vision changed again.

In front of him was a face, an impassive face, watching him sternly. Andrea's eyes flashed as she stared at the screen. It was brief, and Gabriel almost missed it.

"Gabriel. I don't know what Adam has done to you, nor can I undo it, but when you feel confused, think about this. It's a riddle, don't forget." She paused and started to type, but all his focus was drawn to her lips.

"What becomes of a piece of jade taken from the sea, polished and strung on a necklace around the neck of a maiden? If the word love is branded onto it, is it love? Is it a heart if carved heart-shaped? Is it jewelry or is its nature now defined by the feelings of the giver or the value placed on it by the gifted? Or its price?"

"What?" a stunned voice asked, and Gabriel blinked. Zina stood in front of him utterly confused by what he'd just asked.

Gabriel smiled subtly and turned away from her. He said nothing about the kiss. Zina might be confused why she did that so impulsively without reason, but he wasn't.

"Human memory is malleable" he muttered.

Zina stared at him and swallowed the words she was about to speak and also turned to stare at the workers in the distance.

Her mind a mess, she stole glances at Gabriel from time to time.

"Gabriel" she called eventually, unable to act as if nothing had happened.

"Don't worry, it was inevitable," Gabriel said with a smile, turning to her.

'Now that's something Adam would say!' Zina once again felt like her mind was in a grinder. The arrogance in his words stunned her and annoyed her at the same time but she couldn't find any words to respond.

'Inevitable?' she scoffed and turned away from him.

Gabriel knew from her expression that she had misunderstood him, but too bothered to explain, he looked away from her again.



Elsewhere, Adam stood in front of a long mirror, hands in his pockets as he stared at his reflection.

"Again?!" he exclaimed in bafflement.

"He's evolving faster than you calculated. What is he, one evolution short?" a voice came from beside him, and Adam turned to see a grey-haired man standing there.

The man stood straight even as his voice grated.
"Your mother warned you" the man added.

"Heh, I'll see how he handles your nagging when he reaches my level" Adam scoffed and proceeded to ignore the man.

The man did not speak again until his figure faded away. Adam glanced at the absence and scoffed again as he turned away with a grimace.



The day slowly came to an end and the Engineers stopped their work.

Zina hugged her arms as she listened to the Chief talk about the work progress.
"Thank you" she nodded at him as he walked away.

"This might not take as long as I'd feared it would," she said and glanced up at Gabriel to see him staring at her arms.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"No," she replied, smiling.

"Why do you always do that?" Gabriel asked again.

"Always?" Zina asked back with a brow raised in challenge.

Gabriel simply stared at her expectantly with no intention to explain himself.

Zina turned impatient and exasperated, "Are you really not going to tell me how you know me?" she asked.

"In a former life," Gabriel replied, shrugging.

"So what are we? Soulmates?" Zina teased.

The question stumped Gabriel and he blanked. Zina did not see the irony in her question but she noticed Gabriel's stumped expression.

Realizing she had gotten too casual, she cleared her throat and asked. "Shouldn't we get going?"

"Right," Gabriel nodded, and they started off.

Usually, they would have dinner together, but today something felt different, and neither of them dared to test it out.

When Gabriel walked into the mansion, he caught sight of Andrea slumped on the sofa in the living room still wearing her uniform white t-shirt and funnel trousers.

He joined her on the sofa and they both stared at the distant ceiling, their minds loaded and heavy.

"Memory is malleable," Gabriel spoke, breaking the silence.

Andrea immediately sat up, her pupils dilating, and turned sharply to him.

"What?" Gabriel asked, surprised at her reaction.

"Where did you hear that?" Andrea asked, her eyes wide in shock.

"I think I remembered" Gabriel frowned.

"You remembered?!" Andrea immediately stood up, her face pale and expression grave.

"What's wrong?" Gabriel sat up, realizing something had gone horribly wrong.