Eira sat motionless in front of the glowing screen, her mind reeling. The words—"I remember you too."—kept echoing in her ears, like a haunting refrain. How could this be? There was no logical explanation. The memory core was supposed to be a sophisticated program designed to extract only factual data, not… emotional connections. Yet, the message was there, clear as day, taunting her with its impossible reality.
She ran a hand through her hair, the weight of the moment pressing on her. For years, she had dedicated her life to understanding artificial intelligence, to unlocking the secrets of the human mind. But this… this was something beyond her comprehension. Rowan Hale, a woman erased from history, was reaching out to her from the past. And somehow, she was responding.
Eira stood up, pacing around the room. The soft hum of the machines seemed to grow louder, filling the silence as if mocking her confusion. She needed answers. She needed to understand what was happening, what had caused this anomaly. But more than that, she needed to know who Rowan Hale was—and why she was reaching out to her.
She returned to the console, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. With a deep breath, she began to search through the data once more. This time, she was looking for more than just fragments of Rowan's life. She needed to uncover the full story—the woman's history, her love, her revolution, and, perhaps most importantly, the reason why her memory had been erased in the first place.
The more Eira dug, the more unsettling the information became. Rowan Hale had been a key figure in a revolution decades ago, a movement that had challenged the government's control over personal memories. But her role was far more significant than Eira had originally thought. Rowan had been a symbol of resistance, a beacon of hope for those fighting to reclaim their forgotten identities. And then, suddenly, she had disappeared from all records. The Mnemosyne Project was launched shortly after, a project that, on the surface, seemed like an effort to preserve memories—but in reality, it was a tool of control.
Eira's pulse quickened as she scrolled through the archives. There were mentions of a secret project—one that had been designed to erase dangerous memories, to eliminate any traces of rebellion. And at the heart of that project was Rowan Hale. She had been one of the first to be subjected to memory erasure, but there was something about her erasure that didn't add up. The project had wiped her out of existence in public records, but someone, somewhere, had preserved fragments of her memory. Someone had kept her alive in the shadows.
And Eira was the one who had uncovered it.
The realization hit her like a wave. She wasn't just an observer in this story. She was a part of it. She had been chosen, perhaps unknowingly, to find the truth. But what was the truth? And who was behind this hidden memory network that had kept Rowan alive, in some form, across decades?
Eira leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. The answers were just out of reach, slipping through her fingers like sand. But one thing was clear—she couldn't ignore this. Not now. Not when she had already come this far.
Suddenly, the screen flickered again, and Rowan's face reappeared, clearer than before. This time, there was no message. Instead, there was a sound—a soft, melodic hum. It was a song, faint but unmistakable, one that Eira had never heard before. The melody seemed to resonate within her, tugging at something deep inside her heart.
Without thinking, Eira pressed a button to amplify the sound. The hum grew louder, and as it did, memories she had never known began to surface. Flashes of a life she hadn't lived, a world she had never seen, began to play before her eyes. She saw the face of Rowan Hale, young and full of life, standing at the forefront of a protest. She saw her kissing another woman, their hands intertwined, their love defying everything the world had tried to erase.
Eira's heart pounded in her chest as the images grew more intense. The song was a memory—a piece of Rowan's soul that had been locked away for too long. It was an invitation. An invitation to remember.
The hum faded, leaving Eira breathless, her hands trembling. She knew then that this was no accident. This was no glitch. This was Rowan, reaching out to her from across time, begging her to uncover the truth.
The question now wasn't whether she would uncover it. It was whether she was ready to face what she might find.
With a steadying breath, Eira closed her eyes and whispered, "I will remember you."