Near Future 1: Awakening

by Randal Sloan

  He swore to himself. I will do whatever it takes to find a way to get this one. It's my ticket out of here! He had always been able to weasel his way into things, and he figured he could do it one more time. In fact, he was proud to consider himself an excellent weasel. He suspected that if he could find a way to get to the doctor's work on nanites, he could sell that information to the Organization for enough money to retire for the rest of his life with the lifestyle he really wanted. Then he could play poker any time and perfect his system, so he could really hit it big. He dropped a note on the fake VR forum that the Organization used to communicate. He would just have to wait for them to contact him. His name on the VR forum was Weasel, and he used a VR icon of a weasel.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Rehab and New Acquaintances

  Major sports injuries are down this year due to a number of rule changes in various sports and the inclusion of new lightweight safety equipment using new materials donated by Space Tech. The rate for more minor injuries remains about the same. Local hospitals say their sports institutes are all prepared to help with any injuries that occur.

  #

  Miranda knew she was scheduled to go to rehab early the next week. The doctor had removed her bandages and had programmed her nanites to help her hair grow very fast, so she felt a little better about her appearance. Even with it short, at least she had hair! When she woke up the morning before she was scheduled for rehab, she was a little worried about her therapy because she continued to feel very weak physically. Even the simplest physical tasks seemed to challenge her. However, before her appointment, she was surprised to have a visitor, a pretty young woman with shoulder length reddish-blond hair. She was also wearing brighter clothes than the drab uniform most wore in the hospital. She came into Miranda's room carrying a large vase of flowers in one hand and pulling a small wheeled case behind her with the other.

  Setting the beautiful vase of flowers down in the window, she turned to Miranda with a friendly smile. "Good morning. My name is Andrea James, and I am the hospital patient representative assigned to you. My job is to make sure you have everything you need, and that your stay at our hospital goes well.

  "First, have you had the financial situation explained to you?" When Miranda shook her head, she continued. "All of your hospital expenses are being paid by the trust fund set up for you. Plus, any expenses deemed appropriate will be paid directly by your trust fund. In addition, we have set up a platinum account for you that will receive monthly payments for you to use as needed. That way you will only have to worry about getting better. If you ever need additional amounts, it can be requested and granted pending approval.

  "Secondly, I want you to come to me with anything you need, including needing someone to talk to. I know you have been through a lot, and it has to be a lot to handle at times."

  Miranda nodded. "It has been really hard trying to cope with everything, especially with the memory loss. And I sometimes have strange feelings, like I know something but can't quite place it. Like you, for instance. I feel like I know you, but I have no idea why."

  "I don't think we have met, Miranda. Maybe you saw me pass in the hallway? Anyway that is the kind of thing I am talking about. I will try to come by to see you as often as I can. But for today, I have one more thing for you." Andrea collapsed the handles on the case she had wheeled into the room, and removing the tray from the bedside table, she placed the case on it. "I have brought you clothes and personal items for you to use while you are staying here. That way you can get rid of those horrible hospital gowns. I will get you more things as you need them."

  She then helped Miranda dress as if that was something she did every day. Finally, reaching into a small bag, she pulled out makeup and lightly applied it to Miranda's face. "There," she said, holding a compact mirror up for her to look. "You look beautiful now. We'll have to watch out for all the orderlies, or they will be following you around."

  Miranda laughed at that. "Thanks," she breathed. Pulling her into a hug, she told her, "You already feel like a special friend, and I really need a friend right now."

  #

  After her meeting, Miranda was wheeled down to the rehab rooms. There the physical therapist met her in the therapy area, pulling up her VR chart on his workstation next to the entrance. Miranda was still sitting in the wheelchair they used to bring her down to the area, but she had a couple of moments to look around while he finished working with her chart. Lots of equipment and it all looked rather intimidating to her. Finally he smiled, introducing himself. "I'm Phillip Masterson. I am the lead physical therapist for the hospital. I and my assistants will be working with you to recover your physical abilities." He tapped an icon on his VR, pulling up a new screen. "First, we have to establish your baseline. That will enable us to determine your progress in the rehabilitation process."

  Motioning for his assistant, the two of them helped her onto a patient table. There he had her do a number of physical tasks, recording the results as she did them. He didn't make any judgments about her ability to complete the activities, but Miranda was concerned about her condition. Finally she asked him, "Just how bad is it? I feel like a little baby, almost."

  He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, trying to give her an answer in terms that she would understand. "It's hard to say exactly. But I believe your level of disability would be considered normal for someone in your situation. Your weak physical condition, as well as your head injury, together are contributing factors. But I don't see anything here that we won't be able to overcome."

  Closing his VR, he walked Miranda through a number of exercises that he wanted her to work on during the day. He also scheduled her for multiple intensive sessions during the week and scheduled her for a followup assessment at the end of the week.

  Therapy became the center of Miranda's days. At first, she struggled with even basic activities, and she had to deal with a lot of pain. She learned that when she had been first brought in, she had a number of other injuries besides the head trauma, and her body had been slowly recovering from them while she was in the coma. She at first wondered why they didn't use the nanites to treat those injuries too, but when she researched in more detail, she learned that the issue with the nanites was being able to control them over an extended part of the body. The nanites that she had been given were only functional in the area of her brain.

  She at first found that to be a little scary, but she had gradually gotten used to the idea and was wondering what all she would be able to do to take advantage of her nanites. She was not able to determine how much she was able to function outside of the norm with VR systems, but she noticed no one else seemed to be able to use a VR like her. However, she was continuing to experience the migraine headaches and dizziness at times, and she also knew was not coping very well mentally and emotionally with everything that had happened to her.

  After struggling with the pain the first day, Miranda learned, if she concentrated, she could use the nanites to control the pain to the point that she could push it to the back of her mind. She mentally would make the pain appear like a blinking icon in her mind's eye that told her it was there, but she could then push it to the side. This allowed her to continue to press through with physical activities that otherwise she would be unable to do.

  She really did have to learn to walk again. By the end of the second day, she was able to walk to the end of the training bars without falling and by the next day she was able to use crutches to move short distances. Miranda was thrilled at being able to do that little bit on her own. The young assistant who had been working with her was very excited, but also even more so, was amazed at her progress.

  #

  Andrea came to visit every day, and Miranda found that she was becoming a good friend. The second day she came in carrying a box of chocolates. Andrea smoothly opened the box, pointing to one of the pieces, "These almond chocolates are the best. You should start with one, but make sure you save one for last."

>   When Miranda did as she was told, biting into one of the pieces Andrea indicated, she exclaimed in pleasure, "Ohh! You're right. This is so good. Now I know that I really, really like chocolate. Thank you so much!"

  Every day Andrea did something else for her. Miranda started looking forward to her visits. During one of those visits, Andrea pointed to her crutches and said, "When you get a little better with those, you will have to visit the area at the end of the hall. It is designed for our patients to feel a little closer to the outside world. It has a water fountain, plants and the sun shining in from a huge glass ceiling. I think you will enjoy it."

  So, late in the week Miranda was excited about being able to walk with her crutches and leave her room. She immediately walked toward the area that Andrea had described to her. As she approached the area, two girls close to Miranda's age came out of a doorway. One of them, a pretty girl with long blonde hair, really wasn't looking where she was going and almost ran into Miranda. The girl gave Miranda a rude stare and an exasperated sigh, like it was all Miranda's fault. She was favoring her ankle which was in a brace, and she immediately grabbed for support the arm of the other girl, who looked to be slightly younger. The second girl, while not as pretty as the blonde, had a more pleasant demeanor and shoulder length brown hair. The blonde finally mumbled "Sorry" and then dragged the other girl with her toward the door at the end of the hall.

  The sudden event caused a wave of dizziness to overtake Miranda, and she almost fell, but a young man rushed to her side and caught her arm. He helped her to a chair where Miranda decided that maybe she should sit down.

  The young man, who Miranda thought was just a little older than her, was the picture of the dashing hero rushing to her rescue. He looked a lot like the second girl with the same color hair and the same eyes, but he had a rather athletic build and Miranda thought he looked quite good in the sweater vest he was wearing. The vest had the logo of the local university on it. He said to Miranda, "Hi, I'm Ezekiel Caldwell, everyone calls me Zeke. I'm sorry about that. Are you alright?"

  Miranda nodded slightly, still trying to get her dizziness under control. "Yes," she said. "Just a little dizzy I guess."

  "The blonde is Caitlyn Erwin. She is a force of nature, but she's a very good soccer player. The other girl is my sister Emily, and the two of us got 'volunteered' to bring Caitlyn here for a therapy appointment. Caitlyn has a minor ankle injury, and she has been making a major deal of it. Because she is the best player on the team, she expects special treatment."

  Miranda laughed. "It's ok, I'm alright, but thanks for your help. I'm Miranda Summerlin, from the room down the hall."

  "Well, then you really should get special treatment, and obviously you're having to deal with a lot more than a minor ankle injury. So if there is anything I can do to help, let me know."

  "Hopefully", he said, "I will be seeing you a lot more. Caitlyn says that she will have to continue her therapy for some time, because she must be able to play again at her best!"

  Miranda laughed at that and said, "Well you know where I will be. At least for the next little while, I think."

  "Then I will see you soon," he said. He followed the others out, stopping briefly to give her a last wave as he left. Miranda found herself really hoping that she would see him again. There's something special about him. Miranda couldn't help but smile.

  #

  On the drive back to school, Caitlyn talked constantly about the soccer team, and that it was a good thing they were between terms since she was sidelined with her ankle. They had a really big game coming up, and she had to get ready for it. Luckily for Zeke's sanity, it was a short drive, and he finally pulled into the front of the athletic dorm at the school to let her out. Caitlyn had probably wanted him to help her into the dorm, but luckily a bunch of her friends were waiting and they all gathered around her, so he escaped.

  Zeke was totally distracted; he kept thinking of Miranda. There's something special about her. He really wasn't listening to Emily as she talked about something on the way to their dorm. Finally, Emily looked at him and said, "Ok, brother. I know when you are only pretending to listen to me. What's up with you?"

  "Sorry, I was just thinking about other things." Zeke parked their vehicle and said, "Let's go, Sis. We've got a VR call to make to Mom and Dad." He started off, with Emily tagging thoughtfully along behind him. She was not fooled; she knew when something was going on with him, even if he wasn't talking about it. She would have to work on him, but she always figured him out. Trying to remember what had occurred to distract him, it suddenly dawned on her what might have happened. While they were at the hospital, Zeke had stopped to help the girl on crutches that Caitlyn had almost run into. It had been a couple of minutes before he caught back up to them. She would have to follow up on that, she thought. This whole business with Caitlyn was her fault, and it certainly wasn't working out.

  #

  Caitlyn had been having a really tough day. First the physical therapist had told her that there was no way she could even practice with the soccer team with her ankle injury. He went on to say that she needed to stay off it as much as possible to let it "heal." He didn't understand that she had a big game coming up, and she really needed to practice. Then there had been the incident in the hallway which had irritated her, when the girl in the hallway had made her hurt her ankle, then didn't even bother to say she was sorry. But the thing she was really the most upset about was Zeke. He seemed to be completely zoned out, especially on the way back, and she couldn't seem to get through to him.

  Caitlyn had admired Zeke for some time, but they seemed to run in different circles. It wasn't that Zeke wasn't athletic, because she had seen him playing sports at times, and he was really good. But he was also very smart, and she admired that in him. She had seen him at their soccer games and he seemed to be cheering them on enthusiastically. But then she had the opportunity to spend time with him, when Emily had "volunteered" him to carry her to the therapy sessions. She had thought she was making a connection with him, at least on the way over there. He had even agreed to go on a real date with her sometime later after she was over her ankle injury.

  She would have to keep working on it. She was usually able to get what she wanted when she set her mind to it. Maybe when she got back out on the soccer field. She would just have to work even harder at her game.

  #

  Over the next week, Miranda continued to "run" into Zeke several times, although never again quite as literally. She had learned in talking to him that he was a self-proclaimed computer geek, a student at the nearby Space Academy. One day, she noticed he was drinking a cup of coffee, and without thinking she said, "Oh, that smells so good. I think I like to drink coffee, if only I could remember for sure."

  About that time Emily came up to Zeke, "Caitlyn has gone to X-Ray. When she is finished we will be ready to go." She stopped, looking at the two of them. "So how about introducing me to your friend," she said pointedly to Zeke.

  "Sorry. Miranda, this is Emily, my sister. Emily, this is Miranda Summerlin. She is a patient here at the hospital..."

  Realizing her poor brother was stuck, Emily quickly chimed in, "Miranda, I am glad to meet you. My big brother is a good guy, but he's not much of one for conversation, although it looks like you have pulled him out of his shell."

  At that Zeke tried to do his turtle imitation, and everyone laughed. "I'll have you know that I can easily carry on a conversation. I really don't know much about Miranda. We only just met a few days ago after all."

  Miranda felt like she needed to get out of her shell too, but she didn't think she could pull off a turtle imitation. So instead, she decided she had to explain things a little. "Well, I don't know that much about Miranda either," she laughed. "I woke up from a coma a couple of weeks ago, and I have no memory of my past. So I guess I'll just have to make it up as we go along. But you two already are a healthy percentage of my new memories, so you're ahead of nearly everyone else."

&
nbsp; They talked for a few minutes until Caitlyn came up and they had to leave. But Emily now knew for sure, and the little wheels were already turning.

  The next day when Zeke dropped them off, he headed for the coffee shop. There was a long line, but he didn't care. This time he bought two cups of coffee, then headed out to find Miranda. She, of course, was in her usual spot, sitting and reading in the little area with the water fountain surrounded by plants and sunlight filtering in from above. "For you," he said, handing her one of the cups of coffee from the coffee shop. Her eyes lit up at that and when she took a sip of the coffee, she gave a small sigh of pleasure.

  "Thank you so much." Miranda set the coffee down and looked back up at a smiling Zeke. "This is so good!"

  "Good," he said and gave her a thumbs up. "It was my great pleasure to help you create a new good memory."

  About that time, Emily and Caitlyn came up. When Caitlyn saw the two of them, she rather loudly said, "We have to go. I'm done here, and I have an appointment with the coach to talk about when I will be able to practice with the soccer team." She started toward the door, walking as if her ankle was suddenly magically healed.

  As Zeke turned to leave, he gave Miranda a poor me look and she laughed. Miranda had begun to think that Caitlyn maybe thought a lot more of Zeke than he thought of her. She couldn't help but wonder if Zeke was only being nice to the girl with the crutches, or if it was more than that. She guessed that it probably didn't matter, since she didn't expect she would see him again.

  Of course, Emily saw it all and decided she would have to go to Plan B.