SOMETHING THAT I LOVE

Ms. Lorn : “In the 23rd century, humanity made ‘Puresea-X’, the first filter ever, that made sea water drinkable, then in the 24th century, it was upgraded to…”

I covered my mouth to stifle a yawn. The lesson was too boring for me to stay focused. It had been two weeks since Grandpa’s death, and I still couldn’t believe he had left me something so fascinating yet dangerous.

Memory transplant chips, a technology invented in 2025 AD, had a massive impact on the world at that time. It completely revolutionized the way people viewed death. It allowed people to store fragments of memories of their friends, family and loved ones and experience them at will after their death.

This technology also made it possible to complete many long-term projects that would have otherwise been impossible within a single lifespan.

However, with the passing of the Privacy Act under the World Constitution in 2389 AD, memory preservation was declared illegal. This ban had its reasons: firstly, the "Memory Market," where these chips were sold at high prices, had quickly escalated into a serious issue. Criminals and terrorist organizations were able to obtain sensitive information through these chips, creating significant security risks.

Secondly, the widespread use of memory transplant chips began to change how people grieved and remembered loved ones. With access to preserved memories, many individuals stopped experiencing the full impact of loss, as they could repeatedly revisit moments with the deceased as though they were still present. This technology offered a way to bypass natural grief, and soon people became desensitized to death itself. Rather than accepting loss and finding closure, society started to view death as merely a temporary separation, undermining the human process of mourning and moving forward.

Now, they were relics of a bygone era, whispered about but mostly forgotten, unless you knew where to look for them. To this day, they were still sold in some dark alleys in some cities and even in the dark market in the web. At least that was what I found on the internet. Who knew where that old geezer managed to dig up such a dangerous treasure? No wonder he kept it as a secret.

But I had to admit those chips were a hell of fun. I used a few more in the last two weeks. At first, I saw the memories of a rich businessman, then a pilot, and lastly a mature woman with… good assets. Hehehe.

“Ew, why are you grinning and drooling? That’s so creepy.” Mirai’s voice snapped me back. She pinched her nose, glaring at me like I was some kind of virus, as if she didn’t even want to breathe the same air as me.

Mirai was a strange girl, at least to me. She was short, with black hair and striking golden eyes. She wore those round, transparent, nerdy glasses and didn’t usually talk much with others. But for some reason, I was an exception. I wasn’t sure why—maybe because we’d gone to the same middle school. Even though we were classmates back then, we barely spoke. Now, though, as my desk neighbor in high school, she’d become quite talkative with me lately. To others, she seemed like a cute, quiet girl who loved to study all day. But I knew what she really was—a narcissist who loved looking down on me for the tiniest things.

“Have you decided what club to join?” she asked, her voice a mixture of curiosity and condescension.

“Club?”

“Weren’t you paying attention this morning?” She sighed dramatically, shaking her head. “Mr. Watson clearly said we have to join one. It’s compulsory. But what can I expect from the uncivilized creature you are?” Her tone dripped with sarcasm.

I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “I haven’t thought about it yet. What about you?”

“Of course, it’s the literature club,” she declared, her E-cups puffing up with pride. “What else would you expect from a nerd—um, I mean genius—like me?” She chuckled awkwardly, the blush creeping onto her cheeks betraying her.

“Why do you study so much? Isn’t it pointless?” I questioned, my curiosity was getting the better of me. “You could just download all the data directly into your brain, right?”

“I love studying, okay?” she shot back, her eyes narrowing in indignation. “Do you have a problem with it? I like to explore and fantasize about everything around us while I study.”

“Wow. Now who is the ‘primitive’ one here? Huh?” I smirked and teased her about how hypocritical she sounded.

“Tch. Just shut up, you stupid barbaric prince. Hmph!” She pouted, crossing her arms and turning around, barely managing to hide her red face from me.

School ended. I was about to leave school. I bumped into Meiroko. She was my classmate, but for some reason I often used to forget about her existence. Well it was not only me, everyone in my class acted like she didn’t exist, until they saw her. She had average height and straight, white, messy hair that fell over her face, almost making her eyes seem invisible from outside. She always seemed distant from everyone else, as if she were lost in her own world, as if the outside world didn’t matter to her at all. I apologized and moved on. But she didn’t even react or nodded and just kept on walking on her way as if I didn’t even exist to her.

But I didn’t have enough time to think about others. After all, I had to decide my club very soon. I reached home and started thinking about potential options. ‘Club activities’ was something I wished would get extinct from existence. I never understood what was so fun about them.

No matter what activity you chose, whether it was football, badminton, art, or painting. Once you downloaded the required skills into your brain, you were set to go. Those skills were available in shopping malls and e-stores. You could do anything. What was the point of choosing a particular club, if you could be perfect at everything you chose?

I reached home and collapsed onto my bed, feeling stressed about the whole ‘join a club’ situation. I needed some relief. It was time for a new chip, a fresh experience.

Eagerly, I inserted the chip into my temple, ready for yet another adventure. But this time, it wasn’t as pleasant as I’d expected.

Arghh! I never felt this much pain before. My knee hurts a lot.

Over the past few centuries, humanity had evolved a lot. But one thing we still could not properly manage, were the feelings and human emotions such as sadness, anger, guilt and pain. Thanks to the invention of an artificial chemical named as ‘Blue Blood’, we developed regenerative property and solution to incurable diseases. Every newborn was injected with Blue Blood within three months of birth. Then the blue blood chemically reacted with the red blood cells in blood to form completely new cells called ‘Green Blood Cells (GBC)’. Even though we could now regenerate, we could still feel pain, if only for a brief moment.

That’s why the pain I was feeling now was unbearable. It was lasting beyond my usual pain tolerance.

“Lionel! Why are you pushing yourself this hard? You can barely walk.” I heard a voice from front that seemed to be directed at me. It almost brought me back to my senses. I was standing on a grass field, right in the middle of a football match.

Lionel : “It’s okay Tenma. It doesn’t hurt at all. I can keep going.”

Damm liar! It hurts like crazy. Why are you lying? I cursed him in my head.

Oww! Oww! Stop bastard. I kept cursing him from the bottom of my heart as he kept running with this broken knee towards the goalpost. Why do I have to experience this of all the memories I could find?

I could feel the ball at my feet as Lionel stole it from the opposite defender. Despite the pain, I had to admit, it felt great playing football on a real grass field. It was so better than the artificial grass fields of today. Besides, these skills seemed to be imperfect but I could tell it was developed through years of hardcore training, not something I could buy off.

As he was about to shoot it into the nets, an opposite player kicked him deliberately on his swollen knee. Lionel fell down and screamed in pain, so did I in my mind.

Reff : “Yellow card. Foul. It’s Free kick for Kurokawa High School.”

Holding onto Tenma’s shoulder for support, Lionel managed to stand up. Tenma grasped his shoulder, helping to steady him.

Tenma : “You did well Lionel. Now please rest. Leave the rest to us.”

Lionel : “Please let me shoot it. Tenma. I promise I am gonna score.” (He grabbed Tenma’s jersey.)

Tenma : “It’s not about scoring Lionel. Just look at you. You can’t even stand. I don’t care about this match anymore. I can’t see you suffer. Just why are you still being so stubborn?”

Lionel : (smiled) “Listen buddy. In this three years of high school, we have come a long way. You and I have built this team from scratch. Haven’t we?”

Tenma : "Why are you saying this—"

Lionel: "We dreamed big, didn’t we? We wanted to reach the nationals. But here we are, not even making it past the quarter-finals." (He sighed.) "This is our last match for the school. We might never play together again." (Paused and smiled.) "That’s why I want to win, Tenma. I want to win with you. Besides, I joined the football club because I love football. You can’t keep me out because of a scratch, can you?" (Smirked)

Tenma (sighs): "You know what. You should quit football and try motivational speaking. Fine, I won’t stop you. But if you miss it, I won’t miss the kick in your butt. Got that?" (Smiled)

Lionel smiled back and barely stood behind the ball, preparing for the free kick. And as soon as the whistle blew, he connected his shot, curving his shot in the upper-left corner of the net. The whistle blew and his team carried him on their shoulders. They laughed and roared, and some even cried. It was beautiful.

The memory ended and so was my pain as I took out the chip from my head.

I lay down on my bed and let out a deep sigh. I now had a newfound respect for the people of the early era, who could endure and even overcome their pain through sheer willpower. I couldn’t help but think back to Mirai’s words about her love for studying. Lionel, too, had something he loved so dearly that he would risk everything for it. “Something that I love,” I muttered softly before drifting off to sleep.

CHAPTER 2 END