Ego/Dance

I stared out the window to the train as the iridescent hues of pink and green flew past me. All of this felt too...convenient. Either this was a set up or a final wish by Dr. Vex. I hoped the latter was true. If so, what could he have wanted us to know now? 

I wanted to push the thoughts down of my body double and how she killed on her own, but a much darker thought loomed in my mind: Would I have to keep killing to find the answers I was looking for? I learned that avoiding feelings got me nowhere but the idea of it sent a chill down my spine-

"Did you hear me?" Daiya repeated.

"Oh, you were talking to me," I jolted up, "I'm sorry, can you say it again?"

"Do you remember anything, like, your memories of your past or dreams after coming into contact with your body double?" She asked me as the train came to a quiet stop. “Maybe it’ll give us a clue as to why we’re here,”

"Arrived Nolan-70, Arrived Nolan-70. Departing Nolan-71, Departing Nolan-71..."

My memories...what did I want to remember I think is the better question. “I haven't had any…maybe, maybe you're right-"

"Woah! See you lat-" Experience III bolted out the door but was caught by Daiya before he could take off.

"Where are you going? You don't even know where we are or what's ahead..." she trailed off, "I don't want to lose sight of another person again."

Experience III pouted and crossed his arms. "Fine. But where are we?" he spun his head around.

Above ground never got old.  

When we stepped outside of the train, the surface shined a bright orange that had white marked in straight lines on the ground. People walked, jumped and floated in between the markers. All of the buildings stood meters high in the air with streaks of green that ran across the skyline, somewhat like an emerald arrow bolting through the yellow skies. 

As the train door shut behind us and scurried around the corner of the city, there was one large monument that stood boldly in the middle of the plaza. It was enclosed in a large yellow circle and was made out of metal. The edges of the tower were rusted, and it shot up in a curved fashion with 4 legs at the bottom to a single point at the very top. Bars separated the structure by 3 levels in a checkered pattern. Who still made buildings with material like this?

Experience III ran toward the tower and we followed behind him to where there was a floating sign that was suspended in front. "Eiffel Tower, circa (?)" he read, "What's an Eiffel Tower?"

Eiffel Tower? 

The vibe in Nolan-70 felt different than the other cities. Some of the people interacted with each other, looked at one another. Some people walked in pairs, others stood around the monument and gazed upon it. They weren't staring at me. There was chatter that filled the air, movement that surrounded me. It felt...alive.

"Not everyone forgot, did he tell you that?" 

The words of Aylis shot in the back of my mind. I remember Dr. Vex said he only went as far as Nolan-70 for a government trip. Could it have been to study the behavior of these people? Why were they so different? Is that what this was?

We continued to marvel at the enormous tower that overshadowed us from the edges of its circle when I noticed a person with long black hair in a tan trench coat staring at it alongside us. They kept their hands neatly pocketed and wore a pensive expression. Daiya turned to look at them, she must've noticed this person as well and to my surprise, walked over to them. 

"I know you," Daiya said.

They kept their eyes glued to the tower, "I think you do, as well. Experience IIII." 

"It's Daiya,"

She turned around and had short hair cropped to her forehead while the rest of her black hair flowed past her shoulders. There was a piece of metal attached to her nose and all she wore was a simple white shirt and black tie. I felt a certain depth to her that I couldn't explain as she looked at me with her bright green eyes.

How did she know her?

"Material changes over time, in fact, it's the basis of life," she returned to gaze upon the metal structure, "You could say that life would disappear without it," she mused on, "...it's what makes us real. Franz told me to wait for the three of you when you arrived."

"Wait! You're-no, that can't be. You were with me in...in the labs. Experience VI." Daiya stepped back. "What are you doing here?"

"The same as you," she continued, "And much like you, I go by something different. Mira is the name I chose. Experience VI was a name they gave me."

Experience VI...Reia. Reia Ozuma. That was a name they gave me, too. 

The people walking inside the white lines that scuffed the orange surface struck me as odd. Some of them held hands, smiled, were able to converse. All of these things required memory. My head stayed on a swivel as I noticed more and more...interaction.

"It's the City of Love," she beckoned, pointing at all of the people, "Showing signs of affection is something humans used to do long ago. That would be thanks to you," Mira pointed at Daiya.

"Me? What does this weird shit have to do with me?"

"Everything," she turned towards the three of us, "We're all a part of a project that has the chance to uncover what we were. It's amazing...Experience. Do you know what the word means?" she questioned. 

"The emotional," Mira pointed at Daiya, "the mental," then towards Experience III, "the physical," she looked to me, "the internal, the social, the material and the external. Humans long ago lived through what we have now discovered as the 7 Experiences of Humanity."

"I'll show you," she walked away from the circle enclosing the massive tower. "A lived moment that connects with another that's...Experience. Humans lived that way in the past."

Mira quickly moved ahead and walked in between the chalked lines that danced upon the orange ground. The dark buildings reflected perfectly the yellow cascading sky, sporting the illuminating green streaks that stamped each one.

Something in my stomach didn't sit right. Humans...she spoke so casually as if she knew all the answers. Like it was something to be studied. I thought Daiya, Experience III, nor I moved an inch as she waltzed in front of us.

"An intertwining cycle through each Experience. We're connected, the seven of us. All of us represent a faucet of life, our pain is proof of that-"

"These people," I posited, "Who are they? And why did Franz send you?"

Mira turned around and pierced me with their green eyes. "They're experiments, of course. Based on the patterns of Experience IIIi and Experience V, they rewired the brain to alter their patterns of life. Social and Emotional Enginering. Franz believes in the legacy of Dr. Vex. So, do I."

A knot turned in my stomach. My heart squeezed against itself upon hearing his name. His legacy? An Experience...a lived moment that connected to another. Her words struck a chord in my mind, triggering a headache that forced me to grab my head. Social and Emotional Enginering? 

 I'm not sure I understand, but I remember the words Dr. Vex spoke to me: 

"Acute sense of realization of the body she encompasses. Heightened awareness of how others look at her physical appearance. Leads to irrationality in the brain and causes hyper fixation on how others view her outward appearance."

"What does that have to do with these people?" I looked around. They chatted, interacted, and smiled, amongst each other, but still never acknowledged us. It felt stiff. Fake. My head kept pounding as the orange surface started to spin in front of my eyes.

"You're remembering," Mira spoke, "These people, Nolan, -"

"Mira," Daiya interjected, "You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here? I thought you escaped. They said you went missing."

"You know her?" Experience III tugged on the pant leg of Daiya.

"Her?" Mira chuckled the boy's comment, "Man, woman. Human. What do they even mean? They're simply names. I don't need to define myself as anything like that."

Mira turned to Experience III and rolled up the sleeve to their arms. They had cuts just like Daiya did, "We grew up in the same lab. Right here, in Nolan-70," Mira spread her arms, "All seven of us were born here."

I was born here. I was born here. Why don't I remember where I was born? I couldn't know if what they were telling me was the truth but every fiber in my body believed every word. I held on to them tighter than the notebook Dr. Vex gave me. I could define myself...what could it mean to define myself when so many have already decided on who I would be?

My vision started to stabilize once again, and the rusted monument became clear as the pain of my headache began to subside.

 "If you don't need to define yourself, why did you choose a name? And who are these people?" I asked, observing the static and choreographed movements of the people.

"Because all material objects stay in motion. Essentially, we embody something that Nolan is striving to create, something they can only study, never experience," Mira turned to gaze at the Eiffel Tower, retreating their hands in the depths of their coats,

"Change. I discovered that we could change."

***