They Didn't Care Enough to Know Me

If doubt hadn't crept into his thoughts, suspicion hadn't reared its ugly head, and Katherine Branson hadn't asked a question that he knew he couldn't answer, Martin Wilkerson would have carried on observing the Scientific Convention.

He was observing the events when his door was knocked on. He had a guest. Katherine Branson came in and took a seat next to him.

Martin, how are you? merely observing the convention you established?

"You created it, not me. I only provided you with the chance.

"But you suggested holding another one."

"I didn't create it just because it was my idea. Long before the Wright brothers constructed an airplane, man had dreams of flying. Creation does not consist of ideas.

However, in many instances, an idea does result in creation. Consider yourself, for example; you were created because your parents wanted a child.

That did a lot of good. They weren't interested in getting to know me.

"What do you mean?"

I mean, I didn't even know them when they abandoned me in a mental hospital, and I had no way of getting in touch with them. I don't remember my parents. They showed no concern for me. This convention is important to me; that alone distinguishes it from your analogy.

"You didn't know your parents at all?"

"No, and they must not have been worthy of my concern if they don't care about me."

"Are you positive about that? You may have been brought here after they passed away.

"If that were the case, the administrators of the institution would have had the grace to inform me."

"Are you certain? They may have believed it would negatively impact your mental health.

"Probably, but not likely."

"How about you find out?" So he did.

He started by looking through the last 35 years' worth of birth certificates for the name Martin Wilkerson. He discovered nothing. He hadn't been born, apparently. He was discouraged and went back to the convention broadcast, but the thought kept coming back to him. Where did I originate from if I wasn't born? How come I didn't know my parents when I was put here? Has my name been altered? Were the birth certificates falsified?

He went back to the internet and searched for people who were born on his birthday. After changing his name, they might have allowed him to keep that detail. Many names came up in the search, but one in particular caught our attention: Timothy Wilton, a former governor of North Carolina, and Martin Wilton, son of Jacqueline and Timothy Wilton, both well-known politicians who served in the United States Senate. James Wilton, the current president of the United States, is their other son.

Although Martin Wilkerson was unable to confirm this as his identity at this time, he made the decision to look into it more. He searched newspapers and websites for Martin Wilton's records. Such research would not have been possible in a padded cell, for which he was thankful. He came across a number of articles concerning the untimely passing of Martin Wilton, the governor of North Carolina's second child.

Even though they had the same first name, he felt an unfathomable connection to this Martin that almost made him give up on the search at that point. He made the decision to investigate the child's death in greater detail.

Martin Wilton, the son of Jacqueline and Timothy Wilton, lost his life in a tragic accident on the family yacht last night, July 23, 2092. He apparently escaped after his parents abandoned him to play in one of the cabins. Leaning too far over the rail, he wandered the boat. Only an hour later, after they had conducted a desperate search, did his parents realize he was gone. His body was later discovered in the water. The nation and all of North Carolina are in mourning over the loss of this youngster with so much promise.

Martin Wilkerson looked through his own records at the institution. On July 23, 2092, he was admitted to his first mental health facility. The coincidence was too obvious. He required evidence that the newspaper story was false, some false information that would expose who he really was. He studied the Wilton family yacht where Martin Wilton was said to have died.

The deck is equipped with a stunning wooden railing that is about four feet high and has elaborate carvings all the way up. A photograph of it was even discovered by Martin Wilkerson. His proof was there. At the time, he was just a year old. He couldn't have fallen over a four-foot railing, physically speaking. Why had his parents sent him to a mental hospital and staged his death? He made the decision to speak with Katherine Branson about it. Because he distrusted phones and thought they could be easily tapped, he called her and invited her over. Now that he had learned that he was the president's brother, buried in a mental hospital after being declared dead, the possibility seemed more likely. That would give the media a field day!

"Do you recall a Martin Wilton, Katherine?"

"I think the reason the name sounds familiar is because it's so similar to yours."

"Jacqueline and Timothy Wilton, James Wilton's brother, were his parents."

"James Wilton, President?"

"The one and only."

"Whatever became of this Martin Wilton?"

"He passed away."

What relevance does this have to our day, then?

"He didn't actually pass away."

However, you just claimed that he did.

"Everyone believes that. His parents pretended that he had died. In actuality, he is still alive.

"How are you certain that he is still alive?"

He pulled out the newspaper article about the death and the boat's description and said, "Look at these." "Do you notice anything odd?"

Katherine Branson looked carefully at both documents. "All right, I give up. What's the matter with these?

According to the report, Martin Wilton went over the boat's rail. He was a year old. He was unable to fall over that rail.

"That's an intriguing point, but I don't see how it relates to today."

"My birthday and Martin Wilton's are the same. On the day I was admitted to the first mental hospital, he allegedly "died."

"You're claiming to be Martin Wilton?"

"Do you believe I am?"

"Well, it looks like you probably are."

"Exactly. For me to be someone else is too coincidental. I am a Martin Wilton, who was born even though Martin Wilkerson was never born.

"You only wanted to tell me that?"

"No, I'm interested in learning why my parents would stage my death."

"Why?"

"Yes, I don't understand it at all. Why would they stage my death rather than kill me if they knew I was insane?

"Many people would never murder someone. You have too much paranoia.

"That's exactly why I'm in here!" Wilkerson, Martin, exploded. He could see why someone might think that, but why was it that everyone had to think about the bad?

"I apologize; I didn't mean it that way, Martin." She tried to comfort him, but Martin Wilkerson wouldn't have it. She was clearly embarrassed. His mental illness had caused him to suffer too much abuse. He wasn't inferior; he was different. He had had enough of being treated like a lesser human being.

"Look, Katherine, just get out. Right now, I have other things to worry about.

I sincerely apologize, Martin. I didn't mean to cause you any offense.

"All right. Simply go.

Disappointed by the recent development, Katherine Branson walked to her car. She needed to do something to cheer Martin up. Maybe she could find his parents and bring them back together, repairing the relationship that had been broken so early in his life. Her decision was made. Regarding their long-lost son, who was currently in a mental institution, she would get in touch with the well-known Jacqueline and Timothy Wilton.