Memory Sickness: Astray

Atlas stayed true to the agreement it made with Queen Aurora and would concentrate on providing care for children that were impoverished all around the world. For the children with severe cases, they would be brought back to Broken Homes Orphanage where further testing could be conducted, and the children could leave. If the children had no parents or any family, they could be adopted through the orphanage. The adopting family would be given all research information that was pertinent to the child if necessary. This process pleased the queen as it provided a new way to help children that suffered around the world.

Unfortunately, Atlas would become greedy and want to pursue a more lucrative option to use all their research in creating an ‘enhanced’ human being. So, they began conducting experiments off the record at the facilities they built. Sensing something was off, the queen sent Elsa from her royal guard, to investigate the facilities. Once Elsa was able to pinpoint the location for Crimzon and Irin she contacted Aiko. Upon arrival, this facility was cleared out except for the transport that carried Crimzon and Irin’s stasis pods.

“I came here as soon as I found the data registry. This is one of the last facilities and in the database, there were two files that had no names. One was identified as a boy subject and the other a girl subject, both with ‘unknown status’. I got the approval from Queen Aurora to take over the facility and was able to identify both of you. Ever since we were able to take you out of a stasis sleep and genetically repaired your bodies. But it took time as we didn’t have all the original data from Atlas.”

Irin, in a gloomy state of emotion, tries to grasp all the information they were told. The most shocking thing for her must be the event of the chimera attack. Mirai empathizes with Irin and comforts by giving her a hug.

“Irin, are you all right?”

Irin looking down to Mirai hugging her, cracks a smile, “Yeah, it’s just a lot to take in that’s all. I can’t remember anything except this place. Does that mean I also have this memory sickness or Astray?”

Aiko pulls up a window from a modified Radial on her wrist and throws it up to display for everyone to see.

“What we could find out is that you both existed in this world. Meaning your body was born in this world. As far as your consciousness’, Aiko enlarges to an area of the window, ‘the neural scans show that your brain is fully intact and working perfectly. Meaning both your physical bodies is working in order.”

Crimzon intakes all the information and advances the conversation with Irin acknowledging.

“If our bodies are perfectly fine and in working order, then why did it take years for us to be taken out of cryostasis? And why can’t Irin and Mirai remember anything about their lives here before a specific time frame?”

“When me and Elsa arrived, your bodies were still the way they were the day of the chimera attack. We concluded that Atlas used your DNA as research and found something they could use to further their own results. Both of you were being harvested genetically and we are still researching what that could be. Once our team arrived on site we did everything to bring you back.”

Irin settles in acceptance, “Miss Aiko, are you able to tell us about the memory sickness, the Astray? I can accept everything if I can understand it. I just want to know why it keeps happening and will Crimzon still have it?”

Aiko relieved by Irin’s resolve, “First you don’t need to call me Miss Aiko anymore. If things did not go the way they did, we would all still be the same age. We’re pretty much peers so don’t worry about ‘Miss” it made me feel older than I would’ve liked.”

“Okay”, Irin chuckles at the thought of ‘Miss’ Aiko is her peer.

The tension from all of what Aiko said about Crimzon and Irin’s history with the orphanage starts to subside. Irin, although unsure of her own history and memories, has become steadfast to move forward. Crimzon who already has suspicions of his own existence in this world is not affected all that much by the information but is more resolved in understanding how he may have gotten here after his death in his world.

Aiko begins to dive into the memory sickness called Astray and what she understands. Since she took over the Broken Homes Orphanage with Elsa, they went into everything that was left behind in the files by Atlas and came to the following theory. Memory sickness occurs mostly in individuals that have been genetically altered. The frequency of how often someone experiences it, seems to be correlated to the amount and severity of the altered genetics.

Astray became the name of memory sickness as it caused people to lapse in their identity and the phenomena significantly alters one’s trajectory of life. There have been people with severe cases that have required constant care as they revert into a vegetable state. However, on the more extreme case studies there have been people explaining that they are from another world and because of that some have gone into hysteria not being able to recover and differentiate “their reality” to “our reality”. Although there is no significant backing to support this theory of someone coming from another world it has been dismissed as a possibility. Still there are believers of these case studies that people from another world come into this world and take over the body and have named the phenomena Astray-Walkers.