Chapter 4:
Giftear
'Elysium' and ‘Tartarus’.
Perhaps these names mean something to you. In
your time, they should have a mythological meaning - in my
time, they are simply the names of the two space stations that
encircle the planet in a ring. For me, Elysium was my destination for
today: I had my interview with Kingston there, accepted what may be
my last case and was introduced to the mysterious woman Silvia
Antigone.
The latter is now sitting opposite me as we descend
towards the surface in the space elevator. These giant constructs are
the only way to travel safely between the space stations and the
planet's surface. The demand for elevator rides is correspondingly
high and the prices are expensive. And to make matters worse, a
journey takes almost two hours...
I
use the time to immerse myself in my notes. I try to draw up as
detailed a plan as possible to find out clues about Silvia's past in the
quickest and most effective way. After all, I want to shine in this
case in order to gain Giftear's favor. I keep glancing up from my
notepad and briefly observe the woman with silver hair.
We are
the only passengers in our windowless cabin and the only visual
stimulation is a small screen above the cabin door.
Silvia stares
mesmerized at the screen in question: Apart from the current weather
report, nothing else is displayed there. The simple animated rain
clouds seem to fascinate her - at least that's what I assume. I would
go mad without something decent to do, so I can't resist asking her a question:
“Isn't
that boring? You could instead just browse a bit, right?”
“Huh?”
Silvia returns to reality and turns to me.
“Browsing? What's
that?”
I should have guessed.
Of course she's forgotten
how to access entertainment quickly.
“That's right. Sorry, I
mean this:”
With a few movements of my index finger, I open
the holographic screen in front of me. Silvia's eyes widen in awe.
She seems to be experiencing everything for the first time again,
like a toddler in the guise of an adult.
“Woah, cool! Can I
do that too?”
“Sure, you can watch videos, read texts and
so on from there. That should be more interesting than watching the
weather report.”
I stop my speech. Silvia frantically whirls
both hands around as if she's playing the drums.
“Somehow
this thing doesn't want to appear...”
She states - her eyes
narrow with strain.
“You
just need a bit of practice. It's easy.” I try to cheer her
up.
“Sometimes the motion detection can be a bit weird.”
Silvia lets out a deep sigh.
I can imagine
that it must be incredibly frustrating to have to relearn everyday
things; that's another reason why we need to restore her memories as
quickly as possible.
With nothing meaningful to do, Silvia
crosses her long legs and looks at me.
“What are you doing
there?” she asks, resting her head on her hands.
“Well...”
I start, while my eyes remain fixed on the thick, written-on
paper.
“I'm trying to come up with a plan to help you.”
I'm
trying? That sounded very unprofessional again... By now, Silvia must
have lost all her trust in my skills - it's not as if I'm actually
competent...
“Oooh!
What's the plan then, officer?”
Her downcast mood seems to have
vanished again.
The positive aura of this woman impresses me once again. I wonder if she really hasn't given up hope in me yet.
I
scroll to the top of my notes:
“Well, first we're going to take
you to a hotel where you can stay for now. A psychotherapist will
then contact us tomorrow. He-”
“Or she”
“...or
she will be able to give us possible starting points. Then we can
really get started with the investigation.”
“Hm...”
Silvia
bobs her head back and forth thoughtfully.
Her silky hair swirls
through the air and slowly begins to stand on end. I can occasionally
see her eye, which is usually covered by long bangs. I have no idea
what I was expecting, but Silvia's right eye looks completely normal,
except that it stays closed the whole time.
Suddenly Silvia
stops swiveling her head and looks at me with her head bowed:
“So
does that mean we can't do anything interesting today?”
“I'm
sorry, but I wouldn't want to do anything without an expert. Let's
take it easy today.”
After all, I'm not responsible for her entertainment, right?
Admittedly, I'm a boring
person. Maybe a non-boring investigator would do something different?
No, with her amnesia, Silvia could have a panic attack or
something similar at any time. That would be too dangerous without
psychological support. I should take her to the hotel as quickly as
possible and shield her from outside influences until the expert
arrives tomorrow.
I look over at Silvia again. She's staring
at the weather forecast again.
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