In my bubbles

Bridget woke up and found herself in 2080, which she did not recognize by herself at first but with the words of scientists saying, ‘Welcome to 2080’. She did not expect this because the latest memory was the supper with her husband in 2030. She was somehow in wet clothes which also made her wonder why. What has just happened? Am I dreaming now? Why does the dream feel strangely real?

They explained to her that she was chosen as the first human subject in an experiment of ‘uploading mind project’. Company X runs it with the US[1]  government to create a world without any pains or traumas through uploading the mind of deaths to cyborg bodies, eliminating painful, traumatic memories.

She was totally confused. She speculated why she was in such a complicated situation. In her memory, she was leading a materially sufficient life with her husband. Sometimes her husband was too drunk, but overall he gave her a safe place to stay, enough food to eat and some trips she could enjoy. What happened after dinner? Why the memory suddenly leapt from that scene to 50 years later? She did not understand the ‘painful, traumatic’ part either. What is wrong with her usual life as a housewife? Why do people not let her alone and do something about this crazy experimental project thing? I am not a big fan of sci-fi, all I want is to be back in 2030 and lead the rest of my life with my beloved husband.

 

 

[Blur sound all around.]

[Beeping, human talking, something flowing, and lots of “normal” repeating]

[Eyes open]

Touching her new ‘body’, it felt cold. The scientists seemed to detect her worried expression, and one started to make further explanations.

‘I know the situation sounds very confusing, I would feel the same if I were you.’ He started with a comforting tone. ‘Actually, you died from a car accident 50 years ago. Of course, your husband tried to save you immediately by sending you to a hospital, but you were fatally damaged already so the operation failed. He was very sick and could not sleep or eat for a week. However, one day, he saw an advertisement in a newspaper for this project. He was suspicious at first but could not resist the thought of making you alive again, so your husband decided to participate in this project, ‘uploading mind’. He donated your brain to the medical research laboratory in the US[1] . Yes, it wasn't an easy road to get here, it took half a century for you to actually ‘wake up’! I am very glad and honoured as a brain scientist to see you alive again. Unfortunately your husband is not here right now, but I am sure he is satisfied with your new birth today too.’

That words made Bridget even more confused. Car accident? She suddenly felt a ‘memory’ popping up into her mind which contains scream of herself and also a fast running car coming towards her. OK maybe she did die in this, but why the ‘memory’ feels so far away from her? The information felt strangely alien.

The other opened his mouth,

‘It is OK to feel strange at first, you will soon get used to it. Thanks to the newest technology, you have a perfect, flawless body, and will never be suffering from any pain, trauma and other negative feelings. So just enjoy your new life, Bridget!’

The stranger weirdly called her name with unnatural intimacy, which made her feel very uncomfortable. He continued,

‘As a gratitude for her contribution to humanity's future, the lab offered you a house which looks exactly as your old house. The interior as well all look the same when you walk inside. Feel free to be in your nostalgic old life, or start over and try to do something new. It’s totally up to you.’

He smiled at her. The first scientist also raised his mouth.

 

Walking towards her new but ‘old’ house, she felt like going back to 2030 again. The town, the road, the bird chirping even the grass on the ground, everything looked familiar. So is this the trick they used to make me feel that I am continuing the life I was leading 50 years ago? Or after my death? She still did not like the Sci-Fi settings the scientists  explained to her, but there was no other information at her hand.

Feeling overwhelmed with the beyond-the-pale story, she was standing in front of the door which lookes very familiar to her. She shivered from the coldness suddenly she felt, and rubbed her arms. With a deep breath, she opened it.

She walked past the table she last remembered as her ‘solid’ memory, wondering where her husband was. They said that ‘he was not here right now’. What does that mean? Is he dead or alive? At the moment, she realised that she had forgotten to ask the contact information. If it was an experiment, they should be tracking her in some way. So are there any devices to watch her? That made her feel like throwing up. She wished so much that her husband was beside her and say that everything was alright even if that wasn’t true at all. Not a consolation was there, in the new world in 2080.

As an old habit, she went to the bathroom to watch her hand. Looking into the mirror, she suddenly felt that she was dragged by someone in the mirror. She never felt stranger in her life (till 2030) before, putting her head close to the reflection of herself. Slowly moving back from it, she saw a wet and dripping body and a pale swollen and wrinkled face looking back at her questioningly. Wait, she remembered she was given a ‘perfect, flawless’ body, which was explained by the scientists. Why it is a full of flaws, sadness and tiredness? Is the project failed?

Then the image turned into a beautiful smooth-skined woman, which astonished her. Now what? Do I change my appearance in the new world? She tried to make her face back to her original one by staring at the mirror, but nothing happened. It seemed like the flawless ones was the ‘real’ thing now. Maybe the imperfect one was the former me. Just forget it. She said to herself.

 

Tried to calm her self down from the bizarre mirror, she turned on the tap. Hoping to freshen her mind by watching her face. Somehow, her hands did not move how hard she tried. Her arms and head were stalemated at a weird angle, like the body was acting against her will. Water dropped from the gap between her hands, remaining almost none on them. Maybe it happens when the new body is attached as technical issues, so this shouldn’t be a big deal. All she could to was to tell herself. This is strange, she thought, there seems to be no points of ‘enjoying’ this new life. They must be lying. Or all these are dreams that she cannot escape unless she wakes up. Yeah, she tought, that is the only reasonable explanation.

 

Although she wasn’t a big fan of Sci-Fi, she loved writing non-fiction novels. She still couldn’t wipe away her unease in this nonsense situation, but she decided to put herself together for her new life. It could be her second chance to achieve her dream to become a writer. At her first life, she was busy with taking care of her husband so the book she started was not half finished when she passed away. She would have continued it if her husband was there, but it was not the case now.

Bridget started with her daily routine hoping to gain some sense of security and belonging. She went to the living room and found some groceries and ingredients prepared in advance. She had a quick brunch of cereal and milk. She did not notice the reflection of old Bridget glanced at her through the stainless spoon. Within the busy days, she usually found some time early in the morning before her partner got up. She did not like to use digital devices (there was even an air optical screen in 2080) so she used to do handwriting. She also wanted to get her old self back through this old habit and found out the hidden, secret truth of this Sci-Fi world. The same weirdness as in bathroom caught her when she wrote with her new body, but she could not figure out where it came from.

 

After half a day of writing, Bridget wanted to stretch and relax by swimming. She used to love being underwater for the gentle wave cleared her mind and brought her inspiration. She changed into a bathing suit and went upstairs to the top floor where the pool was located, towel in hand excited for the splash about. Yet standing by the pool, she once again reached a state where she couldn’t move her body in the presence of water. She attempted to lift her leg but nothing happened. She looked at her reflection in the water, a young woman with a confused expression on her face like the water was asking her back. Her heart started to race, her palms sweaty and her neck stiff all while she stared into the water. What this is all about? Her body and mind was supposed to be flawless, without anything negative that’s what the experimenters expected. And now she couldn’t do what she wanted, even failing to walk toward the new life.

 

Feeling faint, Bridget gave up her favorite habit and headed down to her bedroom for taking a nap to possibly get rid of the negative feelings. She still tried to convince herself that these are  the only little side effects of being in her new body. Placed herself into the bed which she shared with her husband 50 years ago, she slept. She had a long nap with a terrible nightmare. In the dreams, she felt her body pinned to the wall, her hair grabbed by someone and her head being hit to the wall again and again. Her vision was quite vague in the it, so no matter how hard she tried, she failed to see the person attacking her. Extremely terrified, Bridget woke up in a lot of sweat. Looking through the window, the sky was already dark, the night had fallen. She felt like her face and body turned into her old one. Although the look in the mirror on the wall showed her flawless self, something felt very wrong again.

 

Bridget escaped from her bedroom and made a full of meal to distract herself from that nightmare. However, her mind was chaotic the whole time that she accidentally dropped a ceramic plate. The breaking sound of the plate scared her sorely and she stumbled. That’s when all the memories of being abused find their back to Bridget, and also, the memory of her death. A floor-to-ceiling window facing the dining room, reflected the former body of hers. Now the perfect beauty has gone and her real self emerged.

Everything has been connected now. She remembered she died in a scorching Summer night. Her husband had arrived home from a business trip. Unhappiness at work made him more tired and impatient than usual. The argument started during dinner. After her husband broke a plate, Bridget decided to withdraw from the argument, walking away from her husband and retreating to the upstairs bathroom, hoping to defuse the situation. With the tube slowly filling and the sounds of running water surrounding the space, Bridget had turned her attention away from the shut door not realising her husband was in close pursuit. Enraged in anger he snapped, barging through the door and grabbing Bridget from behind forcefully submerging her in the bath with no sign of release until her struggles ceased. Bridget was forced to live through her death again as her memories flooded in. With the extreme pain of suffocating, her body started twitching. The system sensed that Bridget was on the edge of losing control so it shut her down automatically. Tears rolled in her eyes and finally dropped down at the moment she was shut down and forced to freeze.