Analogue Memories 2023
copyright @ April Martin
3 years prior
The rain was relentless, pounding the city streets like an unyielding foe.
How did life get this way?
It was as if the sky itself had joined the battle against the broken and battered residents of the City of the Fallen. Lola was just another soldier in the war, trying to keep her head down and survive another day. The muted sound of the loudspeaker penetrated the rain the best it could
“...ologies, we are committed to unlocking the potential of the human mind and advancing human…”
She dug into her coat pocket and retrieved a crumpled pack of cigarettes, but much like her heart, they were lifeless. She managed to save a half-smoked stick and, with shaking hands, flicked her lighter. The flame sputtered in the wind and rain, but eventually caught. She took a long drag, savoring the bitter taste.
As she looked up, the flicker of a hologram caught her eye. A mist of glittering air towered above her, a symbol of hope and promise in the midst of the desolation. But Lola knew better than to believe in false prophets.
She has been down that road before.
"Fucking techno glitter," she muttered to herself. The flashy building before her may have looked like a beacon of hope, but Lola knew better. She knew that no amount of fancy architecture or high-tech gadgetry could save her from the horrors of the world. The temptation to step inside, however, was too strong, too alluring.
Anything was better than the life she had. But as she stood there, staring up at the towering structure, she couldn't help but feel the weight of her desperation bearing down on her.
Fuck it
shaking her head to clear her thoughts and with a heavy sigh, she put away her cigarette and hailed the nearest cab. As she rode towards the hologram, her mind was muddled and confused. She didn't know what the fuck she was doing, but she had to do something, anything, to escape the cold, hard reality of the City of the Fallen.
As the cab pulled up to the building, Lola's heart raced with both fear and anticipation. She knew that this might be her last chance to break free of the chains that bound her to this life, to this city. But as she stepped out of the cab and approached the entrance, she couldn't help but feel a sense of emptiness. It was as if she had already given up, already resigned herself to the fact that nothing would ever change.
And she knew it truly never would
“Anything... to escape myself and this hellhole," she thought bitterly, before taking a deep breath and pushing open the door. The air slapped her in the face like a physical force, pressing down on her chest and making it hard to breathe. She swallowed, trying to dispel the feeling of suffocation. This was it. The last resort. The only chance she had to break free
As she stepped inside, Lola was acutely aware of how much she resembled a wet dog tracking water all over the pristine white floors. She wanted to hide, to shrink, to disappear. But the sleek and crisp lobby seemed to close in on her, suffocating her with its vastness and cold perfection. Flashing screens and Holo displays flickered and buzzed like little electric nats, overwhelming her senses.
The receptionist's voltaic voice sent shivers down her spine, and Lola could feel the eyes of the other patients and staff on her, judging her. She was the outsider, an interloper here in this world of perfect people with perfect lives. The weight of their scrutiny was suffocating, crushing her under its pressure. Were they not all here for the same thing? Lola was pretty confident that no one here actually knew who she was.
Or at least she hoped not
But she knew that she had come too far to turn back now. She squared her shoulders and marched forward, determined to see this through to the end. The vastness of the building only seemed to grow as she walked down the long, sterile hallway, her footsteps echoing in the silence. The air was thick with tension, like a noose tightening around her neck.
She couldn't help but feel small and insignificant in the face of this pristine, futuristic world. The building seemed to go on forever, with its gleaming surfaces and endless corridors. As she followed the receptionist down the hallway, the images of people living their best lives taunted her, a mocking reminder of what she could never have. The sterile room at the end of the hallway was like a prison cell, a cold and impersonal space that made her skin crawl.
The doctor's smooth syrupy voice was almost enough to make her forget her fear, but Lola knew better than to let her guard down. As she sat in the exam chair, the doctor approached, his expression calm and professional.
"Good afternoon, Lola. I understand that you're here for the Aperilens procedure today. Is that correct?" he asked, his tone pleasant but clinical.
Lola nodded, her heart beating a little faster. The doctor continued, "Now, I want you to know that this procedure is safe and effective. It's designed to provide enhanced visual acuity and real-time monitoring of your physiological and environmental conditions."
Lola listened intently as the doctor went on to explain the specifics of the Aperilens implant. "The implant is small and transparent, constructed of a quasicrystalline lattice structure with holographic encoding, magneto-sensitive radical pairs, and a graphene substrate material. It is surgically implanted into your eye, allowing for direct monitoring of your physiological and environmental conditions."
The doctor went on to explain the energy transfer mechanism, which would be based on a piezoelectric nanogenerator that would be embedded in the implant and would be used to harvest energy from the movement of Lola's eyelid. The piezoelectric material in the nanogenerator would convert the mechanical energy of the eyelid movement into electrical energy, which would be used to power the implant.
"An electrode will be connected to the AperiLens implant and will be used to send electrical impulses from the implant to your pineal gland, allowing you to control the implant using your biological signals," the doctor said, continuing his explanation.
Lola listened patiently as the doctor went on to explain the artificial intelligence system, I.R.I.D.E.S.C.E.N.T., and the control system, Aegis. After a while, his voice droned on and on..
She secretly hopes this kills her
Lola's world narrowed to a pinpoint as the doctor's hands pinned open her eyelids, exposing the soft, delicate flesh of her eye. She could feel the pressure building as the Aperilens was forced into her eye socket, like a hot needle being driven into her brain.
Every fiber of her being screamed out in agony, but she couldn't make a sound. She gritted her teeth, trying to endure the unbearable pain as tears streamed down her face. The Aperilens felt like it was burning through her skull like an alien invader trying to take over her body.
Her body convulsed and shook as the implant settled into place, the pressure building until it felt like her eye would burst. The doctor's voice became a distant murmur as if coming from underwater. The world around her became a blur of colors and shapes, distorted and disorienting.
Lola could feel her body tensing up, ready to scream out in agony, but she couldn't make a sound. The fear and pain were overwhelming, threatening to consume her. She tried to focus on her breathing, to will herself to endure the unbearable pain. But it felt like an eternity before the procedure was finally over and the doctor stepped away.
She could feel the Aperilens pulsing inside her eye, like a foreign invader trying to take over her body. The world was a hazy blur, distorted and disorienting, like a funhouse mirror.
As she stumbled out of the room, Lola felt like she had left a part of herself behind. The pain and fear lingered like a bad dream, threatening to overwhelm her. But she knew deep down that there was no turning back now.
What the fuck did she just do.
As Lola stepped out of the AperiLens building, the world around her seemed to warp and twist. She could feel the implant pulsing inside her eye, a constant reminder of what she had just undergone. The sense of tight discomfort and tension clung to her like a second skin, a constrictive reminder of what she had given up and what she had potentially gained.
Lola took a deep breath, trying to calm the pounding of her heart. She knew that she had just made a deal with the devil. The Aperilens was both her salvation and her damnation. With the implant, she could potentially see the world in a way that she had never thought possible, but at what cost? She had given up a part of herself, and there was no telling what the consequences would be.
But she also knew that this was her only hope, her only chance at a life worth living. The City of the Fallen was a harsh and unforgiving place, a constant reminder of the horrors of the world. With the Aperilens, she could potentially see a way out, a glimmer of hope in the darkness.
The rain continued to fall, a relentless thrumming of misery. But Lola was determined to see this through. She had made a deal with the devil, but she was not going to let it consume her. She would take each step forward, one at a time, and see where this new path led her. For better or for worse, she had made her choice, and now she had to live with the consequences.
Now to deal with Johnny