Remember Me

By Rhonda Leibel

BACK COVER:
Arissa Kaytor believed in the stories and fairy tales of enduring love between man and woman and that renouncing a future with little to no love in it served only to enhance existence, but would the subsequent cost of her success disparage the love she longed for?

Fritz Van Weiss silently admired her attributes and overwhelming insistence to go forward with her plans, but was he too late and had his impending suppression caused him to lose the only love he had ever desired?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Aug 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9780228819066

Rhonda Leibel

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Rhonda Leibel is an aspiring new author, regaling her tales of historical romance and love conquers all. She resides on the Canadian prairies with her husband and lovable pets. Also read her inspirations, Princess Knight' and Deep Beauty and Contract for Love.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

2196

Edra and Arissa proceeded to the vending area in search of satisfying their hunger as it neared midday.

What do I feel like today? Arissa said with her thoughts.

It appears you are craving fruit slices and French fries. Edra answered telepathically.

You’re right! And so it will be. Arissa declared thoughtfully and made her selections via the serving machine that she was waiting in line for.

Again? I hate melon! Arissa exclaimed inside her head.

"You would think they would be able to correct this feature! Day after day, it doesn’t matter which machine I request it from, I still get melons!" Arissa thought with exasperation.

Obviously your mind thinks otherwise. Edra commented thoughtfully with a wry grin.

They found empty seats and sat across from each other at the table.

Can we deactivate so we can actually speak to each other using our mouths instead of our thoughts? Arissa whined internally as she stared pleadingly at Edra.

Both Edra and Arissa reached behind their ears in search of the pressure points to deactivate their telepathic features, allowing them to actually speak aloud to each other.

Better? Edra said aloud.

Much! Arissa exclaimed. Ow! My jaw hurts! When we are not using these muscles, they tend to seize up. Arissa said.

I know. Edra agreed.

The remaining individuals contained in the area taking their breaks, simultaneously sought out their pressure spots and muted the intrusive oral activity from the pair that sought to verbalize their own conversation.

Well, down the hatch! Arissa cheered as Edra and Arissa swallowed the pill-shaped meal and washed it down with water. The invention of the meal pill was comprised of the flavour and the exact portion per calorie according to each person’s particular specifications. This virtually eliminated obesity in the years previous and people were able to maintain a healthy weight. Of course, there were those that chose to override their systems and indulge in the extra salt or sugar intake, which was notable in the differently sized individuals.

Don’t you feel like you are missing out on something? Arissa quizzed.

Oh, what are you reading now? Edra complained.

You know ... progress isn’t always what it is cracked up to be. Have we really benefited with all of this technology? Arissa whined.

Here we go again ... when are you going to drop this and move forward? We have made humongous strides with regards to humanity. All of these great efforts have improved the human race and they continue to thrive. Edra reacted.

To what end? With the microchips implanted at birth, we are walking computers. It is rare that anyone actually converses anymore, such as we are now. Arissa began her tirade.

Uh huh. Edra answered with boredom.

Disease has practically been eradicated as we can effectively print individual organs or limbs to replace the diseased ones. Arissa continued.

Uh huh. Edra nodded feigning a yawn.

No one interacts with each other proving sexual relations to be unsanitary, thus, procreating through an artificial womb. Arissa related.

Uh huh. Edra agreed.

Relationships are nonexistent as anyone, at any time can create a child as easily as pushing a button. Arissa explained.

Uh huh. Edra agreed without looking up.

As I look around this very room, the life expectancy of any person in here is indefinite. Arissa stated.

Uh huh. Edra acknowledged with an obvious yawn.

What happened to good old fashioned falling in love and sharing your life with someone? We have created all of these conveniences to alleviate stress and actual work. We don’t – do – anything! Marriage is an obsolete word and the belief now is that no one needs to be tied to anyone, existing monogamously. Arissa said loudly.

Uh huh. Edra stated as she flipped through the virtual pages of a magazine on her tablecomp.

I can’t stand it anymore! I need more! I’m bound and determined to complete my research on Rewind to be able to access a previous dimension! I am close to travelling back into time and finding my roots. Arissa said angrily.

Uh huh. Edra said.

You aren’t even listening to me! Arissa cried.

Uh huh ... oh, I mean ... do you need a reboot? Maybe your system is all jammed up again? Perhaps you need to vent your frustrations inside the Jumbess ball. Edra considered.

NO! I don’t need a restart or to bounce around in a gigantic stress ball! My system is just fine! That is the point! I want my life to have purpose, to experience what the early settlers did, to see their struggle without electricity, computer technology, running water, methods of de-stressing so I can live longer ... I want to actually eat real food and fall in love and care for someone else. Arissa continued.

Why? Why on earth would you ever consider returning to that, when you conveniently have everything you could ever imagine with your thought process? Edra claimed as she began listening to Arissa’s words.

Why wouldn’t I? There is no challenge left. I simply exist. In the future I only see advanced technology, better than what we have now. It’s boring and tedious. We have isolated illness, stabilized health, recycled, reduced and repurposed. There is no waste. Everything is meticulously presented and maintained through our own thoughts, conjuring up images to transport ourselves into whatever we want. Arissa repealed loudly.

That is the ultimate goal for humanity, to better ourselves, which we have accomplished. Are you short-circuiting somewhere? Edra asked with concern.

That’s just it! Everything has been accomplished, finely tuned, perfected. There is no room for error. We can’t make mistakes. We are robots. Arissa continued.

You have been viewing your family lineage again, haven’t you? Or have you been reading those journals from Mama B again? I should have known! Every time you do that, you have a meltdown causing you to short-circuit! Edra claimed knowingly.

Have you ever read Mama B’s journals? They contain a vivid description of how humanity existed in the distant past, before technology erupted with the so-called betterment for all individuals. Arissa continued.

Of course I have read them and I found them extremely drab! I would never want to return to that harsh reality! Edra confirmed.

Come with me! I will reset you and you will be fine! Edra pleaded.

NO! No! Not this time! I am serious! No more! You will not override my system! When did we stop feeling feelings? Arissa questioned.

About a hundred years ago. That’s it, come on—!

I said – NO! Arissa stated angrily.

I’m going back to my lab! Leave me alone! Arissa finalized and stomped away from the table angrily.

Upon returning to her lab, she plunked herself down into her chair which automatically adjusted to conform to her body. It allowed her body to sit properly to alleviate any stress on any part of the body. She resumed her work, rereading her collaborative notes, but quickly became bored and sighed heavily. She closed her eyes as she sank into the chair which automatically reclined and she scanned her family lineage with her built-in imagery portrayal, unable to think of anything else. Was she the only one that felt this way? The people that existed before her, did they ever imagine the human race in this capacity? What would it have been like to exist before all of this? She opened her eyes and gazed around the room. There would be no computers, no self conforming chairs, no definitive thought processes that automatically produced physical items. What would there be? Real food, inspired love, companionship and a purposeful existence.

She closed her eyes again and called up her elaborate family tree, scanning the names and dates delineating who belonged to whom. Occasionally, she would pause briefly and imagine how the two people had met, what they wore, where they had lived, what challenges they faced and ultimately conquered.

She had inquired previously, when she had had a ‘meltdown’, about the removal of her microchip, as well as, anything mechanical within her body. It was an option that was greatly discouraged and essentially, she would be committing suicide. The RoboDoc made adjustments as he saw fit and rebooted her system, resetting her thoughts so she wouldn’t ‘feel’ the loathing anguish. It didn’t take long and something would pull her back to that longing to seek out the past. Try as she might, she was unable to secure a viable transformation to return to an earlier time. However, the basis of her experiments were conducted while the microchip invaded her body. Maybe she had to completely rid herself of all of the technology to effectively rewind her system. Her body and mind had to consist solely of the decorum that her ancestors existed as, in order to perpetuate the similar nature of their time.

Arissa thoughtfully and fondly recalled the matriarch Mama B. Mama B was born in eighteen hundred eighty and lived to the ripe old age of one hundred and four. She married her sweetheart at the age of seventeen, in eighteen hundred ninety-seven. They celebrated sixty-one years of marriage raising seven children, three daughters and four sons. Mama B’s birth name was Elizabeth which was a very popular name at the time and they had also chosen that particular name for their eldest daughter, but they called her Betty. As the years progressed and the children grew and formed families of their own, two of her sons also married women with the popular name of Elizabeth, who both preferred the shortened name of Betty. In turn, the daughters also married and had children of their own, subsequently, each producing daughters with the given name of Elizabeth. In an effort to denote the particular ‘Elizabeth’ to which they were referring, Betty S., Betty G., Liz and Lizzy were used as denotations. At large family functions of which they had many, it became increasingly difficult to acknowledge a particular Elizabeth or Betty out loud, as several people would respond. So it was deemed that Mama B, the ‘B’ standing for Betty, was proclaimed and that was the name that she had been addressed by until her demise.

At Mama B’s one hundredth birthday celebration at her farm, Mama B surprised everyone by giving them gifts, gratefully requesting that she not receive any herself. Over the years and especially after her husband had passed away, her children encouraged her to move into the city so they could be closer to her. In some ways, it was thought that they wanted her closer so she could take care of them, as their ages escalated. Truth be told, Mama B refused on each and every query to move from the homestead her husband and she herself strived to maintain. In that effort, the both of them had refused the ways of the ever evolving progress. New inventions were popping up everywhere allowing ease of convenience in every aspect of daily living. Mama B often quoted that ‘the world was getting too big for its britches’ as everyone around them continually urged them to accept the modern conveniences. They never did, choosing the simpler life they had begun together with no running water, no electricity and raising their own food providing a modest income as they sold meat, eggs, milk and cream. They chopped their own wood for heat and cooking and Mama B fashioned all of the clothes for the members of her large family, never wasting anything, repurposing and utilizing scraps of material for other uses.

Of course, throughout those years, Mama B had received plenty of the newly invented gadgets as gifts and everyone’s hope was that she would finally relent and upgrade to a more modern lifestyle. To their great dismay, they never saw any of their gifts utilized at all nor had they ever seen them in the household at all. Mama B was true to her word and never returned any gift that she had received, but rather, secretly stored the new gadgets safely within the arsenal of collected gifts in her cellar. She widened the earth cellar when she was unable to fit any more collectibles down there and hauled the dirt out by hand, one pail at a time. Eventually, she lined the entire cellar with wood and built shelves to accommodate the miscellaneous items. On the event of her one hundredth birthday celebration, she began regifting the accumulation of electronic gadgets, still in their original packaging to the many guests that had attended. This effectively cleared out her space and many were overjoyed to receive the new ‘old’ inventions, some of which had already been replaced with new and improved versions.

With the many people that had complained that the old relic of a house and yard, which eventually sat smack dab in the middle of the growing urban area, wished to have it demolished as the new generations emerged, they believed it was worth preserving as a heritage site. After Mama B’s death in nineteen hundred eighty-four, the numerous great-great grandchildren had the site designated as a heritage site and eventually, Mama B’s homestead was turned into a museum for all to enjoy. The curators of the museum spent many long hours refurbishing and maintaining the house to ensure its structural stability, while retaining the originality of the estate as closely as possible. This involved thoroughly inspecting each crevice in each room to ensure nothing had been overlooked. During this careful inspection, a volunteer had discovered an access panel at the bottom of the wall near to where her bed had sat. He was overwhelmed with the amazing discovery he had unearthed and felt privileged with the wealth of information he had learned.

The interior of the wall contained several journals that Mama B had maintained from the time she had learned to read and write. They began as a diary at a young age, but as the family grew, she also included every aspect of their lives as well. She made a notation on each day even if there was nothing of significance to record. Sometimes, there was only a date written and she would write about the weather on that day for lack of anything else to occur. In addition, she recorded as many stories and memories that she could recall with regards to her ancestry. The stories from her parents and grandparents were written as she experienced them herself or as she had heard from them as they regaled the tales. The original items including the journals were preserved in glass so no one could touch them, but her stories were reproduced and published for the public to purchase. The legend of Mama B was passed down to Arissa as well and she had purchased all of the published journals for herself. She was so intrigued with her family’s lineage that she envisioned herself living in that area with her imagination and perception of the grand past propelling her forward. This of course, had become her lifelong dream to relive in the past with the knowledge she had acquired from her mentor, Mama B.

Arissa smiled to herself and re-consulted her notes, pouring over them in search of the most successful journey that she had taken so she could mirror that experiment again. Only this time, she would embed herself in a specific time frame, identifying a block of time in a precise place isolating the dimension. In