1:1:6 Memories

Silence. A single tear rolled down her cheek. She still had her hand in her pocket, reluctant to unhand the cube, fumbling with it, unsure of what to do with it. She had half a mind to give it to them anyway but she wasn’t sure. She had been briefed on this but the reality was so much harder.
“Are you alright?” Lore wasn’t quite sure what to do. They had never met anyone from their dreams before plus they felt as though they had never been too good at comforting people.
She remained silent for a moment, turning her next words over carefully in her mind. “They were right.” She whispered.
Lore removed the velvet pouch from their bag and offered it to her. “For your eyes.” They said, avoiding meeting her gaze.
“Thank you.” She took the pouch and before putting it to her face, she weighed it with her hand. “You’re wearing your ring.” She unfolded the wrappage inside the pouch and removed the second ring. “And you brought mine.” She began to smile; the single tear became one in a stream.
“They felt important. They felt right.” Lore gave an attempt at smiling reassuringly.
She appreciated the gesture. She removed the ring then dried her eyes. “I’m Charlotte by the way. We…” She couldn’t finish her sentence.
“We were close weren’t we?”
“You get that from the kiss? The matching rings?”
“They certainly helped point me in the right direction but, when I saw you in that dream, when you talked to me in Crait’s memory, there was this… I don’t know, it was this feeling in the bottom of my stomach. It was warm yet confusing. Like I could trust you without knowing anything about you and… and …” Lore was tripping over their words, making little actual sense but Charlotte clung to their every word. Her smile became less worried the more they talked as they continued to try and explain. “When I saw you it was as if I had remembered that I had forgotten something huge. A reminder of something I couldn’t remember. Like a sign for a minefield; you don’t know where the mines are or what kind of mines they are but you know they’re out there somewhere.”
Monologue over, she pocketed the ring and the cube then wrapped herself around Lore. “Thank you.” She squeezed them a little tighter than Lore would have preferred but overall, the hug was nice. “Gods you’re thin. How old are you?”
“Twenty I think?” Lore paused. “At least that’s what Crait told me.”
“Well, they knew you back then so they’re probably right. We didn’t meet till your second twenty fifth birthday.” Charlotte covered her mouth. She thought for a moment then shrugged. “You’ll find out eventually.”
The alley had been silent apart from the two of them talking but that soon changed as the wail of The Protectorate’s sirens slowly grew louder and louder, reminding them of the situation they were still in.
“We should probably go.” They spoke in unison.
Charlotte tapped at the leather band on her wrist, producing a holographic display. She typed a four character password; Lore had a faint recollection of the script. Comprised of various circles and lines intersecting each other at different points, it was unlike most modern Earth languages but what made it truly unique was the way in which each character was formed from a variety of other characters overlapping and nestling into one another.
“That’s Quatarrian isn’t it?” Lore may as well have asked the window beside them, Charlotte was too focussed on whatever she was doing.
After a few more seconds, she slapped the hologram into the band only for it to re-emerge as a button in her hand. She grabbed Lore’s wrist and pressed it. In a flash of white, they had left the city and the Earth behind and found themselves somewhere far, far away.

 The concrete beneath their feet had been replaced with a soft, verdant grass; the overcast sky with the warming light of the twin setting suns. Charlotte began walking before they had even processed the changes around them. Through the disorientation, they felt her tugging their hand. She dragged them across the field without so much as a word of acknowledgment. Her mind was filled with possibilities and she really didn’t know which path would be the right one to take. The hills rolled around them, untainted by pollution or construction. Pristine as a planet could be, Lore had a feeling that they were the only two developed life forms on the planet. It quickly became apparent that they weren’t just in a field but actually a clearing as they approached a wall of forest. Redwood like trees surrounded them. Thick as houses and thrice as tall, the smallest of the trees squabbled over the scraps of sunlight that trickled through the main canopy of the forest. Towering taller than the building they escaped from, the forest’s roof effectively blotted the suns; the forest floor sat in almost complete darkness. Occasionally, if the wind was blowing in the right direction and the suns angled themselves correctly, a persistent ray of light would make it through. The whole area had a tense atmosphere, silent but with the inferred promise that it could quickly change. The pair of them had been walking through the forest for what felt like half an hour without a word exchanged but Lore felt no reason to doubt Charlotte. The way she walked, the way she held herself spoke volumes of her confidence; she knew exactly where they were heading. And as if reading her mind, they arrived at their apparent destination. Together they advanced upon an unfathomably large tree. While it was as tall as its comrades, it measured nearly four times wider. Until this point, they had been moving as one, Charlotte maintaining a tight but not uncomfortable grip on Lore’s hand but in the approach, she let go. Now with both hands free, she could properly inspect the tree. Using her dominant hand to stabilise herself, she leant up against the trunk and tapped it in a rhythmic pattern; tapping the pattern out once more, she then uncurled her fist and pushed the bark aside revealing a portal into the tree’s interior.
“Come on then if you’re coming. And I wouldn’t advise waiting. After dark the forest gets snacky.” She smiled at her own joke. She knew what she was going to do. She gestured for Lore to enter the tree, holding the door open for them. As they passed through, she dropped the small cube then shattered it with her foot. She scattered the shards as she too entered the tree.
But it wasn’t a tree.

There was a moment of confusion between them as Lore re-examined their surroundings. They had been expecting a single, circular  room with wooden walls, a small desk and a bunk bed but instead they found themselves in a rather human looking bungalow. Other than the interior not matching what they had seen on the exterior, the windows were the final nail in the coffin. Out of the window, the ordinary hustle and bustle of, to everyone else, a normal day. Despite appearances, they still were not back on Earth. The sky was painted a mint green and there were more than a few moons there too but the biggest giveaway were the aliens on the street. Walking around, getting on with their lives, humanoids, reptilians and even a few quadrupeds simply existed. Lore turned to Charlotte and was about to question her when she spoke first.
“This wasn’t part of the plan.” This was the first Lore was hearing of a plan so they let her continue. “I was told to find you, take you to the tree safehouse then give you the memories they had chosen for you. They told me the memories would bring you back but… No.”
“Who told you?” Lore had a feeling they knew the answer but in their scenario, they couldn’t have enough information.
“The Council of L. Twenty five yous and mes. They created us to end the cycle. We’re unique.”
“Crait mentioned something like that. Why though? What makes us special?”
“We were made to be completely fresh. No memories except those the council chose for us. That way, they can control what we know and what we don’t. We would become their perfect representations of us. All the good, none of the bad. The council members in charge of programming my memories didn’t like that so they gave me new ones. They gave me a choice.”
“What about me?” Lore was beginning to wonder where all of this was going.
“By the time I came to get you, you’d already been thrown out to the Valhelderen Expanse. They knew Crait would find you there so, I followed Crait.” Charlotte turned around and picked up a sizable black container. She walked it over to the dining table and set it down. “That cube I had, that was full of the memories the council wanted you to have. It would have told you who I am, who you are and why we are doing this. I can tell you who I am and as for the why we are doing this, the cube would have just given you their reasons.” She opened the box revealing two cubes. “These are the memories I think are the important ones. The moments that made you, you. The moments that started all of this.”
“No-one has given me a straight answer though: What is all of this?” Lore didn’t know what to do with themselves. They lightly tapped the box with the cubes in it.
“Sit down, I’ll make a pot of tea.” Charlotte pulled out a chair before disappearing into the neighbouring room.
Lore sat down. They hadn’t realised how much their legs and feet had been aching until they were off of them. They put their bag onto the table and began examining the contents. They pushed aside their bloodied medical gown, Crait’s sidearm and their staff before finding the book from the hidden drawer in Brian’s room. There was something different about it now; from the side of the leatherbound book now stuck a pink tongue. Lore opened the book to the page it was saving; finding nothing of relevance apart from the centre binding, they removed the tongue and unfolded it. The note was written on a sheet of A4 paper. They weren’t sure what it might be but they were sure that pink wasn’t the pages original colour. The writing was small and somewhat hard to read from a distance but all the same they recognised the font.

Lore,
If you’re reading this then it worked! You made it back in time (If you’ll pardon the wordplay).
You reading this note means that you managed to find Brian and you should be on your way to finding, or hopefully already be with, Char. She can be an acquired taste but trust you, you’ll warm to her. Now she’s probably a little distant given the information you’re processing but trust the process and it’ll all work out fine. The cube she’s given you should have filled you in sufficiently but I’ve hidden an extra in the tree (It’ll make sense later if it doesn’t already) with a few little goodies and extra titbits. This is the mission of our lifetimes and there’s a lot riding on this but no pressure, good luck and see you in the future.
Bon Voyage,
Lore.
P.S. Please avoid time travel like the plague, there’s no telling what’ll happen if you you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Lore folded away the letter and mulled over its contents. The wording made them sound open and trustworthy but, with what Charlotte had told them, there were things that made them think twice. The way they spoke to themselves made it seem like their life was already decided, their path already walked; they spoke to themselves in the past tense which, while it did make a degree of sense, made it sound as though the other Lores had a plan for them and that they must follow that plan to the letter. Most of the slight feeling of unrest they were now feeling came from a single word however. Sufficiently. Charlotte had mentioned how a rogue Lore had given her different memories but this only solidified her thinking; they were either not trusted or too important to their grand plan to be allowed their own thoughts. The more they thought about the note, the worse they felt and the more they ended up disliking themselves and by extension, their apparent creators.
“Here we are.” Charlotte broke the cycle of angst, setting a black cup of Earl Grey before them. “Three sugars, just how you like it.”
Lore took a sip. The sweet warmth of the drink calmed them while the citrus kick almost rebooted their mind, focussing them on the now. “Thanks…” They paused as they set their mug down. “Do you prefer Charlotte or Char?” They removed the book once more and began to unfold the pink sheet.
“Ah, you found it… I usually go by Char.” She set down her mug and pulled out a similarly off coloured, neon yellow sheet. “Hidden words from The Council themselves.” She scoffed. “Anything good?”
“Just mention of another cube in the tree. Don’t know what’s in it but it may be useful?”
Char looked mildly confused for a moment before shooting out of her chair and darting to another room. Alone once more, they looked around the house. It was modestly sized with a living room that blended into the dining area. The table was big enough for three, it could have fit four but there were only three chairs, and across from them, on the closest wall, a cabinet containing a handful of family heirlooms. Char returned with a yet another black box.
“I’ve scanned this one. It’s actually quite useful, I’m jealous it wouldn’t work for me.” She smiled then she saw Lore’s look of confusion. “These are InfoStamps. They’re like MemDexes but better. Well, I say better, they’re the original. You humans found one of our InfoStamps then reverse engineered it to make the MemDex. Clever but you missed the gene lock. The information in this cube can only be accessed by you.” She moved the second box onto the chair next to her. “So, about these cubes. Originally, they wanted me to give you the heavily edited version of events. The cube would have shown you what happened and what brought us to where we are and then it would have done something to you to make you just like the others.”
“So what’s in these cubes then?”
“The raw, unfiltered memories. These cubes contain the same information, perhaps a little more, but they will allow you to form your own opinion about this whole mess.”
“And what if afterwards I don’t want to be a part of this?” Char looked somewhat confused. The answer wasn’t one she knew and the question hadn’t even crossed her mind.
“I suppose, you spend the rest of your life running in a universe that is slowly getting smaller. I should probably tell you what’s going on.” She took a sip of her tea to lubricate her throat. “It all started when humanity developed the ability to travel through time. Not usually a biggie because there were people out there who looked out for Time. The Quatarrians. They had the unique pleasure of having the path of their peoples evolution guided by Time. Quatarr was rich in an ore called Tempora. Humanity learnt of this and quickly tried to bargain with Quatarr for access. Every time they were rejected. Then the Temporal Sciences Guild of The Protectorate learnt about the civil war. Massive war plus time travel… The whole planet was wiped out in an afternoon. Humanity or more rather The Protectorate claimed the Tempora and so, humanity became a massive power in the universe. Under Crait, there isn’t an inner rim planet that doesn’t have a human colony. Entire species displaced and the timeline skewed because humanity got control of time.”
“Who’s to say this wasn’t supposed to happen?”
“Well, therein lies the problem. Anyway, Lore and Crait both saw a vision of the future: Purple cracks filling space, people dying indiscriminately and eventually, eternal blackness. Between them, they theorised we’ve got a little over twelve years left before the timeline ends. Unless we do something about it.”
“Twelve years.” Lore repeated. “So we’re trying to bring back Quatarr?”
“That’s the hope. Bring back Quatarr, Humanity gets a slap on the wrist and then we can solve the next thing when we get there.” Char and Lore chuckled. “Take those cubes. Take your time. I need to see where we need to be next.” She got up to leave then stopped in her tracks. “I would recommend using those in an empty bath or somewhere easy to clean. It could get messy.”
Lore didn’t have a response. They took the two black cases, leaving their bag on the table, and followed Char to the house’s bathroom. They smiled as they shut and locked the door behind them. They placed the second case down beside the tub as they got comfortable with the first. Inside were two black cubes. Each had a small, fluorescent blue sticky note attached to it. In their left hand they held a cube labelled Identity, in their right, Context. Lore set the context cube down and instinctively, they raised Identity to their temple. As soon as the cube made contact, all became clear. Clarity.