Chapter 23 - New Plan
Jake comes back in the room. He looks at me with concerned eyes but doesn’t speak.
“Jake, do you have a sister?” I ask him.
“No.” He answers which pretty much tells me we aren’t going to find Lisa here anywhere.
“I want to go for a walk. Would you walk with me?” I ask Jake.
“Sure. If the Doctor says it’s okay. I’ll go get him.” Jake answers. Jake leaves and comes back with the Doctor.
“Is it okay if Jake takes me for a walk?” I ask the Doctor.
“I don’t see any reason why he can’t” The Doctor answers, “Just don’t overdue it.”
“I won’t. I promise.” I tell the Doctor. I try to stand up but I stagger a bit. Jake keeps me from falling.
“Watch it.” Jake says. After a few moments I don’t feel so dizzy.
“I’m okay.” I say, “Can we go now?”
“Alright, just take it easy.” He tells me. Everyone is in the next room.
“I’m going for a walk with Jake.” I say to everyone there.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” My father asks me.
“I’m with Jake. I’ll be fine.” I tell him.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Nia asks.
“No, I think I’ll be alright.” I tell her. I can tell she doesn’t want to let me out of her sight but she doesn’t push it.
“Okay” She answers weakly.
Jake and I exit the apartment and soon I’m down the lift and out the door. Once I get out the door I stop and take in everything. I am trying to figure out where in the woods I would be if the woods were still here.
“Are you okay?” Jake asks.
“Stop worrying about me.” I tell him, “I’m fine.”
“You’ve been in a coma for a long time, I’m going to worry about you.” He answers.
“You don’t have to.” I tell him.
“Yes, I do.” He tells me back.
“Which direction is the lake?” I ask Jake. Jake doesn’t answer but points towards the lake. I don’t see the lake from where I’m standing but it’s the best reference point I can think of. The small village was quite a distance from the lake so it’s actually a good thing I can’t see it. I’m just not sure how far away from the lake we are. I close my eyes and try to get a picture in my head. With my eyes closed I turn my body until it feels like I’m pointing in the right direction.
“I want to walk this way.” I tell him.
“Okay.” He says. There are walkways and squares all over the city. It kind of reminds me of a maze. We walk for a long time.
“Can we stop now and rest.” Jake asks. There are some benches in the square so we both sit down. I look directly in front of me and I see a museum. It’s an artificial intelligence museum which seems kind of odd.
“I want to go into the Artificial Intelligence museum.” I tell Jake.
“Really?” he says, “You want to go for a walk and now you want to go into the artificial intelligence museum? You are trying to get rid of me?”
“You don’t think artificial intelligence is interesting?” I ask him.
“No, it’s pretty common.” He answers.
“It wasn’t always common.” I tell him back.
“Well, it is now.” He shoots back.
“Let’s go” I say as I drag him by the arm into the museum. Once we enter the museum, it’s like walking back in time. It’s starts with computers learning how to play simple games like checkers and chess and then advances all the way to computers controlling the operations of vast cities. I find the whole thing really interesting but I can tell Jake would rather watch paint dry. I’m not sure what I’m doing here or what I’m looking for but I just hope I know it when I see it. I’m not seeing it. After a while Jake has had enough.
“Can we go now?” Jake says after he can’t take it anymore.
“Yeah, we can go now.” I tell Jake. Jake and I walk back to the apartment. It’s a long walk. As I am walking something starts gnawing at the back of my mind. I try to bring it forward but it’s not ready yet.
“Jake, I don’t remember being your girlfriend.” I tell him.
“That’s okay. The Doctor said you might not remember but not to worry. Your memories will come back in time.” Jake answers.
“So you’re okay with me not remembering?” I ask him.
“Yeah, I’m okay with you not remembering because you will remember.” Jake answers.
“What if I don’t?” I ask.
“You will” Jake says confidently.
“Thanks for being so understanding.” I tell him back. I can start to see why Nia fell in love with him. He’s not really my type though. On our way back to our apartment it hits me. When we get back to the apartment, I tell Nia I want to talk to her privately.
“I’ve got an idea.” I tell her, “You know that computer that Lisa was building?”
“Yeah.” She answers.
“I think it still exists.” I answer her back.
“Why do you think that?” Nia asks.
“Because there’s this museum about Artificial Intelligence and the inside reminds me of the inside of the Project Building.” I tell her, “and I think the computer that Lisa built is still there are it still works.”
“So what do you want to do?” Nia asks me.
“Tomorrow, You and I are going to go there and find it.” I say, “And when we do it will fix everything.”