Reconstructed Reality

Cam walked into the Wilderness, eyes jumping around the happy hour crowd looking for Jeremy. He found him sitting at the bar, a pint already dried up, another halfway to the same fate. Squeezing his slender frame through the crowd he hopped on the stool next to Jeremy.

“Jesus, man. Save some for the rest of us.” 

“Rough week at work, those corporate pricks are grinding us to a halt at every step.” 

“Jack!” Cam swung his arm at the bartender. “Fix me up a tall pint of the Milky Way. Gonna need something to numb my mind before I sit through all his whining.”

“Piss off. We don’t all have it as easy as you accountants. Let me show you what they put us through this week.”

An alert popped up on Cam’s LivEye. Accepting the connection to Jeremy’s device, a recording from Wednesday began to play. 

Viewing from Jeremy’s perspective, he was standing in front of four of Vintek’s executives, names glowing above their heads in neon green, although Cam recognized each of them. He’d never uttered a word to any of the execs, though he’d been an invisible presence in several quarterly meetings with the group and recognized their faces.

Their presence was intimidating, sitting in a semi-circle around a glass table that arched through the middle of the room. Only one other seat was occupied. At the end of the arch sat Cristine Henderson, a Product Management lead who was working with Jeremy on the latest software releases. She was stunning, and single, not that he could act on anything. 

Jeremy was droning on in technical jargon, detailing necessary updates they were intending to make by the end of the quarter. His voice boomed across the room. He was an intimidating figure himself. Cam often thought he could pass for a lumberjack, with a burly frame and thick beard that looked as if he belonged swinging an axe, not code. 

Every few minutes one of the execs halted Jeremy, complained about costs, questioned the definition of necessary, or explained why some part of the strategy simply wasn’t right for their current direction. 

“You see how they shut me down every step of the way,” Jeremy griped, backing out of the Memory. 

“Didn’t quite notice much with Cristine,” Cam chimed back, taking a healthy chug of his pint.

Jeremy shook his head, smirking. The bar had gotten even more packed while they were screened out, a group of young professionals blowing off steam bantering loudly in the corner. 

“You need to relax. If you keep looking, you’ll end up making a mistake you’re going to regret.”

“Impossible for anything involving her to be a mistake. I’d pack my bags today if she asked me to,” Cam said, finishing off another pint, and signaling Jack for two more. 

“You know what your problem is? You don’t know how good you have it.”

Jeremy finished off his round and headed back to the office, still cursing the execs for their incompetence and his late night ahead.

Cam hunched over the lukewarm remains of his last round, delaying the commute back home. Things had been rocky with Amy. Cam found his mind wondering lately, how life might have worked out if they’d never married, emotionally distancing himself from his wife and alcohol further twisted the vice counterclockwise. 

Finishing off his drink, he thanked Jack and left the bar. An evening chill greeted him outside. The sound of chattering from patrons flowed down the street lined with restaurants, and Cam wished one would recognize him, call his name, and delay his journey home.

He filtered in with sullen late-night employees trickling down into the subway, too dejected after a long day to appreciate the weekend birth. Weekend. It meant spending more time with Amy. Cam didn’t understand why he felt so distant in his relationship so suddenly. The love he felt for her had been fading, a feeling he couldn’t explain. 

Cam had first met Amy at a freshman orientation event in college. An absolute stunner. Perfected natural beauty, a messy ponytail cradled her long black hair. She lit up the place in a groutfit, a gray sweatshirt emblazoned with the school mascot, and a shade lighter gray sweats. The two had an instantaneous connection.

But Cam’s mind had been wandering, fantasizing about what he might have missed out on in his youth. Cristine was a catalyst for everything he’d been feeling. Past possibilities merged with present opportunities. It was only temptation though, harmless lust and barroom talk with Jeremy. He didn’t believe he meant any of it. 

The subway shot its way into 23rd Street station. As the doors hissed open, Cam resolved to bridge the gap he had created. He pulled out his phone and texted Amy as he made his way up the stairs to the street.

Hey, on my way home. Should I pick up a couple of subs from Monica’s?

Cam jolted his head up, startled as a firetruck raced down the street blaring its siren. If one reason existed to leave for the suburbs, it was the noise.

His phone pinged. Who is this?

At any other point in their relationship, silliness would have felt natural. With their recent fighting, the mood between them had stiffened, and Cam suddenly felt uneasy but laughed it off.

Lol babe. The Chicken Caprese, no olives?

Wrong number.

What was she playing at? They hadn’t fought much this week, nothing which he thought would drive her to act like this. 

What’s wrong?

A few minutes ticked past, as Cam waited outside Monica’s, unsure of whether to order.

I’m going to grab subs and then we can discuss whatever we need to. I love you.

The message was delivered, but the bubble was green. When he attempted to call, it went straight to voicemail. Regret swept across Cam, only briefly, before an unsettling feeling shoved it away. Something didn’t feel right. Through all of their struggles, Amy stuck by Cam, determined to resolve their issues. Sure, she’d become upset on several occasions, and who could blame her, but there was never any indication of her giving up.

He hurried away from Monica’s, down the few blocks to their condo. Panic-driven sweat began to bead on Cam’s forehead as he ran up the stairs, whether because he was terrified of losing Amy or the thought that something was terribly wrong he was unsure.

The waft of Chili swirled around as Cam entered the apartment. It was an unexpected scent, chili was Cam’s favorite. One he associated with celebrations and lazy holiday weekends with Amy. 

If the scent wasn’t enough to put him on edge, the scream that shot through his body certainly did. 

He turned, startled, Amy standing in the hallway staring at him with a petrified look, body stiffening as if he presented a danger. 

“Amy, what’s the matter?”

The floorboards creaked as he heard someone running from the bedroom. Darting around the corner, Jeremy appeared in the hallway, jumping in front of Amy, defensively.

“Who are you and what are you doing in our house?” he shouted.

“Okay, what the hell is going on? First Amy, now you. Can we stop the shenanigans and tell me why either of you would think this is funny?” 

Jeremy stepped forward, Amy still cowering behind speechless. “Look I don’t know what it is you want, man. But if you leave now, nobody has to get hurt.”

Cam stiffened and smiled at the same time. Jeremy wasn’t going to hit him, but he was still confused as to what sort of prank the two were pulling.

He directed his attention toward Amy. “Amy, babe, can we please just talk? I know I haven’t been there for you lately. I’ve acted like a child, a real prick. You deserve better, so let’s please drop this act, and I promise we’ll get through this together.”

As he said this, he stepped toward her, ready to embrace his wife. A powering right hand landed on his chin, knocking Cam into the painting hanging on the wall. Before he could fully register the hit, Jeremy landed two more blows, the second caving in his stomach and dropping Cam to his knees. He narrowly avoided Jeremy’s knee, diving to the left, and pulling himself up by the kitchen drawer handles. 

“Jeremy, stop it. Why are you doing this?” slurring his speech, in the process of spitting out blood. 

Jeremy moved toward him again. Cam grabbed a pot sitting on the counter, swinging it with all his force at Jeremy’s head. Jeremy ducked, spinning Cam around facing away from his friend. He barely twisted his head back around before it was forced back in the opposite direction, lifting Cam off his feet. All went black. 

…

Zendustry, INC.

LivEye v2 PRO 

Internal Investigation: Field, Rowes & Rowes 

Reference No. 3904820-910

Alphabot Investigator #7430

Date: March 22, 2039

Police were called to 2480 N. Harleigh St Unit #2 on March 12, 2039, at 6:50 PM ET for possible breaking and entering. When officers arrived, they found the suspected intruder, Cameron Johnathan Rowes unconscious on the kitchen floor. Officers at the scene tried to resuscitate the suspect but were unsuccessful and pronounced Rowes deceased at approximately 6:57 PM ET. Upon further examination, the official cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma to the head caused by the result of Rowes striking his head against the counter after an altercation between Rowes and Jeremy Dwayne Field.

Field and Amy Maria Rowes told police that Rowes had entered their condo, and acted as if he knew the victims, although they stated they had never seen the suspect. Police later learned that Mrs. Rowes was the wife of the deceased, Cameron Rowes. When questioned regarding the matter, both Field and Rowes insisted they did not know the suspect. Both Field and Rowes were detained pending further investigation.

As customary in any legal matter, Zendustry Inc. reviewed all Memories of the involved parties. Upon investigation, it was determined that both Field’s and Mrs. Rowes’ LivEye software had been hacked. Initial results show that the virus powered down LivEye’s SafetyFirstTM protocols, allowing the technology to manipulate the memories of both Field and Mrs. Rowes. The hacker copied Mr. Rowes Memories into Mr. Field’s LivEye account, deleting all past data. With SafetyFirstTM protocols disabled, the Memories embedded themselves deep into the mind of Mr. Field’s, so that he was under the belief he was Mrs. Rowes' husband. The hacker similarly altered all Memories under Mrs. Rowes' account, using advanced AI-generated imagery software to replace Mr. Rowes with Mr. Fields.

Mr. Fields and Mrs. Rowes are scheduled to undergo further testing to determine if original Memories may be restored, however, no other case exists similar to this matter, and it is undetermined how the subjects may react to any medical procedure. 

Analysis of Mr. Rowes' LivEye account initially presented no alterations or breaches. Upon further investigation, one piece of evidence was documented. Memory B4829083-458, timestamped March 12, 2039, 5:12 PM ET. The Memory showed Mr. Rowes and Mr. Field together at Wilderness Pub located at 1282 Westford Ave. Audio analysis found Mr. Rowes detailing his interest in co-worker Cristine Kenzea Hensley. Autobot #4320 determined no alternation was made to either the visual or audio components of the Memory. A note had been created attached to the Memory, however, which was determined to have been placed by the hacker. The note read: Words have consequences ;)

The hacker remains unknown and authorities have been notified of internal findings. At the time of this report, no other cases exist. LivEye V2 Pro Software and SafetyFirstTM Protocols continued to be examined for potential security vulnerabilities.