James was declared fit and was released from the hospital under strict guidance by the doctor to keep an eye and take his medicines. After Mary's sister Martha and her husband signed a couple of papers, James was allowed to leave the hospital. James asked for the clothes he had worn, but Martha told him that they were badly burned in the fire.
"One thing that still baffles me is how you didn't even get any burns at all. Your skin seems to not be injured by the fire. It's a miracle" Martha said, wondering. James shrugged, pretending to not know anything, as he left the hospital building.
When James was approaching Martha's jeep, he could see three kids running to meet Martha, except a girl who stood next to the jeep and observed. She was the one that accompanied Martha after James woke up from his coma. 'These might be her children' he thought.
After approaching Martha, the eldest boy asked his mom "Mom, is it him? The boy that his parents ---" he was not able to finish his statement as his mother interrupted him "Yes, it is him, and his name is James, not 'him', come on, try and get to know each other as James would be staying with us from now on" Martha said, with a hint of obvious sadness in her voice.
James blankly stared at the three boys in front of him. He tried to estimate their ages, but the system in his mind had already done that. The info popped in his eyes as their respective ages displayed on top of their heads.
[Name: Nicolas Hart]
[Age: 11 years and 2 months]
[Race: Hybrid (white dominant)]
[Name: Anthony Hart]
[Age: 9 years and 5 months]
[Race: Hybrid (white dominant)]
[Name: Toby Hart]
[Age: 6 years and a month]
[Race: Hybrid (black dominant]
He saw their basic description and their dominant race. Martha was a black entrepreneur while John, Martha's white husband was a real estate manager. They met each other during Mary's wedding, and since then they began to date each other until they eventually got married with four kids.
"Hi James, my name is Nicolas Hart" Nicolas introduced himself and brought out a hand to shake him, which James accepted. "Hi, I'm Anthony" the youngest then did the same thing as Nicolas.
"Toby, are you not going to introduce yourself" Martha smiled as she urged her youngest child to introduce himself. "Toby" he babbled as he shyly went behind his mother. "Hi Toby, how are you," James asked smiling faintly. Martha chuckled as she picked up Toby and approached her car, which the three boys scurried behind her.
James then studied the girl that he saw in the hospital room. He then requested her info from the system.
[Name: Esther Hart]
[Age: 14 years and 7 months]
[Race: Hybrid (white dominant]
'The only girl in the house, he thought. As Martha reached for her keys, Esther then approached them. "Hello James, I'm Esther by name. You saw me in the hospital room because I accompanied my mom" she introduced as she brought out her hands to shake James. James shook her hands as he introduced himself formally. "Hi Esther, nice to meet you" James simply said.
Of course, he already knew them more than they thought. But he could not say anything, because it would freak him out. He does not even know how he would even explain it to Martha. "Hi Martha, remember when you told me I was unconscious, well my dad chipped me on my surgery and installed an operating system to my brain, oh, I can also read people's minds and know their deeper thought?"
He could not even imagine how freaked out they would be, so he chose to stay silent. Sometimes he marvelled at his ability to stay calm and mature in such strange situations. Other kids his age would have freaked out if it happened to them, but James was different. It may have to do with his unusually high IQ rating. As they said, the smarter you are, the more secluded you would be to people.
James still tried to remember his forgotten life but could not. He does not know the magnitude of the explosion that would warrant him forgetting most of his childhood.
He could only remember what he was thought in school and what he learned, it seems, but he could not remember who taught him. It was like his brain deleted all the people he knew, only the things he knowledge he accumulated remained.
For a moment, he was mad at himself. 'What do I want to use all this useless knowledge for? I don't know my parents, my classmates, my neighbours. I can't even remember my name' James complained internally. Even he was alive, he saw no use living if he would not be able to know the people he had just lost.
He rested his head on the car seat as he pondered on those thoughts. 'Do not lose hope, for I am currently working on how to compile all your memories and restore them. Your mind has not lost any single byte of your memories. They are all backed up in your subconscious, and I'm working on copying them and restoring them for you' the AI reassured him.
'How does would it take' James inwardly asked. 'Few weeks, maybe.' The AI said. 'The subconscious store's mnemonic data randomly, so I have to carefully sort and compile them so no data is corrupted' the AI added. James sighed.
'So, what should I be doing with a blank canvas? I surely would not stay idle' James replied. The AI paused for a second, then said, 'Well if you want to stay busy, you can resume school. Your aunt Martha would put you back in school and explain your absence.
'Or when you are at home, you can choose to use your powerhouse of a brain to create something, or invent something or…' the AI continued, offering more options to James, but James was captivated by the two last things it said, "create or invent something".
Even if James did not remember who he was, he felt a strong desire to bring something new into the world. He does not mind if it was something that already exists, he would make them better. He was slightly satisfied with that answer as he deeply breathed peacefully.
His eyes then panned across the faces of his cousins, but Esther was staring at him already. Their eyes met, and James felt awkward. Esther raised her hand and made a peace sign, making James smile as he performed the same gesture too.