Her eyes opened, but she didn’t remember falling asleep. The room was still dark, she could make out the minimalist feel of the room, the few pieces of furniture had a smart design and everything in the room was the same shade of white. She got out of bed, that seemed to start some of the technology in the room; the lights in the room turned on and now casted a dim glow over the room like the cabin of an airplane. She stood out of bed and made her way across the room to a door, opening it she found a bathroom.

She stood in front of the sink and looked at herself in the mirror; she had long, thick black hair, equally thick, but nicely shaped brows, and full lips. Her skin was a warm brown, it felt soft and moisturized as she grazed her fingertips over her forearm. As she continued to stare at herself she felt like she had done this before, her head tilted to the side as memories began to surface. The memories were flashes of her in different mirrors, she didn’t always look the same in every memory, she had dreads in one, a big afro in another, her hair short and dyed blonde in the next.

A loud pinging started from somewhere in the bedroom, she left the bathroom quickly to investigate. The noise was coming from the computer on her desk, she sat down in the chair and touched the screen settling the alarm and waking up the computer. A message was on the screen already,

Simulation over.

What would you like to do?

[Start Over] [Go Back to Menu]

She stared at the message, she didn’t remember anything, should she start over again? If she decided to go back to the menu what would she see, could she never redo the other simulation. What was a simulation anyway? She winced as a sharp pain irrupted from her neck, thankfully it lasted a second before passing. Taking a deep breath, she refocused on the computer, she tapped the screen.

Everything went black.

--

The team of scientist observed the subject from the time she woke up until she chose an option of the computer screen, no one talked, the only sounds in the room were keyboard clicks, pens scribbling on paper, and the various machines printing information. In the back of the room, the lead scientist was writing away in a worn leather journal,

December 19, 2084

Day 2, 492

Subject A302 continues to impress. We believe it’s processing simulation trials as various life experiences, projecting themselves as memories and/or dreams according to the data analysts. Still the only subject to remember simulation trials, recognizing faster on average three wakes. Move benchmark test to next week, subject still hesitating at start screen, need to know why.

 The scientist capped his pen before closing his journal, he looked back up to the floor-to-ceiling window that looked into the subject’s room. A screen appeared on the window, they were now seeing what the subject was seeing. The scientist opened his journal once more and made another note,

She chose start over, again.