Free Remember Me by Brian MacLearn

my phone to a start-up company, who in turn, lost it to the Chinese during a hostile take-over of their company. The eventual outcome was nothing short of a horrific, post-apocalyptic, science fiction movie plot. I woke up drenched in sweat as the world ceased to exist. All out war had ensued, and the world annihilated itself in one massive nuclear mushroom cloud. As I lay in bed this morning, I realized that I had a moral responsibility to be careful. This was true, even if I was the only one who believed it.
    “Mom, I know things: things that I can profit from immensely. I can achieve more wealth than you can imagine. I could easily make billions of dollars. I can also dramatically and disastrously change the course of my lost future. What I believe is simple in concept and next to impossible to do! I’m stuck here for good, and the universe isn’t going to explode if I shake hands with my younger self. I believe that only happens in science fiction novels and at the movies. The world I once knew is now changed forever. How much it changes will be entirely up to me.”
    My mother just stared at me, lost in images of her own
    making. She carefully looked at the phone and gasped when she slid the phone apart to reveal the small keyboard underneath.
    S 53 S
    Brian L. MacLearn
    It wasn’t on, nor did it need to be for my mom to come to a silent and knowing understanding. “Andrew, you have to be very careful.”
    “I know Mom, lives depend upon it!”
    We spent the rest of the morning discussing options,
    scenarios, and potential plans for moving forward. The one common thread in all of them was the need for me to establish some form of a new identity. My mother desperately wanted to stay a big part of my life, and suggested I become a distant cousin from out East. It had merit, but I wasn’t sure that it was wise to stay so connected to the family. We decided I would be better served to be someone completely new.
    By the time my father returned from work, around five-thirty, the plans had been hashed and rehashed to the point of silliness. The mother I would come to know in the future was fast arriving today. Papers with charts, pros and cons, littered the kitchen table. The only expression from my father was his silent acknowledgement. I believe he accepted the fact that that he would only be a consenting player, not one of the major decision makers in my search for direction. I felt a little remorse, because he was one of the best fathers and grandfathers there ever was. I sincerely hoped my presence here wouldn’t somehow cause him to change for the worse. He was going to have a big part to play, and I needed him to “stay on target.”
    I had always known my mother had a keen intellect, but
    seeing her in action was a sight to behold. She thought of things I never even gave credence to. While I had talked about the disastrous consequences of me being here, she spoke with such conviction of the wonderful possibilities, all the things I could do with my knowledge to help shape a better world. It was too hard for me to look past what I had lost—Amy, her children, my grandchildren…my life. For me and the life I once knew; it was officially over! My stomach turned sour and S 54 S
    RemembeR me
    my heart beat sadly in the recognition of my doomed finality.
    In one of those rare moments, my father put his hand on
    my shoulder. “Son, I can only imagine the pain you must be experiencing. I spent most of the night and all day wondering what I would do if it was me who found himself twenty-five years in the past. Of course, nineteen sixty would be no prize to relive again either.” He chuckled to himself, and I waited for him to continue. “There was one thought that seemed to grip me as I thought about what it would be like. It was a feeling of loneliness, being forced to the outside of life and having to look in.” With that statement he looked me directly in the eyes.
    “Your mom and I will be here for you,