Free Anamnesis: A Novel by Eloise J. Knapp

was
to get this job? I could lose it if someone found out I was even involved in
that."
    "We have absolutely nothing to do
with the police," Olivia started, "We want your help. That’s
all."
    The guy didn’t trust us. Olivia wasn’t
giving him the right incentive. I decided to step in. “You went by techna1 and
posted comments on my Memory Loss Experimentation blog, right? I’m Ethan.”
    Brian’s mouth hung open as he looked at me
as though I’d just appeared. “You’re Ethan Knight?”
    “The one and only.”
    “You never responded to any of my
comments.”
    Fuck. Digital karma was biting me in the
ass. I decided to go for the truth. “I’m sorry, man. I am. You gotta realize, I
was coming off a four year blackout. All I wanted to do was spew about what
happened to me and then I got involved in some pretty bad shit. The rest is
history. I’m here now.”
    “So you are.” Brian rubbed his face and
sighed. “What do you want to know?”
    “Tell us about your blackouts. You seemed
to know more than you let on in your comments on Ethan’s blog. Just start from
the beginning,” Olivia asked.
    "I signed up for a human clinical
trial. I needed money. I remember taking the bus there and walking in, getting
settled in a room like a dorm. Three weeks later, I wake up in my bed. I have
no idea where the time went. My friend came to pick me up. Asked me what was
wrong. I told him I didn't remember any of the trial." His eyes bulged as
he told the story. He leaned forward. "You know what he said? 'I talked to
you.' He claimed we talked on the phone twice and I told him about the trials
and stuff they had me do. I don't remember any of it."
    "What did he say you told him?"
I asked.
    "The food was the same thing every
day; oatmeal for breakfast and lunch, turkey sandwich for dinner. The beds were
too hard, the other subjects regular people. They had us read kid books and do
puzzles. Watch movies and stuff." Brian sighed. "It kind of made
sense. After I woke up that day, they took me to a room. There was an exam,
like something I'd do in third grade. It asked for the plot of books and
movies. I didn't know the answers to any of it because I’d never seen any of
them. They thanked me, gave me a check, and my friend picked me up. If that
doesn’t seem weird enough, there’s more.
    “After the exam, they brought me a bowl of
oatmeal and said I had to eat it. I thought, no problem. The second I smelled
it I puked everywhere. I still can't eat oatmeal or anything that smells like
oats."
    “Do you remember any kind of aftertaste?”
I asked. “Something metallic maybe, after you woke up?”
    Brian ran his tongue around his cheeks as
he nodded. “Tinny, like I licked a rusty barrel. Lasted for a few days.”
    Olivia and I exchanged glances. This guy
was the real deal. No doubt about it.
    She pulled a notebook from her purse. “Do
you remember the name of the company?”
    “Of course. The only thing I don’t
remember is what happened while I was there,” Brian said. “It’s D.P. Pharmaceutical
Industries. Don’t remember what the D.P. stands for.”
    The name meant nothing to me. I’d never
heard of D.P. Pharmaceutical Industries before. Brian’s blackout, so far,
didn’t seem too bad. Based on his answers, I didn’t doubt he was truthful. Yes,
he lost the time. But he wasn’t hurt. He was still a functioning adult. Same
with Olivia; they were both still normal. Was it the length of time they’d been
blacked out? Was the drug a different formula? I was still missing something.
Then I realized Brian had omitted something, too.
    “Why did you think we were police?”
    Brian tapped his fingers against his desk
nervously. I noticed his nails were chewed almost to the quick. “After I woke
up and talked to Tony and everything, I had a breakdown. Losing three weeks is
traumatic. When we go to sleep, we know we’re asleep. We chose it. This was
different. I was myself, but not myself. It’s hard to explain. I