Oasis (The Last Humans Book 1) by Dima Zales, Anna Zaires Page B
Authors: Dima Zales, Anna Zaires
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up.”
“At least you know who Mason is,” I say, finding surprising relief in that. A little voice—a voice that is not Phoe but my own paranoid self—reminds me that despite what I thought last night, Phoe could still somehow be a product of my imagination.
“So we’re back to that nonsense again?” Phoe says. “Now is not a good time for you to be worried about me. ”
“Fine,” I think. “Let’s get back to the issue of Mason. Did you figure out what happened to him? What’s going on? I assume you had a reason for making me wait?”
“Okay.” Phoe sounds as though she’s sitting next to me. “The bad news is that I don’t know where Mason is, or what happened to him. But I do know this: they truly don’t know who Mason is. No one does, as far as I can tell.”
Even though I suspected as much, my insides fill with lead. “What does that mean?” I think at Phoe, trying to rein in my growing panic.
“It means when Liam, Grace, and Instructor George acted like they didn’t know Mason, they weren’t faking it.”
“So are you saying he wasmy imaginary friend and not you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snaps.
“Then why do they not know who he is?”
“That part is tricky.” Her voice acquires a certain distant thoughtfulness. “Do you recall what happened with that movie you liked, Pulp Fiction ? The one that disappeared?”
“It was deleted from the archives,” I say.
“Right. Well, there’s something I didn’t tell you out of fear of distressing you. Pulp Fiction wasn’t the first movie that was deleted after I showed it to you.”
The mental “Huh?” I reply with sounds like a loud nasal exhale.
“I know how it seems, but it’s true. Pulp Fiction was merely the first movie I didn’t let them make you Forget.”
“What?”
“Do you remember The Silence of the Lambs ?” Phoe asks. “You watched the movie and read the book, but you don’t remember either, do you?”
“Lambs?” I fight the urge to whisper out loud again. “Those are baby sheep, right? Those cute white creatures the ancients used to eat?”
“Right. You clearly don’t recall. But as I was saying, after the Adults decided to ban The Silence of the Lambs , it didn’t just disappear from the Archives. You couldn’t recall reading or watching it either.”
I’m too stunned to reply at first. Then, mentally shaking my head, I think, “No way.”
“I’m sorry to spring this on you. I tried bringing it up last night, but—”
“It just can’t be,” I subvocalize. “If I watched a movie or read a book, I’d remember it. How could I not?”
“Your nanobots were utilized to tamper with the intricate neural pathways required to recall that particular memory. After that was done to you, you confabulated a new reality, one in which you had never read or watched that work of fiction.”
“I did?”
“Because you don’t remember it now, you can safely assume so, yes. Since then, I’ve been experimenting with selectively shielding your mind from this sort of influence.” Her voice is hushed, almost a whisper in my ear. “It worked with Pulp Fiction , which is why you remember it . Then, last night, when you asked me to disable all tampering with your mind, I did as you asked. It’s my conjecture that the Elderly, or whoever, did the same thing to people’s memories of Mason as what happened to your memory of The Silence of the Lambs . It’s called ‘Forgetting.’ You were the only one who didn’t fall under its influence.”
“Wait—”
“I’m sorry, Theo.” She softens her tone. “If I’m right, it’s not just those three people you spoke with who don’t know a Youth named Mason. If I’m right, you’re now the only person in Oasis besides me who remembers your friend.”
6
“ T hat’s impossible ,” I whisper, but when I see Owen begin to turn his head, I continue subvocally. “How could they make everyone forget?” I look around the classroom as though my
“At least you know who Mason is,” I say, finding surprising relief in that. A little voice—a voice that is not Phoe but my own paranoid self—reminds me that despite what I thought last night, Phoe could still somehow be a product of my imagination.
“So we’re back to that nonsense again?” Phoe says. “Now is not a good time for you to be worried about me. ”
“Fine,” I think. “Let’s get back to the issue of Mason. Did you figure out what happened to him? What’s going on? I assume you had a reason for making me wait?”
“Okay.” Phoe sounds as though she’s sitting next to me. “The bad news is that I don’t know where Mason is, or what happened to him. But I do know this: they truly don’t know who Mason is. No one does, as far as I can tell.”
Even though I suspected as much, my insides fill with lead. “What does that mean?” I think at Phoe, trying to rein in my growing panic.
“It means when Liam, Grace, and Instructor George acted like they didn’t know Mason, they weren’t faking it.”
“So are you saying he wasmy imaginary friend and not you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snaps.
“Then why do they not know who he is?”
“That part is tricky.” Her voice acquires a certain distant thoughtfulness. “Do you recall what happened with that movie you liked, Pulp Fiction ? The one that disappeared?”
“It was deleted from the archives,” I say.
“Right. Well, there’s something I didn’t tell you out of fear of distressing you. Pulp Fiction wasn’t the first movie that was deleted after I showed it to you.”
The mental “Huh?” I reply with sounds like a loud nasal exhale.
“I know how it seems, but it’s true. Pulp Fiction was merely the first movie I didn’t let them make you Forget.”
“What?”
“Do you remember The Silence of the Lambs ?” Phoe asks. “You watched the movie and read the book, but you don’t remember either, do you?”
“Lambs?” I fight the urge to whisper out loud again. “Those are baby sheep, right? Those cute white creatures the ancients used to eat?”
“Right. You clearly don’t recall. But as I was saying, after the Adults decided to ban The Silence of the Lambs , it didn’t just disappear from the Archives. You couldn’t recall reading or watching it either.”
I’m too stunned to reply at first. Then, mentally shaking my head, I think, “No way.”
“I’m sorry to spring this on you. I tried bringing it up last night, but—”
“It just can’t be,” I subvocalize. “If I watched a movie or read a book, I’d remember it. How could I not?”
“Your nanobots were utilized to tamper with the intricate neural pathways required to recall that particular memory. After that was done to you, you confabulated a new reality, one in which you had never read or watched that work of fiction.”
“I did?”
“Because you don’t remember it now, you can safely assume so, yes. Since then, I’ve been experimenting with selectively shielding your mind from this sort of influence.” Her voice is hushed, almost a whisper in my ear. “It worked with Pulp Fiction , which is why you remember it . Then, last night, when you asked me to disable all tampering with your mind, I did as you asked. It’s my conjecture that the Elderly, or whoever, did the same thing to people’s memories of Mason as what happened to your memory of The Silence of the Lambs . It’s called ‘Forgetting.’ You were the only one who didn’t fall under its influence.”
“Wait—”
“I’m sorry, Theo.” She softens her tone. “If I’m right, it’s not just those three people you spoke with who don’t know a Youth named Mason. If I’m right, you’re now the only person in Oasis besides me who remembers your friend.”
6
“ T hat’s impossible ,” I whisper, but when I see Owen begin to turn his head, I continue subvocally. “How could they make everyone forget?” I look around the classroom as though my
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