20 Why Did It Not Work?

James was on his 457th photo when Martha lightly knocked on his door and poked her head. "Honey, I made cookies. Would you like some?" she asked. "Yes, aunt Martha, thank you. Martha nodded and closed the door.

James kept looking at the pictures silently as he swiped on them leisurely. "I mean it's not strange to see myself in a picture with two strangers I call my mom. I mean take a look at this one, I was kissing my supposed mom by the cheek. I don't know for my former self, but I'm pretty sure I'm not the cheesy kind of person".

[You don't know until you remember them] the AI simply said.

"Humph whatever. When was this photo taken" James asked as he pointed to the picture that was displayed on his PC?

[According to the landmark behind your family, this is Paris, or to be specific, a couple of feet away from the Eiffel tower. It was taken on April 4, 2019, when you were seven.]

"Okay, wait, look here, look at the man in the background. He seemed to be looking at us, he looked suspicious."

[It might just be any random person, but I cannot deny your speculation, the man appeared suspicious, especially with the manner he was staring at the camera like he was monitoring your family. Zoom the picture 3x larger]

James zoomed the picture, enlarging the man in the photo. "What are you looking for?" he asked.

[Identity what he's holding in his left hand]

"Uhh, something like a cellphone. It's a cellphone, like… outdated kind of cellphone, it's a flip phone. Why?"

[That explains it. The cellphone he was using was the cellphone I saw your dad holding in picture 122, bookmark this photo and go back to photo 122.]

James did that and was astonished. The AI was right! It was the replica of the phone the strange man was holding. What does that mean? Was the man in the picture working in the same company as his dad's? How does this new information connect to his parent's death?

"But it could mean anything. It might just happen that my dad happened to be using the same cellphone as the man in the photo" James tried to be logical.

[Maybe, or it could be that the cellphone was an identity of the people who worked in the same company as his dad. Your dad seemed to be in a kind of cult.]

"interesting."

James stared at the man for a while, then decided to continue sliding from one photo to another. He then stopped at a picture of his family, him included.

His mother was very attractive, with a very brown complexion, brown eyes, and well-shaped eyebrows and pinkish lips. She looked like a person anyone would die to date for.

His dad, however, was a hybrid, a black dominant. His skin has a very light brown colour, light brown hair, and deep blue eye and a beautiful smile. Looking at the two of them, they looked like they were crafted for each other. They looked stunning together.

No wonder he had that deep blue eyes. Martha said it made him look mysterious, and he looked like his mother a lot. James unconsciously looked at his reflection from the screen of his PC. He was above average in terms of beauty. 'Hmm at least I will be able to attract girls soon' he cringed when the hand that thought.

30 minutes passed, and James was already at the 1664th photo. 'Urrrrgh I'm tired. I'm taking a break', he thought.

[Suit yourself]

James then went to the bathroom to ease himself. As he was peeing, he began receiving flashes of images in his mind. James was confused. The image in his mind was a school memory. He did not understand why this was going on. Does it mean this was working?

"AI, are you seeing this?" James asked AI.

[Yes, I saw that. That was a memory flash. It appeared that looking at that many photos was working. All you need for this to be complete is that one photo. I just hope you are prepared for this.]

While AI was talking, James had another flash of memory. This time, he was at home, assembling what appeared to be a PC. James became very excited. "It is working! It is working!!" he squealed as he ran out of the toilet and quickly sat down in front of his PC and began swiping the images twice as fast.

[Slow down kid, you do not want to miss that important photo. I know that you are excited, but don't get excited too soon. There's a chance that this was a memory decay. You might see flashes of memory, but it does not mean that you are going to remember them at all.]

James heard what AI told him, so he calmed down slightly. He then began to carefully examine each photo one after the other. He must find that photo quickly so that he could get his beloved memory back.

James had mixed feelings. He did not know if the memories he recovered would make him very happy or depressed. Of course, his parents died, and he watched them burn inside that fire before going unconscious. If he retrieved his memory, there's a chance he might be traumatized for a long time.

James had another flash of memory. It was his mother telling him something, then laughing. He could not determine what she said, but whatever she said to his forgotten self was funny, because it warmed his heart right after the flash.

As the flashes of random images kept appearing in his mind, James struggled to focus. The flashes kept growing and growing, with random flashes of a certain point in time in his eyes. He began to lose focus as each of these memories would drastically change his emotions.

"AI, can you assist me? Please suppress these memories for me. I need to focus". James requested.

[I would not do that James. This process is kind of important in the recovery process of your mnemonic information. You have looked at many photos of your parents, so of course, this would be how your brain would react. Ignore these flashes and focus on the tasks in front of you.]

James then nodded and tried to ignore the flashes. It was not easy, but he had a strong mental foundation. He kept examining each photo, and another photo, and another.

Then one memory flash made him stop in his tracks. He saw a pretty girl in that memory flash, and she was wearing a school uniform. It was a school memory. James squinted his eyes as he asked himself who the girl was.

24 minutes later James examined the last photo in the flash drive, before slumping in his chair. Then the flashes in his mind disappeared. "Was that all the photos?" James asked confused.

The AI told him that the photo memory trigger was in this flash drive, but he had just finished seeing them. Why did it not work?

James sighed and asked tiredly "AI, why didn't it work?"

[It's working. Your brain is already actively working on the recovery process, and I am assisting. However, you have to drink lots of water and consume lots of calories, as these processes would consume a lot of energy.]

"When do I know when the recovery would be complete?"

[I can't tell, but I estimated at 72 hours to complete, so make sure that you are in your room because this process would be scary and painful.]

James was slightly afraid. The AI kept informing him that recovering his memory would be painful, but how painful would it be? He could understand the kind of 'pain' the AI was talking about. So, he had to mentally prepare for the worst.