In a dark room, where a person can see many things but not with their eyes, a voice asked:
"Tell me, what are the problems you face in your life?"
Another voice replied to him:
"I don't think my problems are exclusive to my life alone. I see my life as just an ordinary life."
"Joseph" responded, asking:
"So, what you are saying is that your problems are problems that most humans face?"
"Black" answered:
"Yes, that's what I mean."
"Joseph" spoke:
"You are right that all humans might face the same problems, but of course, human experiences are different, and what is considered a problem differs from person to person. So please, can you clarify what specifically is bothering you?"
"Black" was silent for a moment, then spoke, saying:
"From my perspective, I believe the one problem I suffer from, which creates all human problems, is the uncontrollable possibilities, those that shape a person's world, their life, and who they are... what might turn a person's life upside down in an instant without them knowing. Yes, it is the unknown."
In his room, "Black" was reading some recent scientific research and thinking:
"Science is really advancing, but not fast enough. Most of the progress is the discovery of new theories, and unfortunately, experimental progress is not going well. I truly believe I won't get what I want if I wait for someone else to look for it."
While "Black" was thinking, "Robbie" alerted him:
"It is time to go to school, Black."
"Black" replied to him:
"Okay, I'm going."
"Black" was ready to go to school as usual to attend the practical classes.
His house was somewhat far from the city and the school, but the transportation was efficient and took a short time. So, after leaving his house, he went to take the subway.
When "Black" got on the subway, he sat, thinking in his mind as usual without showing any emotion on his face, in addition to being aware of his surroundings. But this time, "Black's" mind was distracted when he noticed a girl watching something on her portable display device.
When he glimpsed her eyes, his memories jumped into his mind, memories of him being in the middle of a novel he was reading, enjoying and immersed in the events, which leaned toward romance, even though his emotions are not easily affected because his mind was dominant.
"Truly, one cannot forget beautiful moments like these, but why do people look strange today?"
The girl noticed that someone was looking at her, but when she looked at him, she found something strange:
A boy, about ten years old, was looking at her with a ridiculously wide grin on his face.
"Is this child crazy? Or a perverted, mentally disturbed psychopath?"
Her heart rate began to increase, and she felt a kind of fear, but fortunately for her, the subway stopped, and she rushed out.
When she got out of the subway, she looked behind her to make sure no one was following her, and when she saw no one there, she finally relaxed.
This was not the station where "Black" was supposed to get off, so he remained seated, his mind confused. Something was wrong and different than usual, and all the remaining way to school, he did not realize what it was. All he knew was that people looked strange in some way, and sometimes he felt it was not important to think about these pointless things.
"Black" finally arrived at his school, went to his class, and sat in his usual seat.
From the outside, "Black" was acting as usual; he did not try to talk to anyone, and no expressions showed on him, but inside, he was not as he usually was. There were battles that "Black" tried to grasp, but he could not.
"Why is my mind not clear today? And why do strange things come to mind? I must... focus."
The teacher noticed that something was different about "Black" all day, so he asked him:
"Black, are you..."
When "Black" heard the teacher call his name, he looked at him, and then a memory came to his mind.
This was one of his saddest days, when he saw his father, whom he looked up to, now sitting without doing anything important; just sitting and doing the things he always forbade: playing games and watching cartoons all day. But the saddest thing was when he asked him:
"Why did you stop working? Why don't you go back to doing what you were good at?"
His father answered him:
"It is no longer important. I no longer need to do it."
He felt sad; he felt he needed to prove something the world denied and would never acknowledge.
An unclear voice called in the background:
"Black!"
"Black" began to focus for a moment and realized:
"Wait, that's not me... these are not my memories."
Then the world became clear to him again.
The teacher was surprised and nervous and was thinking:
"I thought he was just having a bad day. I didn't think that simply asking him about his condition would make him start crying."
When "Black's" consciousness began to clear, he had an involuntary thought to look away from the teacher, who had quickly approached and stood beside him, and began asking him:
"Black, answer me, are you okay? Why are you crying? Can you finish the day? Or... do you want to leave?"
"I... am crying?"
"Black" wanted to answer the teacher, but soon his consciousness faded again. When he tried to avoid looking at the teacher, his eyes accidentally fell on another student who was drawn to what was happening with "Black" and the teacher.
Then the image in "Black's" mind changed again.
This time, the world did not look very real; it looked like he was in a virtual reality game.
There were a lot of monsters, and he and another person with him were fighting them. He was very entertained, laughing heavily after killing more monsters than his friend and winning the competition. He felt like he owned the world after he won.
"Black" was laughing heavily and ridiculously; he couldn't control himself. His mind—after finding him in this miserable state—tried to close his eyes and avoid looking at anyone.
When his laughter began to subside, he finally became aware of the professor's questions.
"Heh heh... Yes, I want to leave... Heh heh... Please, Professor—the robot that works as the class teacher—can you escort me out, please?"
The professor came to escort "Black," and they left the classroom together, with him only looking at the floor, and the traces of laughter on his face still gradually fading.
The sound of "Black's" loud laughter had attracted the attention of the entire class, so the students kept whispering about these moments.
One of them said to another after "Black" left:
"Isn't that the boy who never showed any expressions on his face and didn't start talking to anyone? I thought he looked cool, but it turns out he's just a crazy person."
The teacher spoke loudly:
"Alright, students, let's continue."
When "Black" left the class, the professor asked him:
"I advise you to go to the specialist, so do you want to go, or go back home?"
"Black" replied after the traces of laughter had completely disappeared:
"No, I prefer to go home."
The professor replied:
"Alright, I've ordered a self-driving car for you. Let me accompany you until you reach it."
"Black" got into the car and drove away from the school. Throughout the trip, "Black" was trying to regain his mental clarity and think about what had happened to him.
What were the reasons? What were the details of what happened to him? "Black" did not know.
"I think I won't know what happened to me and why I was seeing people's memories unless I try to do it again of my own will."
"Black" decided to try to look at someone through the window to find out something about what was happening to him.
When he looked out the window, he saw someone who looked somewhat elderly. He was wearing a hat and seemed to be strolling.
When "Black" looked at him, nothing happened, so he realized the hat was obscuring his eyes.
"It seems I can only see a person's memories if I see their eyes."
Then "Black's" viewing angle of the man changed, and his eyes were exposed to him; the vision inside "Black's" mind transformed.
He was seeing a scrap robot's head with wires dangling from its neck, but the terrifying thing about it was that the head had the same face as his! He felt that he had forgotten who he was, and it was a feeling worse than forgetting his name.
"Black" tried to wake up from the coma of memories and emotions that had afflicted him, this time of his own will, but he could not control it either, and his mind remained confused and took time to function smoothly again.
"I think the number of questions I have that need answers has increased after this day, and I think I won't make another attempt; what happened is enough for today."
Finally, "Black" arrived home, but before he entered the door, someone greeted him by his name. "Black" did not have to look at him to know who it was; he knew him from his voice. It was his new neighbor with the prosthetic arm.
He did not turn to him; he just returned the greeting with his hand and said:
"Hello, neighbor. Sorry, but I'm in a rush to go inside."
The neighbor replied:
"Okay, no problem."
Finally, "Black" entered the house, and "Robbie" greeted him:
"Welcome back. How was your day?"
"Actually, you could say it wasn't ordinary... No, it wasn't ordinary at all."