Alone With Your Thoughts

In this week’s story, E. C. Myers entangles life’s last moments with a startling new technology. One that might change everything. ~ Julian and Fran, April 28, 2024

This month’s stories are by authors Eric Smith, Julie C. Day, Juan Martinez, and E.C. Myers. The first story of the month is free to read, but it’s our paying subscribers who allow us to keep publishing great stories week after week.

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Alone with Your Thoughts

by E. C. Myers

This is it, you think as breath fogs your oxygen mask for the last time.

Your enhanced brain has a second, simultaneous thought: I’m alone. Along with it come various emotions all at once: Loneliness. Sadness. Relief. Fear. Regret. Relief. Regret. Resentment. Regret. Hope.

Hope? You’re dying.

Regret.

Your life is ending, but so much can happen in your mind between the moment of being a person and the moment of being nothing. Perhaps there’s even time to tell yourself a story—a very short story.

Is this how death is for everyone? You only know what it’s like for you, right now. Whatever’s happening is either perfectly natural, or it’s unnatural, like the implant in your brain.

After you’re gone, Quanta analysts and engineers will study the data stored on their chip (ultimately we all are merely data) to figure out how it works—so they can market and sell it.

You had almost forgotten the device nestled in your temporal lobe. You agreed to the procedure because you had nothing to lose, and in exchange, Quanta has been covering your hospice care.

Your life has been unremarkable, but now you will be remembered for something: as the first human trial of Quanta’s PAL•1 chip.

Your Quanta rep, Chester Bagley, called you an “ideal candidate” for this experimental technology. Dying soon? Check. Otherwise healthy brain? Check. No family to scrutinize their claims and advise you against putting their chip inside your head? Check.

“I’m alone,” you tell Chester when he asks about your next of kin.

He nods in such a way to express his understanding and deep sorrow.

This is it. But why has your dying brain pulled up this memory, from only a few weeks ago? You expected to see more of your life’s greatest hits, the moments that defined you.

Manny from food services (Hi, Manny!) brings in your lunch, but you wave him off. A shame. They were serving roast beef and smashed potatoes that day—your favorite.

“What are you researching exactly?” you ask.

“People with near-death experiences often say, ‘My entire life flashed before my eyes,’” Chester says. “We want to see if that’s true.”