“OK, let’s see,” she swiped the surface with her hand and a blonde-haired woman’s projection appeared over the board.
“Welcome to the data backup programme. Please state what information you are interested in: the time period or the location.”
“The period is the beginning of the twenty first century according to the Earth calendar. Let’s begin with the uniform of the organizations on Earth.”
“Please specify your request. The data volume based on these parameters is very large.”
“A blue uniform,” added Derek.
“The data has been sorted out. I’m forwarding it on the holographic interface.“
The woman’s face disappeared and in its place a virtual stack of cards appeared over the table.
“Like this,” Lora touched the card on the top and gently pushed it aside.
Derek quickly got used to the backup system and after some minutes he was easily interacting with the electronic lady, whose knowledge was truly profound.
“Firstly, I’d like to see only the images of the uniforms, without the descriptions.”
“One thousand two hundred and forty-seven images were accessed.”
Lora slowly sat into an armchair nearby, watching her companion putting aside one card after another. It seemed like the enthusiasm she had felt while coming here besieged him now. But, after two hours of constant data study, Derek’s energy level noticeably fell.
“You need rest,” she said.
“Yes, my eyes are sore and the holographic light is so bright that even the sunglasses can’t protect them any longer”. “We can continue tomorrow…”
“I’ve seen everything that the programme generated,” the young man sighed heavily. “I think, it’s a memory of a military uniform, but I haven’t found anything which matches it exactly.”
“The backup data is old. It was made long before your birth date.”
“I understand… It’s just that I want to remember about my past so much…”
Leaving Derek in his apartment; a white spacious room separated by matte glass into a living room, a bathroom and bedroom; Lora looked back at the hunched and tired figure of the man. She liked his genuine interest in everything new, but she also couldn’t help noticing how his curiosity and enthusiasm faded giving ground to longing and detachment when he was wandering in the depths of his lost memory.
Pausing for a while at the door, Lora then approached the motionless young man in the armchair and took the universal panel from his hands.