By Robert Howling
“Commander, we’ve picked up another wanderer. Male.”
The Commander didn’t look up from his desk. “Last thing he remembers?”
“Coming out of a MemVid building.”
He sighed. “Memory’s already starting to return. But hell, those techs scoop out so much that half these people don’t even remember their own names, let alone where they live.”
“We couldn’t get a clear scan on his MV tattoo. He’s resisting.”
“Authorisation granted. Sedate if needed. Bring him in.”
***
At Camp MemVid, the memory-processing hub on the city’s edge, the wanderer stood dazed under the facility’s harsh lights — a lean man in his thirties, shirt half-torn from the struggle, eyes darting like a cornered animal.
“Shirt off,” barked the Commander. “Let’s see what the Sweep Unit missed.”
An assistant scanned the faded ink on the man’s shoulder blade:
Name: Carl T.
ID: MV2047
Process Date: 21/03/2083
Credits Earned: High Tier
“Well, Carl,” the Commander muttered, reading the file, “you must’ve sold one hell of a memory. Rich folks don’t pay premium unless it's something worth feeling. Bet some trust-fund parasite is reliving your life as we speak — maybe even getting it neural-implanted. Nothing hits like a real memory firing through your own neurons.”
He looked at Carl with a strange mixture of envy and pity.
“To Section C with him,” the Commander ordered. “That’s the high-credit block.”
A younger officer raised an eyebrow. “Section C? Sir, that’s mostly retirees — calm types who sold off nostalgia and want to start fresh. This guy almost fought three of us off.”
“So what? He’s not a criminal.”
“No, sir, but maybe he’d be better in Section F. That’s where we keep the decriminalised — ex-cons, cleared sex workers, anyone whose memories got sold as punishment or porn.”
The Commander frowned. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: putting all of them together in Section F is asking for chaos. They’re meant to build new lives — how are they supposed to do that in a pit like that?”
“Nature versus nurture, sir?”
“Something like that. But we’re not paid to solve social engineering problems. We house, we scan, we report. That’s it.”
Carl finally spoke, voice hoarse but clear. “How long does it take to get enough memory to leave?”
The Commander blinked. “Technically? You could leave now. You’re not under detention. But we test memory formation every few weeks. When your baseline hits safe levels — emotional stability, spatial orientation, self-awareness — we notify you. Most stay. Safer that way.”
“No one waiting for me?”
The Commander shook his head. “No family listed. You wandered until a Sweep Unit picked you up.”
Carl said nothing more. He didn’t stay the week.
***
He slipped out under cover of night, dodging scanners and fences like he’d done it before. Maybe he had — muscle memory was a stubborn thing.
His absence wasn’t noticed until morning.
***
A week later, an urgent request hit Camp MemVid from Corporate HQ.
SUBJECT NEEDED IMMEDIATELY
MATCH: MV2047 (Carl T.)
REASON: Astronaut replacement
Destination: Mars colony mission
Note: Subject’s prior memories indicate high-level flight training. Target muscle memory and neural reflexes ideal for rapid transfer.
The Commander stared at the message, then called HQ.
“He’s gone,” said the Commander to the Corporate rep. “Voluntary seller. Walked out before his first evaluation.”
Corporate was not amused.
“Find him,” said the rep, “We need the body — memory we can upload. The Mars crew just lost their pilot, and we’ve got his entire memory set ready to transplant. MV2047 is the best compatibility match.”
“Maybe he wanted to forget all that,” the Commander replied coldly. “Whatever drove him to sell his past must’ve been strong.”
“Doesn’t matter. He’s perfect for the role. And we’ll get him back. After the mission, his Mars experience will fetch a fortune.”
***
They found Carl in the city after a day of sweeping. He didn’t fight this time. He stared at the scanner, jaw clenched, as if some part of him already knew.
The new memory — flight training, colony protocols, emergency contingencies — was overlaid. As predicted, his muscle memory responded. He piloted the mission flawlessly. Saved lives. Became a hero.
***
Years later, MV2047 reappeared in Section C — grey at the temples now, quieter, often watching the sky. His mind had been recycled several times, each layer overwriting the last.
Some of his memories — fighter pilot, Mars hero, even the blank wanderer days — are available for purchase.
Please contact MemVid Corp for licensing details.
And remember:
Your memories are yours… until they’re not.
About the Author
I think of my books and short stories as alt-future narratives.
I want to be a good ancestor so I try to follow the trajectory of current threads like AI, biometric security schemes, climate issues, the growing economic inequality gaps — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg — in order to speculate about what sort of future these threads might bring about.
But...there are always one or two people who see or experience the dystopian side and try to unravel the unintended consequences. All three of my teen/YA novels plus my collection of short stories (not to mention my three additional alt-future novels ready to come out early 2025!) tell a stories about one or two such rebels.
Tim Borella is an Australian author, mainly of short speculative fiction published in anthologies, online and in podcasts.
Tara Campbell is an award-winning writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, fiction co-editor at Barrelhouse, and graduate of American University's MFA in Creative Writing.
Sarah Jane Justice is an Adelaide-based fiction writer, poet, musician and spoken word artist.
Emma Louise Gill (she/her) is a British-Australian spec fic writer and consumer of vast amounts of coffee. Brought up on a diet of English lit, she rebelled and now spends her time writing explosive space opera and other fantastical things in
Merri Andrew writes poetry and short fiction, some of which has appeared in Cordite, Be:longing, Baby Teeth and Islet, among other places.
Ed lives with his wife plus a magical assortment of native animals in tropical North Queensland.
Mark is an astrophysicist and space scientist who worked on the Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn. Following this he worked in computer consultancy, engineering, and high energy research (with a stint at the JET Fusion Torus).
Alistair Lloyd is a Melbourne based writer and narrator who has been consuming good quality science fiction and fantasy most of his life.
Barry Yedvobnick is a recently retired Biology Professor. He performed molecular biology and genetic research, and taught, at Emory University in Atlanta for 34 years. He is new to fiction writing, and enjoys taking real science a step or two beyond its known boundaries in his
My time at Nambucca Valley Community Radio began back in 2016 after moving into the area from Sydney.
Geraldine Borella writes fiction for children, young adults and adults. Her work has been published by Deadset Press, IFWG Publishing, Wombat Books/Rhiza Edge, AHWA/Midnight Echo, Antipodean SF, Shacklebound Books, Black Ink Fiction, Paramour Ink Fiction, House of Loki and Raven & Drake