Memories

"Stop being vague and give me facts." Arch monotonously replied. He already had an idea about what Scar was going to say.

Scar smiled. "Why did Carl Rorth change his name to Arch? Why did the aforementioned Arch open a café of all things? Why do the other Trappists look at you with such respect and think f you as an authority figure? You are younger than most of the group who were sitting here some time ago!"

Scar paused for theatrical effect as he downed his cocktail. "Give me whatever it is you are drinking!" He then interrupted his explanation.

"Beer." Arch replied as he poured a mug for the adversary in front of him.

"Good stuff." Scar replied after taking in a sip and frowning at the bitter and malty texture. "The Anomaly may have wiped your direct memories, but it did not erase the subconscious reactions your group have among each other. Wherever the anomaly transported you, you were probably one of the leaders of the survivors. I suspect that you were probably the owner of a café in that place and a leader of a faction that follows to you to this day! It's why they look at you as a beacon of hope. It's why their eyes are filled with adoration for you!"

"Stop exaggerating." Arch replied with embarrassment, but Scar ignored him.

"That isn't all. Your group was most probably factionalized and split up. I can think of at least three factions. The ones who adapted to the new environment and start over. The ones who obsessed over solving their new conundrum and escaping. And those who were emboldened by the freedom of the shackles of this world's rules. Guess which group you were a part of?" Scar replied smugly.

"What are you implying by the third classification?" Arch asked with a squint.

"Fifty Thousand individuals registered and logged into Resolve ZERO before disappearing. Only twelve thousand returned. What do you think I'm suggesting?" Scar sneered.

The handle of the mug in Arch's hand cracked. Scar raised an eye. "You are quite strong. Did you bash a few skulls in the anomaly?"

Before Arch could angrily retort, Scar had already moved on. "The government isn't interested in what happened between the Trappists during the anomalous period. Even if crimes happened, they weren't in our jurisdiction. As long as you follow the law, we have no problem. The government's directive is clear. We want to know what caused the anomaly - its mechanism and even more importantly, how it ended. Did the creators of the anomaly end whatever they were doing or was it the Trappists, and if so how?"

"So the government was sitting on all this information and didn't let us, the victims know?" Arch heaved angrily.

"Don't be so hasty, Archimedes." Scar downed his beer. "We don't know if you are victims, yet."

The name Archimedes caused Arch to pause in shock, as if something had triggered him. Scar observed Arch's shocked appearance and smirked.

"It's hard to find digital artifacts from the start of the anomaly, but your VR headset was surprisingly well preserved by your sister, in hopes that you might some day return through it. The device was passed down through her family as a heirloom, and while not every generation was very careful about keeping it safe, the memory chip is surprisingly safe." Scar explained patiently.

"Your in game name was Archimedes." He stated royally.

Arch picked up the mug as he dazedly looked out of the café into the horizon of the setting sun. An ethereal vision flashed before his eyes, as the silhouette of another person suddenly caused him to blink rapidly. Eventually, he put down the mug without taking a drink.

"Don't tell me you remembered something, now." Scar grinned. "You really live a most theatrical life, eh?"

"I didn't so much remember something, as much as I imagined someone." Arch spoke in confusion. "It was the silhouette of a woman with long black hair. It felt familiar, but it doesn't match the profile of anyone I know..." Arch suddenly paused his explanation, because he realized that he was crying. The beer mug had been completely smashed to pieces and Scar was looking at Arch with a graveness he didn't have before.

"You didn't have genetic modification in the twenty first century did you? Of course not! Arch, do not move!" Scar screamed.

---

Back at the restitution center where all the Trappists had been studied. Arch was inside an isolated chamber where an incredible of physical tests were being conducted on him to determine his genetic limits. Scar was giving a scornful look to the lab coat wearing researchers on site.

"I can't believe you didn't think of checking the suspect's physicality!" He swore openly and only tenuously pacified by the head researcher.

"We couldn't have possibly imagined that he would have such an inhuman strength!"

Scar shook his head in disappointment at these researchers when he realized that Arch himself didn't seem to know the extent of his abilities. What control must Arch have had to subconsciously behave like a normal human being! The terrifying scene from the café was still burned in his mind. The shattered mug had created a gigantic crater into reinforced alloy and almost brought the building down.

"Find and quarantine every Trappist from the Resolve ZERO anomaly and bring them to the Restitution Center immediately!" Scar barked at the projection from his watch.

He then tightened his flashy suit, using the app on his watch to make his suit dimmer and more suitable to wear in front of his senior. The next half an hour was spent accurately detailing what he had seen and heard from Arch as well as the new observations about Arch's enhanced physical capabilities.