[TheRaisin]

Okay, I don't feel inspired per se, but I want to keep this thread fresh as possible, so here's the next chapter. BTW, this so far has been Part 1: Neogenesis.

The slapping of our bare feet and the clicking of the labcoat-clad woman's heels against the linoleum floor echoed throughout the hallway, making it seem even more sinister than before. What's-his-name was still in a daze. I decided it was time for some answers.
"Where are we anyway?"
The woman didn't bother to stop and turn when she answered. "We're in the Amnesia Ward of the Institute for the Study and Treatment of Brain Injuries and Diseases, in Oregon."
Oddly, even with my bizarrely expanded knowledge, I had never heard of the place, but the woman seemed trustworthy enough.
"Why were the doors locked from the outside?" I asked.
"We didn't want you to wander off and get lost," the woman replied. "You do have amnesia, after all."
"Speaking of which," I said, "just who am I?"
"Your name is Lyra Theophilopilus, and he is Ian Schultz," she said, motioning at the boy over her shoulder.
That name was odd.
"Greek? But..."
"Your mother was born in Hong Kong, your father in Greece. You take strongly after your mother," she said.
Well, that would explain it I thought.
"Where'd I get the green eyes then?" I asked, not that it was relevant.
"That, like so much about you, is a statistical anomaly. It's possible that somewhere back in your bloodline a person of different heritage married into your family."
Her words sounded odd.
"'Like so much about me'? What do you mean?"
The woman finally stopped and turned.
"You are no doubt wondering about your... somewhat above-average knowledge," she said.
"I was getting to that," I told her.
"You see," she continued, "when you were eight, there was an accident. A hacker had wormed their way into the Info-Grid and began releasing and forwarding information from practically every Grid-linked information center in the world, trying to clog up the system we guess. At the exact same moment, you were using a defective Grid system, and when your computer recieved the information, there was some kind of feedback. The system, which normally recieved information and orders from your brain, instead pumped information from the Grid into your brain. Ian was involved in a similar incident. You were in a coma for several days, and when you recovered we found your brain had absorbed a huge amount of data. We tried to recreate the conditions with chimpanzees, but it simply destroyed their minds. You were extremely lucky."
"Wow!" was all I could say. But the look on the woman's face told me she had more to say, and that I wasn't going to like it.
"There's... something else. You remember our first contact in 2242, don't you? Our first encounter with the Tenae race?"
"The aliens? Of course. It was the most important discovery ever. But going by the last date I remember, that was almost ten years ago. What does it have to do with me?" I had a feeling an unpleasant answer was about to come.
"Well, a little over three months ago, they turned hostile. Completely unprovoked, they began attacking cities all over the planet. They fired tremendously powerful lasers from orbit. We have been trying to defend ourselves, but we haven't yet perfected spacecraft with military applications. So far we've held them off with high-altitude missiles. But, needless to say, there have been many casualties. You lived in Los Angeles at the time, and it was among the first to be attacked. Some military patrols found both of you among the rubble, apparently knocked out instantly. The Tenae weapons were so powerful, there were only a few score survivors. As of yet, they... they haven't found any of your relatives."
"Oh." The news, which should have been terrible, somehow didn't seem to register. Not remembering my parents, I couldn't feel sad for them or miss them. It was like trying to feel sorry when an aunt you had never seen or spoken to died.
The woman turned and led us onward in silence. After a few more minutes, we entered a set of double doors.
"This is the cafeteria," said the woman. "You can rest here for a minute while I go check on some things." She walked back out into the hallway.
The moment the double doors swung shut, Ian changed. Rather than a dazed look, he looked intensely aware of everything. His eyes moved wildly around the room, then focused on something. He walked to one corner of the room, still acting dazed, then beckoned for me to follow. It was amazing: the shocked expression and stony silence had been a cover-up, which meant he didn't trust the business-like woman. Aware that something had him on edge, I walked nonchalantly over to where he stood. He pointed up towards the ceiling, and after a moment I saw what had him so suspicious. A surveilance camera was wedged inconspicuously in the corner where the ceiling met two walls, but we were now directly under it and therefore out of it's field of vision.
Geez, I thought, he must have the senses of a cat.
"We better whisper," he said.
"What's the deal?" I asked.
"That woman is lying through her teeth," he stated matter-of-factly.
"What? How do you know?" I demanded.
"I don't know. It's like I can... sense it," he said cryptically.
"You're crazy!" I said.
Before he could open his mouth to respond, the double doors swung open once more, and he reassumed his facade. We began following the black-haired woman once more, and Ian shot me a sidelong look. We came into a small circular lobby-like room. There was a desk to one side which was now empty, and there were multiple doors leading off the main room. Two white-coated scientists stood in front of two adjacent doors, as if they had been expecting us.
"We need to run a few tests to varify that you're all right," said the woman, and we were ushered into two separate doors. The room beyond was small and dark, and filled with bizzare equipment. There was a small metal slab that looked as if it were designed to be a torturing table. The scientist silently motioned for me to get on it.
The moment I lay down, dozens of little robotic monitoring apparati sprung into life. Several electrodes rose on their wires like snakes, then attached themselves to my head and body. An eel-like tube writhed onto my arm, stuck a needle in it, and began draining blood for a sample. A helmet similar to the ones used to control Info-Grid systems fit itself onto my head. I tried not to flinch as these miriad robots began latching on, but in truth I was terrified. It was like having a bunch of leeches grab onto you and start sucking blood. The scientist disappeared through a door, and I could tell he was watching me through the one-way mirror set into the wall.
This is so not an amnesia ward, I thought to myself. Ian was right. Something was going on here, and nobody was telling us what it was. After a few minutes, the tiny little robotic drones began detaching themselves from me and slinking back into little compartments and slots in the huge machines surrounding the table. Finally the scientist came back out. I stood up from the cold table, and he ushered me back out the door I had come through. He shut the door behind me, not once having said a word. Ian stood in front of the other door, shivering and rubbing a red mark on his arm. It was obvious he had had the same unnerving and intrusive experience.
The black-haired woman stood waiting for us in the lobby.
"We better get you back to your rooms," she said. "It's getting dark."
Sure enough, the flourescent lights were dimming slightly. It seemed they were set for a day-night cycle. The woman, now much less trustworthy in my eyes, led us back to our rooms. Just as he was opening the door to his room, Ian shot me a look as if to say "Be careful." I nodded slightly. There was definitely something odd going on, and I wasn't about to let my guard down.