Return Stroke

The vibration of the train breaking through the air molecules woke him from his deep sleep. Looking around, he had no idea how he had gotten on the train or in his seat.

He then heard the sliding door open behind him, an android appearing with food and drink on a tray.

“Good morning, Bryce! Your breakfast is ready.”

“Who are you?”

“You may call me BOT-1”

“Maybe I’ll just call you Bob to make it easy.”

“That is fine by me, sir.”

“Can I ask where we are, Bob?

“We are currently passing through Dubai.”

Bryce turned his gaze from the android to marvel at the incredible architecture beyond the cabin of the train. The sun glistened off the facade of several buildings and the heat radiated off the sands, creating a foggy screen beyond where his eyes could see.

“How did I get here Bob? I do not remember getting on this train or why I am here.”

“You are on vacation sir! You must work a rigorous job.”

Before Bryce could ask another question, the android left the tray with his breakfast and headed back through the sliding door. He realized he was feeling hungry so he decided to eat. The food was surprisingly good, some type of crab cake on a well seasoned bun.

As he continued to eat, he slowly began to realize that there was no one else in the train car with him. Bryce rose from his seat and tried to look through the sliding door window to see if there was anyone else in the other cars, but the window tint was too dark.

Bryce walked towards the door and as it opened automatically, before him was a western style saloon with several people dressed in wild west clothing. He stepped into the other car slowly, scanning everything around him. They all looked at him initially, some tipping their cowboy hats while others stared in a concerted effort to make sure he was not trouble. He looked down and realized that he too was now garbed in wild west gear, cowboy hat and two revolvers at his side.

The smoke filled car was vibrant and filled with raucous laughter. Several people were playing cards at a table in front of him while others congregated around the bar at the center of the car.

One of the dealers looked at him and said, “Wanna try your luck at a few hands of Texas Hold’em?”

“No thanks, just passing through.”

“Suit yourself.”

Bryce continued towards the bar, a few of the others looking him up and down before creating a path to the bartender.

“What can I get you good sir?”

“Um, I’ll take your best beer.”

“Well, we only have one so hope that’ll do.”

“Oh yes, that is fine.”

The bartender pulled the tap and a golden, wheat colored liquid flowed into a large stout. Once filled all the way to the top with the foam flowing over the side, he propped it down on the counter with a loud thud.

“Enjoy, sir”

“Thank you.”

Bryce took the stout, looked at the fluid for a while before bringing it to his mouth and taking a sip. It was surprisingly smooth and refreshingly cool. He polished it off rather quickly and thanked the bartender again. With a tip of his cowboy hat to those around him, he continued through to the other side of the saloon. As he neared the exit, the automatic sliding doors of the train returned. He realized it was all some type of projection displayed throughout the car. Now entering the middle section between the cars, he neared the next automatic door which opened before him, allowing him to see into the next one.

It was a muddy field before him and an army of metal plated soldiers in a solid line across the field. He took one more step into the car and when he looked left and right, similar rows of armored knights stood by his side. He was also adorned with similar protection. He noticed the sword at his side as well, unsheathing it slowly. The metal of the sword scraped against the scabbard as it was released. A corresponding chorus of the same sound followed as the army next to him pulled their swords out along with the knights across the field.

Bryce had always wanted to experience something like this and with a bellowing cry across the empty vastness of the field, he yelled,

“Charge!”

He began to sprint forward, his army following right alongside him. The opposing army looked like a blur ahead as they began to sprint towards them as well. They got closer and closer until a cacophony of metal clanging and screams rang out around the battlefield. Bryce fought with everything he could muster, swinging his sword with ferocious excitement and reckless abandon until everything disappeared. He was alone on the field now, circling around a few times before finally spotting a path through a forest in front of him. Plain clothing had replaced his protective armor and he made for the clearing.

There was no transition this time from one train car to the next and as Bryce walked up the path cut through the forest, he saw a farmhouse ahead. He recognized it immediately, his childhood home situated in the vastness of the Montana landscape.

A storm was brewing overhead, dark clouds forming in the distance as it swallowed the light still left on its way towards the farm. Lightning bolts flashed across the clouds but the noise from the thunder did not reach him yet. He walked around to the front of the farmhouse where he found his mom, dad and sister sitting on the front porch. They were waiting for the storm, as it brought with it a refreshing breeze to ease the humid, summer air.

His mom beckoned him over. “Come join us Bryce. Storms on its way.”

“I see that, they were always my favorite part of summer.”

“You better get your train set inside off the porch though, the rain and wind might mess up your hard work.”

Bryce saw his train set lying there on the edge of the porch, a wind-up toy that he would play with for hours and hours. He built the small toy himself with makeshift parts and was always adding pieces here and there to make it even more realistic. He walked over to it, wound up the train and let it ride around in circles as he sat with his family to watch the storm approach.

“The storms have been getting worse Bryce, you may need to get started on building that indestructible train you always dream about.”

The dream flashed across his eyes as his mom mentioned it.

“And you better save some tickets for your family,” his dad remarked snarkily.

Bryce looked down at the ground, ashamed at what the memory had made him remember.

“I finally built it, but I was too late. I am so sorry”

His little sister looked at him. “That’s alright Bryce, we will always love you.”

A tear fell from Bryce’s eyes.

“I will always love you all as well.”

The storm passed overhead and as it did, so too did the illusions around him.

He was back in one of the train cars now, in front of a large terminal with complex interfaces displaying all different types of readings. There were no seats in this car and he could see outside through long windows on either side. Instead of the incredible expanse of the Dubai city, Bryce witnessed a water filled world, stretching as far as the eye could see. A voice came over the intercoms at that moment.

“Hello Bryce, I am glad to see you again. How was your experience this time around?”

“This time around? How many times have I been through this?”

“This is your 1,024th loop through, sir.”

“1,024th loop!?”

“Yes”

“So I built this train, correct?”

“Yes you did and you built me as well.”

“And you are some type of AI system to control the train?”

“That is correct. You built me to maintain this train through the environmental uncertainty of this planet, adapting whenever possible to maintain the safety of all passengers, which is only you.”

“I did not finish in time to save them.”

“No, they did not believe you sir and then it was too late for them as water levels rose too quickly for most of life to adapt.”

“Am I the only human left alive?”

“With my constantly updating system, you are still the only remaining human with current readings, sir.”

Bryce could not process all of this at one time, almost falling over as he grabbed the side of the car. He continued to peer out the window over the expanse of water with no land in sight.

He finally straightened back up and approached the AI interface.

“So what now? What have I done in my past loops?”

“Your past loops have always ended with a reboot, a process where I can reset your memory to experience different moments in history as well as personal memories you have programmed into the system. You have also enabled a director termination command for this train, if you so choose, resulting in a life on your own without the aid of the train's life support systems.”

“A slow death.”

“Precisely, sir.”

A glass pod rose at that moment from the floor of the train, a large front panel opening to reveal a padded table with several lights flashing within it.

“The reboot pod is ready. You may enter to reset your loop, sir.”

Bryce stood there for a while, looking out the window and then back at the pod. He stood there for a while and began to feel like his wind-up train toy.