BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! 

“Experiment compromised! Experiment compromised!” 

“Cell number 3 experiment compromised” – a loud automated warning echoed everywhere in the lab facility resulting in a teen leaving in an ambulance to the nearby hospital.

Five years later. 

“Good morning, everyone! Rise and shine to start a new day full of innovations and learning.” The mandatory state-sponsored 7 am alarm repeats the sentence twice. A new day is here and a special one at that for today is the graduation ceremony of the finest school in the world that trains kids for 15 years with everything they need to know about their roles in life, society, and their families.

“Come on! It’s time to leave. Our youngest is coming back today.” The Hosh family leaves for Leeho’s graduation. Everyone took their mandatory health supplements and left for the ceremony with happy faces. At the ceremony, where everyone looked happy and determined to assume their roles in society, Leeho seemed confused. “We were locked in those wretched tubes for years with those weird videos. Why are they so happy? What is wrong with everyone?” Leeho couldn’t understand anyone’s reactions.

The ceremony is coming to an end and a restless Leeho tries to find a familiar face in the crowd with absolutely no idea about how he will even recognise the supposed familiar face if he looks at it. Seeing a group of five people approaching him, he goes berserk with thoughts of getting locked up again. Do they know me? Are they, my family? Leeho’s eldest sister hugs him and says, “Welcome back to the family, Leeho. You’ll be working at the THETA organisations with our family. Let’s go, we’ll train you for five months, and then you can start.” I was locked up for years and this is what they say to me? A frustrated Leeho was unable to comprehend anything about the world he was now a part of. Every day Leeho was given the same health boosters everyone else was taking, but unlike others, he would either get nauseous or sleepy. Seeing this, mama Hosh took him to the hospital. His preliminary results left the doctors flustered. “His serotonin levels are extremely low while adrenaline and dopamine levels are too high,” the nurse explained to the guardian. The doctor wondered how that was possible given he had been breathing serotonin-infused air for the past 15 years. Leeho returned home with a prescription for more health boosters and an important brain surgery scheduled after a month.

The boosters only made it worse for him. So, he decided to learn more about it on his own. He had now realised that no one cared about him. They only wanted him to get back to work as soon as possible. He started journaling all his memories in chronological order as he realised the health boosters were affecting his memory. He looked for banned books on neuroscience on the web to get a better understanding of his situation. He ended up joining an online group of five people, looking for the same books. They started discussing the things happening around them and how the health boosters always make them feel funny somehow. For the first time in years, he found something resembling a bit of comfort. Leeho happened upon a book on ‘neuroplasticity’. On reading it, he thought that it was an exciting hack, to be able to go beyond one’s capabilities and be able to control one’s actions and emotions tapping the power of one’s mind. Though he practised and eventually managed to get better, certain questions always assailed his mind.

Four months following the surgery, Leeho joined the company his family managed and became friends with other employees. Gone were the days when Leeho was caught up with the past and troubling questions. He was promoted twice in three years at the organisation. Life was well until he started receiving suspicious notes asking him not to trust anyone, especially his family.

Leeho’s family went on a trip for a week and he received a week off for the first time. A relaxed Leeho was startled by a knock on the window and found a strange woman in his room. He rushed to report the trespassing when she said, “I’m your friend, probably the only person you can trust so please listen to me once, and then you can call anyone”. “What friend? I have never seen you,” a perplexed Leeho replied. “Leeho it’s me, Dami. You asked me to come to find you three years ago. Here is your journal. You must recognise your handwriting at least. We only have a few days till your family comes back. So, please listen carefully to what I’m about to say. You were locked in some weird place for years because some ambitious neuroscientists have found a way to improve human efficacy by controlling their emotions. You have written it all in your journal. You were not supposed to remember all that but there was some glitch in your test cell. Your memory was intact but the people you live with now found out about it and fabricated your memory. Read your journal, and you’ll get all the answers.” 

Leeho opened the diary and found a note written for him on the first page that said, 

“YOU CAN TRUST DAMI. SHE’S THE ONLY ONE YOU CAN TRUST”. 

As Leeho started to read the diary, Dami suddenly remarked, “Oh there’s something you should know, they are not your family, Leeho.” Not my family? What? Why am I listening to this woman, I should just throw her out but that does look like my handwriting. Think Leeho, think! You have to make a decision. Quick!

Leeho gave Dami a chance and as he read his diary, his whole world came shattering down. He realised he was living a lie. Unable to bear the overwhelming revelation, he frantically searched for his health boosters but Dami held his hand and said, “Don’t! You need to feel your emotions to master them. No more of these baffling boosters. I will replace all your family’s supply of boosters with sucrose tablets before they return.” She tightened her grip on the shivering hands and said, “It’ll be hard at first but I’ll be there with you all the way.” For the first time in the life he could remember, Leeho cried at the realization of the lie he had been living.

It took him two days to finish reading the journal and accepting the truth about his life. With all the new emotions raging in him, he went to Dami to ask why she was going all out to help a guy who she only talked to online a few times. Dami, already anticipating this question said, “For now, let’s just say that you and I are looking for the same answers and our fate was intertwined a long time ago at that wretched school. I have been living like a shadow for years in this damned world where people are always smiling but seldom happy. And just like you, I need answers and an apology.” 

Can I trust her? What fate is she talking about? I don’t think I saw her at the graduation ceremony. Tangled in his contradicting thoughts, Leeho asked, “So, what’s the plan? How do we get the answers?” Taking out a paper from her pocket Dami said, “We have to find him first, the neuroscientist who disappeared from the records. He knows more than what he has published.” Leeho and Dami looked up the address of the last lab he worked in and packed their bags to leave for the search. While Dami was out assembling the team (two other people with the same goal), Leeho’s family returned surprising him. 

Mama Hosh entered his room and said, “You’ve been keeping some bad company kid, haven’t you?” 

“How do you know? Were you guys monitoring me? WHO ARE YOU? I know you’re not my family.” 

“Kid, you’re an important asset for a new future. A result of the efforts of a visionary. It is essential we keep our eyes and ears on you all the time”, said Leeho’s mom with a smile on her face that only made Leeho feel uneasy. 

“Dr Morey is a monster. He’s a monster not some visionary.” While confronting his supposed family, Leeho texted Dami “They’re here. Save me”.

“Kids! It’s time, let’s go. They are closing the museum for the day”, a high-pitched voice called the 20 students who were immersed in the documentary, ‘The Perfect Human’. “But teacher, we’re only halfway through the story. You say we should never skip the history, so please let Mr Murphy narrate it fully.” 

“Your teacher is right, let’s wind up for the day and we can finish the rest tomorrow. The story of Leeho and Dami’s fight against the world has just begun. Toodles!”