Branches of Longevity Challenge: Doubt

For the first time since Coryana had started her journey, she wasn’t sure of her mission anymore. She was in despair, she could not comprehend what it would mean, if the recordings would turn out to be false… Coryana sat on the chair with a blank stare, she was completely lost in her thoughts.

Could it really be true? Could I have been spending all my time since the Lab, running after a lie?...... Why did I never think about the possibility of it being fake? How do I know which part of it is true? Is any of it true? Who am I? Why do I exist? What am I doing? Where should I go? I don’t know anything anymore... Tears ran down Coryanas face.
She got up, walked over to the bed absentminded and laid down. Suddenly her mind went blank, as she stared at the ceiling. She completely lost track of time while laying down.

She flinched as the door suddenly opened, „Hey Coryana, how are you feeling?“ Roxani had come to bring dinner. Roxanis arrival snapped her out of it. „Hi Roxani,… well, honestly, I’m not feeling good. I was thinking about what you said and now I feel lost…“ „I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push you into doubt and despair. I just meant you should be a little more cautious not to just believe everything you hear for the first time, y’know?“, Roxani felt guilty, but despite that, she tried to cheer up Coryana with a smile.
„You’re right and I understand that, but if the recordings are false, how would I know that? How would I know if everything is false or just a part of it? How will I know if everything might even be correct?“, Coryana felt lost.
Roxani lightened up a bit „Well, worrying about it now won’t help you. Eat your dinner, get some rest and talk to Sarin tomorrow. I’m sure he can lift some of your worries and help you find your direction.“ „Yeah... I just feel like I am going insane… But this won’t get me anywhere…“, Coryana took a deep breath to calm herself. This time Roxani joined Coryana for her meal, „How are you feeling now?“ she asked. „Better, thank you. What is this delicious meal you brought me?“, enjoying the meal with Roxani gave her some peace of mind.
„He he he, it’s a mixed stew with pork, chicken and vegetables. I’m glad you like it“, she said with an overjoyed smile. Coryana took her time to enjoy each bite until the end, while Roxani finished her serving rather quickly. „Well, I will get going. I’m sure we will bump into each other again. Starting tomorrow Sarin will be there for you. Don’t worry, he always has a serious look, but he is very kind and understanding. Alright,“ Roxani stood up and gathered the dishes on the tray, „have a good rest!“
„Thank you for everything so far Roxani, I really hope to see you around again! Have a good night!“, Coryana smiled at Roxani. The young woman left the room with the tray. Once the door was closed, Coryana got up and walked to the dresser to change into her pajamas. Thank goodness I talked to Roxani once more, I don’t know what would become of me, if I had stayed in that pitiful state She changed into her lavendar colored two piece sleeping attire and laid down in bed. I wonder if Sarin will truly be able to help me? Oh well, I will know soon enough, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Coryana was woken up by a male voice coming from the COM, „Good morning miss Guerra, are you ready to start the day?“. „Good morning…Yes, I will get ready, one moment please.“ „Sure, please take your time, just contact me when you are ready“.
She rubbed her eyes while yawning, lifted her arm and rested it on her forehead. Today is the day…. Today, I will find out if I will be able to get a few more answers that result in some clarity or if I have to figure everything out on my own. She felt nervous and excited at the same time. Coryana no longer had to deal with insecurities, instead she was eager to get up and truly start her journey towards the future, her family and wherever her path may lead her. Alright! I shouldn’t let Sarin wait for too long, she sat up on the edge of the bed. She jumped off the bed and hurried over to the dresser. She chose a light blue blouse, the blouse had long sleeves with frills at the end of them. She combined it with long black pants, brushed her hair and fixed it into a ponytail. When she reached the COM, she contacted Sarin, letting him know, that she was ready.

Sarin entered the room and brought breakfast for the two of them.“Hello miss Guerra, it’s nice to meet you once again. I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself yet, my name is Sarin Alvarez.“, he was smiling kindly. „Do you mind if I join you for breakfast?“ „Nice to meet you Sarin“, she chuckled „as you know my name is Coryana Guerra. I’d be honored if you join me. I never thanked you for bringing me in, thank you very very much!“, she felt relaxed around him, he seemed very calm and kind. Sarin placed the tray with breakfast on the table and sat down opposite to Coryana. „Uhm…Sarin, is it okay if I ask you some questions?“, „Sure, feel free to ask me anything, if I have the answers I will be glad to provide you with them.“
„Thank you. Do you know anything about the recordings?“ „Well, we were trusted with the task of hiding the Data Chip in the sheep, so yes, I do have some knowledge of the recordings, as well as the person who trusted us with the task.“ She was surprised, she didn’t expect Sarin to know the person who tasked them with the Data Chip. „Who provided you with the Data Chip?“. „His name is Bernard Williams, he is one of your engineers, he reffers to himself as your father.“ Coryana suddenly felt uneasy, she was too overwhelmed by the news, she did not expect to hear about one of her engineers so soon, let alone his name. If the recordings were true, he was the one who recorded them, she knew there would be a good chance to figure out if the recordings were fake or not.

„I will be honest with you Sarin, I have some doubts about the recordings being trustworthy. Did you meet Bernard Williams personally or did you just gather information about him?“ Sarin smiled at Coryana while taking a sip of coffee, „Well, I guess this will be good news to you, I have been in personal contact with Bernard for years now. He entrusted me personally to look over you and provide him with information about your life and how you are progressing at the Lab. He has always looked out for you from afar and when I told him that you deciphered the recordings and wanted to escape, it was him who asked me to assist you to the best of my abilities. I was the only person he trusted with the Data Chip. Now, if you are doubting the sincerity of the recordings and the content, I can’t guarantee anything, but I can give you my impression of Bernard. In my opinion he sincerely cares for and loves you, I highly doubt that he would provide you with any false information or put you in danger.“

Coryana was overwhelmed, she began to feel bad for doubting the recordings in the first place. Caution is always best in this world we live in, but my gut told me not to question the recordings legitimacy… I felt bewildered when I deciphered the recording, but I never felt like the person who recorded it had any malice towards me or was scheming against me in any way…. If Bernard Williams truly is one of my engineers and all the information he has left me is true, then I have a real chance at finding Sophie, him and my female engineer…. Well, if they are still alive that is… He did take a risk meeting with the minority group after all…

„Thank you for your sincerity Sarin. It’s alot to take in… But, I still have questions…“
„It’s okay, I expected you to have alot of questions miss Guerra, just ask.“
„What do you know about my sister Sophie Guerra?“, her palms started to sweat, she remembered the content of the recordings concerning Sophie, all the hardships she had to face because of her. „Well, this might be a bit difficult, since we do not have much information about her. For starters, you will not find anyone called Sophie Guerra, after she was taken from Greg and Sasha Guerra, she was brought to a new family. To integrate her into that family she had to change her last name. However, we did manage to track down her new family and figured out her current last name. Your sister, as far as we know, is still alive and is known as Sophie Arlan. Sadly this is all we know about her… Sorry…“
… She is alive…. With this information I am confident I can find her! The minority groups intel is amazing… „Thank you so much Sarin. Do you mind if I take some time, to let this all sink in? I also want to write down the information I just got from you, so I can then figure out where I will go from here.“
„Sure, no problem, this is alot to take in after all. Roxani also told me you just had alot of doubts the past few days as well, it’s understandable that you need some time for yourself. If you need anything, just contact me, alright? See you later miss Guerra.“ As soon as Sarin had left, Coryana got up and extracted her notebook from her storage ring. She started the notebook and opened her files about the recordings.
She decided to continue her diary, but this time, she would continue with the information she had gathered, as well as the new experiences she had made with the minority group.

To be continued…