She was born blind. Notions of colours and light was something that she could not fathom. She had no idea what her mother looked like or appreciated a classic painting. Her mother passed away when she was ten from a car accident and her voice and loving touch of her hands were imprinted into her memory like a computer chip. Sometimes, when she had a bad day, she would recall her mother's voice like turning on a recorder and just play it in her mind. Since her mother's death she developed another sense that baffled the world. She somehow could sense the environment around her better than people with the "normal" five senses. Through the magic of social media, she has become a celebrity. She won the state championship in speed skiing when she was only thirteen competing against able-bodied adults. She could also drive like a person who could see. She thought sight was somewhat over rated. She was living a life that other teenagers could only dream about. But now, as an eighteen year old about to go to college, her only wish was to see her mother's loving face. She was left with hundreds of photos of her that she can never even perceive.
One day, after a class in her first few weeks of college, she opened her email to find a message from a company offering her a session with their state of the art technicians that could allow her to see. The message was a voice of a woman who resembled her mother's. She could not help tears trickling down her face. She received countless offers from various tech companies offer her a sight which all failed and she ignored most of them now. But this time, something was telling her to give it a try. She replied and made an appointment for next Tuesday for a session.
The following Tuesday, she rode the bust downtown and went into the building. There were dozens of staff waiting to greet and guide her. She received this sort of treatment everywhere she went, ever since she won the skiing championship. To be honest, it was actually wearing thin. She followed several people into a lab. She sensed various machines and devices inside a large room. She was starting to regret coming a bit but decided to keep going.
Basically, it was a new type of virtual reality that recreates the her life but with the added element of sight that she was missing. They assured her that there was no procedures required or any injections or implants of any kind. It was simple VR goggle that the user puts on the head like any other goggle. But what it does is, it integrates with the users brain waves, axons and memory to give a fully integrated experience with a particular memory. She was actually into it.
The technicians gently laid her down on a chair that resembled the ones at a dentist. A young assistant put on the goggles. They told her that it might seem a little strange. She jolted and almost fell out of the chair. Expecting this reaction, the technicians held her down.
What she saw, she never imagined. There she was, her mother. They were on a hill with the warm sun in the sky. She looked around like a new born. She's never seen the blue sky before. She ran to her mother and hugged her tightly. She could not believe that this day would come. Her mother was as beautiful as she imagined. She put her hands on her face and looked into her eyes.
They must have sat next to each other all day, the virtual sun was setting. Then suddenly, a cold voice of a technician came from no where telling her that she needed to wake up. The two embraced and she told her mother that she will return soon.
She was back at the lab. She could feel a large hand removing the VR goggles. She took a moment to gather her self. Her eye were clenched shut. Not she had perception of sight. She heard a voice few feet away that told her that she could open her eyes now. She didn't understand. The man's voice was calm and deep.
Slowly, she opened her eyes. She was surrounded by several large men in hazmat type suits and a man in his forties in a suit all looking at her intently. She was confused. They assured her that there would be no permanent change done to her. She was angry and felt violated. She was dressed in a hospital gown.
"What have you done to me!" She screamed.
"We gave a you a sight, isn't that what you wanted" The man in the suit said.
She was strapped down.
"Untie me, you bastards!" She screamed. She knew she should have listened to her gut feelings.
It was no use. A technician in a hazmat suit approached her and looked back at the suit man. He give him a little nod and he injected her neck. She became sleepy and closed her eyes within seconds. She was back at the hill with her mother.
The kind expression on her mother's face was no longer there.
"Listen to me carefully, you need to get out of this building by any means necessary, I will guide you"