This is a story written for @prufarchy's story competition: Personal Story Slam Challenge #1 - Introduce Your Username NOTE to @prufarchy - I'm not entering this competition to win anything (assuming this is of a quality that would win), but for the fun of it. The prizes should be for newer participants, so I agree with you there.
I Have No Name And I Must Scream (Or: How the Name Naquoya Came About)
"Welcome to planet Earth," the proud father said as he gazed upon his new born child. He looked at his wife, and wondered at the ordeal she had been through. He knew he had no idea of the magnitude of her struggle, and wasn't going to begin patronising her about it. He just quietly thanked the gods that both mother and son were alive, and healthy. "It's not the same planet we knew when we were his age. So much has changed." He handed his son back to his wife to hold and continue bonding.
"Do you think we did the right thing, bringing a child into this world?" she asked him.
The father looked at his wife quietly. He understood the question. It was a fair question, given the times they lived in. But without a doubt he knew they had done the right thing. He leaned down and gave her a reassuring kiss on the forehead. "Absolutely," he said.
He walked over to the window, and stared at the world outside. A blur of lights and pulsing energies. Flashes, and unseen numbers racing around. No, it really wasn't the world they once knew. The world up on the surface. The physical existence that they had been brought into had morphed. Their's had been a generation that had experienced fundamental change on a grand scale. Where had the physical even gone, the father thought? Here he was standing in the hospital room, he in his body, his wife in her's. Their new born son in his own newly developed carrier. Yet none of it physical. All digital approximations of what was once known and experienced through the physical world. And only through the physical world.
This world had everything they could ever dream of. It was certainly no prison. He felt certain of that. But it wasn't the physical. Perhaps this is another dimension, he thought. One we humans have created ourselves. Evolution at work, guiding us on in a fight for survival.
He looked back at his son, and marveled at the joys of life. At how such beauty still existed in this world. That is a wonderful sign, he thought. The heart knows what it knows, in the physical, or in the digital. Life moves forward, and we move forward with it.
"Have you chosen a name for your son?" A nurse had entered the room. She was inquiring of both parents. They looked at each other before speaking.
"We had decided on Scott. Scott Bradley," the father answered.
"Oh, I think you will find that name has been taken already," the nurse replied.
"What do you mean?" the mother asked. "We both like that name."
"Oh, I am sure you do. But this world doesn't allow for duplicate names. You will have to go with something like Scott Bradley 1, or some other such number appended to the end. That's how things work these days. Here in this new world of ours."
This was their first child. They hadn't considered any of this. The digital didn't allow for duplicate names. How did they not think of this, the father wondered. Such a mistake to make, and they had no back up name. Not yet.
"Okay then Scott Bradley 1, then. Is that available?"
"Hang on a moment and I will just check." The nurse accessed a database via her digital thought processes, and looked for the file on name availability. "No, actually that one isn't."
"Scott Bradley 2?"
"Nor that one. Hang on I will see which is the first available one." The nurse took a moment to scan the file. "Scott Bradley 6843 is available."
"No, that's just ridiculous," the father said.
"But what other name can we use. One that is unique, that is still available?"
The room fell silent as the parents considered their options. The father didn't have access to the same database file that the nurse did. But he still had his memories, neatly filed away in folders in his own storage units. He scanned those as quickly as he could, looking for a clue, a hint, a suggestion even as to what to use. He ran a small script he had written to make a suggestion based on that data. It returned an answer – 'Naquoya'. This was possibly still available, and it was unique.
"How about Naquoya?" the father asked his wife. The nurse scanned the database as the mother considered it.
"What does it mean?"
"It doesn't necessarily mean anything. It's a name. A unique name. And those are as rare as hen's teeth these days, it would seem."
"And it is available," the nurse said. "Do you want it?"
The mother nodded her approval. The father breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, we'll take it," he replied.
The nurse turned to the new born child. "Welcome, Naquoya, to planet Earth 2.0," she said.
Image sourced from unsplash.com.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you liked it then please like, comment, and follow.