The Room Above

Do memories make the man? Is it okay to remake a criminal by remaining their memories? In this work of philosophical short fiction, a nameless man awakens in a sterile “white room” with no memory of his past, only to be told by a doctor that he is a convicted criminal undergoing a memory-wiping “scatrocity” program as an alternative to prison. Confined to this isolated chamber with a fellow “newborn,” Jack, the protagonist attempts to piece together the fragments of his new reality and grapple with the unsettling implications of a life constructed by others. As the days turn into months, and the prospect of a new, forgotten life draws closer, the story explores themes of memory, identity, punishment, free will, and the enduring human search for meaning and connection even in a world where one’s past can be “erased from the books.”