"Where is my son! Where is my boy! What have you done to him!?" She screamed.

        "Junior is dead," was his only response.

        "How dare you say that!" she spat at him. He just stood there with a look of evil plastered on his face.

        "It's the truth love," he responded.

        "You bastard! What did you do to him?" she shrieked.

         "If I wanted you to know I would have told you. You seem to have lost your tongue while I have been gone. Have you forgotten your place?" Hudson stated menacingly. She cowered slightly, but the anger never left her face. Hudson then flashed a sinister sneer, and walked into the living room. She followed him cautiously, staying an arm's length away from him. He sat down in front of the television, reclining in his favorite luxury chair, which was one of a small line of the most expensive chairs on the market.

        "Where is my meal? I do believe I deserve a proper banquet for my return," Hudson ordered, dismissing her with his hand. She wanted to argue. She wanted to tell him no. She wanted to walk straight up to him, and hit him as hard as she possibly could. She wanted to demand that he tell her where he had been hiding, and what he had done with her son. Instead she slowly shuffled herself into the kitchen. She brang out all the ingredients. Her tears fell into every pot and pan. She was trapped within his grip once again.

        Weeks passed, and he never left the house. He either stayed in his chair, went into his lab, or went into his private chambers. She was instructed to never let anyone in the house, not even their servant Andrew. If she were to leave the house, she was not to speak to anyone unless it were necessary to do so. She was to answer phone calls, but not allowed to stay on the phone for more than five minutes.

        Every few days he would get packages of varying sizes. He requested that she did not look at the contents of the packages. She was to immediately set the package outside of his door and walk away. On these days she wouldn't see him throughout the entire day. When she was sure that he wouldn't exit his lab, she would often sit outside his lab listening to him. There were a number of strange sounds from his work, but nothing she considered out of the normal. In the past he would often be working on a new project throughout the day. This time felt different to her though.

        "I have finished!" he exclaimed nearly a month later, bursting from his lab. He pulled her into a long kiss, and twirled her away.

        "Finished what?" she asked, taken aback.

       "A step up in the procedure!" he exclaimed with excitement. She hadn't seen him this happy in years. It was like seeing him in his youth, back before the fame, before the riches. She couldn't help but smile alongside him.

       "What procedure?" she asked.

        "The procedure of all procedures my love! The ultimate pinnacle of human achievement!" he said.

        "How so?" she asked.

        "I'm glad you asked. Throughout the short life span of human interactions with this world, there has been one unifying goal to achieve. All the work, all the advancements, every relationship, every death, it was all for one thing! To live! The meaning of life is just to live it! When you sit down and really start to think about it, you start to wonder. Why do we go to school, or go to work, or even wake up in the mornings? What is the reason if we just die in the end? The idea of an inevitable death drives people insane. It's what my father went through. It's what my son is going through now.

        Some people can't accept the fact that living is the only meaning there can be for life. That's why we invented school and jobs. That's why the world is as crazy as it is! We needed to distract ourselves from the idea of inevitable death! That's why we try to obtain what we can't have, that which is endless life. Ancient rulers searched for relics and items supposedly touched by the divine in order to extend their lives. The Fountain of Youth, the Holy Grail, Golden Apples, the Philosopher's Stone, etc! All items searched for throughout history to extend life itself!

        People spend so much time trying to find something that would grant them immortality that they don't think about trying to create something that could give them immortality. Thanks to my great mind however, that is going to change! When I was first diagnosed with cancer, I really started to think about my life. I thought to myself: Why did I go through all of this, when I haven't even found the answer to the question that started my journey? Why did my father want to die? I couldn't die myself without learning that answer. That's when I started to put my grand plan in motion, my plan to live longer, to find the answer. If I did that, I could solve the world's problems. Then I could show them that I have the solution to life itself! With that, I could be the most powerful person in the world till the end of humanity itself!

        First I had to rid myself of my cancer, the mysterious killer that none had seen before. How was I to do this if many else had failed to do the same thing? Every doctor I consulted told me that it was impossible with the limited technology they had. What they didn't think of however, was the technology I had. If the Cogitatus could bring forth memories of your own, and push memories of direct ancestors into the brain, perhaps we could reverse the process, and pull things out of the brain.

        I met up with my lead scientists, and we went straight to work. It wasn't too hard to reverse the initial process. After a few programming issues, adding some new mechanics, and a new immersive headset, we were able to remove memories. Our first trial subject was a woman who had been traumatized as a child. A man had touched her inappropriately, and she had lived in fear since. We placed her in the machine, and ran the new program. The process only took a minute, and after a brief questioning, we found that she had no memory of the experience.

        We considered that a success, until our second test subject. He was a man who had PTSD from his days in the military. He practically begged us to get rid of them. Everything was normal as we prepared him for the machine. The first minute or so went fine. Then the man started shaking and moving about, going into convulsions. He then started to scream. We couldn't stop the machine due to fear of malfunction, so we waited till the procedure finished. When questioning the man, he told us that he had the most horrifying dream where he was a young girl. A man had approached him in this dream, and did things to him he didn't want to say aloud. He also told us that his memories had stayed with him.

        With further research, some troubleshooting, and a look at some basic fundamentals, we realized the problem. Imagine that your brain has a certain charge, and everything inside such as memories has the opposite charge. The machine targets certain things in your brain, and using an opposite charge that is slightly stronger than that person's opposite charge, it forces the targeted memories to come closer to the surface of your brain. This allows a person to see the exact unaltered memory.

        Each person has different charges that keep their memories intact, but direct relatives have a fairly similar charge to their descendants. The machine sends a strong charge into zero space, attracting the specific charge of the relatives' memories. Once these memories gain enough momentum, the machine shuts its own charge off. The memories then keep moving, causing them to 'collide' into the brain of the descendant. The similar charges allow them to coincide for a few minutes, then the ancestor memories are sent back to zero space.

        When we re-engineered this process, we used a stronger charge to pull the memories out. The problem was that the machine created an effect similar to a boomerang. Our brains have a surprisingly strong charge, so the memories had a strong pull to return back to the brain. The machine could only hold the memories for a certain amount of time. Time works differently in zero space, so even if it takes months for the next person to enter the machine, it's only attoseconds for the zero space area.

        When the next person enters the machine, the memories sense a brain with a charge that is similar to its own and starts pulling towards that brain. Usually another person's charge is strong enough to prevent this, but the machine then loses its own charge over those memories because it's directive was changed to the new person, causing the memories to fling onto the brain, bypassing that person's individual charge.

        Despite this minor setback, we kept moving forward with the program, until we were sure we had a way to remove disease within the brain. All we needed was extreme in depth knowledge about brain cancer. That's where Dr. Gabe Morton comes in. We added some extra programming to the machine, and a more indepth interface system, adding two incubation tubes and more sensors, some that attached to the body. After a few trial tests, we asked him to contribute his knowledge to our cause. Him and I both went into a tube, and we started the new procedure. Once his knowledge was acquired, the machine identified the cancer cells in my brain, then attracted the cells, and quickly transferred them to the attached tube.

        That's why I look so healthy now. The only problem was that it only gave me back the rest of my life. I didn't quite have a way to live longer yet. It only seemed like a stepping stone away. I knew I wasn't going to be able to extend the life of my body. Eventually it would deteriorate. My mind however? That I could save. If all those memories of different people's ancestors were just out in zero space, then my mind would go there too. All I needed was a vessel to retrieve it. Someone with a brain charge similar to my own," he explained.

        She stood there in awe. He was no doubt a genius. It took her a while to understand a word he said, due to his fast pace and the way he assumed that she would understand all the different concepts he mentioned. Most people who knew her when she was in school knew she wasn't the brightest person. She barely made it through school. She went to college for the experiences because she didn't know what degree to pursue. People would always tell her that this didn't matter. She was so beautiful she would marry rich. Then all her problems would be solved. She didn't need to understand all his scientific talk to understand the last thing he said. That's when it dawned on her.

        "You killed my son!" she screamed.

        "Now don't be rash. I didn't kill him," he responded.

        "What did you do to him?!" she spat.

         "I arranged for his suffering to end! You and I both know that he was never happy here! He was acting just like my father did! At least now he can be of use, instead of ruining his life!" he retorted.

        "What right did you have to do that? He had a life! He was in love! Eventually he would be able to move on from his depressed state! You took that away from him!" she screamed.

        "Look at me! Look at me. He was never going to be happy. He wasn't going to move forward. As parents, we did the best we could," he said.

        "What did you do? Where were you throughout his life?" she asked hysterically.

        "You're right! I wasn't there for him. Just like my father, I wasn't there for my son. You were. You were strong. You preserved. That's why I married you. You know how to move on! You understand hardship! That's why I want you by my side. No, I need you by my side. I will provide for you for the rest of your life. If only you stand by me," he told her.

        "...Fine," she said.

        "Good! I knew you would come to your senses! Now as I was saying. Junior's consciousness is now floating in zero space, leaving his body intact. His body has been completely preserved, and has been fully prepped. With the attachment I've been building for the last few weeks, I will be able to transfer my mind, and the rest of my life force, into Junior, bringing his body back to life," he said.

        "When are you doing this?" she asked.

        "Today if possible," he answered.

        "Can I come with you to the procedure?" she asked.

       "Of course my love. I wouldn't want you to miss it for the world," he said. He then gave her another long kiss, and walked back into a lab. A few minutes later, he walked out with a machine that was about his height. She couldn't even begin to explain what the machine was, or what it did.

        "Alright, I called my trusted lab assistants, they are warming up the Cogitatus, and getting everything set up for our arrival. Let's not waste another moment!" he exclaimed. She smiled at him, and helped him bring the machine to their car. Within moments they were on the road, and arrived at the hospital shortly after.

        "Welcome sir! Right this way," a nurse said when they arrived at the top floor.

        "Thank you. Make sure my engineers install this directly into the center console of the Cogitatus," Hudson said, setting down the machine he had made.

        "Right away sir," the nurse said, signaling a man over.

         "Oh, and get Mrs. Graves a seat where she can watch," he said, and with that, walked into one of the prep rooms. Another man escorted her to a chair that was seated in front of one of the incubation tubes. She took a brief look at the other tube, hoping to see her son. The tube was blacked out, so there was no possible way of seeing in. A few moments later Hudson walked out of the room in a surgical gown, a huge grin plastered on his face.

          "Today is a momentous occasion my friends! Today, we make history! You all will be witness to my genius! You all will see me achieve the impossible! Today is the first step on my glorious journey towards immortality!" he exclaimed. Everyone in the room burst into applause, and he stood in the center, soaking it all in. He then walked up to the tube, opened it, and climbed in. A few nurses rushed up to him, attaching the head gear, removing his gown, and attaching the sensors to his body.

        "See you on the other side love," he said, winking at her. Then the tube was shut.

         "Initiating transfer in 3... 2... 1... starting transfer," a technician said. The room waited in suspense. She watched the computer screen that showed a percentage of the transfer. 10%. 30%. 45%. 58%. The numbers slowly went up.

        At that moment, she made a choice. She made a choice that she hadn't been brave enough to do before. At that moment, she looked back on her time with Hudson. At first she saw all the good that he possessed, all the things that she loved about him. His wonderful beaming smile. His goofy quirky personality. The way he was gentle when loving her. The songs he had played to her. His messy hair and how he always complained that it was allergic to combs. His ability to be outgoing. The way he geeked out over anything he was interested in.

        Then she saw all the evil he possessed. All the late night escapades where she wasn't sure if he was okay. All the strange women he brought home. All the tears she shed. All the pain from his hand. All of the gaslighting. All of the yelling and ordering her around. He stole her child. He stole her safely. He stole her life. Lastly, he stole her heart. She would always remember the trauma that he brought her. In that moment, she knew that his toxicity would kill her in the end. No matter how happy he used to make her, no matter what they used to have together. She would always be his slave, unless she did something about it.

        So she stood up from her chair. She walked up to the machine. She looked at the screen. 95%. She placed her hand on a cord that was within reach. Then she yanked it out. Another cord. Then another. And another. She then proceeded to rip the computer from the panel. People tried to stop her. She was just too strong, too angry. She opened the center console, and ripped out the new machine he had made. By the time they were able to pull her away, the damage had been done.

        "Why did you do that!?" a nurse asked her.

        "Never again. No one will suffer at the hands of Hudson Graves again," she said, tears streaming down her face. No one questioned her after that. She stood at the front of the Cogitatus, crying her eyes out. She was crying, but not of sadness. These were tears of joy.

        Within the next few days, she made sure that she had complete control of the Enterprise. She even fired every person that was part of the project for Hudson's immortality. She knew that they would never talk. She had the assets of the richest company in the world to back her up. No one would dare go against her. She made sure the Cogitatus got a proper repair done. There was still one thing it was to be used for.

         She needed to do one thing first. She made sure to give Hudson Graves a proper burial. She placed him in his family mausoleum, with room next to him for when she died. She wanted to give her son a proper burial also, but his body had come up missing. No one seemed to know where it went, and even after an investigation was launched, no one could find it. She was heartbroken to find this out, but she decided to dedicate a section to him, and his name was placed in the mausoleum too.

        Then she contacted Dr. Gabe Morton. She needed his help to operate the machine one last time, undocumented of course. She agreed to his terms, and with that, she was placed in the machine. She said one last farewell to her fond memories of Hudson and her son, and then the procedure began. The last thing she remembered about her son was the day he had been born. She remembers holding the baby in her arms. She swelled in joy as she rocked him to sleep. She whispered in his ear: Don't worry, mommy is here. I won't let anything happen to you. I love you, my handsome baby boy.