Page 1 of Artificial Moon

Chapter One

NORMAN

Norman sits in the sterile waiting room, fingers clasped together, hands resting in his lap.

He’s dressed in the standard hospital gown, a thin blanket draped over his legs. The room is quiet except for the soft hum of machinery and the occasional murmur of medical staff in the hallway.

Beside him, his wife, Evelyn, shifts in her chair. He can feel the tension radiating off her. He doesn’t need to look at her to know she’s watching him, studying his every twitch, every flicker of hesitation in his expression.

“You don’t have to do this,” she says again, her voice barely above a whisper.

Norman turns his head slightly, offering her a small smile. “Evie, we’ve talked about this... for weeks, if not months.”

She presses her lips together. “I just... feel like I’m pushing you into it.”

“You’re not,” he assures her, reaching out and placing his hand over hers. Her hand is trembling slightly. “I want this. I need this.”

She exhales. “We just don’t know how safe it is.”

“They warned us, hon. It’s still in the early stages. I know the risks.”

“But what if something goes wrong?”

Norman chuckles softly. “What’s the alternative, sweetie? Watching myself slip away from you, piece by piece?”

A sharp breath escapes her lips, and she looks down at their hands, blinking away tears. “I just don’t want to lose you.”

He squeezes her hand gently. “You already are.”

She flinches, but doesn’t pull away. He hates saying it, but it’s the truth. He’s been forgetting things. Little things at first—where he left his keys, the name of the neighbor’s dog. But then, it got worse. He forgot appointments, forgot how to drive to the grocery store, forgot the names of people he had known for decades. And a month ago, for the first time, he had looked at Evelyn, his wife of forty-three years, and for a terrifying few seconds, he hadn’t known who she was.

That was when heknew. He had to do somethingnowbefore he lost himself entirely.

“The doctors say the implant will help,” he reminds her. “It’ll strengthen my neural pathways—or whatever they’re called. It’ll help my brain retain memories and keep meme.”

She nods stiffly, but her eyes reveal her fear. “And what if it doesn’t?”

Norman exhales, leaning back in the waiting room chair. “Well, then, at least we tried.”

A soft chime sounds. A nurse appears in the doorway. “Mr. Talbot?” she calls gently.

Norman squeezes Evelyn’s hand one last time before he stands. She follows suit, still gripping his fingers like a lifeline.

The nurse smiles warmly. “It’s time.”

Evelyn turns to him. Panic flickers in her eyes. “Wait. Just—” She swallows hard, then cups his face in her hands. “Promise me you’ll come back to me.”

Norman smiles, leaning into her touch. “I promise.”

She presses a kiss to his forehead, her lips lingering there for just a moment before he steps back, allowing the nurse to lead him through the door.

***

The operating room is bright, almost too bright.

The scent of antiseptic fills his nostrils as he’s guided to the surgical table. Doctors and technicians bustle around, preparing instruments, adjusting monitors. He recognizes the lead surgeon, Dr. Patel, from his many consultations. She offers him a reassuring nod as they strap him in and place a cool gel patch to his forehead.

“We’ll be implanting the Neurahook chip here,” she explains, tapping a spot just behind his right temple. “The process is minimally invasive, and the robotic surgeon will handle most of the precision work. You’ll be asleep the entire time, and when you awaken, the implant will already be integrated with your neural pathways.”

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