Chapter 21: The Ship of Theseus (I)

If a person loses their memory, are they still the same person they once were?

Xida rubbed her chin repeatedly, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.

"... I think, therefore I am, Xida..." Yahweh sat in the passenger seat, turning his head to gaze at the red sea wrapped beneath the night sky.

January 13, 2074, 20:00, an unusual commission.

"Memory is an indispensable part of what makes a 'person'..." He seemed to hear Xida's inner thoughts, stroking her silver hair back and forth with his hand, whispering softly into her ear.

"Our client..." The air seeped into her tender ear canal, the itching sensation making her shrug her shoulders, "... has truly presented a difficult problem..."

Time rewound to this morning; everything began with Rogue's phone call.

January 13, 2074, 6:20

"Regina said you completed an earth-shattering feat..." After Rogue smiled and offered praise, he continued, "Now, more and more commissions are specifically requesting your completion..."

"For instance, this commission: a couple discovered that their best friend, Joel Carey, became dazed after a treatment, seemingly showing symptoms of amnesia. They specifically issued a commission asking you to investigate the cause. The available clues include: records from multiple hospitals where Joel was treated, including the Night City Mental Health Center, his social network, and..."

"Hehehe..." Xida comically mimicked the laugh of a female villain from a famous Superdream Movie, "Before it was garbage collectors, cops... now it's Detective Hitah's turn to appear!"

"Stay safe, Xida, don't lower your guard... Finally... good luck." Rogue rolled his eyes, yet still couldn't help but care for her a bit.

"Bye-bye, Rogue!" After Xida hung up the phone with a beaming smile, she immediately lunged at Yahweh, who was sitting on the Sofa.

"Baby, we're going to work! Come out with me quickly, big sister will take you to see the world!"

Yahweh often maliciously wondered: if one day Xida fell ill, could he truly distinguish between real and fake?

Helplessly pushing away the face she leaned in with, watching her cute, clowning appearance, he couldn't help but laugh.

"So what is our commission, Miss Detective Hitah?" He cooperated, acting out Xida's little detective theater.

Out of respect, he did not eavesdrop on her conversation with Rogue. Although Xida would never hide anything from him.

"We are to tail a person—Joel Carey, Assistant Mr. Yahweh." She kept a straight face, speaking with feigned seriousness, though her clothes were askew, looking ridiculous yet cute.

"Okay, okay, okay..." He smiled, pulling her into his embrace, and carried the small her to the sink to wash up.

"Deng deng deng deng... deng deng... deng deng deng..." She waved her claws wildly in Yahweh's arms, yet still comically hummed the classic opening music of a certain Superdream Movie.

"Xida, the music is wrong!" Yahweh placed her by the sink and gently tapped her small head, "This is for Agent Hitah, not for Detective Hitah..."

"Oh my..." Xida blushed, lowering her head to brush her teeth.

January 13, 2074, 8:00

Xida drove the dilapidated Sky Hera, carrying Yahweh, to the residence of the commission target—Westbrook District - Charter Hill - Luxury Apartment.

"Speaking of which, when we met that group of Tiger Claws before..." Xida parked the car by the street, planning to kill time with conversation during the tailing, "... did you use the method from this morning... that perspective, to kill them?"

"More or less..." Yahweh reclined the passenger seat, lying down comfortably, while pondering his answer, "I don't need to be that troublesome... I just need to think; it doesn't matter if my eyes are open or closed..."

"In the blink of an eye, they die instantly!" Xida also lay down, imitating his posture.

Her eyes sparkled, her tone excited, "So cool!"

"Don't even think about reaching that level; for the human brain, the burden is too great..." Yahweh pinched her rosy cheeks with a grumpy expression.

"What time is it?" He asked the time, hinting that Xida should perk up.

"Eight oh five... I see the target!" Xida didn't have time to address someone's double standards; she had already marked the other party with her cybernetic eye.

"What is he planning to do?" Yahweh pointed at the gloomy man with a tall, slender figure and a long trench coat walking out of the apartment building.

"The data says he takes the Night City Subway Line 4 to work around 8:30 every day." Xida flipped through the data Rogue had sent over.

"Lost his memory but still remembers to go to work?" Yahweh raised an eyebrow, "Has the corporate slave's memory already sunk deep into the bones?"

"That joke really isn't funny..." Xida frowned, looking at the black-haired man in the distance.

His long hair, unattended for a long time, covered his eyes, making his gaze unreadable.

With what kind of gaze would a person with amnesia look upon this world?

Xida thought with some curiosity, getting out of the car with Yahweh.

They maintained a distance of about fifty meters from Joel Carey; this way they would neither arouse the target's suspicion nor easily lose him.

Xida and Yahweh walked side by side on Japan Street, hand in hand, like an ordinary couple.

Sometimes she wondered how wonderful it would be if they were not in Night City, not living in this era.

She wanted to live with him in a small seaside town, ordinary and simple, waking up together in the gentle sunlight, walking together under the sea breeze, without rushing to take commissions, without worrying about this world.

Just the two of them, living far away from all noise and troubles, until they grew old.

Perhaps many years later, she and he would live this kind of life. They managed to ignite the entire world, burning away all evil, letting everything start anew. Then they would retire from the world, disappearing without a trace.

Perhaps many years later, she would have become an old woman, even unable to recall that her younger self had once fantasized about this present of growing old, but as long as he was by her side, it would be enough.

Alas, it was all just an illusion.

"Xida? What are you thinking?" Yahweh's words woke her from her fantasy.

"Just thought of... a very, very distant future... our future." She wiped her eyes with her free hand, answering as if nothing had happened.

"Unaware of dreams, a wanderer..."

"Chasing phantoms, abandoning friends and people..."

"This song fits the scene perfectly..." Yahweh tilted his ear to listen to the Japanese-style melody, holding her hand tighter.

"That Joel Carey, isn't he just a wanderer?" Xida calmed her emotions, speaking softly.

"Illusions are merely beautiful bubbles... rather than being intoxicated by an ideal land, cherish the present, Xida."

"I can no longer distinguish the difference between you and humans, Yahweh..." She let him hold her hand, pulling her forward, her eyes lost in the warm dawn, morning mist, and street neon.

"I will board the Ship of Theseus, cross the Endless Sea, and sail toward you..." He whispered, yet it sounded like a chant, "Do not be lost, Xida, I am just me, the only me, the me that belongs only to you..."

"Good..." Xida nodded with a light laugh, gripping his hand tightly, a hand that seemed to extend from the clouds yet was warm as a dream.