John Brown

It was a rainy September night of 1981, when John Brown, a lawyer from a small law office located in London, entered the St Mathew hospital, hurrying to meet his wife Daphne, who just delivered their first child. He missed the labour, as his work made it impossible for him to be present, but he was determined to see his wife and their newborn baby as soon as possible. That was why he wasted no time and quickly started to walk toward her hospital room.

However, the closer he was to the room, the faster his heart was beating, as he was beginning to feel nervous. It wasn't because of any worry about Daphne's or child's health, as he already spoke with one of the staff members, who assured him that the labour went without any complications. No, it was because he was about to see his child, his son, for the first time and it made him extremely nervous. Having a child was his and Daphne's dream for years, so they were very excited when they found out that Daphne was pregnant. However, now that he was about to achieve his dream, he couldn't help but feel doubts. Was he ready to be a father? Was he competent enough to raise another human being? These were the thoughts that filled his mind as he was getting closer to the room, where his wife and child were staying.

Knowing that these were just irrational thoughts, caused by the excitement and expectations, he concentrated on reaching the room. When he got there, he stopped for a second to take a few deep breaths, gathering his strength, and opened the door to the room.

Inside he found Daphne, laying on the bed and holding a small, white bundle in her arms. She looked exhausted, with deep bags under her eyes and her brown hair, normally lustrous and kept together, sweaty and disheveled. But despite that she looked happy, as she was looking at the bundle in her arms with a tender smile on her face and gaze full of love. He knew she was holding their son, though he couldn't see the face from his position, as the baby was wrapped in a thick, white blanket. Looking at them John forgot about all his worries, mesmerized by the sight before him.

Noticing his arrival, Daphne slowly raised her eyes and looked at him with eyes full of joy. They both dreamed of having a baby and now they had one. John felt a smile blooming on his face, as they were watching each other, sharing a moment of pure happiness.

"John, I want to introduce you to someone" Said Daphne eventually, her voice raspy, still tired from the labour, though he could hear an unmistakable happiness in her voice. John approached her bed as she raised her arms, passing him their son. He took the child in his arms, marvelling at how light it was. "Say hello to Michael"

"Michael…" He whispered, overwhelmed by emotion. He had a son! He wanted to dance from happiness, though he restrained himself, not wanting to disturb his child. It was small, extremely so, with a pink, wrinkled skin and huge head. He had large blue eyes and sparse hair, which was already starting to grow on his head. He was looking at John, as if trying to focus on him.

'I already love you so much' thought John, completely engrossed by his child, overwhelmed by emotion.

'What the actual fuck?' thought the baby, extremely confused by the situation it found itself in.

Ten years later

Michel Brown

Hi, my name is Michael Brown. I am ten years old, I like watching cartoons and playing football and I want to be an astronaut when I grow up.

Or at least that's the official story. Only idiots believe in official stories. The truth is much more disturbing.

It began ten years ago, when I was affected by a mysterious phenomenon, one whose origins or nature I can't explain yet. It started with the car accident I was involved in. Well, to tell the truth, I am not sure if the person who was involved in the accident was actually me, so for now let's call this person Participant.

Participant, a twenty five years old man, was involved in the car crash, or at least that was what the memories I possessed suggested. I am not sure to what extent I can trust them, as they were potentially planted in my mind by unknown scientists or omnipotent entity, but for the sake of giving you an explanation of my situation, let's temporarily assume that these memories are real. The story went like this: Participant was a normal person with a normal job, with no distinguishable qualities. After finishing his work, he was returning home, driving his car through the forest. He did it every day, so he was relaxed, confidently driving down the road. He was getting close to home when a truck, which was going the opposite direction, drifted out of its lane, colliding head on with Participant's car. Predictably, Participant died instantly. Normally, this would be the end of the story.

Not this time though. One moment Participant was helplessly watching as Track was about to hit his car, the next he, or rather I, was looking at the enormous man, who I later learned was, or at least pretended to be, my father.

The situation I found myself in was so incomprehensible that it took me weeks, if not months, to understand the situation correctly. Apparently my new name was Michael Brown, son of Daphne and John and brother of seven years old sister, Lily. We were a small, reasonably wealthy family, living in the suburbs of London. It sounded like the normal family, but the fact that I became a part of this family under such suspicious circumstances meant that I couldn't just relax and live my life. For all I knew I was in constant danger or I was a pawn in some cosmic game.

During my years as a child of house Brown I wasn't able to find any definite proof about the nature of my existence, but I was able to come up with several theories about my situation:

1. Reincarnation. This theory was the most straightforward, though it came with some worrying implications. If it was correct, it meant that Participant's memories were real. I was his next incarnation, somehow able to retain his memories after death. It was somehow comforting, as my memories would be indeed real, but it also meant that there was something or someone, who decided to take my soul/mind and put it into some random infant. If I was reincarnated with my memories intact, did that mean that I was some sort of "glitch in the system" or someone intentionally decided to do that? Was there some entity watching my every step, using me for some unknown purpose? The fact that I was born in 1982 was especially terrifying, because it meant that my reincarnation was atemporal. After all, the Participant was born later, meaning that whoever was responsible, could travel back in time. Scary.

2. Experiment. In that theory memories of the Participant weren't mine, they were just implanted into my mind by the unknown party, most likely some government agency. It probably included some sort of brain modification, so that an infant's brain would be able to handle the mind of an adult man. I was probably under constant surveillance, with hidden observers watching my every move. I didn't know what they were trying to accomplish by this, but I assumed it was probably connected to some research on immortality or consciousness transfer. Either way, I was some sort of lab rat, meant to prove an unknown hypothesis, living on mercy of some faceless researchers. This was probably the least comforting theory, as it meant that my so-called "parents" (and maybe even my sister) were actually government agents, tasked with taking care of me/getting rid of me if necessary. For these reasons I was always on guard when interacting with my family, watching for any suspicious behaviour or unusual activity. I wasn't able to find anything so far, but I was onto them. Father, Mother, Lily, if you are somehow able to read my mind, I am watching you.

3. Coma/Simulation. This theory was simple. The accident Participant was involved in was real, but he didn't die, instead landing in a coma. My reality was some sort of lucid dream, with me as a representation of the Participant's mind. The problem was that I actually remember most of my "second life" rather well, with no lengthy periods of amnesia. It could mean that I was part of an experiment, though different one than the one in theory 2. My body was connected to some machinery that enhanced Participant's mind or created a virtual reality, letting me live this pantomime of life. This theory was potentially the scariest, as I literally couldn't do anything if it was the case and nothing I did really mattered. Horrifying.

There were of course other theories I came up with, but Reincarnation, Experiment and Coma were the most probable ones at the moment. Sadly, I couldn't exactly prove any of them as real. The only one I could potentially try to prove was Experiment theory, but I was somehow scared of what would have happened if I managed to reveal the conspiracy. Would I get killed for knowing too much and sabotaging the experiment?

If that was the case, the ones who would pull the trigger would probably be Agent Father or Agent Mother, which was a little sad. After all, I spent ten years in their company, so I naturally grew somewhat attached to them. It was probably Stockholm syndrome, as I was put in their "care" without my consent, but it didn't change the fact that I liked them in some capacity. They, alongside my sister, were the only people I found myself carrying about since my "birth". I of course met some children during my second life, like the ones in my neighbourhood or in the school I was attending, but I never really connected with them. Leaving aside the fact that it was hard for the grown man to get along with literal children, I didn't know if these children weren't just child agents or androids, tasked with monitoring me. That was why I was a bit of a loner.

Well, I didn't mind it. It gave me more time to look for inconsistencies and holes in the Simulation/Experiment I was most likely involved in. That was why, whenever I wasn't busy going to school, I would spend my free time checking my house for hidden cameras or concealed rooms, to make sure no one was watching me. After finishing this task I would go outside, telling Agent Mother I was going to play football with my friends. She would foolishly believe me (or not, if she really was the agent. Then she would know I was lying, but couldn't admit it without revealing herself), allowing me to go outside to play. I would use that time to do some chaotic, erratic movements, hoping to create some sort of lag or glitch in the simulation, by taking unpredictable actions. After that I would return home and eat dinner with my family, satisfying my emotional need for human contact. Then I visited the public library, using the computer located there to find some inconsistencies about the world on the internet. For some reason I would always end up one some weird conspiracy sites, reading articles written by some crazy conspiracy theorists. Man, people were weird. When that was over, I would return home again to watch some cartoons or read some books. Then I would go to sleep. This was my typical day for several days.

It however all ended when I actually managed to find a proof for one of my theories by performing the act of telekinesis. It started innocently, as I was doing what I was always doing during my afternoon, which was lying on a couch in the living room and watching TV. I was watching the newest episode of Dragon Ball Z, which was currently airing, so I was quite hyped up. It was one of the best episodes, the one where Goku finally became a super saiyan. As you can probably imagine, I was excited as fuck. However it seemed that my excitement was too much for the Simulation to handle, as it reached a breaking point and when Goku's golden hair raised, so did every small object in the room. Pencils, cups and pillow started to levitate, swirling around me, apparently moved by my powerful emotions.

I didn't notice it immediately, as I was quite engrossed in the show, but when it ended and I raised my head, I saw a lot of household objects swirling around me, apparently ignoring the laws of gravity. Predictably, I screamed at the top of my lungs, terrified by this development. Like, I suspected I was in the Simulation, but actually seeing a glitch in the reality was fucking scary!

Hearing my panicked scream, Agent Mother hurriedly came from the kitchen, where she was making dinner, to find out why I was screaming. Reason for my scream instantly became obvious, as the first thing she saw after entering the room was her child, who was watching TV only minutes ago, trembling and screaming, while being surrounded by levitating objects, as if possessed. Seeing this bizarre scene was probably too much for her, as she started screaming just like me. Our terrified screams attracted Agent Father and Lily, which predictably only increased the number of people screaming in horror.

Then an old woman with a pointy hat entered our house through the front door (a very much closed front door) and swung a small piece of wood, making every levitating object land gently on the ground. That only made us scream harder.

Author's notes:

One day I randomly came up with the idea of a conspiracy theorist landing in the world of Harry Potter. That world had so many scary implications that any paranoid person would go crazy there. Hence the idea. There is also the fact that actually going through the reincarnation would really mess up a person, which is why MC is quite weird.