“Welcome to Animus Industries, restoring yesterday’s visions for today.
You are about to embark in a restoration process to introduce yourself to your Former. We would like to walk you through a brief history of the Former Project. In 2046, the scientific duo of Wil Balson and Isabel Gerhardt made a revolutionary discovery: The Human Soul. An essence surrounding every living being, these souls proved that humanity is a constant cycle. A pattern repeating. And every life gives way to the next life.
Reincarnation.
The rebirth of the human soul. The human essence restoring itself into new physical forms. A shadow of a past self still left lingering on each and every one of us. Within the next 50 years, Animus Industries was built to study that essence. And eventually, we learned how to read these remnants. These ‘Formers’, as they came to be known, became a gateway to understanding our past as a species. Every person who has ever experienced can still teach us long after physical death.
And today, you are about to embark on an important connection with your past. With the scientific minds of Animus Industries by your side, you will take your first steps into a deeper understand of what has shaped you, crafted you, built you from the very spiritual base. You will discover your Former.
It is a painless process. You will be scanned with the latest in Former reading technology, and have your Essence extracted and transfered into a data stream. This stream, known as the Reincarnation Stream, will translate the memories and thoughts of your Former and present them in a way that is easily understood by you.
We at Animus Industries believe that there is nothing more personal than your Former. Therefore, we will not keep a copy of this data, as Animus Industries follows the Essence Confidentiality Act of 2067. We will instead pass it on to you in a confidential package for you to do with it what you want. We encourage you to share the findings with us if you find that your Former holds information that we can all learn from. We thank you once more for taking the first steps into your past with us. Let us work together to learn from the past, so we can build a better future. May your Former bring your life new meaning.
A representative will be in shortly to start your procedure.“
They say it’s a life-changing experience, learning who you were in a past life. Some people have learned they were famous actors or great scientific minds, and they’ve been able to use that information to Awaken.
That’s what they call it. Awaken. When learning of your Former causes your Essence to restore a little of your Former within your own mind. You get memories, knowledge, even on rare occasions personality traits of your past self.
I’ve known complete fools who have turned into geniuses overnight. One of my coworkers went from stuttering to speaking perfectly clear. He also gained a posh British accent, much to his chagrin. Once, this guy on the news found out he was a super model in another life, and started wearing expensive dresses.
Of course, most people just learn that they were some desk jockey or bus driver. Who went home every day for 40 years and ate the same TV dinners and masturbated to the same Internet porn all their lives. My dad’s Former was some lady from Accounts Receivable who went home every night and read cheesy grocery store romance novels. He can now quote “Love In The Jungle’s Of Night” word for word from memory. It’s quite amusing at family reunions.
All these years, I’ve refused to know. Scared of what my past could introduce to my present self. What will happen when I find out who my Former is? Will I Awaken? Will I Awaken some crazy trait or useless knowledge? Or will it be worse? Will I be a hero or a villain? Someone fascinating or someone without much to offer? Will the results change me for the better, or will it destroy me? The thought of Awakening frightens me, but it also entices me like nothing else. But there is always that pesky doubt, creeping up the back of your mind like a spider, casting webs of fear that you can’t help but get tangled up in.
Sometimes, the nightmare doesn’t start until you’ve awoken.
