Barack rubbed weakly at his temples, which were sore and rough to the touch. He breathed slowly, in and out, as he tried to focus his racing mind, burdened by the thoughts of millions.
He noticed through the window the slightest shift of light from the setting sun as he made his way to a makeshift podium, isolated and ready for him to make the announcement: one that would change humanity.
He was not yet used to the increased sensitivity to light and sound, the endless knowledge, or the frequent migraines and muscle aches that were to be expected, but still crippling.
Though it had been months since the start of what is now being referred to as the BRAIN Initiative, it felt as if only hours had passed since Barack was buried in a lab miles below society, stretched across a table, his body a host to the thousands of cables attached.
His arms still tingled where IVs had been, his body remained covered in blemishes from the fiducials, and though makeup and prosthetics hid it well, his head still itched as his skin slowly recovered from neuroshock induced burns.
As he shuffled past two reporters, he noticed their concerned faces. He was weak, dehydrated, and his pigmentation made it difficult to appear as anything close to healthy. He reached the podium and looked out into the standing, applauding crowd. Everything was so loud to him now. He inhaled deeply, and began to speak.
“Thank you so much. Thank you, everybody. Please have a seat.”
Barack blinked about ten times trying to maintain composure as the crowd slowly settled into their chairs.
“Today, as your Scientist-in-Chief, I have invited some of the smartest people in the country, some of the most imaginative and effective researchers, to introduce to you a brave new front in innovation.”
The audience broke into another applause. Barack forcibly held his eyes shut as a ringing pierced through the back of his eyes. He continued speaking with hollow stamina.
“As humans, we can identify galaxies light years away, we can study particles smaller than an atom, and today, we have begun to unlock the mystery of the three pounds of matter that sits between my ears.”
The crowd murmured in laughter. In the few seconds before he spoke again, Barack effortlessly extrapolated the emotions, intelligences, and lives of everyone in the White House pressroom. Recently he had gotten better at retaining and sorting through the vast amounts of data. He – He needed more water and he wondered how long he had been silent in front of them.
“The BRAIN Initiative has given us the tools we need to understand how we think, how we learn, and how we remember.” He continued his speech carefully, sheltering the world from his recent horrid and painful experiences. “And that is why it is so absolutely important. It has created the future we are imagining.”
In the next moment, Barack closed his eyes and concentrated deeply into his surroundings. He gently obtained an increasingly strong connection to everything and everyone in the room. Feeling the same sense of power he discovered during his initial tests and trainings in the lab, he steadily began to lift himself off the ground, surrounded and almost empowered by the amazement of the astonished congregation.
“This is the year I was finally born,” he said, his voice projecting with brilliance. “We have the chance to improve the lives of not just millions, but billions of people on this planet.” The podium and surrounding equipment weightlessly joined him in the air. “It’s ambitious, but as you can see, achievable.”
The hue of Barack’s skin altered slightly, turning dark yellow. He spoke louder, but calmly, as a visible blue haze of energy emitted around him. “It’s going to require us as a country to embody and embrace this spirit of discovery that is what made me-” He stopped suddenly, dropping to the floor with the surrounding objects.
The audience let out a collective gasp. Assistants and medical personal hurried to the attention of the fallen President. The leader of the United States, who was moments before levitating with unseen power, laid lifelessly on the floor.
Though he could not open his eyes, Barack wondered as he was being placed on a stretcher, if the world had been ready for this announcement, this ambitious display. His concern diminished quickly as he reminded himself that the BRAIN initiative, Barack’s Rapid Acquisition of Intelligence through Neuroreplication, had long been out of his control.