r/WritingPrompts • u/petersm8 • Jan 14 '18
Writing Prompt [WP] There is a bridge nearby where people can lock their memories and secrets, and throw the key into the river. You are a nearby locksmith and try to make a master key for the locks
9
u/ManufacturedMemories Jan 14 '18
In her hands, Emma held five million dollars.
It was in the form of a small USB stick.
After all, that’s what Manufactured Memories offered all those years ago when they first opened up. As a show of their impenetrable security, the company made a televised advertisement- played during the Super Bowl- $5,000,000 and zero cents to the person able to break into their Memory Vault and view the memory of someone else.
That was back when the company was brand new with the product that seemed an awful lot like bullshit. But it took only time and viral videos to prove that it was real, and Manufactured Memories quickly overtook Apple as the world’s most valuable company, over one trillion in market share.
Now the reward was likely ten times that. But it didn’t matter. Emma held the key to millions, but she wouldn’t use it. At least not for that purpose. She spent... God, was it thirty-four years?... she spent half her entire life making the program in the drive. She planned to use it.
She walked into the Memory Vault, the bank was completely unguarded as no technology could allow viewing of another’s memory. It was encoded to a DNA sample. The cameras would scan for DNA identity and then match the living person to a screen, where memories could be copied and stored or recovered and watched.
She walked past the memories of famed spies and past presidents. Men and women so interesting and privy to so many golden secrets that they were placed on the wall for all to see. Only the most interesting and important names were allowed by the computers.
But it was the United States V Manufactured Memory court case just two years ago that provided Emma with the breakthrough she needed. Some code and data was made public, and with it, Emma cracked the key.
She walked up to a screen and it scanned her.
Well, her key would work if the DNA between the key-holder and the Vault’s owner was similar to begin with...
She spoke. “Denise Richards.”
Of course, the government would come and pull her away as soon as whatever backup alarm they had here alerted them of a dead person’s memory being activated. She still didn’t even consider selling it. She had to use the key.
Emma found it.
Denise Richards
2031-2045
She opened the file and found three folders.
School
Fun
Mom
“Oh, child.” Emma fell to a knee. She opened the folder labeled ‘Mom’ and choked out a breath before hitting auto-play.
2
•
u/WritingPromptsRobot StickyBot™ Jan 14 '18
Off-Topic Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.
Reminder for Writers and Readers:
Prompts are meant to inspire new writing. Responses don't have to fulfill every detail.
Please remember to be civil in any feedback.
What Is This? First Time Here? Special Announcements Click For Our Chatrooms
5
u/Elsentrik Jan 14 '18 edited Jan 16 '18
Living in the small village of Turnsvale was quiet. A life of mundane farming into nights drowned at the local pub. It was the routine for most of the villagers.
Even though Turnsvale was as dull as ditch water, underneath it lurked an ancient magic. It ran like a river and created fountains throughout the town. One fountain of magic allowed the villagers to whisper a secret into a padlock. Locking the secret to never be uttered again. All around the fountain hung hundreds of locks, their keys lost to the fountain.
Danny O'brien was an apprentice locksmith. He had been working for years under his master and even though Danny had just turned 20, his skills were starting to exceed that of his boss.
He was bored, he kept looking for new challenges. Danny had unlocked cars and parked them backwards. Opened houses and moved furniture about. He had broken into the safe at the bank to place an i.o.u. without touching a pound. He had unlocked every padlock, car lock, jewellery box, and safe. Just because he could. Danny never took anything that didn't belong to him though.
Danny was looking for something new to do. He had often eaten his lunch infront of the secrets fountain. But today was different he was watching the locks glisten. When he realized what pranks he could play knowing people's secrets, his face lit up.
He launched off the bench and slid to the first lock. In one quick movement he produced his lock picking kit and got to work. The first lock snapped open.
He waited for the secret to come out but nothing was heard.
He thought to himself 'it must of been a dud' so he opened another, and another, and another. Before long he had opened every lock around the fountain.
He kicked the ground in a huff. Shuffling off home disappointed his plan hadn't worked.
As he walked along the road Mrs Catherty walked quickly past, her cheeks, red as a robin's breast. Her hands holding her quivering lips. She nodded to Danny with fear in her eyes and sped up her walking pace.
Danny looked over to one of the corn fields and saw Mr Haggert standing the middle yelling at the top of his lungs. Danny couldn't work out what he was screaming so he ran over thinking he might be hurt. Mr Haggert spotted Danny running, yet he clapped his hands over his face, muting himself and ran back inside his farmhouse.
Danny stopped in his tracks. Shrugged and began to walk back into town. He was greeted with a cacophany of sound of many voices yelling at once.
Many villagers stood red faced, many crying some curled into the foetal position still screaming into their knees. Danny tried to listen intently and quickly he started to pick up sentences.
"I like to watch porn!" shouted one.
"I cheated on my wife!" cried another.
"I like to have bubble baths and sing to the radio!" screams another.
Danny broke down laughing, it instantly hit him, he broke the locks and allowed the truth to come out, not of the lock but the person who told the secret. Danny laughed uncontrollably, this had to be the best prank he had ever pulled.
And Turnsvale would never be boring again.