the nameless man stared around the room—at val borgenese, perhaps fifty, calm and pleasant, more of a counselor than a policeman—out of the window at the skyline, and its cleanly defined levels of air traffic.
where was his place in this?
"i guess it's no use," he said bleakly. "you'll never find out who i am."
the counselor smiled. "i think we will. directly, there's not much we can do, but there are indirect methods. in the last two weeks we've exposed you to all the organized knowledge that can be put on tapes—physics, chemistry, biology, math, astrogation, the works.
"it's easy to remember what you once knew. it isn't learning; it's actually relearning. one fact put in your mind triggers another into existence. there's a limit, of course, but usually a person comes out of re-education with slightly more formal knowledge than he had in his prior existence." the counselor opened a folder on his desk. "we gave you a number of tests. you didn't know the purpose, but i can tell you the results."
he leafed slowly through the sheets. "you may have been an entrepreneur of some sort. you have an excellent sense of power ethics. additionally, we've found that you're physically alert, and your reactions are well coordinated. this indicates you may have been an athlete or sportsman."
val borgenese laid down the tests. "in talking with you, i've learned more. the remark you made about fingerprints suggests you may have been a historian, specializing in the twentieth century. no one else is likely to know that there was a time in which fingerprints were a valid means of identification."
"i'm quite a guy, i suppose. businessman, sportsman, historian." the man smiled bitterly. "all that ... but i still don't know who i am. and you can't help me."
"is it important?" asked the counselor softly. "this happens to many people, you know, and some of them do find out who they were, with or without our help. but this is not simple amnesia. no one who's been retroed can resume his former identity. of course, if we had tapes of the factors which made each person what he is...." he shrugged. "but those tapes don't exist. who knows, really, what caused him to develop as he has? most of it isn't at the conscious level. at best, if you should learn who you were, you'd have to pick up the thread of your former activities and acquaintances slowly and painfully.
"maybe it would be better if you start from where you are. you know as much as you once did, and the information is up to date, correct and undistorted. you're younger, in a sense—in better physical condition, not so tense or nervous. build up from that."
"but i don't have a name."
"choose one temporarily. you can have it made permanent if it suits you."
