Leest: Ancilla Van

It was her own name. Latin for "handmaid" or "female servant." But she had never believed it was her birth name. She had woken up in a field hospital in 2140 with no memories of her own—only a preternatural gift for organizing other people's.

She had always assumed she was a refugee, a trauma victim. Now she understood. ancilla van leest

Ancilla felt it then—a cascade of sensation. A hundred thousand lives flooding into her skull. She saw the Videre in ancient Alexandria, arguing with Hypatia about the nature of light. She saw her in a Mayan ball court, bleeding from the ear, laughing. She saw her in a Nazi death camp, whispering comfort to a child who did not speak her language. It was her own name

A child approached her. "Are you the one who sang?" She had always assumed she was a refugee, a trauma victim

"I am the one who remembered," she said. "And now, so do you."

She preferred it that way.