Excerpt: One day at a time

Adam looked up at the technician “how do I know which memories are real?”
“To you, they are all real” came his reponse.
“I dont want them, they were faked, they aren't me” Adam retorted.
The technician gave him a quizzical look “That is where you are wrong. Your actions and your decisions in each simulation were your own.”
Adam paused for a moment “Can't we at least delete all the implanted background memories?”
“No, if we did so then your actions would lose all context. You wouldn't be able to understand why you made the decisions you did. It would render the treatment useless.”
“but I can't live like this!” Adam protested, slamming his fist onto the chair
“You will find a way, they all do” The technician tilted his head slightly “You have been given a gift. The gift of experience. You have lived 10 different lives in worlds that the rest of us can only imagine. You have loved and been loved. You have killed and been killed. You have been the abuser and the abused. You have faught in the great war, been enslaved by egyptians and even hunted with our primitive ancestors. All these experiences have given you insight and empathy, qualities that you lacked before.”
“If it's so great then why doesnt everyone undergo this treatment?” Adam questioned
“Not everyone needs it. You were broken”

Adam reached his hand over and felt the scar on his arm.
“This, this is real” Adam buried his face into his hands “I killed her didn't I?”
“My dear boy, that was the event that led you here.” replied the technician as he turned and walked out the door.