WHAT LIES BEYOND
Chapter 1- Awakening
I was floating in the cosmos
Empty and hollow I was floating in the cosmos Waiting to come to life Soul Extract- "Cryosleep" |
At first, it was dark. Then a steady beep, beep, beep filled Adam's head. Slowly, he became aware of his surroundings. He was lying on a bed, on his back--- had he been dreaming again? His eyes slid open. Though his vision was fuzzy, he could tell that he was most definitely not in his bedroom. He blinked over and over to clear his sight. A glass shield above his body obscured the ceiling above him. Cold. He was cold.
With a sudden whoosh, the glass above him began to open. Adam breathed a sigh of relief--- he was in no shape to bust out of that thing. He felt like a heap of spaghetti noodles. With a grunt of effort, Adam attempted to sit up. His limbs shook, but he managed to lift himself from the stiff pillow. He took a series of deep breaths. His muscles had become atrophic--- as if he had been lying asleep for months.
He turned to his left, where he saw two other pods like the one he was in himself. Mira and Kai were here with him, both stirring to consciousness. Adam smiled. They had all made it!
"You guys OK?" Adam asked as Mira sat up.
She brushed her bangs from her face and gave Adam a nod. "I guess so. Weak, but... I'm OK."
Kai heaved himself up with a loud "WHOAH!" He stretched his arms out in front of him and wiggled his fingers. "Everything's all here. Good." He gave Adam a thumbs up. "I'm good. We made it!" He looked around the room, excitement fading to confusion. "Wherever we are."
"You mean you don't know?" Adam asked.
"No!"
"It's your program. I thought you said you'd used it before."
"I have!" Kai hissed. He'd gone into full freak-out mode. "And this isn't it!"
"Must have been that password we entered," said Mira.
"Probably," said Kai. He slumped and began muttering self-depricating statements under his breath.
"Well, we have to be somewhere useful," said Mira. "The password activated something."
Adam smelled something putrid waft up into his nose. He pinched the collar of his shirt and gave it a sniff. Yuck. "Some program," he muttered. "Spawned us in filthy clothes."
"Well then let's look for some clean ones!" Kai exclaimed. He hopped out of the pod and promptly fell to the floor. "Oof! Legs... gave out..."
"Maybe we should take it slow, Kai," said Mira, though a smile tugged at her lip.
Kai was splayed out on the floor like a washed-up jellyfish. He slowly pushed himself back up into a sitting position. "Yeah... don't think I have a choice."
Adam lowered himself onto the floor and took a few cautious steps toward the open space. He gripped the edge of the bed as he walked. Once he felt comfortable on his feet again, he stepped away from the pod and stood by himself. A massive yawn escaped his mouth. "I feel like I just woke up from the longest nap ever taken," he said.
"Me too," said Mira, who had also steadied herself outside the pod, though she hadn't attempted to walk yet.
Kai hadn't even gotten to his feet yet. "Me three," he groaned. "And I always wake up hungry after a long nap. Think maybe they're hiding any snacks in here?"
"They'd better," sighed Mira. "If they're gonna program us weak and hungry it'd be cruel not to have any food around."
Adam had located what appeared to be a closet and had begun to make his way toward it. He was growing more confident the longer he walked. "We can try looking for food once we've changed out of these clothes and gotten used to walking again," he said.
Kai hauled himself up onto shaky legs, taking deep breaths. "I gotta get used to standing again first," he said. He gripped the side of the pod and tried to take a step forward. "My legs... have never been... that strong anyway," he grunted between steps.
"Just get going. You'll get there eventually," Adam encouraged him. He had now achieved a steady walking pace.
Kai tried standing on his own--- and succeeded. He huffed. "There. See? I can do it too---" But when he took a step forward he lost his balance and collapsed onto his back with a loud moan.
Adam strode over to Kai and held out his hand. "Dude. You OK?"
Kai managed to sit up again. He glared up at Adam but took his friend's helping hand anyway. "Show-off," he muttered softly.
Adam patted Kai's shoulder. "Keep working on it," he told the redhead before heading back toward the closet. "How's it going, Mira?"
By now, Mira had taken some steady steps away from the bed, arms spread apart to aid balance. "I'm getting there," she said.
"Good." He turned the knob on the closet door. Thankfully, it was unlocked. And thankfully, there were clean clothes inside. Adam frowned. "Good news is there's clean clothes." He pulled out one of the outfits. "Bad news, it's the same dull grey shirt and sweats we're wearing now."
"All of them?" Mira asked incredulously.
"All of them," echoed Adam.
"What did you expect, your own wardrobe?" Kai asked. "It's a diagnostic program. It's hardly the Hollow's level of scanatar production." He took an uneasy step forward, still clutching the pod.
"I'd expect at least some variety," Adam said. "Yeah, there's some size variation, but I'd at least expect some differences in color or style. I'd take plain white over this pale grey any day."
"The sweats are comfortable anyhow," said Mira.
Kai had at last managed to get a reasonable walk going--- though it was more of a stiff shuffle than anything. "Yeah," he agreed. "I'd rather be teaching myself how to walk again in these than I would jeans. Besides, the clothes match the environment."
Kai was correct--- the entire room was made up of shades of grey. About the brightest things in the room were Mira's attitude and Kai's hair, Adam observed. "How is this program supposed to work anyway, Kai?"
"See, that's the thing." Kai shuffled next to Adam and leaned against the wall. "It's supposed to have looked something like that basic classroom setting we were in before I entered the password. You're just supposed to sit in the room after you've keyed in the error code and answer more specific questions about whatever's bugging your game. I didn't know nothing about this room."
Mira stopped beside her two friends and shrugged. "Easter egg?"
Adam shook his head. "Pretty complex for an Easter egg."
"Pretty complex for a basic diagnostic program," Kai emphasized. "This is the sort of detail I'd expect from a hologame with way too much effort put into the graphics. I mean check it out!" He pointed at Mira. "I don't see any errors in your hair at all."
Mira brushed a loose bang from her surprised face. "Um... Thanks."
Kai blinked in realization. "Oh! No, I didn't mean it that way... not that I don't think you have nice hair but... crap." He dug his fingers through his unkempt hair, freckled cheeks tinged pink. "I meant it in a graphics sense. Even all these years into computer graphics, long hair is still really hard to animate correctly."
"I see," said Mira. She seemed amused with the younger teen's awkward rambling, a smile on her face regardless of the fact that Kai had more or less taken back a compliment.
"All right, everyone." Adam tossed both of the others a t-shirt, sweatpants, basic white tennis shoes, and some clean socks. "Let's get changed into these and see exactly where we are."
"And find food," Kai reminded him.
"That too."
Mira took her outfit over to her pod. "Nobody look," she ordered, getting down on her knees to shield herself from their view.
"Will do," Adam answered. Kai said nothing. Adam glanced toward the younger teen, who was clearly trying to look. When he noticed Adam's unamused glare, he chuckled nervously. Adam motioned toward the closet with his thumb.
Kai shuffled his way into the closet and closed the door behind him, muttering.
After they had all gotten dressed, Mira called to the boys. "Adam. Kai. Come over here. I think I may know what's going on."
Adam jogged to where Mira stood. "What is it?"
Kai hopped over on one leg, still struggling to get one of his shoes onto his foot. "Please tell me you found a way back to the main menu," he said.
Mira shook her head. "No such luck," she said. "Check it out--- the pods are plugged into this machine here."
Adam ran his fingers over the surface of the machine. It was a large metal box with slots that connected the pods to it--- though they appeared to be disengaged from the system at the moment. An LED screen was positioned above each of the pods, along with a keypad and some adjustment buttons--- possibly what controlled the settings inside the pods. At the top of the box was a name and a description:
ENGAGE
INDUSTRIAL-GRADE VIRTUAL REALITY SIMULATOR
Version no. 3.33
"Three thirty-three," Adam whispered. "It's that number again."
"Do you get it, Adam?" asked Mira. Her voice shook. "We were hooked up to that thing. Think about it. How realistic everything looks here? How weak we were after waking up? How our clothes smelled like we'd been wearing them for ages?"
Adam and Kai waited for her conclusion, their breath caught in their throats. They knew where she was going with this.
Mira let out a shuddery breath. "What if... what if our lives, our families... everything is inside that box? What if..." She swallowed a lump in her throat. "What if... this... is real life?"
With a sudden whoosh, the glass above him began to open. Adam breathed a sigh of relief--- he was in no shape to bust out of that thing. He felt like a heap of spaghetti noodles. With a grunt of effort, Adam attempted to sit up. His limbs shook, but he managed to lift himself from the stiff pillow. He took a series of deep breaths. His muscles had become atrophic--- as if he had been lying asleep for months.
He turned to his left, where he saw two other pods like the one he was in himself. Mira and Kai were here with him, both stirring to consciousness. Adam smiled. They had all made it!
"You guys OK?" Adam asked as Mira sat up.
She brushed her bangs from her face and gave Adam a nod. "I guess so. Weak, but... I'm OK."
Kai heaved himself up with a loud "WHOAH!" He stretched his arms out in front of him and wiggled his fingers. "Everything's all here. Good." He gave Adam a thumbs up. "I'm good. We made it!" He looked around the room, excitement fading to confusion. "Wherever we are."
"You mean you don't know?" Adam asked.
"No!"
"It's your program. I thought you said you'd used it before."
"I have!" Kai hissed. He'd gone into full freak-out mode. "And this isn't it!"
"Must have been that password we entered," said Mira.
"Probably," said Kai. He slumped and began muttering self-depricating statements under his breath.
"Well, we have to be somewhere useful," said Mira. "The password activated something."
Adam smelled something putrid waft up into his nose. He pinched the collar of his shirt and gave it a sniff. Yuck. "Some program," he muttered. "Spawned us in filthy clothes."
"Well then let's look for some clean ones!" Kai exclaimed. He hopped out of the pod and promptly fell to the floor. "Oof! Legs... gave out..."
"Maybe we should take it slow, Kai," said Mira, though a smile tugged at her lip.
Kai was splayed out on the floor like a washed-up jellyfish. He slowly pushed himself back up into a sitting position. "Yeah... don't think I have a choice."
Adam lowered himself onto the floor and took a few cautious steps toward the open space. He gripped the edge of the bed as he walked. Once he felt comfortable on his feet again, he stepped away from the pod and stood by himself. A massive yawn escaped his mouth. "I feel like I just woke up from the longest nap ever taken," he said.
"Me too," said Mira, who had also steadied herself outside the pod, though she hadn't attempted to walk yet.
Kai hadn't even gotten to his feet yet. "Me three," he groaned. "And I always wake up hungry after a long nap. Think maybe they're hiding any snacks in here?"
"They'd better," sighed Mira. "If they're gonna program us weak and hungry it'd be cruel not to have any food around."
Adam had located what appeared to be a closet and had begun to make his way toward it. He was growing more confident the longer he walked. "We can try looking for food once we've changed out of these clothes and gotten used to walking again," he said.
Kai hauled himself up onto shaky legs, taking deep breaths. "I gotta get used to standing again first," he said. He gripped the side of the pod and tried to take a step forward. "My legs... have never been... that strong anyway," he grunted between steps.
"Just get going. You'll get there eventually," Adam encouraged him. He had now achieved a steady walking pace.
Kai tried standing on his own--- and succeeded. He huffed. "There. See? I can do it too---" But when he took a step forward he lost his balance and collapsed onto his back with a loud moan.
Adam strode over to Kai and held out his hand. "Dude. You OK?"
Kai managed to sit up again. He glared up at Adam but took his friend's helping hand anyway. "Show-off," he muttered softly.
Adam patted Kai's shoulder. "Keep working on it," he told the redhead before heading back toward the closet. "How's it going, Mira?"
By now, Mira had taken some steady steps away from the bed, arms spread apart to aid balance. "I'm getting there," she said.
"Good." He turned the knob on the closet door. Thankfully, it was unlocked. And thankfully, there were clean clothes inside. Adam frowned. "Good news is there's clean clothes." He pulled out one of the outfits. "Bad news, it's the same dull grey shirt and sweats we're wearing now."
"All of them?" Mira asked incredulously.
"All of them," echoed Adam.
"What did you expect, your own wardrobe?" Kai asked. "It's a diagnostic program. It's hardly the Hollow's level of scanatar production." He took an uneasy step forward, still clutching the pod.
"I'd expect at least some variety," Adam said. "Yeah, there's some size variation, but I'd at least expect some differences in color or style. I'd take plain white over this pale grey any day."
"The sweats are comfortable anyhow," said Mira.
Kai had at last managed to get a reasonable walk going--- though it was more of a stiff shuffle than anything. "Yeah," he agreed. "I'd rather be teaching myself how to walk again in these than I would jeans. Besides, the clothes match the environment."
Kai was correct--- the entire room was made up of shades of grey. About the brightest things in the room were Mira's attitude and Kai's hair, Adam observed. "How is this program supposed to work anyway, Kai?"
"See, that's the thing." Kai shuffled next to Adam and leaned against the wall. "It's supposed to have looked something like that basic classroom setting we were in before I entered the password. You're just supposed to sit in the room after you've keyed in the error code and answer more specific questions about whatever's bugging your game. I didn't know nothing about this room."
Mira stopped beside her two friends and shrugged. "Easter egg?"
Adam shook his head. "Pretty complex for an Easter egg."
"Pretty complex for a basic diagnostic program," Kai emphasized. "This is the sort of detail I'd expect from a hologame with way too much effort put into the graphics. I mean check it out!" He pointed at Mira. "I don't see any errors in your hair at all."
Mira brushed a loose bang from her surprised face. "Um... Thanks."
Kai blinked in realization. "Oh! No, I didn't mean it that way... not that I don't think you have nice hair but... crap." He dug his fingers through his unkempt hair, freckled cheeks tinged pink. "I meant it in a graphics sense. Even all these years into computer graphics, long hair is still really hard to animate correctly."
"I see," said Mira. She seemed amused with the younger teen's awkward rambling, a smile on her face regardless of the fact that Kai had more or less taken back a compliment.
"All right, everyone." Adam tossed both of the others a t-shirt, sweatpants, basic white tennis shoes, and some clean socks. "Let's get changed into these and see exactly where we are."
"And find food," Kai reminded him.
"That too."
Mira took her outfit over to her pod. "Nobody look," she ordered, getting down on her knees to shield herself from their view.
"Will do," Adam answered. Kai said nothing. Adam glanced toward the younger teen, who was clearly trying to look. When he noticed Adam's unamused glare, he chuckled nervously. Adam motioned toward the closet with his thumb.
Kai shuffled his way into the closet and closed the door behind him, muttering.
After they had all gotten dressed, Mira called to the boys. "Adam. Kai. Come over here. I think I may know what's going on."
Adam jogged to where Mira stood. "What is it?"
Kai hopped over on one leg, still struggling to get one of his shoes onto his foot. "Please tell me you found a way back to the main menu," he said.
Mira shook her head. "No such luck," she said. "Check it out--- the pods are plugged into this machine here."
Adam ran his fingers over the surface of the machine. It was a large metal box with slots that connected the pods to it--- though they appeared to be disengaged from the system at the moment. An LED screen was positioned above each of the pods, along with a keypad and some adjustment buttons--- possibly what controlled the settings inside the pods. At the top of the box was a name and a description:
ENGAGE
INDUSTRIAL-GRADE VIRTUAL REALITY SIMULATOR
Version no. 3.33
"Three thirty-three," Adam whispered. "It's that number again."
"Do you get it, Adam?" asked Mira. Her voice shook. "We were hooked up to that thing. Think about it. How realistic everything looks here? How weak we were after waking up? How our clothes smelled like we'd been wearing them for ages?"
Adam and Kai waited for her conclusion, their breath caught in their throats. They knew where she was going with this.
Mira let out a shuddery breath. "What if... what if our lives, our families... everything is inside that box? What if..." She swallowed a lump in her throat. "What if... this... is real life?"