Immortal

08. Extractors

An interesting thing about immortals you might not know is that we don't actually need sleep. Although sleep is great, and we can sleep, don't get me wrong. Its not a requirement for us to sleep.
We can stay awake longer than natural without any repercussions due to a lack of sleep. I also get hallucinations the way humans do after a few misplaced all-nighters.
Getting to sleep at all in sense, is a bit of a luxury to us immortals though. Since our work never stops. Just like the motto we live by goes.
Essentially we can be worked to insanity, since we can't die. The well known human metaphor "Being worked to death" doesn't really apply to us.
We don't need breaks. So we don't get breaks.
Some of you humans might call that Hell.

Although, I have a different definition and experience for the term.
The experience starts with a group of people in our society known as 'Extractors.'
Odd name. Im aware.
Another, unusual not so great benefit to being immortal, is that as we evolve over time we learn new methods to torture each other that would make someone like me really wish we could actually die. One of those methods lead to the birth of this one very special, very hated, particular group.
Its one of the many reasons why most immortals stay in line and do their work that's expected of them. Extractors are a team of scientists tasked with undergoing a serious method of torture involving the neuroscience of brain.

Imagine if someone had the power to erase your complete identity, delete all your memories, make you forget someone special you treasured for a really long time, while they exposed everything about you; all your memories, feelings, thoughts, on a screen in front of you.  They would watch everything. They would dig through every single memory looking for a specific piece of information, a shred of certain kind of evidence, anything that would raise a red flag. There was no way suppressing or hiding anything and if you resisted the the search, the pain that would come from this process would be something humanly indescribable.
What they were tasked to look for while the victim sits there and squirmed like a bug under a microscope would always be unknown. How they  watched personal memories and thoughts. How they skipped over certain things. They would sit and hope it all ended quickly. Trust me, No one wanted to be the one sitting in the chair getting their brain fucked with. At the end of that embarrassing session, where all the secrets you lived with were exposed and recorded, they also had the power and right to delete anything they deemed unnecessary for the victim to know.
It didn't matter what it was. There was, and is no way to stop them. With one button anyone ever known, anything knowledge they knew, anywhere they'd been or anything they'd seen or felt would be gone forever.  This was the job of an exactor. This was the group that no one would ever want to have an encounter with. The job no one would or should ever want. A job that really if the world was a perfect paradise shouldn't exist.

...

It was the first day back to the lab after about four that I had missed. When I returned thats when  the slip of paper was placed on my desk. I knew what it was before I read the fine print, it was a summons to an extraction. The baby blue colored slip had my name etched across it. I tried not to give a reaction.
I stared at it for a good several minutes. The moment felt a little unreal, this would be my first visit to an extraction.

One of the many rules, I failed to mention for an on going extraction was that witnesses to the process were usually selected at random. To make sure the job was done efficiently and without bias. It prevented extractors from having too much power over someone who was undergoing an extraction. My lab partner Izen had paused from doing his work and looked over at the slip. He knew what it was too, durning our orientation we had been told by our trainee that this might happen on the job. They didn't go into detail about what would be seen. There were minimal details, recounting their memory of it made their expressions pale to even speak of.

Everyone eventually got chosen to stand in a room while this occurred. The only advice they offered in solace was that when it happened. Walk in. Don't say a word. Don't look at the victim in the chair. Don't react. Those were their words on how to survive.

"That's rough." Izen finally muttered. I wished I could burn this slip of paper and not turn up. I was expected to show up. I set the slip of paper down and stood up silently. Izen went back to focusing on his project he didn't say anything else about my summons. The place this was occurring wasn't in my building. I took the slip and crumpled it up into a ball in my pocket. There was silence. Izen didn't say a word to me, there were no question on where I was going or why I was leaving right then.

I took in a shaky breath and exhaled at the exit door. There was no get out of jail free card when it came to these summons. I wanted to take my time getting to the building these appointments were held in. I knew I couldn't take too long, and they wouldn't start without me. The location were this was being held wasn't too far away. Every sector had a building for these things specifically, and had I known about today's summons ahead of time I would have worn black.

Unlike other buildings in the area getting into this one required no code. It didn't need to verify your identity because no one in their sane mind would want to step foot inside. The main lobby had a false sense of security. It was one of the only buildings that had any decorations placed inside. The sliding doors opened and a gush of warm air hit me in the face.

All the furniture pieces were bolted to the ground. They could not be moved or rearranged. The walls were painted a beige/yellow tone to try to give you an encouraging push of warmth or happiness. Cool blues and greens were splattered along the walls to try and relax the mind. The rooms had symbols painted along the doors. The attempted portrayal of any kind of emotion only made anyone who stepped inside become filled with more dread. Unlike other buildings this one had carpeting, I tried to focus my mind elsewhere. This maze of corridors and doors was already in my head, the light fixtures attached next to every other door. The floor plan that I looked at briefly to find the room with my slips symbol on the door.

I was at the point of no return.

I stared at the door for a few moments. I took another deep breath and stepped inside.