Fran was given a tour of the ship with Dr. Tylor as their guide. The hallways, the testing rooms, and residence hall; With the only disruption to the ship's all-white tone being the plaques that named each room. The doctor with no shortage of enthusiasm talked away, Fran quietly followed, still not having said a single word since awaking.
"Well thats the whole ship... wait no let me show you your room. Dr. Tylor gave Fran a key card to a room and showed them where the living quarters were. The doctor parted with a huge smile and waved Fran off, Fran opened the door.
A bed, desk, and an open door revealing a bathroom with a closet inside. All perfectly white. Fran walked towards the bed, when something caught their eye, almost being out of view. I mistakenly looked, to see my grotesque reflection. My dull orange eyes, grey rough skin, I turned away faster than I looked. The pain boiled over, causing Fran to collapse onto the bed, "I'll never look again".
For a couple of hours at a time, Fran along with the other participants would be woken up to meet in the "testing rooms" when called upon. They would all be drilled physically and academically to ultimately determine those eligible to become a "free citizen of the universe" as they called it. When the candidates were not running miles at a time they were all pasted to a seat to be drilled on logic and history that bore no relation to them.
As the first few classes passed Fran discovered a new hell, the testing rooms and their robotic frame serving as a layered prison. During the frequent drills, Fran would be practically hidden from view, having never made a sound and with their small frame aiding them to go undetected. Fran at this time has grown compliant to the pain, neglecting the testing, and would score among the bottom of the bunch. "I want to be someone I can love."Fran thought.
Fran would see the other people with longing eyes, the difference was too great. Fran's eyes glowed a dim orange, their face showed no expression, their body jagged "full of pain" as Fran would put it. The others seemed contrary to Fran they all possessed bright eyes of all colors their mouths and bodies moved and seemed natural. They all had different voices, Fran had none. Fran's body would surge in agony at the sight of others. "What am I?" Fran's mind was fractured from their body.
Day after day Fran would sit with silence during the exams as their body would be tormented every waking moment until they saw their dreams. Until one day that would change; Fran would be called out of the testing room mid-examination, and it was Dr. Tylor that was responsible.
YOU ARE READING
Weight of a Dream: Eternal Future
Short StoryTrapped within a foreign robotic body, a robot awakes aboard a spaceship without memories of the past. Their soul along with many others were given to an organization called the "Mk Ed" a company that specializes in the transformation and examinatio...
