Chronological Chaos - Temporal Tides

•ten•

Dr. Wren held Sybil's hand as she was lowered into the vat of gel. It was cool, but not unpleasantly so. Sybil cringed as she sunk into the tub, the fluid slowly enveloping her. It slivered up her legs, above her hips. There was a submerged bench that Sybil leaned back into and finally settled onto. When all was said and done, she was covered all the way to her neck.

"Slip your hands into those loops there," Dr. Wren said, gesturing to a blurred mass beneath the gel. Sybil groped awkwardly to find them. They were just below where her hands floated to her side. As she slipped her hands inside them, they grew tight until Sybil couldn't move her hands away.

"Whoa, I don't want to be strapped down, Sybil said, trying to pull away.

'Don't worry," Dr. Wren assured her. "Those are just for everyone's safety. Do you sleepwalk?"

Sybil's brow furrowed. "No, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Sometimes people react to the scenes and their body tries to act out the action. This will just keep you from chasing after a ghost."

"Who else has been here?" Sybil asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Oh, of course," Dr. Wren waved. "You are hardly the first. Many people have given the experiment a go and weren't successful. That's the way experiments go." The woman smiled brightly. She backed away and allowed Dr. Montre to approach.

"Ok, Miss Ericson," he said, pulling up the white surgical mask to cover his nose. "I am going to insert the camera now. Please tilt your head back."

Sybil obeyed and asked, "Does it hurt?"

"It's too small to cause much discomfort," he said reassuringly. One of the many assistants in the room came to the platform with an almost empty surgical tray. Dr. Montre took the only thing on it: a large syringe-type tool. Instead of a plunger, it had two plastic loops that just fit the doctor's fingers.

"I will count to three," Dr. Montre said. "One-"

"Don't do that," Sybil said, eyes screwed tightly closed. "Just surprise me."

"Ok," he said, amused. "I will need to have you relax your face, Miss Ericson."

Sybil let her face go limp but still kept her eyes closed. "Like this- ow!"

A sharp pain began to crawl across her face, starting as a pinch on her right temple and she gasped, opening her eyes in surprise. In the corner of her vision, she saw several wriggling spindles retract from her line of sight. Then her eyes began to itch. She tried to brush it away with her right hand but all she could do was pull on the straps.

"Hey, you're all good," Dr. Montre said. "It's just going to be uncomfortable for a moment. We call the camera, The Spider. You might see it's many legs working its way into your eye."

"A spider?" Sybil said, her eyes rolling wildly in her head. "That would have been fun information to have first."

"Most people are alarmed by the name," Dr. Wren's voice came from somewhere.

The legs of the spider resurfaced again in her vision, covering her vision until...

The movement stopped and so did the discomfort. Sybil blinked repeatedly and her vision slowly began to fill back in as normal.

"How was that?" Dr. Montre asked, pulling down his mask to reveal a smile. He handed the cap to the syringe back to the assistant with the tray. "Now we'll be able to see as you see. The Spider also includes a frequency that will resonate in your skull in order for you to be able to hear us."

"Great," Sybil said. "Will I still be able to get through TSA?"

Dr. Montre laughed and walked down the platform without answering, which was unfortunate because Sybil really was worrying about her future prospects on airplanes.