CELL

/ THIRTY NINE /

Choices were a pain in the arse.

No one liked them, not really. They'd prefer to leave a decision that could potentially have massive repercussions on their life to gravity, air resistance, force and the spin of an inanimate object. The flip and catch of a simple coin were seen as better than pointing a mental finger at that one. Too many people were indecisive, so the metal disc was a focus for their personal insecurities.

Choose one.

I can't.

Choose one!

I can't! I don't know!

OK, let's throw this two pence piece into the air and see which way up it lands.

OK, yeah. Good idea.

So... Heads is what, and tails is what?

Erm...

Shall we flip for it?

Light or enlightenment? Action or argument? Stand or... tap!

Ryan's fingertip hit the pad decisively. He wasn't feeling decisive, but he had to make a selection and couldn't spend any time at all dancing from between them. He instantly regretted his choice. Too late, though, and the regret was only his mind playing with him. Either option could have been right and wrong at the same time. There was no way to have both, so Power it was.

The screen changed to show a schematic of the switch panel. Though there were no indicator lights to show the switches' states, the display made it clear. All except two were off. One was marked 'Desk', hence the computer being useable. The second was identified simply as Zones. That was as meaningless as T. Gumbo, or whatever it was.

Hmmm... Was the T for Terry or Tom? Was that Bradley's father? He didn't care.

The rest had consistent names. Bank 1. Bank 2. Pod 1. Pod 2. The tags had meaning, but not specifics. He was wary of activating randomly, but had a feeling he might have to. Then, the bottom two rows made him smile. B1 Lights. B1 Lights. B3, Goddamn Lights!

With barely disguised glee, he ran his fingers across all the switches, flicking them on.

A buzz. A flash. Light!

He looked up as the room was filled in a warm off-yellow. Nice! Further to the right, high up on the wall, was another grill. Potentially, that was the exit from the vent's other direction. So, all roads led to here. There really were no actual choices.

OK.

He turned to view the extent of the now visible room. For a moment, his thoughts froze along with the rest of him.

He'd thought it was large. Yeah, and Everest is a big mountain.

It wasn't just large or huge or gigantic. It was... so much more.

The ceiling was quite low, and not tiled or plastered. It was rough stone, as if carved, then casually smoothed, but only enough to take off the sharper edges. If he had still been in the vent, he might have been able to touch it. He could see the far end, but was unable to perceive any real details. His eyes, though he believed them to be healthy, were not strong enough to focus properly at that distance.

The banks and pods were now recognisable. There were long rows of covered hot tubs, with smaller circular containers standing next to them. Tubes reached from each of the mini-tubs up to the ceiling, where they disappeared into holes. They throbbed with the movement of a liquid travelling through them, giving an eerie pulse.

Right. Let's have a look-see, shall we?

Ryan walked hesitantly to the closest container. The comparison to a typical hot tub, the sort he'd bought for Bun but spent the most time in, was undeniable. It was a little over waist height, inflatable and, as he drew closer, filled with water. All it needed was some water jets to complete the visual. No. It wasn't water. Water was clear. Water was... watery.