Waking Up

Prologue

Dr. James Sparrow sat in a small waiting room in the management wing of The Institution.

He knew exactly where he was going, and the likely hood of his return, and so he sat, quietly, nervous, but resigned. 

He watched his hand quiver before pressing it against his legs, flattening it out, dispersing the shaking.  He understood much too much about the situation, and began to think he should never have come to The Institution in the first place when the shrill voice of the secretary called out "Sparrow!  A Dr. James Sparrow, please!"

His hands shivered uncontrollably for a moment before he stretched them, smoothed out his beige slacks, took a deep breath through his nose, and stood.

Without saying a word he nodded to the secretary, confirming his identity, and followed her through a small doorway.

She didn't need to check if he was who he said he was,

no one would want to go where he was about to.

She led him down a single hallway, and through a door to the right, before holding it open for him and standing back. As he walked past she smiled at him, causing him to pause and attempt to return the favor, but only managing a slight smirk and a little watering of the eyes.

She nodded, understanding that he meant well, and closed the door behind him. 

In front of him sat a large desk, with a single chair on either side. 

This was where his sentence would be decided. 

He sat down at the desk, and a hologram appeared, nearly solid, but flickering under the bright lights.  "Hello Sparrow."  The hologram had a regal air about it, as though he could rule the world and have gained nothing, as though he had always ruled. 

"Hello sir."  Sparrow met the man's eyes, unflinching, and understanding of his fate.

"So, Sparrow, what brings you here to speak with me?  What sort of problem are we dealing with?"  He asked in a kind voice, but Sparrow wouldn't have been surprised if serpents learned their deceiving nature from this man instead, the way he could twist people into his work, it was sickening. 

"I think we need to be more careful with how many times we reset the project, sir."  The man sat silently, a cue to keep going. 

"I believe that if we were to reset her only when absolutely necessary from this point on, we could keep the termination date far away, far enough away to replicate her."  He sat quietly, while the man mulled this over in his mind, quietly contemplating Sparrow's fate. 

"Alright, I will lower the amount of resets allowed, but we can't let the project get too far on any one track, she may..."  He searched for the word, and Sparrow sat silently while he did, knowing better then to interrupt at this point, "...rebel."  Sparrow sat quietly for a moment, but his hands shook despite his silence.  The man watched them shiver before asking,

"Do you trust me to do what I have said, Sparrow?"  He smiled warmly at Sparrow, expecting a different answer than what Sparrow had in mind. 

"No sir."  He responded simply, a little surprised his incident had yet to be brought up.

"Good man."  He gave Sparrow a slight smile after his response, but rather than the warm, fake smile that he had given earlier, this one was real.  It was cold.