The Genesis Machine

Chapter 2

I sank back onto the metal cot, staring numbly down at my naked legs and hearing my heart thudding in my chest. I had no idea what was going on, nor what to make of the words the orb had spoken. The confusion and fear was exhausting and despite having just woken up from gods knew how long, I felt the beginnings of weariness take hold of my limbs and mind.

Who was I? I still had no memories before waking up, nothing to tell me who I was or why I was here. The blankness was unnerving and I forced myself to stand up and start pacing the room, steering my thoughts away from the strange emptiness of before. I couldn't understand what was happening, and I couldn't control what had happened to me, but I could control what I would do from now on.

This decision had just begun to solidify in my mind when movement out of the corner of my eye made me turn to look. The sphere was back, hovering through that strange doorway along an unnervingly straight path. The strange object slid past me, stopping above the little table. The bottom of it rippled like silver water and an egg shaped object floated out of it and landed on the table.

"Um, what is that?" I asked the sphere, unsure of what it was doing.

I got no response from the metal orb. It turned weirdly, the blue light on the front of it moving bizarrely across its shiny surface until it faced the cot. Without a word it hovered over to the cot and deposited a roll of cloth on the cot, then moved back to the center of the room where it seemed to contemplate me for a moment before speaking in its harsh robotic monotone. "Eat. The food is nutritious; it contains everything you need to function. Then dress; the clothes are warm, well insulated and able to wick moisture away from your body while protecting you from sun and wind." Without another word it turned and left the room, sealing the opening behind it.

I turned to look at the egg shaped object sitting on the table, wondering how it was supposed to be food. It was about the size of my fist, completely smooth, sterile and white. As I approached the table, however, the surface changed, moving like liquid and then unfolding like the petals of a strange flower until it became a small tray with a bowl of some gray paste and a colorless patty resembling some sort of meat. A small mug continued to fold out of the tray, expanding and then opening to reveal it was full of clear water.

My stomach growled and I sat down, inspecting the food with a skeptical eye before I picked up the patty and took a cautious bite. It was as flavorless and as it was colorless but I was too hungry to care. I wolfed it down and then took a drink of the water, discovering it had a faint chlorine flavor. The paste was next, just as tasteless as the patty, but again, I was too hungry to care. I scooped it out of the bowl with my fingers, then licked the remains out of the bowl, downed the rest of the water and then set everything back on the tray, which folded around the empty containers and reformed the original egg shape.

After my hunger was satiated I stood and turned back to the cot, picking up the clothes and examining the strange cloth: the fabric was smooth and seemed to have some sort of stiff coating on the outside. I pulled on the trousers then shrugged into the shirt and zipped up the front and finally glanced at my reflection in the mirror. The pale cloth made the unhealthy pallor of my skin appear less severe. As I was studying my appearance, the wall opened and the orb returned, its single eye-like light glowing brightly as it surveyed me.

"Excellent, Unit zero zero zero four." It stated in the same monotone as before. "I think it is time you met the others."

"I, er others?" I stammered, unsure of what that would involve. "There are others?"

The light on the orb dimmed momentarily, then lit up, brighter than before, causing me to cover my eyes with a cry of surprise and pain.

When I lowered my arms and glanced around the room I realized that wall with the cot and the wall that had previously been a mirror had become clear glass and that identical rooms stretched away in both directions, as far as I could see. On my left, only three of the rooms were inhabited. The rooms to my right were a different matter: Each room had a single man or woman inside, each with a metallic sphere of their own, each with matching expressions of shock as they stared at the people around them.