Vitality [Teaser]

Chapter 4: A Check-up

A few hours past and Nikos finally woke up. He was in a different room than before, and his mother was no longer with him. The walls were gray and were full of cracks just like the floor and ceiling. He then looked up and stared at a hanging lightbulb that swayed left and right. He rubbed his left cheek where the needle landed as he continued to look around the room. His eyes then stopped on a medical tray table. All kinds of tools laid there, but Nikos ignored all of them. Instead, he stared at a white ball with a perfect green circle in the middle. He then shut his right eye and continued to stare through his left. His vision was no longer blurry.

"Oh, you're awake now." The doctor said.

Nikos turned around and looked at her in silence.

"You're lucky, you know? They could have killed you with an electric shock at any point in time." She said.

"Where's my mom and who are you?" Nikos asked sternly.

"Calm down, Nikos." She said in Spanish.

"I should have introduced myself back at the hospital. I'm sorry. My name is Dr. Valentina Ana Gonzalez, but you can call me Dr. Ana. As for your mother, she went back to the factory after your eye surgery."

"Eye surgery? Why did I need eye surgery?"

"When you went to Sector 8, they placed a brainwave reader through your eye, right?" Dr. Ana asked.

"Yeah... Were they tracking me? Uh, that's fine though if they were tracking me. They have the right to-" He said until Dr. Ana cut him off.

"You don't have to lie. I know very well who you and your mother are."

"So, you know that... We're..."

"Yes, I know that you're Advors. And now you know that I am an Advor as well." Dr. Ana said with a smile.

"I thought we were the only ones hiding here," Nikos said.

"Oh, no, no. Many of you live here waiting for the other Advors to come."

Nikos looked over at his eye once more and saw a small green chip blinking red lying next to it.

"So, they were tracking me, huh?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Yeah, but that's about all they were doing." She added. "They weren't even reading any of your brainwaves. The only thing that chip can do is track your every move and fry your brain with the flip of a switch."

"They don't have the technology to create a device that can monitor and decipher brainwaves?" Nikos asked.

"Oh, they most definitely do which makes this situation even stranger. Most people who receive these chips tend to be very unfortunate. The Resinix can create chips that can gain access to your eyesight and hearing. Those people become walking cameras to them even though those people may not be aware." She said.

"So, they weren't doing that to me? Why?"

"I don't know. It could be because you only went to Sector 8 for a day or maybe it's because they didn't feel like they had to. They could be saving the other chips for people who go into Sector 9 or 10. They may even truly trust you. I can't say for sure." She said.

Dr. Ana took off her white lab coat and placed it on a hanger on the wall. She then put on her gloves once again as well as her glasses. Dr. Ana walked up to Nikos and lowered his seat while turning on her gloves. The doctor moved it up and down his face while she looked at a monitor in the back.

"Everything seems to be fine with your new eye." She said.

"Is it robotic or something?" He asked.