Project Nisia

“Stop!”

Aryton shot out of bed, falling roughly to the floor. He grasped desperately to rip something off his head which he had felt there moments before. His breathing slowed, and he felt nothing out of place as he traced the stubbled curves of his aging face. His eyes slowly scanned his surroundings, struggling to see objects clearly as though he was learning to see for the first time. His nerves settled, the blood rushing through him slowed, and all at once the world snapped into place around him.

He took a deep breath to calm himself and decided to give no more thought to whatever dream had thrown him out of his night’s rest. He needed to figure out where he was. He thought hard at his memories but found nothing. Aryton checked his body over for any signs of trauma but found none. Physically, he felt fine, which further heightened his confusion.

He recognized slowly the long rectangular room he was in. Not from a personal experience of having been there before but from common knowledge of the modern pioneer’s tool kit. He was in a clean-air habitation, one that signified to him it would be safe to exit without any breathing assistance. On one wall was a kitchen, on the other wall his bed, which, upon looking closer, appeared to be more like a glorified cot (a fact which his back thoroughly agreed with).

Windows continuously wrapped around the walls of the habitat with a break in one spot for the door. Splitting the cooking area from the living area was a table with a single chair. On top of the table, he noticed, or rather his stomach noticed, there was a steaming meal waiting for him. Above it was a tall, sweaty glass of orange juice and next to that was a note. He stared at it as though it were empty. His mind could not decipher anything but his name which was written upon it.

Aryton’s stomach grumbled angrily, forcing him to put aside the note. He quickly devoured the warm breakfast and drank the tall glass in a single gulp. Barely satiated, he lifted the note back up, this time recognizing the characters, but not the meaning. Metallically written on a firm piece of paper, the note read:

Godspeed, Aryton! Your contributions are valuable and greatly appreciated.

Best, The Mind Alterations and Time Adjustment Laboratory Team

He tossed the card lightly on the table, maybe it would make more sense to him later. No longer amused by the observations within the habitat. Aryton decided to explore outside. He went to look for a change of clothes and found the only clothes that were there were the ones he was wearing. He prepared his nerves, which seemed to creep back in, and made his way for the exit.

The door receded as he approached revealing a vast emptiness ready to greet him. The sky was large and clear, a deep blue that sat beautifully above a calm ocean that periodically brushed the rocky shore. In every direction, he was surrounded by water, a barren, flat plane moved only by the planet’s breath. He walked to the water’s edge and was slightly startled by a garbled look at his own reflection. Aryton smiled to himself with a happy thought: he was not alone, he had himself.

The island that he was on was of moderate size, he was able to trace the shore in a matter of a couple hours. It was rocky all the way across, minus the small habitat that he had emerged from which sat in the center. With nothing else to do, he turned around and decided to pace the island the other direction, kicking rocks as he went. Somewhere near the end of the second lap, a reflection caught his eye. Amongst the dark, sponge-like stones was a silver glow.

He reached in and picked it up, running his fingers across the top, he traced the sun’s reflection across the smooth surface. He tossed the metal a couple times in his hand to get a good feel of the weight before preparing to launch it deep into the ocean. He wound back, positioned his thumb comfortably around it, and felt a groove. He turned the metal over, and found a command scratched into the surface.

SURVIVE!

Aryton gasped, released his grip so that the stone slipped out of his fingers and back into the low waters in which he had found it. Frantically he looked around, expecting some impending danger to appear out of thin air. He saw nothing. With a racing heart, he sprinted back to the habitat and locked himself inside.

Once the pounding of his pumping blood settled, he noticed a nice aroma had filled the room. Sitting upon the stove was a meal, automatically warmed, delicious, and ready for him to eat. He removed it, giving no time for it to cool, and ate. He wanted to get back to observing out the windows as fast as he could.

The screening of the wasteland which surrounded him did not last long before he felt it was a futile effort. The setting sun carried by the waves laid a path before him. He exited the habitat and followed as far as he could. In the beauty, he forgot the startling event that had inspired so much fear. He sat down and let his mind wander as he watched the water and sky dance together in a luminescent battle to retain the sun’s warm, white light. In the end, the sky won and with that resolution he felt at peace.

Returning to the habitat he found a cup of tea waiting for him. He was beginning to enjoy how well the habitation provided for him. Tomorrow, he was determined to figure out how it was done. He drank the sweet berry tea, ensuring to take time to enjoy the faint aroma that emanated from the surface. By the time that he had finished the cup, he felt exhausted. Aryton walked slowly to his bed, eyes feeling heavier with each step, and collapsed into an immediate slumber on top of it.

* * *

“Wow! This guy just won’t kick it,” Rori said, entering the habitation.

“Seriously! MATAL’s definitely getting their money’s worth with ‘im,” Shard responded.

“Bit annoying really. He’s so far out of the way compared to the others.”

“Eh, I don’t mind.”

The two neural technicians moved slowly and without much determination, exactly as their wages paid. They stripped Aryton and clamped his limbs to the edges of the cot. They placed a cushioned brace around his neck and started attaching sets of electrodes across his body.

“Vitals are normal. Could use a bit more food it seems,” Rori said, poking at Aryton’s ribs. “I’ll log it.”

The two worked together to fasten a neural-probe cage around his head. The targeted analysis required direct contact to synapse connections through his eyes, ears, and nose, which had to be manually inserted. Once the alignment was correct, they initiated the analysis through their tablet, deploying a vast array of pico-probes from the walls of the cage which penetrated deep, yet precisely, into his brain.

The two huddled around the tablet which outputted his mental data. Aryton was above the compromised level in every category, which they had already assumed from previous experience. Typically, the mental degradation is the last to show. With the data fully gathered, Shard initiated mental clearing, which would restart him tomorrow with no memory of the previous day.

“You think the scientists really figured it out?” Rori asked, her mind excited with dreams of glory.

“Beats me.”

“How do you think he’s been able to hold on so much longer than the others? His mind has been wiped so many times”

Shard shrugged, apathetic to the results or their contributions. To him it was just a job.

“You think we’d get rich too?”

“It’s a nice thought, Rori,” Shard laughed.

“Oh well, let’s get out of here.”

The two removed the probes hastily and packed up their kit, starting the journey to their next subject which they were tasked with monitoring.

* * *

“Stop!”

Aryton shot out of bed, falling roughly to the floor. He grasped desperately to rip something off his head which he had felt there moments before…