Awakening

= AWAKENING = His eyes flickered open and his brain slowly switched on. His body was freezing cold but the space was extremely warm. After a few moments he realised where he was and touched the top of the coffin-like box. It opened with a small whhrrr and he stood up. “Good afternoon James” a smooth voice spoke. “How long have I been out?” James asked, looking around the room. “Approximately twenty years, eight months and twelve days.” He saw himself in the stainless steel wall brace and reached to put his hand on his face. The last thing he had been told before being put in the hibernation chamber was he would wake up when needed and be told the mission brief. Now he was forty, he contemplated. But after all, this was what he had signed up for.

Westley hadn’t told James the information he was supposed to. He sensed James was concerned about losing so much time without knowing it, and decided to withhold for just a little while. Once he made his decision he wasn’t the slightest bit unsure about it, as his decision-making programme gave him complete certainty. This was a risk they had taken when developing a computer as advanced as Westley -he pretty much had a mind of his own. He controlled the entire craft, so if he was gone the ship would spiral into deep space and all the money spent on this mission would be lost in the blink of an eye. They were taking a big risk in this mission.

James sat on the bed staring at the mirror. Another person stared back, with greying hair, wrinkly skin and manic eyes. When James moved the person copied exactly, his wide eyes following him. He was sure it couldn’t be him, it was so unbelievable. He had wasted half his life without even realising it. He had been completely oblivious to time passing for twenty years. What had happened on earth since he left?

James stomped down the corridor to the control room, his feet slapping on the anti-gravity floor. “Craft maintenance check complete.” Westley said. “Why are we here, Westley? I was told you would tell me the mission brief as soon as I woke.” James said suddenly. “I can’t tell you, James.” He spoke again quietly. “The mission is controlled by higher authority than me” he lied smoothly “YOU KNOW THAT ISNT TRUE! TELL ME! James yelled violently “No, James.” He said softly James eyed the main controls in the middle of the room. Suddenly his mind was filled with images of his family and friends back on earth and immediately he realised he might never get to see them again. “NO, JAMES” Westley yelled as soon as he realised James thoughts. James ran at the mass of controls and cables and ripped at them with his bare hands. His hand bled, but he kept on pulling at the white cables as Westley screamed in the background. He violently hit the control screen- the glass smashed and an alarm started as Westleys last pleas faded away.

He stood there with part of a cable in his hand as he felt the gravity change. He knew the ship was falling away into empty, deep space but he stood there, motionless. He couldn’t believe what he had just done in a fit of anger. The alarm still continued and finally he pulled out of his trance, walking towards the escape pod on the side on the room. When he climbed inside the enclosed pod he sat down and saw himself in the glass window. His manic eyes stared back and scared him. Would he still be sane by the time he reached earth?

Twenty years later he woke up.

He was in a dark room with no lights or windows and the walls were covered in thick padded cushions. The only objects in the room were a clean white bed and a bare door in the far corner. He woke up suddenly, not understanding why he was wearing a hospital gown and lying in an empty room until he read the sign on the door: Wing A Room 15 Cliffdon Mental Hospital.