Mad World Existence - 3. Chapter 3

Troy awoke with a gasp, and instantly felt nauseous, suddenly remembering the events that had brought him to this austere room, filled with beeping machines bent on keeping him alive and breathing, s he consciously fought to counteract their intent. It was then that he noticed that the room was dark, the curtains drawn across the window keeping out the sun, for which he was glad as the sun reminded him of being burnt and having to deal with the pain in his life, thus he loved sitting in the darkness as it gave him peace.

The moment he thought about peace was the instant that the ‘observer’ decided to return to continue his study of the individual it found so fascinating. Troy didn’t even notice as the figure sat down in the visitor’s chair next to his bed, despite the fact that it was staring right at him, he felt nothing and returned to his ‘peaceful’ slumber, the only respite from the pain and suffering that filled his life.

The dark figure decided that perhaps it had the perfect individual to complete the sociological research he had been conducting on this race. It was logical that he pursue this avenue of research using mainly observation to complete his compendium on humanity. He began with the basics, physical examination (easily accomplished as it simply remote accessed the intranet that the hospital used and examined the medical files contained on the doctor’s computer; although it did conclude that the physicians on this planet left a lot to be desired in terms of precise diagnosis and paperwork). The next stage involved a psychological evaluation, which it decided wasn’t necessary at this point in time, as he had observed the young human’s attempted suicide and had already accessed a wide range of materials from human scholars and his own files on depression, despair and the impacts on the individual. The third stage involved interviews with the subject; however, in this case such an attempt would likely result in failure as the individual had repeatedly shown that he wasn’t responsive to outside help, which off course added to the interesting aspects that this specimen had displayed.

It faded from the room and returned to its research with a single thought and mused about a possible comparison between this species and its own as a final addition to the report. It decided that in order to complete or even attempt such a comparison he would need a live human subject, preferably the one it had already indentified as well as a specimen of his own race, which it decided could be itself. The only issue it decided would be one of objectivity, something it rarely had a problem with, as its race was rather ‘straight-forward’ as humans labeled it; however, it did consider the fact that its noted absence from the home world and its decision to live relatively close to its research subjects could be twisted by its opponents to construe something that wasn’t truth. This was one particular aspect at which humans and its race, the Atari, were both adept at incorporating, with relative ease, into their respective political systems.

It decided that perhaps the most logical way of proceeding was to reveal its true nature to the specimen he had located and take the young humanoid with it back to Ataria for its presentation before the council. It knew that before such a thing was possible it would have to explain a great deal to the young humanoid as there were vast differences between the races; physical appearance, mental function and social practices differed greatly and would therefore have to be explained in detail for the human to even have limited contact with members of its race.

Its decision made, it folded what humans called space and time (such basic theories that didn’t even grasp the truth of what could be achieved) and appeared it the hospital room, just as the moon’s light the glass and created an almost ethereal glow in the room. It appreciated the fact humans would consider this moment beautiful and then returned back to its original purpose; introducing itself to the young humanoid without causing too much harm, it acknowledged the fact that some harm would likely occur especially if the human resisted. It decided to change its appearance to resemble something that was halfway between a human and an Atari in order to allow the human to adjust.

Troy woke as he felt something touch his arm, looking up he saw someone standing in the shadows in such a manner that he couldn’t make out their appearance, despite the soft glow of the moonlight. He strained his eyes and reached over to press the power button for the lamp, but a voice unlike any other he had ever heard stopped him in his tracks. The voice itself seemed oddly out of place, a mixture of feminine and masculine tones intertwined together to produce a sound that was seemingly pleasing to the ear, but unbeknownst to him also triggered a hormonal response resulting in a calmer human.

He heard the voice say;

It is appropriate that you should be awake for this young one…..I have been observing you for some time now and have decided that my research would be enriched by a detailed analysis of you and a comparison with my race; however, your willingness to cooperate in this endeavor would be logical, and should you choose to resist, I must inform you that I can remove the information I need through force. What is your choice human?

Troy quivered as the ‘person’ emerged from the shadows and he realized that this thing standing before him had nothing in common with what he would call a person, its entire form rippled as though it was affected by some unseen wind, revealing black tendrils that extended from it and seemed to block out the light wherever it moved, even the glow from its eyes seemed to be absorbed by the surrounding area. At that point his throat clenched and he found that he couldn’t talk, his fear preventing him from responding and a single tear slide down his cheek, as he surrendered to the possibility that he was hallucinating and so he closed his eyes, hoping the figure standing by his beside would be gone and he could return to his despair, at least that was something familiar and something that he could solve, as long as another attempt wouldn’t fail. He opened his eyes and found that the figure appeared to be closer than before, and he decided that if these were to be his last moments then he might as well try to respond. He swallowed tightly and before he could utter a word he found himself lying in a room that could be described as being distinctly metallic, he tried to cry out but he heard a voice say, “you made your choice young one, I didn’t need to hear it out loud”.

He managed to gasp out a single phrase; “who are you and what do you want from me?”

The being stared right at him as though it could right through him and was judging whether or not he was worthy of further communication and then he noticed something in its eyes, something that reassured him that everything would be fine as long as he cooperated. The being turned and motioned towards him, possibly an indication for him to follow it and so he passed though the archway the being had passed through momentarily and found himself in what appeared to a laboratory specifically designed to inspire awe and fear, the metallic instruments hanging from simple hook-like claws that stretched out from the walls, as though they themselves were intent on tearing into his flesh and ripping his organs out.

The being gave him a look that seemed to border on amusement and downright apathy; however the manner in which it was delivered suggested something different, something that he had never seen before. He followed it into an area that contained a single, brown chair that appeared to be made from wood, but when he sat down it felt as though he was sitting on rock. The being stood before him and shed the disguise it had been wearing, marking the look of shock that passed over the human’s face.

Troy stared in shock at the glowing black form before him and felt a darkness passing over his eyes, which he recognized as the familiar embrace of unconsciousness, when he heard a voice in his mind;

“all will be well, young one….I have revealed myself to you so that you can understand my purpose here on your world”

The calming effect of the voice pulled back the darkness that threatened to overcome him and he resigned himself to listen to what the being had to say…

“I have been on your world for two hundred of your years, watching and compiling data on your people. I was sent here to observe your evolution and report to the council the progress that your race has made since our race discovered the existence of your world. Along with making a report to the council, an organization created after our race fled our original home world, I have been observing the social structure of humans and the way that your race interacts with one another and I have decided to present my findings to my fellow researchers back on Ataria, which is our new home world, in case you were wondering.”

“I shall begin your education with a summary of how our race came to be in the position it currently occupies within this galaxy.”

Troy simply nodded, not really having anywhere better to be at this point…

“Our race was once similar to humanity to a small extent; we also wrought destruction without taking into consideration the consequences that our actions would have on the planet we inhabited. Eventually this disregard caused the atmosphere to become toxic, resulting in our race abandoning the planet and searching for another that would sustain us. The Atari learned a valuable lesson during that time, one that has dictated much of our interaction with the rest of the galaxy and with other races for quite some time now. This lesson was one which showed us that every action, no matter how minute had an impact that could be colossal and disastrous.”

“Thus, when a scout vessel indentified a world that was similar to our own in a remote section of the galaxy with no know habitable worlds nearby, we set out immediately to gauge the suitability of this world for our own race. Upon arrival, some one hundred of your years later, we discovered that the small numbers of primitive mammals had grown in proportion and where forming societies in cooperation with one another. Despite the fact that your race was primitive in comparison to our own, the council decided that it would be far more fulfilling and logical to observe your race evolving. It was during one of these observation stints that we discovered that another race had been watching yours, one we came to know as the E’linsr. We discovered that they had been monitoring your races evolution and advancement as part of an agreement with several other races in order to study the rise of a race and their progress towards technological ascension, as it is referred to. The council forged an agreement with the E’linsr that in exchange for a suitable world, our race would watch over yours until such a time that you were capable of interaction with other races on your own terms.”

“Thus, we have watched your race for thousands of years, watching your societies reaching a technological peak and then regress back into an agrarian society, with religions based on superstition and the unknown. My own research time frame is nearing an end and thus I decided to complete a comparative study between humanity and the Atari, simply as a point of reference, and I have decided to use you as that frame of reference. You will be the one to provide me with the information that I need in order to complete my report to the council as well as my own research.”

Why should I help you?

“I picked you specifically because you had nothing left that bound you to this world; your willingness to commit suicide seemed to be a fairly reliable indicator of this.”

I suppose I could give you what you want….

“I will achieve my goals with or without your cooperation, as failure isn’t an option for me; however, your cooperation will make the process easier on you…”

Troy watched as the being attached, what appeared to be a small, metallic, button – sized object to his temple and muttered something, resulting in the device activating. He felt a slow pain creeping into his head from the device and suddenly wished he could take it off, but as he attempted to remove the device from the side of his head, he found that he couldn’t move his arms or legs. At that point the pain intensified and he felt as though something was burrowing itself into his head, without any consideration for the pain which he felt. He managed to focus on the being standing in the corner and noticed its complete apathy for his pain, and while attempting to filter out the pain, he wondered if this was some sick joke someone was running on him….the pain intensified a hundred fold and he screamed in pain, smelling something like burning flesh as the darkness took him.

When he awoke from the darkness that had saved him from the pain that the mysterious being had decided to inflict on him, he found that he was back in his hospital bed and he wondered if he had ever left or if it was just a nightmare. He decided it was the later, as he had been suffering from these for quite some time now and he usually woke in a sweat and crying from the horrors that chased him.

The nightmare was soon forgotten as he reminisced about his favourite dream in which he was always running alongside a cliff-face and then along a dirt path that led right to the edge. With a burst of speed he would run right of the edge and while falling he would close his eyes. It was at that point that he felt as though everything would be fine and all his troubles would simply melt away. He would always see his own body hit the boulders below, where the ocean met the Cliffside and he would watch his body be taken out to sea, claimed by the forces of nature. It was these dreams that gave him comfort as a child and he hoped that he would once again experience that kind of peace as his eyes closed in exhaustion, the only sound being the drip of the morphine from the IV.

The being simply watched, noting the fact that the human known as Troy had simply dismissed all that happened, associating it with something to do with the drugs he was being forced to take. It took comfort in the fact that the illusion hadn’t left any lasting damage at this stage – it smiled, at least as close as it could muster and faded out of existence, deciding that perhaps it might visit once again to monitor this human’s progress. It was particularly pleased with itself for the story it had created in a mere second about aliens that protected earth, the reality off course being far different.