Kane hated hospitals.
Even dressed up in corporate aesthetics, SubTech's waiting room couldn't completely mask that antiseptic smell that brought back memories of his mother's last days. He shifted in the ergonomic chair, attempting to find comfort in its modern curves, and focused instead on his coffee – premium stuff, nothing like the usual hospital fare. Through floor-to-ceiling windows, Denver's skyline caught the morning sun, an unusually warm spring day promising new beginnings.
╔═══ SUBTECH WELCOME ═══╗
〢 SubTech Industries 〢
〢 Building Tomorrow's Humanity 〢
〢 Project Phoenix - Authorized Personnel Only 〢
╚══════════════════╝
Below it, the corporate logo – a stylized phoenix rising from binary code – rotated slowly in the air, casting subtle patterns across the metallic walls.
Two others shared the waiting room with him – strangers who would become the closest thing to family he'd have in the future, though none of them knew that yet. The woman to his left, Dr. Aimee Lee according to her visitor badge, methodically folded and refolded a tissue. The man across from him, Issac Mercer, seemed fascinated by his smartwatch, tapping it incessantly.
"First time in a SubTech facility?" Kane asked, trying to break the tension.
Mercer looked up, his fingers finally still. "That obvious, huh? Yeah, I mean, I've read about their work in quantum computing, but this..." He gestured at the sleek surroundings. "Did you see the security screening? Those pattern scanners?"
Aimee smiled tightly. "The screening's nothing. Wait until you see what's in the lower levels. I did my postdoc here, before..." She trailed off, her hands returning to their nervous folding.
Before Kane could press further, the elevator chimed. Dr. Sarah Chen strode out, her dark hair pulled back in a neat bun, white lab coat immaculate. The tablet in her hands displayed their files as she made her final checks. A small pin on her lapel caught the light – the same phoenix logo, but with additional patterns that seemed to shift when viewed directly.
"Welcome to Project Phoenix," she said, her voice professional but warm. "I know you've all signed enough NDAs to paper a small country, but I want to emphasize again – what you're about to be part of will literally reshape human history."
▼═══ NEURAL MONITOR INJECTION ═══▼
〢 INITIALIZING QUANTUM PATTERNS 〢
〢 NEURAL SYNC ESTABLISHING 〢
〢 INTEGRATION: PERFECT 〢
▲═══════════════════════▲
The pinch was indeed slight, but the spot felt warm afterward, pulsing gently with Kane's heartbeat. As Dr. Chen checked the injection site with a small scanner, he caught glimpses of data scrolling across its surface – his name, followed by strings of code that seemed to shift and change even as he tried to read them.
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"Perfect integration," she said, but something in her expression suggested surprise. Kane had seen that look before – when test results came back unexpected but not necessarily wrong. "Everything looks good."
The morning proceeded according to plan. They changed into white medical gowns, completed final medical checks. In a private room, Kane said goodbye to his sister over a secured video call.
"You're sure about this?" Evie asked, her face serious on the screen. "Three months is a long time, Kane."
"It's good money," he replied, avoiding her eyes. "And it's important research. You saw the papers about SubTech's preservation breakthroughs."
"Yeah, and I saw the ones about their classified military contracts too." She sighed. "Just... come back, okay? I mean it."
"Promise." He managed a smile. "It's just a long nap, right? And when I wake up, maybe they'll have flying cars finally."
She didn't cry, and he loved her for that.
╔═══ PRESERVATION CHAMBER ACTIVE ═══╗
〢 ARIA SYSTEMS ONLINE 〢
〢 QUANTUM PATTERNS SYNCHRONIZED 〢
〢 PODS CALIBRATED AND NOMINAL 〢
╚══════════════════════════╝
That's when everything went wrong.
? ! ? EMERGENCY ALERT ? ! ?
【QUANTUM CONTAINMENT FAILING】
【BIOLOGICAL CONTAINMENT BREACH】
【MULTIPLE SECURITY FAILURES】
【EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS ENGAGED】
Red warning lights flooded the sterile white rooms, casting everything in a hellish crimson pulse. The ordered calm of the facility shattered as medical staff sprinted through the corridors, their lab coats billowing behind them like ghostly wings. The quantum patterns on the ceiling began to fracture, pieces of impossible geometry raining down like digital snow.
Through a wall of windows overlooking the lower labs, Kane saw something that his sedated mind couldn't process – shapes moving in the darkness, too many limbs flowing with terrible purpose. A researcher pressed against the glass, pounding desperately as something reached for him with hands that split and split again like horrible branches.
▓═══ PHOENIX PROTOCOL EMERGENCY ═══▓
〢 OVERRIDE PROTOCOLS ENGAGED 〢
〢 MAXIMUM PRESERVATION ACTIVE 〢
〢 PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: PROTECT 〢
▓═════════════════════▓
"The world you know is ending," Dr. Chen said softly, as something massive pounded against the reinforced doors, making the thick metal buckle inward with each thunderous impact. "But you'll have help when you wake. ARIA... she's more than she seems. Trust her. And Kane?" She pressed her hand against his pod's frosting glass.
"I'm sorry. We thought we had more time."
The last thing Kane saw before darkness took him was Dr. Chen turning to face the doors as they finally burst inward, glowing patterns blazing from her pin like digital fire as she faced whatever humanity had become.
The last normal day had ended.
The next one would take ninety-nine years to arrive.
And when it did, the monsters would be waiting.
- K.M.
Funny how a warm spring morning can feel like the perfect setup for the end of the world.