Karmic Romance
At first you think the strange-no, extraordinary-room you find youself waking up in is the result of a bad one-night stand. You were at the bar last night-three separate bars actually-but you really didn't remember drinking enough to cause a blackout or memory loss, assuming you actually did hook up with someone, go back to a very bizarre apartment, passed out, and then cannot remember this at all the next morning...assuming this IS morning. There aren't any windows in the room, though the silver walls all seem to faintly glow with phosphorescent light...dim light to be sure, but enough to see.
You awkwardly clamber up from the floor-which is smooth metal but not at all cold as one would expect, or even cool to the touch...it almost feels comfortably warm and soft to the touch. The futon and pillow you were resting on seem ordinary enough, even if they are only a shade or two darker in color than the silver walls (and ceiling, and floor) and the sound the fabric makes as it rustles is vaguely...metallic? This whole experiene is starting to unnerve you, but glancing about, there is no visible doorway, not exit from the room.
Looking down at yourself, you are simply dressed in socks, what appear to be athletic shorts, and a tight-fitting t-shirt. No other clothes are visible nearby.
Suddenly alert, you stand up completely and begin searching for any sign of another person, a piece of furniture, anything that might give you a sense of the ordinary. There are no corners to the room, the place is semi-oblong in shape, almost as if you were trapped inside a giant egg. At the farthest point from you, there is a faint golden outline, vaguely forming the shape of a doorway. Hoping for the best, you walk across and place your hand on the wall, detecting nothing that would suggest an opening, but still the outline is clearly that of a door-or at least an archway.
Suddenly the light in the center of the room becomes more intense. It is so bright you instinctively shield your eyes, but still find yourself blinking to clear the spots from your eyes. After a few seconds, you refocus and see two alien-looking objects have appeared in the middle of the oval. The first looks like a mannequin of some type, though sort of...uh, androgynous? Yes, that's the right word, not quite male or female in proportions. But it didn't look like plastic or wood, more like...flesh? But smoother and clearer than real skin.
The other object was a weird-looking stand of some kind, made of clear plastic or maybe even glass; the top of the stand is wide, flat, slightly angled upward, and covered with glowing symbols which seem to move about the screen slowly.
A sudden realization hits you: this situation is downright frightening and beyond your experience. And it is not a dream or a hallucination. Also: you should be far more frightened that you are; not that you're a coward, but this is just flat out scary. But as as your breath comes faster and heavier, you start to feel calmer. There's a taste in the air, one second sweet and the next medicinal.
So you are being drugged. That's why you're so calm. Well, calmer than you should be, at least.
A voice rings out, filling the room...even though it is barely above a whisper. It seems to come from everywhere at once.
"The evaporated elixer in the air you breath is for your benefit, mortal, as well as mine. Otherwise I could not expect you to remain lucid and rational during the experiment. Or trial. Or ordeal. Or possibly reward. Exactly how you respond and feel about what to occur is part of where my interest lies."
Despite whatever has drugged you, the voice-coming from everywhere and nowhere in the room-is enough to shock you. "What are you talking about? Where are you? Who are you? Please, what is this, where am I, and want do you want from me!" Your voice cracks with fear, and your tone is trembling, but despite this your heart and breathing remain even, and you have not given in to panic.
"I will reveal myself to you in a moment, in a form you can comprehend, at least so much as your senses will allow. However, first I must ascertain your particular traits before the experience I have planned for you can proceed. While I cannot actually read your mind-that would be as if you were trying to focus you eyesight on a single grain of rice-I can detect surface thoughts and desires."
"Yes, I see. I now understand how to shape the nature of this experiment-an experiment in your choices regarding romantic love, partnership, and mating. So, you are a..."
You awkwardly clamber up from the floor-which is smooth metal but not at all cold as one would expect, or even cool to the touch...it almost feels comfortably warm and soft to the touch. The futon and pillow you were resting on seem ordinary enough, even if they are only a shade or two darker in color than the silver walls (and ceiling, and floor) and the sound the fabric makes as it rustles is vaguely...metallic? This whole experiene is starting to unnerve you, but glancing about, there is no visible doorway, not exit from the room.
Looking down at yourself, you are simply dressed in socks, what appear to be athletic shorts, and a tight-fitting t-shirt. No other clothes are visible nearby.
Suddenly alert, you stand up completely and begin searching for any sign of another person, a piece of furniture, anything that might give you a sense of the ordinary. There are no corners to the room, the place is semi-oblong in shape, almost as if you were trapped inside a giant egg. At the farthest point from you, there is a faint golden outline, vaguely forming the shape of a doorway. Hoping for the best, you walk across and place your hand on the wall, detecting nothing that would suggest an opening, but still the outline is clearly that of a door-or at least an archway.
Suddenly the light in the center of the room becomes more intense. It is so bright you instinctively shield your eyes, but still find yourself blinking to clear the spots from your eyes. After a few seconds, you refocus and see two alien-looking objects have appeared in the middle of the oval. The first looks like a mannequin of some type, though sort of...uh, androgynous? Yes, that's the right word, not quite male or female in proportions. But it didn't look like plastic or wood, more like...flesh? But smoother and clearer than real skin.
The other object was a weird-looking stand of some kind, made of clear plastic or maybe even glass; the top of the stand is wide, flat, slightly angled upward, and covered with glowing symbols which seem to move about the screen slowly.
A sudden realization hits you: this situation is downright frightening and beyond your experience. And it is not a dream or a hallucination. Also: you should be far more frightened that you are; not that you're a coward, but this is just flat out scary. But as as your breath comes faster and heavier, you start to feel calmer. There's a taste in the air, one second sweet and the next medicinal.
So you are being drugged. That's why you're so calm. Well, calmer than you should be, at least.
A voice rings out, filling the room...even though it is barely above a whisper. It seems to come from everywhere at once.
"The evaporated elixer in the air you breath is for your benefit, mortal, as well as mine. Otherwise I could not expect you to remain lucid and rational during the experiment. Or trial. Or ordeal. Or possibly reward. Exactly how you respond and feel about what to occur is part of where my interest lies."
Despite whatever has drugged you, the voice-coming from everywhere and nowhere in the room-is enough to shock you. "What are you talking about? Where are you? Who are you? Please, what is this, where am I, and want do you want from me!" Your voice cracks with fear, and your tone is trembling, but despite this your heart and breathing remain even, and you have not given in to panic.
"I will reveal myself to you in a moment, in a form you can comprehend, at least so much as your senses will allow. However, first I must ascertain your particular traits before the experience I have planned for you can proceed. While I cannot actually read your mind-that would be as if you were trying to focus you eyesight on a single grain of rice-I can detect surface thoughts and desires."
"Yes, I see. I now understand how to shape the nature of this experiment-an experiment in your choices regarding romantic love, partnership, and mating. So, you are a..."