"This feels weird." I said as the nurse hooked up yet another lead to my body. I was lying on my back in a pool of highly salinated water. I felt like Neo when he had just emerged from the Matrix, only in reverse. They were attaching wires TO me, instead of me breaking free.

I thought back to the few days before today.

"This therapy is highly experimental, and there is no guarantee of success" Doctor Whismer had said to my family. My mom and dad had made a special trip to the hospital, just to see me and Doctor Whismer at the same time. I felt special that day, because even my parents had been finding more and more reasons to be unavailable during visiting hours.

"But..." My father began.

"But... all our other patients have been showing very promising signs of remission. We've been able to reach an 80% suppression rate for their immune response. " Doctor Whismer gave another one of his disturbingly cheerful smiles. I swear, his teeth were so clean and white, they would distract me when he spoke. I often asked him to repeat what he had just said. I think he believed I was quite dull.

"Basically, we shut the body down, almost completely. No stimulus. No contact with the outside world. He will be sealed in an enclosed, carefully monitored environment while we turn off his immune system. No outside infectious agents, no chance of harm. But, Aegis, you will not be sedated. Instead we have created a state of the art virtual environment which will be tied directly to your brain. It will be designed to help you adapt mentally to your stasis. "

"But, how will I eat, and ... you know" I looked down towards my legs.

Doctor Whismer gave me another disarming smile. "Don't you worry young Aegis. We'll take care of everything." He patted my leg reassuringly.

"Is this - virtual world - " I began. "Is it some commercial game? Might I have played it before?"

Doctor Whismer stroked his goatee as he looked down at his phone. He chuckled lightly.

"I am sure you've not experienced anything like this, son. We've spent top dollar on the latest technology. "

My dad smiled. He knew what it was like to spend extravagantly to get results. My mother just nodded and pretended that she understood everything.

I knew she understood nothing. She just wanted a way out. A way to be unburdened by her sick child.

"How long will I be ... under?" I asked. Inwardly a small spark of hope had glimmered. To be alive, to not feel like your life was draining away, like grains of precious sand from a broken hourglass.

"Well son, in an odd way not only will your disease slow down, you won't age as fast either. This technology we are building is really being earmarked for eventual space travel. Imagine placing whole families in stasis for decades and waking up only feeling a few hours older!" He waved his hands dramatically like a carnival showman.

My mom and dad were convinced.

And so, there I was, getting hooked up to my POD. There were other PODs in the lab. Other people like me, I guess.

It was eerily reassuring to look over and see men and women in lab coats and clipboards. Touching panels, checking glucose levels. The faces in the pods were obscured by masks. Feeding air, nutrients, and light to bodies curled up in fetal positions.

I was going to join them in their journey.

I felt vaguely like one of those astronauts the Doctor kept going on about. I could not have a "real" life any more. I couldn't run on the field, score a goal, hear the crowd cheer as we overcame the visiting team, but I could do this.

Perhaps I would die. But I was going to die anyway. At least perhaps I might advance their research in some way. And who knows? Maybe someday I might emerge from this POD with a cure.

The water was perfectly balanced to my body temperature. Outside of the odd pulling sensation of the leads all over my body, I felt like I was floating in space, instead of water.

A face came close to mine - blocking the soft light from above.

It was a woman. One of the technicians.

"Hello Aegis. My name is Martha. I am your lead technician. I will be here with you for the duration of your stay."

She smiled. Her eyes were kind.

I liked her.

"Are you comfortable? Any pain?" she asked lightly.

I already had a mouthpiece over my lips. I shook my head slightly, causing ripples in the thick salt water.

"Very good! The transition is a little ... jarring. So don't be too stressed. Remember, it's just a simulation. You will always be perfectly safe. We'll be monitoring you from those computers outside your POD. I think you're going to like what we've come up with for you. It's a space adventure. You'll be the captain of a star-ship that travels the galaxy and explores endless planets. I've heard it's quite thrilling." Her eyes danced.

I nodded.

This program was designed for future astronauts, so naturally they had created simulations for space, and focused on exploration. I had chosen the most adventuresome of the selections. But secretly, I had wished for a fantasy setting. I felt more comfortable with a sword in my hand, over a blaster. Heck, it wasn't even a game. There were no scores, no monsters, no levels. Just planetary surveys and atmospheric evaluations. I secretly hoped I didn't die of boredom, instead of this disease.

Technician Martha tapped a syringe and injected it into one of the bags feeding fluids to my body. "Well Aegis. This is it! Have a great trip!"

Already growing sleepy, I gave her a weak thumbs up.

As my eyes fluttered closed, the world began to drift away. Voices grew more distant. All was peaceful.

Then. A flash. It was like a thousand car headlights turned on toward me all at once, then blinked off. I jerked involuntarily.

In the distance, I could hear alarms going off. People were shouting.

But it was far away from me.

Nothing to worry about. I said to my weary self.

Another flash. This time not just white like, but with colors. Words and sounds. Hot and cold.

Far, far away, I could hear Martha's voice.

"Doctor Whismer! Come here immediately. Something is happening! His adrenal response is off the charts! We can't abort! The system is not respon - "

Flash!

Boom!

Explosions filled my ears.

Lightning, thunder.

How could that be?

My eyes clicked open. I could see a sky roiling with gray clouds. Rain was coming down. Hard.

Rain?

I felt very odd. I could not move. It was like I was encased in concrete.

Only my eyes could see.

BOOM!

Another flash of lighting and thunder.

In the brief light I caught the outline of ... something.

I heard the sounds of footsteps walking toward me. Squishing in the rain, and somehow rocky, like gravel.

A hooded figure stood over me. I was paralyzed.

Fear tore at me from within.

There was no face in the hood, only two glowing red eyes piercing the darkness.

"Your father cannot save you now, abomination." The voice was dead - flat and cold.

I could not move. Not even my eyes. I stared helplessly at the sky as the rain poured down on my face. The water blurred my vision.

The hooded figure moved. I heard the sound of rocks moving around.

The figure loomed over me. In it's right hand it held ... an arm?

It looked like the arm from a mannequin. It was whole- up to the shoulder socket. Small wires and gears protruded from the end of the shoulder. It was sparking slightly.

The figure regarded the arm for a moment. Holding it like a weapon.

"Blasphemy. Dark magic. ... Abomination!"

With the last word, the hooded figure swung the dismembered arm down at my face with all its strength.

BOOM!

Flash!

The world went dark.