Stuart was woken by the sound of a vacuum cleaner powering up by the side of his bed. He tried to reach over to switch it off but his hands were tied to the head rest and his feet were strapped to the mattress. He tried to shout out to the guard outside his room but a hand was placed over his mouth to stop him. He looked up to see a beautiful Asian woman putting her finger to her lips and quietly telling him to shush. She removed her hand from his mouth. He made no further effort to shout out. He was entranced by her beauty. She peeled back the blankets down to his waist revealing his naked body. She took hold of the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner and touched it to the bare skin on his side where he had received the injection the day before. “We can’t let you take that with you,” she whispered. He felt the nozzle pull on his skin. The noise of the vacuum cleaner grew louder as the suction against his skin grew stronger. He felt a tearing sensation in his side and the pain intensified as the vacuum pulled at his internal organs. He looked down at his waist and could see his stomach getting thinner. The noise of the vacuum cleaner changed from a low rumbling whirr to a high-pitched whine. The Asian woman began to laugh hysterically as Stuart’s stomach reduced in girth to an impossibly small size. The pain was excruciating. Stuart screamed out in agony as he banged the headboard against the wall with his tied hands, trying to free them. The banging grew louder until suddenly, he sat bolt upright in his bed, woken by the noise of someone banging on his door. “Are you ok Mr Milton?” a voice from outside asked. Stuart took a few seconds to compose himself, “I’m ok,” he shouted, “it was just a bad dream.” He was fully dressed and had been sleeping on top of the covers. He looked at his watch. It was six-thirty in the morning. He had no idea how long he had been asleep but was surprised he had slept at all. He lay back on the bed letting his heart rate return to normal. He could hear the birds singing outside as a new day began. He considered what this day would have in store for him and whether it might be his last.
After a quick shower Stuart threw on some clothes and headed outside. He was greeted at the door by one of the security service agents that had spent the night guarding the entrance to his room. He asked the agent if it would be ok for him to take a walk around the grounds to get some fresh air but was advised this was not a good idea. The agent informed him breakfast was being served in the refectory so they headed there instead. As they approached the hall Stuart noticed two guards now flanked the doors. It came as no surprise that security had been beefed up on the entrance to the main building, but he did not expect the transformation he observed as he walked into the refectory. The dining tables had been removed from one half of the room and replaced by desks adorned with computers and associated equipment. Each desk was occupied by a person wearing a headset, fifteen of them in total. Six huge video screens were fixed to the walls in front of the desks. The room was awash with the sound of chatter and the tapping of keyboards. The other side of the room was still furnished with dining tables. Stuart spotted Terry and the professor sat at one of them. He walked over to join them bidding them good morning. The two men stood up to greet him with a return good morning and a handshake. The professor seemed particularly excited to see Stuart. “Here he is, the man of the hour,” he bawled out, drawing attention from around the room. He gestured for Stuart to join them, which he did. Terry asked him if he would like some breakfast but Stuart declined settling for a cup of black coffee. Formalities out of the way the professor got straight to the point. He informed Stuart they had set the time for the transfer protocol to begin at four o’clock that afternoon. Stuart’s stomach churned at the very mention of this. The professor ran through the plan outlining the timing for each stage. He advised that the team would be spending most of the day running tests and calibrations prior to the final initiation. Stuart would be called to the lab around three-thirty but Dr Cooper would join him before to prepare him for the transfer. Stuart began to feel a little light-headed and his vision seemed to blur. Terry noticed he was struggling and advised him to reconsider breakfast. The professor agreed this would be wise and refrained from issuing any further information until Stuart had eaten. Stuart managed to force down a bacon sandwich and swapped the coffee for a glass of orange juice. He asked again if he could get some fresh air. This time Terry capitulated, offering to accompany him personally.
They were outside for about twenty minutes. The grounds were empty, despite the nature of what was being carried out within the confines of the college. Terry advised Stuart not to be fooled by the apparent lack of activity outside, revealing to him that they were in fact being observed from every conceivable angle. For the first ten minutes, very little was said between them until Terry initiated a conversation. “Do you remember what you asked me the other day, Stuart?” he said. “About what I make of everything going on here?”
“Yes, of course,” Stuart replied. “You said you tried not to think about it and that you concentrate on looking after the people under your care.”
“Yes, that is what I said at the time, but it was a bit of a lie,” he admitted. “In all honesty I’ve spent many an hour considering the implications of the technology the professor and his team are developing. I know how huge today’s events are going to be for humankind, and I realise at some stage, good or bad, it will affect every single person on the planet. That includes those nearest and dearest to me.” Terry looked down at his feet noticing his shoelace was undone. He bent down to tie it, continuing to talk as he did. “Now I can’t say if those effects are going to be positive or negative, but I can prepare to deal with them, whatever the outcome, to the best of my ability.” He stood up again. Placing his hand on Stuart’s shoulder as he commenced the walk. “My point is Stuart, you can’t plan for what will happen if the machine fails, because we have no idea what that will lead to. You do know what the outcome will be if it succeeds though. You will be back with the people you love and they are going to need your strength. So, as hard as it might be, my advice to you is to put all other thoughts aside and focus on getting back to the people that need you the most.”
Stuart fell silent for a moment before replying. “Thanks, Terry,” he offered. “You’re absolutely right of course. This whole transfer business scares the shit out of me but prospect of never seeing my wife again scares me a whole lot more.”
“Ah, you’ll be fine Stuart. The professor may seem as mad as a box of frogs but he knows what he’s doing.” He winked at Stuart and patted him on the back. “Come on, let’s head back in and get on with it.”
By the time they got back to the refectory the professor had been joined by Dave and Catherine. He went over the plans for the day ahead with all present, outlining everyone’s role. Catherine and Dave were really only there to support Stuart. Terry introduced them to two agents that would escort them to the lab. He advised that if anyone else other than himself or these agents offered to take them, they should decline and contact him immediately. He also advised them that between the hours of three and four they would hear a loud explosion. He explained this would be controlled and was nothing they needed to worry about as it would be well away from their location. Finally he asked them to get anything they needed from the accommodation block and bring it over to the refectory. They would be spending the rest of the day in the main building until such time it was deemed safe for them to leave.