The guard in his white uniform marches behind me, his boots clicking rhythmically against the spotless tile floor. The long hallway seems to be made of a chrome-like metal, and handleless doors line the walls. I've been walking for a while. I know nothing about this place, and I don't even know why I'm here. The appearance of the inside of the facility scares me even more.
Suddenly, the clicks behind me fall silent. "Stop." The guard's voice is sharp and metallic, commanding. I freeze in my tracks. To my right, a door smoothly slides open with the press of a button from the guard. "Proceed."
I enter tentatively. Immediately, the door closes behind me, leaving the guard in the hallway. I turn back to the room in front of me, and the breath leaves my body, filling me with wonder.
Dominating the center of the huge room is a large glass cylinder, with tubes protruding from both the top and bottom of it. Beside the cylinder is a chrome panel full of buttons, knobs, and flashing displays. It looks like something out of a movie. Lining the walls are giant TV screens, all flashing meaningless codes and number sequences. But definitely the one thing that catches my eye the most about the scene is the young man leaning against the cylinder.
He's tall, brunette, and even from a distance, his eyes are blue and striking. Cute, no doubt, but then I quickly remind myself that this guy could possibly kill me.
"Hello," he says, and his voice is as smooth as velvet. "I've been expecting you, dear. Come, come. Have a seat." He gestures to two armchairs to the right of the cylinder, near the smallest TV monitor. I walk slowly over to where he indicates and pause before I sit down in the armchair across from the man.
He gazes absentmindedly away from me as I wait for him to say something. Then, his eyes lock on me.
"So. Jessica Anderson." When he says my name, it sounds foreign. "So glad you could come down to my facility for this…experiment."
I stare at him. Why won't he just get to the point so I can go home?
"You're seventeen years old, attending Beldingtown High School, and your favorite sport is soccer."
"I know who I am."
He glares at me, as if I had interrupted an important speech. "I can see you're a rather impatient girl as well. Therefore, I'll get to the point."
"Do you see this machine, Jessica?"
"Why wouldn't I? It's in the middle of the room,"
He rolls his eyes. "Testy, aren't we? Do you want me to explain what it does, or do you want to go into it, blind to what I will do to you?"
I blush. "Explain it, please."
"Very well. This invention," he begins, "is the most high-tech machine made by the G.L.E.E. to date. It will turn you," he says with an excited note in his voice, "into the exact super-soldier that the Starship Rangers need."
"The G.L.E.E.?"
"Yep! Isn't this exciting! We analyzed all the high schoolers, and your personality tests seemed to match the best. All you have to do is step into the machine, and I press a few buttons, and your strength, brainpower, intuition, and agility will increase by nearly 375%!"
I am astounded. "Seriously?"
He nods enthusiastically. "Uh-huh! Well, what are you waiting for?"
He pulls back a small handle, and the cylinder opens. I step inside, still a bit skeptical, but more calm about the situation. The man, whose name he still has not revealed, closes the opening. He stands straight up, hands at his sides, as if indicating for me to do the same. I do.
He gives the "thumbs-up" sign. I return it.
Striding over to the control panel, he enters a few commands, then punches a big, red button. Instantly, the cylinder fills with white-hot light, flashes of color, and emits loud whirring noises. I squeeze my eyes shut and scream in fright as the sensations grow more intense. I feel my body tense up and my muscles contract into something that doesn't even feel human. My skin grows tighter on my face, then feels extremely cold. My knees involuntarily lock, my elbows bend, and my shoulders shift robotically.
Robot.
In an instant, as suddenly as they started, the flashes and sounds stop. The opening in the cylinder appears again, and I see the man's figure standing in front of me, smiling a mile-wide grin. And then I say, without control over myself, as if it were pre-programmed into my brain, in a voice that's harsh and mechanical and not my own:
"Please state a command for me to service you."