I open my eyes. I look around and at first I believe I am surrounded in darkness, with nothing but black meeting my eyes. Then my vision focuses. I can see the corners where the ceiling and walls meet, as well as strange objects hanging from the ceiling. I don't know what these objects are or what their purposes are, but it doesn't matter. I have a good view of the ceiling since I am lying on my back, but I can tell I'm not on the floor. I can't see the floor from the position I'm in, so I assume I'm on some sort of raised platform, like a table. I wonder how I know this. I think, try to remember how I would guess such a thing, what kind of prior knowledge would lead me to this conclusion, but nothing comes to mind. There are no memories. I try to remember more, how I got where I am and where this place is, but I remember nothing. Still, I am calm. It doesn't matter how I arrived or where I am or even why I'm here. Nothing matters.

I hear voices. They're strange and I can't understand what the words mean, but they grow louder so I know they are coming closer. Soon two figures who I assume are the owners of the voices come to stand on either side of me. They look nothing alike, one tall with green skin and the other with many more arms than his friend and skin the color of rust. The only similarity between them is the yellow and black uniform they both wear. I think that they must look so different because they come from different planets. I see my arms out of the corners of my eyes and realize I must also come from a different planet than either of them, since my silvery skin matches neither of theirs.

The two begin to speak to each other again. One of them says something to me but I don't understand it. I don't respond and he begins to speak louder. I know he wants me to react in some way but I don't know what he's saying so I remain silent. After a moment he stops speaking and hits me. My body reacts before I feel it, pulling me away from the source of the pain. I've never felt pain before and wonder if I am damaged, but I soon realize it's only a small injury. The two men lift me off the table and make me walk, leading me out of the room. The ground beneath my feet feels strange and I wonder if I've ever walked before. We stop in another room similar to the one I woke up in except this one has no table. They tie my hands to one of the things hanging from the ceiling and I find that in this position I can barely keep my feet on the ground. I try letting myself hang from my wrists but it hurts so I make the effort to touch the ground. While I'm experimenting with this the two in yellow leave the room.

I don't know how long I am alone in this room. After a while I feel tired from the effort of keeping my feet on the ground. Two more people enter the room. This time it's a man and a woman who look like they could be from the same species. I don't know how I know this, but it seems right. They both stand and stare for what seems like a long time. I give up keeping my feet on the ground and let myself hang from the chain in the ceiling. I can feel it cutting into my wrists but I don't care.

Finally, the man steps forward and speaks. His voice sounds different than the others, deeper and less harsh, but still I cannot understand what he says. He seems annoyed for a moment. The he holds up his hand and begins talking to it. I'm confused for a moment before I see the thin gold band on his finger; a ring. After a moment the man stops talking and holds his hand out toward me. I wonder what this means, when suddenly a voice begins to come from the ring. I can tell the ring is speaking in many different languages, but none of them make any sense to me.

The man becomes frustrated. He shouts at me and raises the same ringed hand, and I know he is about to hit me. My body braces for the impact before I have a chance to think, but the blow never comes. The woman has grabbed his arm and is speaking to him. He considers her words for a moment and seems to agree with whatever she said. He lowers his hand and storms out of the room. The woman's face changes slightly, the corners of her mouth pointing upward almost imperceptibly. She says something, and her voice sounds high-pitched and smooth, different from when she had spoken to the man before. I wonder what this might mean, but the thought is cut off by the man returning to the room. He is followed by the first two I had seen, still dressed in yellow, and I notice that they, as well as the woman, are all wearing rings like the one the man has.

They all talk for a while, and I notice that whenever they speak their rings seem to speak as well. I wonder if their rings are translating for them, but I am soon distracted by the pain in my wrists. I can see blood like liquid metal dripping down my arms from where the chain has cut into my skin. I try to support my weight with my feet again, but I am still tired from before and know I won't be able to hold it for long. The four seem to have finished their conversation, and the green one steps toward me, his mouth turning upward in the same expression the woman had had before. Light begins to flow from his ring and forms into a solid object in his hand. As I watch the light becomes a long stick, thicker at one end, with sharp spikes all over. Before I have a chance to wonder what this might be for, he swings the object low to the ground and hits my leg. Pain explodes in my mind and I hear a loud crack. My body reacts without my knowledge and I scream until I have no air left, but the pain is too much and I can't breathe again. The man hits me again in the other leg and I fall, hanging from my wrists, in too much pain to even think. The man raises the weapon for a third time and I feel something stir inside me; something terrible that I don't understand. Then the weapon hits me in the shoulder and the world goes black, my mind unable to take the pain anymore.