Part II: Future Tense
Chapter 10- Brave New World
August 31, 2132
"... Hey, over here, look! I found one!"
"... What... Whoa! This one's in one piece! Hey, when do you suppose this capsule is from?"
"Definitely before the Nanotech era. Based on the materials used to build it, I would say late 20th century, probably."
"What do we do with the girl inside this thing?"
"We wake her up, of course! How interesting it would be to talk to someone from the 20th century!"
Shermie could hear two men talking to each other inside her capsule. She opened her eyes and woke up, she was not very sure of her surroundings. At that point, all the memories came flooding back to her. She had been frozen, locked up in the capsule because she wanted to find a cure for her cursed Orochi blood! That was it! But, she was awake now... She was.. awake. That meant... Someone was trying to thaw her out! Did she make it? Have they found a treatment? Where was she? WHEN was she? She hoped they would hurry up and get her out of there, she had so many questions she wanted to ask.
The two men who had dug up Shermie's capsule continued to wait until the temperature was warm enough so that they could release her from the capsule. Even if she was one-hundred percent healthy, they knew that it would be a while before her body functions and speech returned to their normal levels. After about forty five minutes, the two men decided to unlock the capsule and let her out.
When Shermie was released from the capsule, she found that her mind was the only part of her that was working properly. She could barely stand up without the aid of the two men, and she could hardly move her mouth to utter any sounds. After a few more minutes, her eyesight began to return to normal levels. That was a start, Shermie thought to herself. She began to survey her surroundings. She remembered that she had been frozen in a laboratory, but this place didn't look like a lab at all. It looked more like an underground cave. Then it came to her: The lab is gone! It's been abandoned! Dr. Boskonovitch and his team must have shut down operations! But, how long ago was that? When is this?
The larger of the two men offered Shermie a drink of water, and of course she accepted. She had no idea how long it had been since she last ate or drank. Shermie then turned her head to get a closer look at the two men who had released her from her capsule. Although at first glance they resembled humans, Shermie noticed there was something odd about their skin. In fact, it did not look like organic skin at all. The men had no lines, wrinkles, freckles, or any other features that human skin has. It looked perfectly straight and smooth, and... shiny. It was almost.. metallic. Metallic! Oh my God, Shermie thought to herself. Where was she? Were these people even human? She began to make panicked noises from her mouth, as she still did not have the strength to speak. One of the "men" sat down next to Shermie, and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. Shermie stopped with the noises, as the man began to speak.
ROD: There, there, miss. Don't worry. We are not here to hurt you! We came to help. What's your name?
Shermie was thrilled that the man spoke English, but she gestured to her mouth and informed the man that she was unable to speak. She made hand gestures for a pencil and paper. The man immediately understood.
ROD: Right, right. I'll get you some paper. Marcus, do you have a pen?
The other man, Marcus, produced a pen from the side of his helmet. That was strange, Shermie thought.
ROD: Tell us please, what is your name?
Shermie wrote her name down on the paper. She was able to use her hands now.
ROD: I see, so your name is Shermie. Well Shermie, can you tell us what year you were put into this capsule?
Shermie wrote down the year.
ROD: Oh, I see, 1997. Well, Shermie, do you have any idea what year it is now?
Shermie shook her head.
ROD: Well, Shermie, I'm going to tell you something that may be difficult for you to accept. You see, we are now in what you would call the 22nd century. On your calendar, the year would be 2132 AD.
When the metallic man spoke those words, a shiver went down Shermie's spine. 2132? That meant that she was in the capsule for 135 years! Incredible!
ROD: I know it must be difficult for you to believe, but we will do everything we can to help you make the necessary adjustments you need to live a good life in this time period. Don't worry, Shermie, you will be all right. By the way, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Rod, and this is my assistant, Marcus. We are geologists employed by Dr. Cain, the most famous engineer in the 22nd century.
We are, um, not what you would call human. I know where you're from you are used to having and knowing only humans, but in this day and age artificially intelligent machines, or robots as people in your century called them, are quite common. In fact, there are almost as many of us are there are humans! Don't worry, though, we are not evil or crazy like many movies in your era made us out to be. We are friendly and our goal is to serve humans, not conquer them!
Shermie felt a bit of a smile form across her face. It was good to know that these androids were not harmful, but she was still in shock that she was now living in the 22nd century.
ROD: I know you must have many questions for us, but don't worry. We will bring you to Dr. Cain's lab just up the road. When you regain your speech ability in a couple of hours, you can talk to him and ask him all the questions you want. Don't worry, we will make everything as comfortable as possible.
MARCUS: Rod, I just received a message from Dr. Cain. He wants us to take anything we found and bring it back to the lab immediately.
ROD: Well, there you go, Shermie! We can go and see Dr. Cain right now! Come on, let's go.
Shermie stood up with the help of Rod, and she suddenly felt a huge rush of adrenaline. Her mindset was beginning to become a little more positive, and she was filled with a sense of adventure, even a little excitement. What kind of world was waiting for her outside this abandoned lab? She was about to find out!
Next: Shermie comes face-to-face with Dr. Cain, X, and Zero. Do they possibly hold the answers to Shermie's problems? Also, how are the Orochi and the Maverick Virus related? Find out!