Chapter 2 - The Morning After

It feels like no more than a fleeting moment before I'm awake once more..

Light floods into my retinas as I open them, forcing an instinctive squint as I attempt to readjust to my new setting. I can feel myself being supported by a light, soft mattress, with my body from the shoulders down also being covered by a fluffy weighted blanket. The space around me is compact albeit clean, also filled to the brim with several machines that take up just about every free corner.

I look ahead once more, now noticing with my ever-clearing vision that I am not in this room alone. Though my vision is still too cloudy for me to make sense of any of it, I can clearly see a vaguely person-shaped silhouette standing near the foot of the bed. They seem to be tinkering with something or another, completely absorbed into their own work.

I move to rub my eyes so I can see the person better, though any movement I try to make causes my entire body to ache. This small motion seemingly causes them to take notice of me as they jump in their seat at the sight of my open eyes.

With my vision now cleared, though, I'm able to get a better visual on my captor who seems to be covered head-to-toe in some sort of hazmat suit, leaving me in the dark as to their actual appearance.

Before I can garner up the energy to say something, they hesitantly begin to speak in a foreign language. Though I can't understand a word they are saying, the tonality sounds faintly familiar, though my mind is too tired to be able to make any connections. That said, their voice contains a soft, soothing quality to it even if I can't understand it.

Seemingly realizing I'm unable to understand them, they mumble to themself quietly before starting over in a different language. This one I faintly recognize as Japanese, though I still have no clue what they're saying. After getting the memo for the second time, though, they shock me by forming intelligible words.

"H-hello? Are you able to understand me?"

I instinctively perk up, but as I do my back muscles cramp and I quickly double back in pain.

The person accompanying me quickly rushes to my side, worried. "Please try not to push yourself, you're still fresh out of the cryogenics tank! I know it's hard, but you need to take it slow."

Oh, right, the cryogenics tank…My recent memories had initially faded with the rest of my cognitive integrity, but now that it had been mentioned it was all starting to come back. That odd building, and the doctor…

The individual standing next to me interrupts my thoughts. "Dear cod, you must be so confused right now… Here, give me one second to pull up the explainer."

Wait, how did they pronounce- I assume it's simply my imagination and don't force the issue or think about it any more than I need to.

The hazmat-clad figure stumbled their way back to the foot of the bed to pick up what looks to be a projector from the ground. As they attempt to carry the heavy-looking device to its designated stand, I notice something odd about the hazmat suit. If I look closely, it almost looks like it's…

…Wriggling?

I rub my eyes and take a second look, but it only makes what I see more clear: something in that suit is moving.

Again, I try to ignore it and don't force the issue.

While I was trying to solve that mystery, the person moved to their computer, hooking a wire from the projector to it and pressing a few buttons on both devices. Suddenly the machine fires to life, displaying what looks to be a heavily stylized slideshow displayed over the bright background curtain. After they dim the lights slightly, they turn back to face me.

"In preparation for an occasion like this one, I prepared a presentation to answer any questions you might have! I hope this can help you get adjusted to your…" They pause for a moment, reconsidering their phrasing. "...Circumstances."

I try to get words to escape from my throat, though at first all I can manage are some heavy coughs. Seemingly knowing what to do, the presenter walks out of the room we were in, coming back around half a minute later with what looks to be a glass of water in tow, though the thing could be more closely likened to a sippy cup and has what looks to be a makeshift warning label, using characters I only vaguely recognize. Considering that my head is already sore from all the thoughts I've been having since I presumably came to, I once again don't think about it.

"Here, you need water to sustain yourself, yes?" They ask in a genuine tone, although I don't quite understand the meaning of the question. "Don't drink it all at once, you need to adjust to taking food and liquids in by the mouth. I do as they say, drinking just barely enough to clear my throat.

I weakly make out a quiet "Hi," to which they simply make an awkward waving gesture in return. Continuing, I address the elephant in the room. "What did you mean by 'circumstances'? Do you work with that doctor guy who I met earlier? Or, I guess, before I got put to sleep."

My sentence causes a long silence to ensue, a period in which my conversation partner clearly begins to get antsy during. It feels as if the wriggling under the suit gets a bit stronger as well. "Y-yes! I mean, no, I don't know who the person you're referring to is. I can explain some background, though, just let me get to the slide…"

They exit out of presentation mode, scrolling through the slide deck. It feels as if they scroll down the page for an eternity, hundreds of slides whizzing by before one is finally selected. The header includes a concise title, simply reading "So what happened?" Clicking a button to add a text animation, they begin to paraphrase whatever text there is on the screen. "Obviously, the last thing that you remember is being put into the cryonics chamber one way or another. That said, some things have, umm, changed while you've been gone."

Taking another sip of water, I respond. "Wait, how? I was only in there for three months! How much could possibly have changed?"

The person pauses briefly, and though I can't see them I can feel their eyes lock with mine for just a moment. Silently, they click to trigger the next text-box's appearance on the screen. I quickly skim the text presented, freezing in place as its contents are revealed to me.

"Oh jeez, how do I even say this…" Seemingly reading my expression, they take a moment to parse their words carefully. "As you seem to have already read from the presentation, you've unfortunately been asleep for longer than three months. Far longer, to be clear."

I swallow as my breathing becomes slightly labored. I know what I read. That said, I refuse to believe it until I hear it come out of their mouth.

It can't be true, right?

It can't-

"I'm sorry, but to my knowledge you've been asleep for twelve-thousand years."

I can't bring myself to say anything, as the prospect still seems unbelievable to me. That said, the person across from me sees this as a cue to continue.

"I couldn't possibly imagine how this feels for you right now, I'm sorry… Do you need a minute?"

"You're joking, right…?" I ask her on the verge of tears.

"I thought you'd ask, so…" Silently pressing a button to move on to the next slide titled "Are you kidding?!", they continue.

"Your response is a natural one to have, so I thought I'd provide some evidence. Eighteen hours ago, some, umm, colleagues of mine happened to come across the cryogenics chamber of which you were located." Once again pressing a button, a photo of a familiar capsule covered in sand and rust pops up on the screen. "The thing was clearly on its last legs, if we hadn't found you when we did I doubt you would have lasted much longer. In fact, it's a miracle it lasted as long as it did to begin with, especially in comparison to other, less primitive models."

Thinking to myself to the best of my current ability, I manage to form words to speak in response. "If it's really been over ten thousand years, though, why wasn't I simply pulled out when I was meant to…?"

"I anticipated that question as well! Here…" Yet again they move forward a slide, with the title now changed to concisely mimic what I had just asked.

"How do you keep doing this…?" I ask them.

"Oh, well…" They give a light chuckle of embarrassment before speaking. "I might have gotten a bit carried away working on this presentation, it's probably a bit longer than it needs to be…"

"How long?"

"Six hundred slides, give or take! I wanted to make sure I had every base covered for you."

I pause, shocked that they put that much work into me. It made me feel a little bad, even. "Why would you do something like that for me?"

"I suppose this may come as a shock to you, but your discovery is incredibly significant! I knew there was always a possibility, but you're the first living human on this planet in millennia! Your existence here will surely have a revolutionary effect on-"

I feel bad interrupting her, but the information barraging my mind at this moment is too much for me to bear silently. "Wait, first living human in millennia? Does that mean…"

Again, I don't want to think about what that means, though my hazmat-clad conversation partner once more does the thinking for me.

"I'm glad you asked, that actually leads into what you were wondering about before as well!" They give the computer mouse another click to allow more text to appear to the aforementioned slide.

"In the three months prior to your release date, the world broke out into what would become an all-consuming state of warfare. This would kill billions of humans in its own right, but also serve to worsen the already suffering environmental climate and cause sea levels to rise to unprecedented heights, all but wiping out what remained of humanity. Based on what I've observed from what archival data is left on the cryogenics chamber, you just barely managed to miss this event and were protected for thousands of years."

Again, a deluge of harrowing information comes my way. This time, though, it's oddly easier to process. Something about these circumstances seems familiar, though much of my memory is still too hazy to make any connections. The best I can do is to continue asking questions in the moment.

"There's still something I'm confused about."

As they reply, I can almost feel their smile from under the suit. "I'll try to answer to the best of my ability! To be honest, I'm glad you're taking this all as well as you are! I'm sure a lot of other people would be less willing to accept the logic being presented to them."

"Thanks, but…" I sigh. "You keep referring to humans like they're an outside group, if that makes sense… But obviously based on the fact that I'm talking to you in the first place humans are still alive and well. Is that just what you call people from my era now?"

"Quite the contrary! I've actually been excited about this part…" They eagerly move a few slides forward. "Your assumption is natural, but you really couldn't be more wrong! You see, after the mass-extinction event that wiped out most creatures living on land, those living in the sea eventually managed to take their place, coming to land and gaining human-like intelligence! As such, the reason why your discovery is so fascinating is because you've-"

I hate to interrupt them, but in that moment I could not help but to erupt into laughter. I cackle so strongly that my lungs quickly begin to ache, forcing me to dial it down to a respectable degree out of pain. "Good one, you really had me there for a moment!"

Refusing to cut it with the act, they seemingly attempt to continue. "Oh, I actually have a slide for this too! It's obviously natural that you would think that this is some sort of elaborate prank-"

Done with the bit, though, I interject once more. "It's fine, you can drop it now, you got me. So do you work with the doctor after all, then? And how'd you know that I like Splatoon?"

They freeze stock still. "...S-Splatoon? What's-"

"Really, really, you can stop. You had me up until you started going on about Inklings and Octolings being real, I should've caught on earlier than that but my brain still isn't one hundred percent after the whole cryosleep thing."

"W-wait, how did you know about-"

"I'm telling you, though, if only all that stuff could be real. Honestly sort of regretting saying that I got the joke, I'm wondering now how long you could've kept it going on for. I guess one can only dream of seeing Off the Hook live in-person, though, because how cool would that be, right?"

"Off the-" Seemingly dazed for some reason, they take a few steps back, needing to lean on a nearby desk for support. They then proceed to exit out of their presentation, and like before spend some time simply scrolling through it meticulously.

After a minute or two of this they set the laptop down, turning to face me once more.

"...I don't have a slide for that one."

Confused by the statement, I instead brush it off as them finally accepting defeat. "Anyways, why the hazmat suit? Just trying to obscure your species, or is there some other reason to it?"

They clearly want to push another question on me, but seem to hold themself back. "It's mainly a safety precaution, as you may be carrying viruses that we don't have developed immunities to. Such a thing could be lethal if it were allowed to spread, so I made sure to run some tests on you before thinking about taking it off. That said, I did also consider how it would obscure my identity while writing the slideshow, as otherwise I wouldn't need to reveal the, umm…" They pause. "...New species thing."

At this point I'm confused again, not sure if they're still committing to the bit. Because of this I'm not quite sure what to say, leading to another awkward silence for about ten seconds before they speak again.

"Oh, speaking of which I can most likely check those tests for results around now, as it's been a few hours…" Awkwardly prancing towards a machine closer to me, they tap some buttons on the small screen display before turning back to face me.

"Luckily, it doesn't seem like you carry an unusual abundance of any sort of harmful bacteria or viruses, so there's no need for me to wear this heavy thing after all," they say while peeling the medical tape off from their outfit and unzipping from the front. As their bottom half steps out of the hazmat suit, I need a double-take to confirm what my eyes are telling me.

No way, it can't be…

While they struggle to get an arm out, though, I quickly begin to reason with myself, regaining my bearings. No, Crow, that's ridiculous… Whoever they are, they must be cosplaying! It would have been awesome for the bit, but there's no way that-

As the suit loosens, My eye catches a couple of long, girthy tentacles fall out and hang over the ground. To my shock and awe, though, they wriggle as if they have a life of their own, even helping to get the tight outfit off of them.

No, no way… It can't be…

Having taken off every other part of the suit, the mysterious individual of whom I had been speaking to this entire time lifts the hazmat mask off of their head, all but confirming my fears.

"You have no idea how glad I am to have this thing off, it was so hot in there!"

Despite its current impairment, my mind begins to race in an attempt to find some answer, any way that what I'm seeing could possibly be true. I can feel my heart rate rise and my breathing become heavier as I try to work through what my senses show me.

"Ma…M… Marina…" I stammer to myself out loud, as if saying it out loud will help me come to terms with the situation at hand.

"It's as I suspected from what you said before, you seem to know who I am when there should be no way for you to… Are humans really as almighty as some seem to-" She stops in her tracks, seemingly becoming aware of my panicked state.

"Wait, never mind that, are you OK? Can you try and take deep breaths? One second…" Though my vision is starting to blur due to lack of air from hyperventilating, I can see her frantically scanning through the slideshow before finding a slide containing several animated graphics of Inklings breathing in and out with accompanied timing cues.

I can't pay attention to them, though, as my fight-or-flight instinct has by this point fully kicked in and I without thinking spring out of bed and start sprinting for the exit to the room.

Or at least, that's what I meant to do. As soon as I get out of the bed, my legs buckle and I slam on the cold, hard ground before Marina even has any time to react. As soon as she regains her bearings from witnessing that disaster of an escape attempt, though, she quickly rushes to my aid.

"I told you not to push yourself, your body is still weak! You'll probably need to relearn how to walk from the looks of it, let alone run!" Marina says as she wraps her arms under me, gently helping me back up onto the bed. "I need to make a call, please try to get some rest."

Marina throws the bedsheets over me, before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. I can hear her mumbling something on her way out, but it seems as if she's back to not speaking in English. Exhausted from the conversation and the chaos that ensued, though, I begin to drift back into unconsciousness, no longer able to resist its tug. As for all of the crazy things that need consideration, those can wait.