-Chapter 6-

Time

After several seconds of staring, and some help from the reluctant Dr. Michel, Jared managed to work the door panel. Placing his palm flat on the large green light, the door opened from its two main parts with a slight "boo woo" sound. Thanking Dr. Michel with a curt nod, he stepped out of the clinic, vowing to find the one man he knew could help him.

Jared moved out onto a walkway which ran along outside the clinic, the door quickly shut behind him and made what he could only assume to be a locking noise. Glancing back to the front, Jared saw a view that was unlike anything he had seen in his life. A window gave view to the space station's five, wide arms, each housing a city that stretched for what looked like miles. The cities on each arm all had widely distinct architectural styles, no two looking the same. Flittering among each of the skylines were shuttles flying about the buildings, although there were no discernable roads, they seemed to travel in a very organized fashion. But beyond the arms was where the real view lied, a large purple nebula with stars dispersed among it and one large sun giving it a vibrant glow. The nebula itself bore resemblance to a large, encompassing cloud that surrounded the Citadel.

The view helped put things into perspective for Jared as he leaned on the balcony before the window. I really am in a different universe. Jared ran his hand across the smooth, steel railing. This is definitely real, and my mind supposedly created it. Jared felt a throbbing pain cross his head, this thought brought nothing but pain to him. He shook his head and looked to his right, seeing the railing and walkway extend for a couple hundred feet (around 80 meters) as the window, and view, stretched along with it. Coming off the balcony itself were many structural supports holding the walkway to a similar one right above it, it was clear that these walkways were repeated for several levels both above and below him. The walkway seemed to be made of the same material as the clinic floors, the walls were as well except they appeared in a darker hue. Decorating the walls were several blue holograms, Jared couldn't exactly tell what they were showing but he assumed it was advertisements and directions to different areas. Still leaning on the balcony, he turned around to see several, drastically different people walking past him. Some were human which comforted him to a degree, most, however, were not. There were some that were different shades of blue and had what appeared to be short tentacles on top of their head all swooping back and coming together at a point on the base of their skull, they appeared to be all female, sharing bodies very similar to human women. Asari. Others were covered in tough looking natural armor that ranged from colors of gray to brown along with large spines laying straight back on their heads. Their chests were very rotund as their natural armor seemed to wrap around to their backs, their legs were also quite different, only having three toes and having a large spike coming off at their looked quite avian in nature, sharing striking similarities to birds, with many also adorning different colored face paint. Turians. Then there were some that looked like what salamanders would become if they evolved in a way similar to humans. Also standing on two legs, they appeared very amphibian as their skin gave off a smooth, slimy texture. Their heads had two large organic horns that were several inches long before coming together. Their eyes were dark and they seemed to only have two small holes for nostrils, their mouths were long and flat. The rest of their body was tall and lanky with their arms reaching to around their knees. Their legs also curved inward slightly, similar to a dog. The colors of their skins seemed to vary greatly from red or green, and sometimes simply brown and gray. And finally, the salarians. That's all the council races accounted for then. Seeing them in the flesh was quite astonishing for Jared and he could not help but stare at them for long periods of time, garnering several weird looks, it also did not help that he was still in a blue jumpsuit which clashed with the fashion of the others. After staring for a while, and getting a particularly disdainful look from a Turian, Jared turned back around to the view.

Okay. I really need to take a minute here. So much shit has happened and I honestly haven't really had the chance to even process any of it. Jared took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, helping calm himself. Let's start from the beginning. I had a test, I was abducted, my mind was used to create this universe which is apparently my dream, and now I am living here and being broadcasted for an entire race of aliens. He suddenly began to look around him, he scanned the walls, windows, and even the floors around him for any sign of cameras that could be watching him, to no avail. Can't see any, but they are definitely watching me right now, can't really do anything about it though. He settled down and resumed leaning. Man today has been shitty, how the hell did this even happen? They said they'd been watching us for what? 500 years? And now, of all times, they decided we were ready? Jared ran his fingers through his hair, attempting to fix it, a nervous tick he had developed throughout the years. I guess it's a good thing I got dropped here though, that almost encyclopedic knowledge of Mass Effect might actually come in handy. Mass Effect, a video game series Jared had played back on his Earth, fell in love with, and was now stuck in. So, I guess my dream universe was living in Mass Effect? Kind of fucking pathetic if you ask me. Couldn't have been just something normal like a universe where I was famous or one where I had super powers, instead, I'm stuck here with no prospects at all. He sighed and got up from the balcony and began to stretch. Well, I need a plan. I have to get back, that's for damn sure, but how I get back, I have no clue. I mean inter-universal travel isn't a thing in the Mass Effect universe, at least from what I know. He finished stretching and looked around him. I need to find Shepard first though, if I am going to make any progress on getting out of here, it'll be with him. How I am going to convince him is a different thing altogether, but I'll think about that once I actually get to him. Jared slowly started to walk along in the direction the walkway spanned. The thing with Dr. Michel and the trouble gives me a time frame, and if the trouble had happened recently, then I think I know where to head next. As Jared followed the walkway, he saw another one of the holograms displayed on a wall to his right. This one he could actually understand, it showed an arrow, with the writing Chora's Den displayed on it. Jared nodded his head, looked in the direction of the arrow, and continued walking.