-2020-

Two men walk down an elegantly decorated hallway. Both are dressed in black military gear with patches on their arms with the words "Non timebo mala" embroidered on the patch. Both wear gas masks that conceal their identities and carry guns on their backs. They approach a door at the end of the hallway and stop just before it. Its only now does the size difference between the two becomes apparent as one is noticeably shorter than the other.

"I'll talk with the client." The taller one says sternly. "Wait here."

The shorter one nods as, the taller one opens the door and enters the room. The shorter one is left alone in the hallway and starts to tap his foot impatiently. He checks his watch, eagerly watching as the clock ticks. He lets out a sigh and starts to look around his vicinity. Just above the door, he realizes, a TV hangs. He desperately starts to look around the area for a remote and spots one sitting quite nicely on a nearby table.

He quickly picks up the remote and turns on the TV. He focuses his attention on the TV where a female news reporter reads off a manuscript.

"The Hamelin organization has dealt another decisive blow against the Legion." The reporter says optimistically. "According to the organization, the push was a complete success with the States of Michigan to Mississippi being completely liberated of Legion influence. Hamelin officials are already preparing for the next push westward, calling it Operation: Manifest Destiny. Now with the weather-."

The door's handle starts to turn, causing the short soldier to scramble with the remote to quickly turn off the TV. He succeeds just in time for the door to open and the taller one to reveal himself.

"Ilos." The taller one says. "Client wants to speak with us both."

The shorter one nods and walks to the door entering the room. Ilos enters into a circular office with a desk in the middle of it. Behind the desk sits a woman dressed in formal attire with a gas mask similar to Ilos's covering her face.

The masked woman stands up as the duo make their way to the desk.

"You must be Ilos." The woman extends a hand towards Ilos.

Ilos shakes hands with her. "Yes, ma'am." He looks at the tall man. "Alex said you wanted to speak to us both."

"Yes, I do." She gestures to the seats in front of the desk. "Please sit."

Both Alex and Ilos sit in the seats and make themselves comfortable. Once satisfied with their settling, the woman presses a button on her desk, which causes a monitor to descend from the ceiling. She turns towards the monitor facing her back towards the duo.

"I take it you both are familiar with the Hamelin Organization?"

"Yes, ma'am," Alex answers sternly.

"Mankind's last true hope." The woman says sarcastically. She turns towards the duo. "They're idiots, you know. If they think that humanity can beat the Legion."

"Can't they?" Ilos cuts in. "On the TV they said they were planning another offensive. At the rate they're going, the US will be free from the Legion's influence."

The woman sighs. "That's exactly what they want the public to think." She looks at Ilos. "The more people believe in them, the more power they consolidate." She looks back at the black monitor. "And with that power, they will steer humanity towards extinction." She says quietly.

Alex coughs, causing the woman to turn and look at him. "Of course…" She says, almost disappointingly. She takes a seat at her desk. "You want to know why I hired you."

"That would be great," Alex says.

"Well, it's simple, really." The woman leans back in her chair. "I was told by your company that you two are the best the company has to offer when it comes to survival operations." She leans forward. "The company called you "pathfinders" if I'm not mistaken, yes?"

"Pathfinders is more of a title, but yes." Alex starts. "We are experienced in survival tactics. Probably the best the company has to offer if I may be so bold."

"Good." The woman takes a remote off her table and turns it on without looking at the screen.

Displayed on the monitor is a machine of the likes the duo has never seen. A sleek machine that has been meticulously made so that it can be the living embodiment of the "perfect cylinder."

"Do you know what this is?" The woman says, almost gleefully.

"No idea." Ilos responds.

The woman stands up and moves to the side of the monitor. "This is what we call a cryogenic device."

Ilos leans towards Alex and taps him on the shoulder. "Just like fallout…" Ilos says, stifling his glee. Alex quickly punches Ilos in the arm.

"This….is Mankind's future." The woman says proudly. "Not the child soldiers of Hamelin."

"Alright…...but what does this have to do with us?" Alex says sternly.

"Is it not obvious?" The woman says, moving back to her desk.

Alex looks at her, then bows his head in thought. Within a few seconds, he raises his head and looks at the woman. "You don't mean to tell me…"

"Yes, I do." The woman commands. "That's what I hired you for."

"What's going on?" Ilos asks, confused. "I don't understand."

"She wants to put us on ice, you idiot," Alex says.

The woman chuckles. "I don't want for anything, mercenary." She stands up. "I get what I desire. There's no point arguing it either your boss already agreed to my terms."

"We have families, godsdamnit!" Alex shouts angrily. "We can't just pack up and leave just like that."

"Don't worry about them; we are not evil." She assures. "We have made space in the facilities for your families to reside in." She looks at Ilos. "Assuming you have one."

Ilos looks down as she says that. Alex stands up and paces around the room, thinking.

"So, do I have your cooperation?" The woman says impatiently. "Trust me, we have everything under control."

"That's exactly what someone who has nothing under control would say." Alex spits. He continues his pacing.

The woman looks at Ilos. "And what about you?"

Ilos shrugs. "Nothing really binds me to anything. As long as I'm getting paid and everything is settled with the boss, man…" Ilos turns towards Alex. "You have my cooperation."

Alex looks at Ilos. He stamps his foot on the ground and returns to his chair. "Damn…" He mutters. "Fine, you have my cooperation."

"Good, then we can get the surgery done immediately."

Ilos looks at the woman. "What? What surgery?"

"Oh, the one to give you your implants." The woman tilts her head in confusion. "Did you think that the pods would open to just anybody?"

"Wait, we didn't agree to any body modifications." Alex jumps in. "External or internal."

The woman opens a desk drawer and takes out a stack of papers. She searches the documents and pulls out a packet. She places it on her desk and puts the rest back in the drawer. She flips through the packet and finds a page.

"Not according to the package I bought from your boss…" She scans over the document. "Says here for an additional one million, I can use your bodies as much as I want."

"That's…" Alex's voice cracks. "That's not for this purpose."

"Oh? Then what purpose would it be describing." The woman asks curiously.

"Errr….." Alex looks away, defeated. "Nevermind."

"Alright, then." She puts away the packet. "The implants being bestowed upon you are completely new tech." She gets up from her chair and moves to the window at the far edge of the room. "The first is an optical implant that will replace one of your eyes. The second is a nanomachine injection."

"Wait, one of our eyes." Ilos sounds concerned. "You're going to remove one of our already functional eyes and replace it with a mechanical one."

"You get to chose the color of the eye."

"You got it in purple." Ilos asks curiously.

"Of course."

Ilos looks at Alex and shrugs. "Well, they got my vote."

Alex shakes his head. "If that's the case, I want both my eyes replaced. Green too."

"That can be arranged, but if I may ask…...why?" The woman turns around.

"Family has a history of blindness. I rather not be caught with it in the future."

"Understandable. Any other questions."

"The nanobots," Alex says. "What exactly are they going to do."

"They do a lot."

"Such as…" Alex questions.

The woman sighs. "They just do a lot, alright. Just know that they will help you when you come out of cryosleep."

Alex stands up. "Alright, then I think that's all my questions." He looks to Ilos. "Any?"

"Nah, I'm good." Ilos stands up. "So, where do we get the implants?"

The woman sits at her desk. "Down the hall. First door on the right." She folds her hands on her desk. "When you're done, meet me outside. I need you to drive me to the facility."

"Understood, ma'am," Alex says.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ilos and Alex step outside and are greeted by the night sky. The cool breeze that blows over them is completely negated by their gear.

"You know she should have told us the eyes would glow," Alex says.

Alex's green glowing eyes illuminate the eyeholes of his gas mask. The glow is low tuned but makes the darkness of his mask completely unnecessary.

"You just got to tune it down," Ilos says, shrugging his shoulder.

Ilos looks at Alex, his purple eye glowing in the darkness of his gas mask. His eye emanates a soft glow, which is pleasing to look at neither overbearing nor underwhelming.

"Is that the car?" Ilos points at a stylish black car that sits in the circular driveway in front of them. He walks over to the front of the vehicle to get a better look. "Tesla?"

"Eyup," Alex responds, digging into his pocket. "Guess who's driving." He says, pulling out car keys.

"What!" Ilos says in disbelief. "I never get to drive the client." He says, annoyed walking over to Alex.

Ilos tries to snatch the keys away from Alex, but Alex is quick on the draw and moves them away. Ilos tries again, but Alex raises the keys above his head, where even the short Ilos can't reach them.

Behind them, a door opens and closes. The duo turns their attention to the noise to see that the woman from before has appeared. She notices the duo's playfulness and sighs. She walks professionally past them and waits next to the car's door—the duo stagger to attention.

"If you would be so kind…." She says impatiently.

"Uh...yes ma'am," Alex says with as much professionalism as possible. He turns to Ilos and nods.

The duo makes their way to their respective doors and enters into the car almost simultaneously. The car is as stylish on the exterior as it is in the interior. The vehicle comes with a barrier between the back and the front. Both men get comfortable in their seats.

"Ma'am, do you have directions?" Alex says, adjusting the mirrors.

"Yes, I'm uploading them to your implant right now."

"Woah, that's cool," Ilos says excitedly.

Alex nods in agreement. "Are we ready to go, ma'am?"

"Affirmative. We should be there within the hour if you drive well." The woman says.

Alex starts the car and takes it onto the main street. The car drives smooth as butter down the road and barely makes a sound. Ilos can hear the barricade between the two passengers and driver areas raise, leaving the duo with relative privacy.

"Mind if I turn on the radio?" Ilos asks.

"Sure, go ahead. Though I think this is going to be a short trip."

Ilos presses the radio on.

"-organization is proposing a project they call Project Gestalt." A reporter on the radio says with unbound enthusiasm. "We go to you Tom who-

Ilos turns the radio dial. He stops the dial on what seems to be a smooth jazz channel and removes his hand. The music plays softly through the car.

"So, what do you think the future is going to be like?" Ilos asks curiously.

"Better than the present," Alex responds curtly.

Ilos looks out the window at the passing cars. "Yeah…..I hope so."

The jazz music stops, and the blaring sound of a horn emanates through the car.

"This is an emergency broadcast." The radio says. "Legion troops have been spotted on the East Coast. All civilians are advised to take shelter indoors as the military is deployed. Any civilians found obstructing military operations will be treated as criminals."

The horn blares again, and the message repeats itself.

"Well, that can't be good," Ilos says, turning the volume dial down to an almost mute.

"Imagine a future without WCS…" Alex says, almost wholly ignorant of the blaring horns.

"That's a future you both will lead. Hopefully." The woman says from the backseat.

Ilos turns around to see that the barricade has been lowered and that the woman sits cross-legged, staring at a datapad.

"I still-" Ilos begins to say.

"We're here." Alex interrupts.

The woman looks up. "We can get out here."

The party disembarks from the car and step outside. They find themselves in an old parking garage utterly devoid of vehicles. On the far end of the garage, there is a single light above a suspicious metal door.

The woman takes the lead and walks towards the door with Ilos and Alex in tow. She opens the door. Past the door is a tiny room with walls on all sides. Alex and Ilos barely fit inside the room with the woman.

"Is this supposed to be it?" Ilos whispers to Alex.

Alex nudges Ilos in the stomach with his elbow causing Ilos to bend forward in the already cramped room.

The woman removes her mask and presses the wall. As she touches it, a panel appears and a scanner. She puts her eye close to the scanner, and a grid appears scanning her retina. The panel closes, and the room starts to shake.

"Hold onto something." The woman says.

"Wha-" Alex starts to say.

The room plummets. Alex and Ilos hold onto each other as the speed reaches a point where their feet come off the ground. Before they can go any higher in the air, the elevator stops causing the duo to stagger forward.

The doors open, causing both Alex and Ilos to stumble out of the elevator. The woman calmly walks out from behind them. She stands in front of them, her back towards them, staring at her datapad.

"Welcome to Paradise." The woman says without enthusiasm.

"Paradise?" Ilos questions dusting himself off.

He looks around to only now coming to terms with his surroundings—sleek white metal with glass doors everywhere. Like a generic sci-fi laboratory, everything is so white that it almost gives off light illuminating itself.

"Alex, you can stay here." The woman says, touching her pad. "I will lead Ilos to his pod and brief him on his objectives."

"Understood," Alex responds.

The woman turns to Ilos. "This may be the last time you see Alex for a while, so if you need to say goodbye's…...nows the time." The woman says, walking towards one of the glass doors. "Meet me in here when you're done." She enters a room.

Both Alex and Ilos watch as she enters the nearby room. Once satisfied with her disappearance, they turn to each other.

"So this is it, huh?" Alex scratches his head.

"Yeah, I suppose so…...or at least until we wake up that is." Ilos assures.

"Yeah…"

They both stand entirely still facing each other. An awkward silence covers them like a weighted blanket. Ilos finally breaks the awkwardness by putting out a clenched fist.

"So….Till we meet again?" Ilos asks.

"Till we meet again," Alex says, bumping his fist with Ilos's.

Ilos removes his fist and turns towards the door the woman entered. He puts up a hand as a final wave to Alex as he enters the room.

Ilos enters into a massive room. White walls and those sleek pods greet him. He looks around the room to see that the pods hang off the walls and off the ceiling. There are so many that Ilos gives up counting as he notices they extend down an extremely long hallway. In the center of the room lies a singular pod.

Ilos walks towards the pod and places his bare fingers against it. The pod is cool to the touch, almost freezing.

"That's yours." The woman says, appearing behind Ilos.

Ilos jumps at her voice but quickly gathers himself. "So, how does this work?"

"It's quite simple, really. You get in, and it will freeze you." The woman says. "Just like the rest of the inhabitants." She turns to the other pods.

"You mean to tell me each of these pods holds a living person?" Ilos questions.

"Yes. In total, about 10,000 souls in Paradise. Including you, of course." The woman states. "Now, then onto your mission." She leans against the pod. "When you awaken, you must wake up the inhabitants as soon as possible."

"What if the environment is not acceptable for human habitation?"

"Sensors in Paradise will detect whether the environment is safe and will wake you up accordingly. However, its automation ends there. You have to physically wake up everyone else."

"I see."

"Once everyone is awake, it's your job to move to facilities Helheim and Purgatory. Your assignment will be the same: wake them up."

Ilos looks at her. "Don't they have their own pathfinders?"

"Unfortunately not. Due to time constraints, you will have to do the job of two other facilities." The woman looks at Ilos. "You must complete your mission. For the sake of Mankind."

Ilos snickers. "That's a lot of responsibility to put on one man."

"I know, but if you're anything like your description, you'll get the job done perfectly."

Ilos nods. "So when do we start?"

"Whenever your ready."

Ilos takes a deep breath. "Let's do it."

The woman nods and presses a button on the pod, causing the pod to open. Ilos slides into the pod and settles inside its padded interior. As he settles, the pod door closes, locking itself. Ilos looks out the window to see the woman waving goodbye.

Suddenly a deep cold hits Ilos in the spine. The cold quickly encompasses his body, and he can feel himself being lulled to sleep. He fights his eyes, but eventually, they close, and he falls asleep. The lights of Paradise go out as Ilos sinks into a deep sleep, leaving the whole facility in pitch-black darkness.

-3050-

The facility lights turn on illuminating the facility. A nearby terminal comes to life and starts to load up.

Command module losing power…..

Siphoning power from pod #1 to Command module….

A pod on the wall with the number 1 on the front of it turns on illuminating the person within. The ice breaks up around the dormant person, and within moments completely melts. The person opens their eyes. They attempt to open the pod only to find that the lock still remains. They desperately try to force the door open but to no avail. Their screams for help are muffled by the pod's door.

Command module fully powered…...