Weyland, that fuck. I'd honestly never seen a more sadistic son of a bitch.
We entered the room, and I noticed a glare between us and him, a large sheet of glass dividing the room in two.
His side.
Everyone else's side.
He stood up from his chair and walked towards the glass eyeing each of us carefully, one after the other. "Hello, everyone. Glad to meet you. My name is David Weyland, and I will be your host this evening."
Everybody knew Weyland was a robot. Just some android created by the original founder to eventually replace him. This version of 'David Weyland' was the ninth iteration, if I recall correctly. The first seven were all failures, and the eighth went on a trip that should have lasted only a few short years. Sadly, the eighth never returned, and the ninth was revealed. An exact replica of number eight, except this one would run the company first-hand.
That's when Cooper flipped out once again. He rushed the window and slammed his fists on it, right in front of Weyland's face. The android didn't flinch. He simply smiled. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. This behaviour just won't do, Mr. Cooper. I'm afraid you'll have to take a time out." He walked to the right side of the room, pressed a button on the wall, and proceeded to talk. "Can somebody come in here and give Mr. Cooper a little lesson in respect?"
Within ten seconds the doors behind us opened and two men in black suits came in holding clubs.
The first man brought the club down on Cooper's head, while the next knocked out his knees, collapsing Cooper to the ground.
Cooper let out a sharp wheezing sound. The first man brought down the club again, and with that, Cooper didn't make any more noise. The men carried him out. All the while, Weyland smiled.
The other eight men all looked shocked. Apparently I hadn't been shocked in the slightest.
Weyland simply stared at me. Staring closely back, you could see the fake brightness in his fake eyes. He pressed the button on the wall again and said we were ready to leave.
He'd made it sound like we had a choice whether we were ready or not. Funny.
This time, five men entered the room and ushered us out. Then it was back to the halls.
Left. Right. Straight for a while. Left again. Skipping past many doors that I'm sure had no real reason for being there. Probably just empty rooms that hadn't had any people in them for ages.
We stopped at the end of the hall. The man leading our little group of fourteen turned around and started to instruct us.
"You all are very lucky. Usually more than just one person will leave the office dead. Now, we're going to get you ready for travel."
Another of the five escorts stepped up to talk. "Once inside the ship, there will be ten cryochambers. Arrange yourselves according to the names on the side of each unit and then try to sleep. The unit will automatically close. If you decide not to get inside the chamber within the first twenty-four hours of travel, the rest will automatically close and you will be left in the room without food or water for the next three and a half years. I recommend you sleep. The cryochamber causes your body to not age or grow weary during this time. It will simply make you sleep until the date entered into the console is reached. Upon waking up, you will probably feel sick, in which case there is a pail under each chamber. Once you are awake and have all eaten, the rest of the crew will tell you your duties and why you were sent up there. Listen to them. If you fail to obey orders, you'll be killed on the spot. Have a nice trip."
With that, the doors behind the men opened and we were pushed through.
Now just the nine of us in the room. Cryochambers ahead of us. Twenty-four hours to choose whether to sleep, or whether to die a slow, painful death.
We sat around in front of our designated chambers, barely saying a word to one another.
Hours passed us by. It had been at least five hours. Then we heard the ship starting up. Machines clicked on, loud rumbling noises were heard, screens switched on showing the word 'Athenalink'.
So that's what the ship was called. 'Athena'.
Clement slapped his knee, muttering something that sounded like, 'might as well get this over with'. He climbed into his designated chamber and clicked a button on the inner console. The door started to close with him inside. He smiled. "Nighty-night, guys. See you in a few short years."
With that the chamber was closed and you could see it slowly filling with some sort of gas. Clement yawned and fell asleep shortly after.
One of the two named Barry shrugged and entered his chamber as well, closing the door and sleeping as well.
I turned around and faced the chamber that had 'Harley C. Daniels' on it. Wordlessly, I too entered my chamber.
Tapped the button.
And fell asleep within minutes.
_LOG HGG-780-01-A_