It didn’t catch me off guard. The Faro Plague. In a sick way I always knew it was coming. I have no problem with machines that can sort through organic waste and use it as fuel. But when you use that system in a war machine then you have a loaded gun waiting to be fired. Now the world is tearing itself apart and all I can do is watch in silent horror as all my dreams for the future die with it. Hopes for a family, a legacy and even a chance to see the stars. All of it gone because some asshole at the top wanted to make a quick buck. Thing is, if this happened just twenty years ago, we might have been able to stop it. It’s not the Scarabs or even the dreaded Kopesh that is the problem. Bring enough firepower down and they fall, or so the reports tell me anyhow. The Horus units. What asshole thought they were a good idea. I’ve heard rumours of them being destroyed in some places. Never believed it though. We have no air force. What infantry and heavy armour we could muster is inexperienced and ineffective. the fact that fighting is still going on outside surprises me.But still, no airforce means the Horus will always beat us to the curb. Always.
I walked into the interview for the project. It was a large room with a dozen other people in there. Some were crying, others were silent. One got into a fight with security and was escorted away. I was silent. I had no words. How could I after finding out that the world had been murdered. I sat down in front of this cute Indian girl. Siri I think her name was. I tried to focus on that singular positive. “How are you feeling Doctor,” she asked me. I took moment to respond. “Just answer me this: Is Sobeck in charge?” She just looked at me before saying, “Yes, she is. She’s been given complete control over Zero Dawn.” A glimmer of unexpected hope must have appeared within my eyes. “Are you…. okay?” I’m guessing she wasn’t expecting me to smile. I knew what I needed to do. “Absolutely. I would like to help as much as I can,” I almost sang in a gleeful manner. This really did catch her off guard. “Uhhh, okay. Let me just get your medical file up. I need to make you aware that you’re not allowed children during, or after, the project is finished,” she began to explain. I simply interrupted her with, “I’m guessing there’s a place for all us researchers to go then?” She looked at me. “Yes. Elysium is where we’ll end up. I’m sure you understand that sterilisation is necessary? Due to the limited resources we can’t have children after going into Elysium or continuing with the project…. um. That’s odd. Your medical file says you had elective surgery late last year? is that correct?” Bingo. There was about two hours between the announcement on the news and the Men in Black picking me up. Let’s just say Travis taught me well. “Yes, that’s correct. It was part of my decision to focus entirely on my career. I guess it was for the best.” I could barely hide my optimism for the future. Poor girl must of thought I was insane. “I’m going to recommend a psych evaluation. Then you can get to work.”
Two security members came to escort me, supposedly for a psych evaluation. Before they could, I spotted Daniel, my old university friend. We hadn’t spoken in over a year at this point, so I was excited to talk to him once more. I shouted him over. “Hey Daniel! Over here!” He came over with a sullen look. Couldn’t blame him really. “Hey, you’re here too? That news was harsh,” he gloomed and doomed. During the interview, we were given three options. Lockup, assisted suicide or work on the project. I chose that third option, as did Daniel. Apparently he was working on a form of cold fusion batteries, but somehow they wanted him to work on the fusion reactors to power everything. “What do they want with you,” he asked. “Cooling systems. I’m an expert in cryonics, so there’s that too,” I replied. i could tell he was tired. Everybody looked tired, but how else would they look? After a very brief discussion, we both went to where we needed to go.
A month later and I was working under Patrick Brochard-Klien. I can’t believe how easy the work was. You have any idea how far we managed to get in regards to freezing zygotes? The problem was keeping them viable over centuries. As I said, the work was easy. Regardless, I worked on my own plan. The world was ending, but I would not die with it. If we could keep zygotes viable over centuries, what’s to stop us from doing the same with people? So I worked and worked. One day, I got visited by Aunt Liz (Yes, privately, I still called her that), and she wasn’t looking too good. “Hey Aunt,” I said excitedly. She looked at me with that look. Stress had overtaken her life. “I see you’re adapting well. How are you taking the news,” she asked me. What could I say. “As well as anyone. Mind you, I haven’t given it that much thought,” I said, not wanting to set her off. Sobeck loved life, as much if not more than anything. “If I’m honest, I’ve been too busy working to give it any thought. Mind you, I could’ve done without the piss poor coffee.” My lame attempt at a joke got her to crack a smile. “I hear you’ve been working on a secret project in secret. want to fill me in on that,” Sobeck asked me in that stern tone. Of course she was keeping check on me. “Well, I thought long on hard on my fathers research,” I started to explain,” What if we could use it to send some one into the future, to ensure the success of Zero Dawn.” Sobeck thought for a moment. “You know we don’t have the time or resources for this right,” she softened her voice for this. My father spent his life working towards trying to work out cryonics. “I know. That’s why I’m only doing it in my spare time. I know as well as anyone Zero Dawn comes first.” She thought for a moment. “I’m pulling you from the Zero Dawn project. If this research pans out, maybe we could use it.” Sobeck seemed hesitant, almost as if she’s hiding something. I perked up to this and asked, “there’s something wrong isn’t there? There’s no reason for this if there wasn’t.” Sobeck suddenly became more serious than usual. “Faro has perhaps too much regret. He’s been up to something but I don’t know what. It helps to have a back-up plan,” she spoke with that stressed out tone of hers. “Okay. What do you need me to do,” I asked. She simply responded, “give me hope.”
February 2065. I’ve been working on this secret project since early December. Sobeck had me relocated to Elysium and gave me a small team. A doctor, a biologist and two engineers. The doctor was none other than the woman who interviewed me. One Doctor Siri Rasheed. She was familiar with human anatomy and psychology, which worked well for me as I needed both. The biologist was Professor Kelsey Jones from the University of London. He’d been an expert in cell structure and the effects of freezing. He’d also done computer science in a former life hence his inclusion. The three engineers were three brothers – David, Harry and Milton Williams. David had been in the military years before as an engineer, but his knowledge on keeping things running no matter what had a reputation of it’s own. His one condition for working with me? His two brothers had to come with him. Not a bad deal as they were both engineers. Milton had even worked with Daniel in the past. How small the world really is I guess. With this team together, I had actually mad some real progress. We had prototypes tested on mice and rats. Only thing we could get. Mixed results. Apparently freezer burn was a problem and the subjects didn’t like it. Kelsey made a comment that I still remember to this day. He said, “This thing will make us immortal, but only if we don’t wake up.” He wasn’t far off. We wouldn’t be dead, but we wouldn’t be “alive” either.
The end of February came as did another visit by way of Sobeck. She had some spare time (a few hours in fact) and wanted to see how it was all going. “How is your project going,” she asked. “We’ve made more progress in the last three months than we have in the last three generations. I say progress is going well,” I responded. “That’s good. How far away from human testing are you?” I stuttered for a moment. “Human testing? We’re not quite there yet, even if we’re allowed to do that.” Sobeck looked at me like I was insane. “Of course you are. We need this to work. So long as your subjects volunteer for it of course,” she explained. The stress had over come her. She was looking gaunt. She hadn’t been eating or sleeping much. It appalled me that the smartest person I’ve ever known is being torn apart by the unstoppable forces behind her. After this visit, I went back to work.
“You know something,” Siri spoke with that beautiful Indian accent of hers. “What,” I asked. “I think we can mitigate the lack of stem cells by increasing adrenaline before we enter cryo,” she explained. We had problems with cell rupture and were trying to figure out. “Let’s give it a shot,” I agreed. Me and Siri had a thing going. It may of affected our working relationship. What can can I say, she was quite the gal. “What does Kelsey say?” Siri didn’t bother looking up to say, “Don’t know. I suppose i should go ask him to set up some experiments.” I didn’t know why, but something had happened that caused those two to avoid each other whenever necessary. Couldn’t replace either of them. I don’t think there could be anyone who would be able to replace them at all. “Don’t bother, I’ll do it. If you need me, I’ll be in his lab,” I said, getting up from my chair. She didn’t respond, more engrossed with her work than anything.
Walking towards the other lab occupied by my team, I decided to talk with the three brothers. They were currently working on a project that would allow us to survive off our own separate power grid. Elysium wasn’t built to last beyond 100 years, and the reactor installed showed just how little longevity was meant for the last home of the old world. Sure , it was reliable. Chances were that it would never fail given the proper maintenance. But it was only certified to last 150 years. If we were to have any hope of surviving the long passages of time, we needed our own power. Fortunately for us, Milton had a plan. “Hey boss, I have an idea about power,” he excitedly told me, “We already have a power source.” I was surprised. Normally it would take months to design a battery capable of running months, let alone the centuries we would need to sleep for. “And that would be….” Harry pulled out a small metallic cylinder. It looked vaguely like a battery, but seemed to be incredibly bulky and was the size of a large suitcase. On the one side there was an LED indicator completely lit up in green. “What is it,” I asked. “A fusion battery,” Milton shared excitedly,” basically a miniaturised fusion reactor. This puppy can power a city for an hour.” “Seriously, this thing can do all that?” I gave him a puzzled look. “We have access to about twelve of these things, though I know for a fact more exist,” David said. He had a rather brutish sound to his voice, most likely from years of heavy smoking and drinking. I asked, “where? Surly these things aren’t already available?” “You’re right. They’re not. Daniel Edwards had them designed for some special project he was doing which never panned out.” I heard Daniel was trying out some experiments, but why would he need these batteries? “What special project?” Milton didn’t know. Daniel didn’t give engineers the highest regard, liked to top day everything himself. “You said there were more?” David explained that there was only two dozen of the batteries in existence and that he knew that half of them were in Switzerland. Where the other half a dozen were was a mystery, as they had disappeared when Daniels pet project was shut down. I suspected he stole them. He wouldn’t be above that at all considering how ambitious he was.
After finishing with the brothers and dealing with Doctor Kelsey, I decided to send a message to Sobeck. I asked if it were possible to get these remaining batteries. On a more personal level, I asked if everything was alright with her. I was more than a little concerned about her health, and with things being the way they were it was important that she got enough sleep to work properly. She responded by saying she’d look into the fusion batteries. She wouldn’t go into details about her not sleeping, though I could tell by her tone that it wasn’t foremost on her mind. That bothered me that she wasn’t thinking about her own health. This woman helped raised me and it saddened me to see her suffer in the way she was.
August came around and we’d finally done it. The first fully functioning cryo-pod for a living human being had been built, tested and was in the process of being modified. The three engineers were absolutely certain they could modify it to make it more efficient, more reliable. I gave them two weeks. David said he could do it in one. I almost laughed. They’re good., though, I had to give them that. Sobeck had been here since February (?) but I was still giving her updates. But now she was giving us a visit, undoubtedly under the premise of ensuring Elysium was on schedule but really to see if the team had really done it. I set up an experiment involving both Siri and Kelsey after they practically begged to show off a demonstration to Sobeck. I told them it wasn’t necessary but she indicated she was somewhat excited to see the demonstration. It would be the start – and unfortunately end – of a new scientific field. Even in the backdrop of the war that had some meaning to us still. We were fighting against the inevitable with solid determination and unwavering ambition to survive this nightmare. The day came and Sobeck turned up in a very timely manner. “Are you absolutely sure it works,” she asked me. “Yes. Doctor Kelsey has spent the last two weeks inside one of the three prototypes and is scheduled to wake up today,” I explained. We entered the room designated as the cryo-room. It was a large room, the size of an auditorium. The three cryo-pods were on the opposite side of the room. Siri and Milton were hovering the one containing an unfortunately fully nude, covered only by the design of the cryo-pods door. Both me and Sobeck walked up. Siri came up to greet us. “We’re about to open the pod when you’re both ready,” she told us. Sobeck nodded at me confirming that she was ready to observe the procedure. “Do it. Just make sure to record everything,” I told her.
Milton sat down at the dedicated holo-face (holographic interface) for the cryo-pod and initiated the waking up procedure. The cryo-pod drained of the specialised liquid before pumping Kelsey full of the adrenaline needed to wake him up. Slowly, but surly, he began to wake up. Siri kept an eye on his vitals as the pods doors hissed open. “Procedure complete. Give us a moment and he’ll be on his feet,” Siri announced. I glanced back at Sobeck and realised that she actually looked speechless. “How’s his condition,” I asked. “He’ll be fine. Heart rate is normal, cognitive functions are normal, blood pressure is normal. Adrenaline is returning to normal so he’ll be fine. It was at this point Sobeck turned to me and said “how many of these can you make?” I was prepared for this. She always wanted to do what she could to save as many people as possible. But I was about to disappoint her. “Fifteen, maximum. Each one has one fusion battery and enough stasis liquid for 1,000 years. Any less and the redundant systems won’t work. The remaining three fusion batteries are redundancy and systems,” I explained, “which reminds me…” She looked at me concerned about what I was about to say. “Yes?” “I was hoping to put together a team to sleep out the next few hundred years….” Her eyes widened over this request. “You know I can’t spare anyone….” I interrupted her. “I wasn’t talking about someone from the Zero Dawn project. I mean from out there.” She almost choked out on that last part, before saying, “We need to speak in private.”
Ten minutes later and we were in my office, with her screaming at me. About how I needed to keep this quiet. I couldn’t save those on the front line and there were better qualified people who were in Elysium but not needed for Zero Dawn. I replied, rather sternly, that we didn’t know what the future would be like. I wanted a squad of EXPERIENCED soldiers off the frontline. They knew how to scrap machines better than anyone if it ever came to that. She said that it would be impossible. That’s when General Herres interrupted (via hologram of course). “Doctors,” he announced. Sobeck took a long look. “I’m guessing he called you here,” she annoyed at the general. “Yes, he did. And I think he has a point. As for his plan, I am fully prepared to take a squad off the front line if means saving some lives.” Sobeck looked at Herres and simply sighed in defeat. She couldn’t argue with his reasoning, or mine as a matter of fact. “Okay. I’ll allow it. But this needs to be done quietly. If anyone in Elysium hears about this,who knows what could happen,” she explained to me. “Okay. Then we’ll sneak them in. I already have an idea of the sort of squad I want, and will see to them personally.” This statement surprised both Sobeck and Herres, as if they expected me to devolve that responsibility. “What do you mean, you see to it personally,” Sobeck demanded to know. “I mean, with the generals permission, I will select the candidates myself and talk to them personally, even if it means going into the front line,” came my response, “I’ve already discussed my requirements with General Herres and he has provided me with a list of names. If all goes well, I’ll have a selection by the end of the month.” I saw the uneasiness in both of them. I half expected Sobeck to deny permission for me to move forward, but it was General Herres who spoke first. “Very well, I’ll have an escort for you in two days. Best I can do, which is better than most everyone.” Sobeck never said anything as my and the General made our plans.
The details of how I came to get the soldiers under my employ is…. difficult. As I said I would, I went as far as joining the frontline to secure the people I wanted. The things I saw I’ll never forget. You haven’t seen hell until you see a titan “harvest” an entire trench of people in order to refuel. Like a mid-air blender, but much worse. Scarabs and Kopesh all over the place. Good people were killed, if not worse. Oh god, it was the worst I had ever seen. Will ever see in my lifetime. The names of the men who joined the team don’t matter, as will become apparent. They played no further part in my journey other than that small time we had together.
January 15th 2066: The Wichita Defence in Kansas has collapsed. Elysium is on its own. Most everybody is already here, and the last few transports will be here in the next few hours. Whether they’ll make it is another thing entirely. I often wondered if I made the right call in the cryo-pods. I’d be leaving over 1,600 people to live out their lives as I slept into the future, never knowing their pain. I suspected many would end their lives in the first few years. Who wouldn’t in this tomb. By the time that the doors sealed themselves, everyone but me and Siri were in cryo-sleep. She was unsure about going in, whilst I couldn’t wait to see the new world. While she making final checks on the vitals of everyone, I was checking in on the computer systems that were meant to keep us alive. We didn’t have an AI, just a complicated series of computers. There were also two servitors that were designated to maintain the area in which the cryo-pods were staying. As far as I could tell, everything worked fine. The Williams Brothers knew what they were doing. After we both finished our final duties, me and Siri shared one final embrace. “Why do I get the feeling like we never going to see each other again,” she asked. “Relax, we sleep for a bit then spend the rest of our lives together. If Kelsey is to be believed, we won’t even notice the time difference. We’ll never feel time passing,” I tried to comfort her. She had been the most worried about the project. I didn’t share her views. “I know it’ll work, I just want to be safe about it,” she had repeated from a thousand different conversations. “I know, so do I,” I once again comforted. As we finished our embrace, we both prepared for the next stage of our journey. The process had been automated by Milton before he entered cryo, so all we had to do was get in. I looked Siri over one last time before getting in and being put to sleep by the machine that would allow me to enter the new world.
I woke up in what felt like was mere moments later. I fell to the ground, throwing up the liquid that had formed in my stomach. I was so busy with this task that I failed to see the empty cryo-pods where my friends had once been. One of the servitors came up to me and in its robotic voice told me, “remain calm, sir. You have been in cryo for far longer than expected.” I realised what she said and responded with, “How long were we out.” “You have been woken after numerous attempts. It has been 974 years since your entry into cry-sleep,” the robot explained. I threw up again. “The others have been awake for an unknown number of years.” That stopped me. “What do you mean, unknown number of years?” The servitor explained how the various members of the team, including the soldiers, had been awakened separately for the past 600 years. Siri had been awakened along side the three Williams brothers over 80 years ago. “How come I haven’t been woken up until know?” The machine replied with, “repairs to your cryo-pod have only just allowed it.” I checked the computer logs. When the reactor for Elysium shut down, somehow it caused an EMP blast damaged some of the systems that were meant to wake us up. I was alone. I looked around, seeing that there truly wasn’t anyone else around. I even checked out the rest of Elysium. All I found was corpses, a thousand years dead. Eventually, I managed to find the main door out of this metal tomb I found myself in only to find it open. Through the opening, I saw a hint of blue and green as the sun blinded me and I began to walk forward. My story was only about to begin.
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