Mark Benson was led down the hall slowly. He looked around. There were a lot of monitors next to various doors, showing different things. He didn't understand any of it, he was no scientist. He didn't have much knowledge at all about physics or chemistry. That wasn't why he was there though. No, he was there because he had nowhere else to go. He was taken into a room at the end of the hall. He looked around and saw a large, somewhat clunky tube in the middle of the small room. He knew this would be where he was going to be for the next ten years, not that he would notice it, or so they told him.
He sighed and looked down at the hospital gown he'd been given to wear. He took it off as instructed and then put on the specially designed suit. It was skin tight and not very comfortable at all. He made a comment about it and was told that it would not matter in a few minutes. He sighed again and let the man in the white lab coat take him to the tube. He stepped inside and allowed himself to be hooked up to numerous tubes and wires. "All safety precautions" he'd been told. He had been told a lot of things by the scientists. The reality was, they were not even sure this would work. He knew that, they knew that, and they knew that he knew. Yet everyone was putting on a face that was trying to tell him it would be alright. He could see the uncertainty in their eyes.
The tube closed and he looked out the small window as final preparations were being made. He saw a couple of people pressing buttons and suddenly he felt drowsy. A loud hiss didn't snap him out of it. Even the feeling of liquid around his feet did not register in his mind as he fell asleep. As his eyes drifted shut he had one final thought, hoping that he would come out of it ok and could start his life fresh.
The scientists pressed the final buttons and watched the tube fill completely with liquid. They looked into the window and saw the subject just as he should be. They had done all they needed to. It had all gone smoothly. Now it was up to the computer programs to keep the young man alive. When he woke they would check up on him and see how it went, if their were any side effects, but they were confident that their latest attempt at creating long term stasis pods would work successfully.
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Mark had found out about the experiment when he was doing a final desperate search for money. He was running out of funds to be able to survive. His wellfare checks were not enough for him to survive. He needed more cash or else he would soon find himself in a place he never wanted to be. He had seen the dark side of the world and didn't like it. Now, because of a misunderstanding, he was doomed to a third rate life.
Five years ago he had been studying english at university. He was not the best student, but he worked hard. He was getting decent grades, had good friends, a girlfriend, and he was not having much money trouble. That was when disaster struck. One night he was walking home after a night with his friends. He decided to take the long route. That was his first mistake. His second mistake was cutting through the park. His third and final mistake was not taking a good look at someone who bumped into him as he ran past. This one was crucial, because minutes later the police arrived at the park.
The police took him to the station and asked him a few questions about anything he may have seen at the park that night. He told them all he could, not sure what had happened. He went home, but a day later the police asked him to come to the station again. This time he was sent into a room with a mirror in it. A few minutes later an officer entered and put handcuffs on Mark. They told him he was under arrest for rape. Mark was shocked and did not understand why this was happening to him.
At the trial he had no support from anyone. He had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had no information about the real rapist, who he was sure was the man that had run into him. Mark was found guilty and sentenced to jail. He tried to convince his friends it had not been him, but for some reason none of them believed him.
He spent five years of his life in the prison. He worked hard on trying to get pardoned, but no new evidence was ever found. He asked them for a DNA test, but was simply told it was not possible. Mark started to lose hope. His friends stopped visiting and every attempt to contact them failed. It seemed they had come to believe in his guilt. Even his family was unwilling to help. Mark did not know what to do. He had no one left in the world willing to believe him and help him.
After two years he gave up and just tried to get by in jail. He started working out to become more fit. He studied a little in the library, hoping he would get a chance at a job once he got out. He developed his writing skills and his physique. He was soon pleased with himself and became a little hopefull that when he got out he would have a chance at life. The hope grew as his first hearing came up. He was granted parole.
He went and found an apartment. He began looking for a job. He tried contacting friends again, but none of them wanted anything to do with him. He tried making new friends, but once they found out about his jail time and rape sentence, they avoided him. Prisoners were supposed to be able to get jobs once they got out, but Mark had no luck. No one would hire him. He started losing hope again. He kept fit and continued to study as best as he could, but was desperate for work and money.
He finally found an advertisement for a science experiment that would pay very well. He applied right away. They asked him to come in and gave him a basic explaination of what they wanted to do. He listened to them explain about stasis and its future benefits. They also told him he would be in there for years and when he came out everyone else would have lived ten years while he would be the same. He had no objections and felt it would be perfect for him. When he was done with it they would give him a large amount of money and help him get back on his feet in the new world. It sounded perfect to him. He agreed and they started the testing.
They ran him through a physical test and he passed easily. They said he would be great for stasis since he was in good shape and that meant a better response to the procedure and to reawakening. So then he went on to the psychological evaluation. He was able to pass that and they agreed to start preparation on him. They ran him through what would happen and taught him all they could about the procedure. Then came the day to enter the tube.
There he was now, in the stasis tube, all vital signs looking good, all parts of the machine functioning perfectly. This was the most promising start the scientists had ever seen. It was also the most hope that Mark had felt since before that fateful night. It seemed that eveything was going to turn out ok, and it would, depending on how one defines the word "ok".
He sighed and looked down at the hospital gown he'd been given to wear. He took it off as instructed and then put on the specially designed suit. It was skin tight and not very comfortable at all. He made a comment about it and was told that it would not matter in a few minutes. He sighed again and let the man in the white lab coat take him to the tube. He stepped inside and allowed himself to be hooked up to numerous tubes and wires. "All safety precautions" he'd been told. He had been told a lot of things by the scientists. The reality was, they were not even sure this would work. He knew that, they knew that, and they knew that he knew. Yet everyone was putting on a face that was trying to tell him it would be alright. He could see the uncertainty in their eyes.
The tube closed and he looked out the small window as final preparations were being made. He saw a couple of people pressing buttons and suddenly he felt drowsy. A loud hiss didn't snap him out of it. Even the feeling of liquid around his feet did not register in his mind as he fell asleep. As his eyes drifted shut he had one final thought, hoping that he would come out of it ok and could start his life fresh.
The scientists pressed the final buttons and watched the tube fill completely with liquid. They looked into the window and saw the subject just as he should be. They had done all they needed to. It had all gone smoothly. Now it was up to the computer programs to keep the young man alive. When he woke they would check up on him and see how it went, if their were any side effects, but they were confident that their latest attempt at creating long term stasis pods would work successfully.
----------------------------------
Mark had found out about the experiment when he was doing a final desperate search for money. He was running out of funds to be able to survive. His wellfare checks were not enough for him to survive. He needed more cash or else he would soon find himself in a place he never wanted to be. He had seen the dark side of the world and didn't like it. Now, because of a misunderstanding, he was doomed to a third rate life.
Five years ago he had been studying english at university. He was not the best student, but he worked hard. He was getting decent grades, had good friends, a girlfriend, and he was not having much money trouble. That was when disaster struck. One night he was walking home after a night with his friends. He decided to take the long route. That was his first mistake. His second mistake was cutting through the park. His third and final mistake was not taking a good look at someone who bumped into him as he ran past. This one was crucial, because minutes later the police arrived at the park.
The police took him to the station and asked him a few questions about anything he may have seen at the park that night. He told them all he could, not sure what had happened. He went home, but a day later the police asked him to come to the station again. This time he was sent into a room with a mirror in it. A few minutes later an officer entered and put handcuffs on Mark. They told him he was under arrest for rape. Mark was shocked and did not understand why this was happening to him.
At the trial he had no support from anyone. He had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had no information about the real rapist, who he was sure was the man that had run into him. Mark was found guilty and sentenced to jail. He tried to convince his friends it had not been him, but for some reason none of them believed him.
He spent five years of his life in the prison. He worked hard on trying to get pardoned, but no new evidence was ever found. He asked them for a DNA test, but was simply told it was not possible. Mark started to lose hope. His friends stopped visiting and every attempt to contact them failed. It seemed they had come to believe in his guilt. Even his family was unwilling to help. Mark did not know what to do. He had no one left in the world willing to believe him and help him.
After two years he gave up and just tried to get by in jail. He started working out to become more fit. He studied a little in the library, hoping he would get a chance at a job once he got out. He developed his writing skills and his physique. He was soon pleased with himself and became a little hopefull that when he got out he would have a chance at life. The hope grew as his first hearing came up. He was granted parole.
He went and found an apartment. He began looking for a job. He tried contacting friends again, but none of them wanted anything to do with him. He tried making new friends, but once they found out about his jail time and rape sentence, they avoided him. Prisoners were supposed to be able to get jobs once they got out, but Mark had no luck. No one would hire him. He started losing hope again. He kept fit and continued to study as best as he could, but was desperate for work and money.
He finally found an advertisement for a science experiment that would pay very well. He applied right away. They asked him to come in and gave him a basic explaination of what they wanted to do. He listened to them explain about stasis and its future benefits. They also told him he would be in there for years and when he came out everyone else would have lived ten years while he would be the same. He had no objections and felt it would be perfect for him. When he was done with it they would give him a large amount of money and help him get back on his feet in the new world. It sounded perfect to him. He agreed and they started the testing.
They ran him through a physical test and he passed easily. They said he would be great for stasis since he was in good shape and that meant a better response to the procedure and to reawakening. So then he went on to the psychological evaluation. He was able to pass that and they agreed to start preparation on him. They ran him through what would happen and taught him all they could about the procedure. Then came the day to enter the tube.
There he was now, in the stasis tube, all vital signs looking good, all parts of the machine functioning perfectly. This was the most promising start the scientists had ever seen. It was also the most hope that Mark had felt since before that fateful night. It seemed that eveything was going to turn out ok, and it would, depending on how one defines the word "ok".