"Initiating memory wipe."

  "Memory wipe complete."

  I woke up to the sterile hum of fluorescent lights, the kind that buzzed faintly like trapped insects in the corners of your mind. My head pounded, each throb syncing with the sharp, rhythmic beeping of a monitor nearby. The air was sharp and metallic, tinged with a chill that sank into my skin like needles. Blinking hard, I tried to clear the fog from my vision.

  Where was I?

  The room was a square, lifeless cage of white walls, each one unbroken save for a single reinforced window too high to reach, and two sets of speakers in the room. A metallic table and a few instruments on a cart stood off to one side, their sharp edges gleaming under the overhead lights. My pulse quickened. Was I in a hospital? No, it felt colder than that. Clinical. Impersonal.

  I pushed myself up, but the ache in my body made me falter. My arms trembled, my muscles protesting every movement. It was then that I noticed the strange stiffness in my left hand. Instinctively, I turned it over, expecting to see bruises or needle marks, some explanation for the sluggish burn in my veins.

  Instead, I saw it.

  A glowing blue symbol was etched into the skin of my palm, pulsating faintly like a heartbeat. It wasn't ink—it shimmered, alive, almost liquid in the way it shifted under the light. The sight of it sent a cold wave of panic through me. I rubbed at it, desperate to smear it away, but the glow only brightened as if mocking me. I quickly glanced to my left where a computer stood on a steel table, where I assumed nobody had ever touched it.

  Then something clicked inside of me.

  I was alone, or I believed that. I began to remember if I was with someone or somebody, but every time my brain got to work, it was as if my whole mind was blank. I pushed it aside and began to remember my life and who I was as a person, but my brain refused.

  There was nothing. I couldn't even remember anything.

  I stood up and walked over to the computer that was at the table, I slowly hovered my finger towards the POWER button. But before I could even click on the button, a robotic female voice began to speak from the speakers.

  "Welcome Nero."

  "My name is Nero?" I muttered to myself, as I took a few steps forwards toward the computer, as the female voice replied to me again.

  "You currently have 215 completed and 42 failed experiments. A Neosis employee will come soon to you. Please be patient and don't leave your Subject Room. Failure to do so will get into the nearest interrogation room in Site C-9. We hope you will comply."

  The female voice disappeared quickly as if it were a pre-recorded message. Before I could even question what was going on with that message, an automatic reinforced steel door opened up with a hiss as I turned around. A young man who I would guess was in his late 20s entered the room. He had slick brown hair and black glasses that shined bright due to the overhead lights. His clothes were clinical as if he were some sort of science researcher who wanted to be too professional and pristine. I glanced at him and saw a white badge, upon I read his name.

  J. Clark.

  He gave me a smile that was somehow wrong as if to say 'Everything will be alright', but deep down I knew that there was something totally wrong with that guy. The young man walked over to the monitor that was still beeping and deactivated a switch that I couldn't see where it was from. He then sat down on a bed that had a clean white sheet, while his fingers began to drum on the bed's right leg.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "So Nero," he began as he glanced at me with his glasses. "your recent experiment results have been all good these past three days. No spiking of your neuro-vitals and your blood is below average, which is a good sign for a 25-year-old young man. I'll be scheduling your next experiment visit for Friday."

  I leaned up against the white wall and didn't say a word for the first two seconds, as I was unsure if I would trust the guy in the slightest. Even weirder was that he knew my name - or at least did. I began to argue with myself that I didn't want to reply to him, as in my instincts the guy was a stranger to me, and I couldn't even remember him.

  "You're J. Clark?" I slowly answered him.

  "I am. I have known you for years, but the higher-ups here didn't like our relationship with each other," replied Clark as he looked at me.

  He had known me for years?

  "I don't even know who you are," I replied back, as I saw Clark's smile become neutral almost too clinical. It was as if he knew my reply.

  "I think I need to freshen your mind a little. I'm your instructor here at Sector 15. Think of me as your guide if you get lost here at the facility. I would be fired if you were going to do something stupid here Nero." Clark replied back at me, as he began to get up from the bed.

  "Can you at least say something about why I can't remember a thing?" I replied back at him, curious to get some sort of an answer. When that reply got out of my mouth, Clark stopped mid-air in his tracks. He glanced back-and-fourth in an unnatural manner, as if he was nervous to let too much of his reply get to me.

  "I'm sorry Nero, but I can't. I don't have Clearance Six. Maybe you're just a bit tired?" answered Clark in a nervous tone.

  I looked away from Clark, as I didn't bother to answer him. My eyes landed on a calendar where the year stood in black text: 2095.

  2095? I'm in the future

  I glanced up at Clark again to answer more about why I was in the future, but before I could even reply back, a mechanical hiss opened up the door again, and in walked a man with a black suit. The man began to look at me as if I were a prey that couldn't even defend themselves. I turned my head at Clark who now was nervous.

  "Jason, I told you to never engage with the Subject. You already know that it's strictly prohibited in Site C-8 and that this isn't an attachment experiment." the man said in a firm tone as Clark's eyes darted back and forth. I began to guess that he had some sort of anxiety about not following what rules the place had.

  "I-I'm sorry Williams. I was just checking up on the subject as usual. You know that I'm always checking that everything will be running smoothly and with no breaches. We can't afford what happened at Site E-5, remember?" replied Clark to the man.

  "I know where you're coming at Jason, but the Director wants the Subject to be ready for today's experiment. Comply or I'll be sure that you'll see burned payoffs in the next three months." the man replied to Clark in a harsh tone, as if he didn't like him at all.

  "P-please Williams! Don't burn my payoffs! I swear I'll-"

  "Do it!" barked the man at Clark. I quickly turned my eyes to Clark where I could see that he was now visibly shaken.

  "Excuse me," I said slowly so as to not be shouted at by the man. "but who are you?"

  The man turned from the still-shaken Clark toward me as he began to speak. "I'm Senior Director Williams Reid of Sector C-9 of the Neosis Corporation."

  Senior Director?

  I didn't reply back as I now got the man's name. After a minute of awkward silence, Williams spoke up to me.

  "I'm sorry for my outburst at Clark, but anyway you need to come with me as your experiment today awaits you, Nero."

  With that, Williams headed for the mechanical door and Clark followed right beside him. I began to follow them but my legs were still weak from where I woke up. I didn't have a choice but to refuse as I wanted to do that, but God knows what Williams would do to me if I did so. I stopped a few meters from the door as I saw that Williams noticed my sudden behavior.

  "Come with me," he said as I continued to walk because I didn't have a choice.

  And I certainly didn't have any freedom.