I kicked the grill out of the way, and was surprised to see it fall not downwards or away from me as I expected, but upwards. I was lying on my back, and my feet were suddenly dangling at an uncomfortable angle, threatening to drag me out. It’s a very weird sensation to be simultaneously falling while staying perfectly still. Somehow, I managed to keep a grip within the vents and prevent myself from falling further out. Obviously, this wasn’t the best way out.
I looked back at my origami map for any further clues, and was horrified. My map now had a big rip in the middle from the countless foldings I'd done. There was no way I could repair it without any tape. And any tape would ruin the delicate hairline folds, making the structure bulkier than usual. At this point, my safest option was to give up, rather than venture further inside with no clear path, and possibly die of starvation. I looked up the option for what to do if I wanted to go back. Naturally, it told me, “If you want to go back to your safety zone, go ahead! I won’t stop you! Go back where you came from!” This wasn’t very encouraging, since I didn’t want to go further, but also didn’t want to be told to give up so bluntly.
I started unfolding the map further ahead, seeing where the various paths would head, looking for where the point of no return would change my choices. At every future injection, the final destination remained the same. Then, at a certain point buried deep within the folds of a particularly elaborate 20-step pattern, one last option jumped out: “Go See the Warden.”
I was confused. Was this place a prison? It certainly felt like one. But how could I find this elusive Warden in the first place? Apart from the guards and Social Workers, I hadn’t seen any other authority figures. I looked at the map, but in the dim shades of the vents, it was impossible to make out the words. The only way I could make any sense out of what was written was if I moved to a brighter place.
I consulted what remained of my map, and tried to decipher its markings, since it was near-impossible to read in the dark. I didn’t dare go close to where I’d nearly fallen out, but ventured in the opposite direction. As I crawled towards the light, diverging from the usual path, I heard more voices up ahead. In the vent above me, I looked up to an upside-down room where a balding man with a mustache walked among the guards like he owned the place.
Upon seeing the man’s facial hair, I brought my hand up to my face, and felt around. There wasn't even the faintest hint of stubble there, despite not shaving since I'd woken up. Another change I wasn't aware of? How many of these unspoken rules WERE there??
He talked with the guards for an interminable length of time, then the men left, leaving the mustachoid man alone. If there was any other option, I couldn’t see it. I raised my knees up to my chest, bracing my feet against the grill above. Sure enough, the pressure was enough to break the fragile barrier between me and the head of this mysterious facility. My sudden arrival came as a complete shock to him, giving me an opening. Unfortunately, I stunk on the landing, falling flat on my butt.
“Oh, there you are!” he said, having apparently gotten over the shock. The guards came racing back, being alerted by the sudden noise. Out of desperation, I grabbed the closest implement - a pen - and lodged it threateningly against the Warden’s throat.
“Stay back! Or he gets it!” I cried. I’m not a normally violent man, but I’d been driven to extremes, and didn’t see much choice in stopping these men from hurting me, or worse, doing irreparable mental damage. The guards looked on with dismayed loathing. But the Warden’s actions surprised even me. He simply up his palm and said, “Calm down. I’m not in any danger.” He turned and looked at me with a neutral tone and said, “I’m guessing you want to get out of here, right?”
“...can’t do this...wrong...”
“What are you going to do to me now?”
“Do?” He looked slightly confused. “I’m not going to DO anything. I’m offering you a choice. You can either choose to catch a glimpse of the world beyond this point, or go back to the comfort of your room until you think you’re ready. It doesn’t really matter either way. You’ll find out sooner or later.”
“I guess I might as well get it over with.”
“Fair enough.” The man in the suit made a gesture towards the guards. “We’re going to take a little trip towards the outer rim now.”
“No funny tricks! If I see anything that looks like a surprise attack, down you go!” I actually didn’t intend to harm this guy, but having pulled the facade so far, I wasn’t going to stop now.
“You have my solemn word that the guards will stand down until we’ve completed our business.”
The guards protested, “But sir...”
“Stand down. That’s an order,” he replied with such nonchalance that it frightened me.
I held my hand against the Warden’s neck, my back against the wall, while the man pointed in the direction we needed to go. After an interminable distance of being scowled at by impotent guards, we got on a platform that could only be operated by higher personnel.
Once the platform started moving, and we were a safe distance away, he asked, “You mind loosening your grip? It’s starting to chaff.”
“No dice! I’m not taking any chances!”
“Fair enough. I must confess, I’m impressed you actually managed to make it this far. Most people never get past the third rim.”
While he was talking, I only noticed that the platform we were riding had been going towards an unspecified destination for quite some time at high speed. We'd passed several surfaceless interior buildings that apart from some meaningless symbols, were all virtually identical to each other. Far off into the distance, large blocks of these square structural buildings were gradually sliding into empty spaces that were once unoccupied, much like a sliding block puzzle.
“How big IS this place??”
“Not as large as we’d hoped.”
“...you can’t....do this. ....done nothing wrong....”
“Actually, there’s about 100 possible ways to escape from here, but your friend chose the most difficult path by creating an alternate route. We try to minimize the amount of damage people could do to others and themselves.”
I could only stare dumbly at this man's words.
“Do you remember why you were put into hibernation in the first place?”
I tried to recall dim memories of why I was induced into a coma in the first place. Normally, such a procedure would come about from being infected from a disease, but I couldn’t remember being sick. There was a vague nagging feeling involving something to do with books, but I couldn’t recall anything definitive.
“I have to admit, I don’t know.”
“Well, that’s not unusual. Once you’re brought out, people in your position find it difficult to accept your true nature. Normally, I wouldn’t be lenient with your kind, but considering the nature of your crime, I’m willing to let it pass.”
The words had barely registered across my mind before I could comprehend them. “My crime?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? This entire facility is nothing more than a prison housing some of the most notorious criminals in history. Your friend in particular was quite fond of spreading scandalous gossip around the four corners of the globe.”
“What - what did I do?”
“From the remaining documents that’re still around, I understand you were involved with some kind of account fraud. It’s still unclear whether you were framed to cover up your bosses, or if you were a scapegoat to distract from bigger problems.”
“I don’t understand - why are you telling me all this? If I’m a criminal, and am still carrying out my sentence, why bother releasing me in the first place? Furthermore, what’s with all the comfortable surroundings? If I were in a minimal security prison, I’d expect to be treated... actually, I don’t know how I’d be treated any differently from how I’m treated now.”
“There’s an Isaac Asimov story of a peaceful planet that loses control when they see stars appearing in the nighttime sky.”
“I’m not sure I see the relevance.”
“You will.”
The dome entrance opened, and I got to see the world beyond my comfort zone. “Good Lord, what have you done to the sky?!”
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