Sam’s introspection concerning the beauty of standing on solid ground was cut short by the metallic grating of a door opening. Looking over, he saw a balding man with a beard so full it was as though in compensation, heading their way. And although he wasn’t classically dressed the part, Sam had spent enough time among his kind to recognize him for what he was. “Ah, you must be Sam Anders. Pleasure to meet you,” the doctor said.

“No, don’t know where you got that name from. I go by John, Long John.”

“Truly? Alas. I was only given the barest amount of information regarding you and your personality, but it’s almost negligent how they failed to relay both your correct name and your wondrous sense of humor.”

“Nah, that’s OK. I wouldn’t blame the grunts on the ground for that. It’s only now that the shock is wearing out, giving place to disassociation, that I’m finally able to act a bit more like myself. Oh, and also I’ve just now come to recognize the fact that you most likely wouldn’t kill me for making a bad joke. Not that I’m saying my jokes are bad, mind you, I pride myself on my great sense of humor, as there’s not much else to be proud of. But… it’s always best to be prudent, no?”

The doctor nodded and Sam got the sense that it was worth reevaluating his perceived safety from the aftereffects of his usage of comedy. The doctor then turned to Sam’s current and third caretaker for the day. “Thank you for your help in bringing him all the way here, captain. I’ll take charge of his wellbeing from now on.”

“It was no problem, sir,” said the captain with a salute, before climbing back into the pilot’s seat. He called out to Sam with the door still open, “May fortune smile upon you, Mr. Sam Anders. I’ll keep you in my prayers.”

“A religious man, you don’t see that very often,” said the man left alone with Sam on the building’s roof as they were backpedaling away from the lifting helicopter.

“Yeah, he mentioned the same thing,” Sam said once the rotor’s noises started fading away.

“Had a productive talk, then?”

“Not really. He was sort of adamant about letting the people here be in charge of bringing me up to speed.”

“Good. It’s what I asked them to do.”

“You being the person who’s going to be bringing me up to speed?”

“Soon, I promise… So, did you enjoy the view well enough for the time being, or should we stay up here for a little more? I could give you the old tour from above it all. After all, the hospital is the highest building on campus.”

“Why is there a hospital here, anyway?”

“Because the best way to train up and coming young healers, and those older and less malleable than them, is to let them treat real people’s real problems. Also, enough injuries occur amongst the students during the day to day to necessitate something bigger than a simple infirmary. And that’s not mentioning the hospital’s rehabilitation ward, or its focus on research.”

“All right, all right, I get yet. No taxpayer’s money is being wasted here. Anyway, we can do away with the tour for all I care.”

“As you wish. If you do end staying here at New Point, I’ll make sure someone gives you the whole runaround,” he said while spreading his arms to indicate the campus grounds.

“New Point? That’s a military academy, right? Why would I be staying here?”

“Plenty of reasons. We’ll see…”

“Is one of them the name of this place? You guys really couldn’t have come up with a better name for a military academy than fucking ‘New Point?’ Surely someone will sue. Or is it a law in the future that every name must be so cliche that it’s immediately recognizable to someone brought from the past?”

“Good question. But I don’t have an answer as I didn’t name anything. This place was built before I was returned. So I have no clue as to the original builders’ intentions. Although if I had to hazard a guess… The fact that most of the founders did not come from a military background and were feeling homesick to the point that any semblance of familiarity was precious to them. Well, that probably had something to do with the name. Some of the bigger buildings on campus are named after people, though, if that’s more to your speed.”

“Wait, ‘was returned?’ Isn’t that what I was? Today?”

“Indeed. I see some of the terminology has already started seeping into you. Well done.”

“Ah, I get it then. You’re the reason I’m here. Why they brought me all the way out here…”

“It is part of the reason. But my part in your orientation is also due to my status as head of this facility. And, pardon the self-importance, due to being one of the foremost modern expert on the Taken.”

“OK… but why did we have to meet at a hospital? Aren’t I’m perfectly healthy? What with the new body and all that?”

“Very likely… physically wise, at least. But, be that as it may, it is still protocol to conduct a full medical checkup for all newly returned Taken. And this is before taking into account that some of the circumstances of your return are wholly unique to you amongst all other Taken. But, a full explanation can be given while we’re conducting all of our tests, no? If you would follow me,” he said while beckoning towards the door.

Sam wasn’t completely deterred just yet and so opted for one more question. “So you’re in charge here. Does that make you Doctor General? Or General Doctor?”

“Alas, but my military rank is simply that of a lieutenant colonel, having stayed away from active service for quite some time. And while I am indeed a doctor, you may feel free to call me simply by my name and omitting any of my titles as you choose.” He opened the door and gestured Sam to pass through.

“And your name would be?”

“Maurice Giraud, at you service.”

“Maurice… you wouldn’t happen to be French by any chance?”

“Didn’t my accent give me away?” asked Maurice, making his accent thick enough to be recognizable for the first time in their conversation. “And where are you from… Sam?”

Sam avoided the question by outright ignoring it and making a study of observing the staircase they were descending through. Although during his most recent stay in a hospital, Sam didn’t make any use of the stairway, he still had plenty of experience with them from his previous visits. Enough experience anyway, to be surprised by the condition of the room. It was completely and utterly pristine. Yes, hygienic and pristine was that you usually excepted a (good) hospital to look like, but it also usually didn’t extend so much to the staircases and public hallways. This must be one fancy place...

Eventually, their descent ended at a door marked with the number nine. Beyond which, Maurice led them to an elevator and promptly called it in the only available direction.

“So, you still have elevators?” Sam asked.

“Why wouldn’t we? It’s much better than taking the stairs all the time after all. Not to mention that this is a hospital and not all visitors would be able to take the stairs.”

“You’re telling me? I Just thought you’d have exchanged it with some magical equivalent, like a teleporter or a portal like the ones back where I woke up.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“There’s no such thing as a teleporter, much less in-world teleportation. And the portals are not handmade, just hand-placed.” The elevator reached their floor then, and they both stepped inside. Maurice pushed the button for the third floor and a second or two later, the doors closed, and the elevator started moving. All of this was just as Sam was used to.

“So the elevators are still the same as well?” he asked Maurice.

“I’m no expert, but I saw no change when I was returned or in the years since compared to what I was used to growing up. And I wouldn’t worry about it if were you. You’ll soon find that most modern technology is not much different from what we’re used to from our time.”

“Here’s hoping. I’ve spent my entire life mocking old people who couldn’t handle technology, and I’d like to avoid joining their ranks and being mocked in turn.”

The rest of the elevator ride continued in silence, but Sam was able to note that the elevator, much like the stairway, was also in incredibly pristine condition. Joined with the fact that the ride was incredibility smooth and quick, Sam would have to rate this among the top of his elevator experiences. Providing, of course, that he was someone who actually rated stuff like that. He wasn’t, but maybe in this new world he should try to be a new person and take up a new experience. He rubbed his right eye with his palm. What the fuck am I talking about?

Stepping out of the elevator, he continued following Maurice as they went through the usual hospital hallway’s twist and turns (very clean as well). Their journey ended in what looked to be a very upscale posh version of a regular hospital room, complete with only the one bed.

“Please take a sit if you will, Mr. Anders.” Maurice pointed to the bed. “I’m just going to finish setting everything up and then we can get started.”

“Get started with what?” Sam asked.

“We will start with a complete physical rundown: Bloodwork, EKG, heart rate, blood pressure and so on.”

“Usually it’s the nurses who do this kind of stuff…”

“These days, the line between a nurse and a doctor is blurrier than you are used to, at least when magic is heavily involved, like in this facility.”

“But what you’re talking about is just regular stuff.”

“We’ll get to the more esoteric portion after finishing with the ‘regular stuff,’ as you’ve called them. It is paramount we make sure you are fine physically before moving on and inspecting your magical status. Especially considering your age.”

“What’s my age got to do with it?”

“Well, most Taken, that is to say, all Taken returned after the Integration ended, and there aren’t that many of us, twenty-six not counting you, were taken at a young age. Myself, I was taken at just over fourteen and I believe—although I may be wrong—that I rank as the oldest when taken among all the modern Taken, barring you, of course.”

“Well, Gee…” Sam said, “it just so happens that I’m actually only turning fourteen next month, so you still hold the crown. I’m just so big cause Mama fed me with too much GMO food.”

“And so, we move on to the first question of our test: your age?” Maurice asked, without showing even a shred of amusement. Figures. Someone who could keep a straight face while saying the word “taken” a dozen times in a single breath wasn’t going to crack so easily.

“Twenty-two, the last time I checked. But considering that I don’t really remember what happened to me before getting shafted to that void, I might’ve already turned a year older.”

“Yes, that sort of amnesia is common amongst all of us, and I’m afraid to say that up to today there have been no records of regaining those memories. Still, most of us believe that we have lost out only a month at most, so you are probably still twenty-two.”

“Oh good! I can’t bear the thought of turning twenty-three and still being childless, and not to mention—”

“I just want to clarify one thing. When you said that you got ‘shafted to that void,’ what exactly are you talking about?”

“Is there more than one void you’re familiar with?” Sam chuckled. Finally, someone else was asking the stupid questions.

“I am only familiar with one kind of void and it’s not a place you should have been able to access, much less survive in. So I’d like to make sure you are not speaking metaphorically. Did you really experience being in a void after being taken?”

“Um… Yeah. Before I appeared near the portal, before I was ‘returned.’ I was… I don’t know how to explain it besides saying it was a void. I was unable to sense or do anything. Just think. Oh! Right! Before I got teleported here, I mean back near the portal, there was a voice that said something like, ‘transfer complete,’ or something like that. You guys didn’t have any of this?”

“No… nothing at all. This is very fascinating… and not the only thing wholly unique to your situation as a Taken.”

“Well shit, what are the other things?”

“We’ll get to them later. For now, let’s focus on making sure everything’s all right with you physically.” At this point, Sam was already getting tired of overthinking, so he decided to just go along with the doctor’s orders and let him run his tests until he was satisfied. They’ll tell him things when they’ll tell him things. He had all the time in the world (as long as time didn’t work different between the worlds) to get the run-through of this place.

The doctor had him go through all the rigmaroles he was already used to from his extended stay in the hospital, and just generally from a life with… less than average physical genes. All the while, asking him all sorts of questions that Sam barely paid attention to and only answered half-heartedly. Eventually they had finished all the tests Maurice wanted to perform and so the doctor proclaimed him “physically fit.”

“Now, subjectively, how are you feeling?” Maurice asked him.

“Physically or mentally?”

“Mentally. I assume you’re feeling better than expected?”

“Yeah, much better, considering all of this shit. How’d you know?”

“It’s a result of both of the remaking of your body and your brain experiencing magic for the first time. The first aspect seeks to… perhaps perfect is too harsh a word, so let’s say improve your body. Thus, one improvement in your mental condition is as a result of your body simply working better. Through, for example, correcting a hormone imbalance that any average person is wont to have. The second aspect… it’s like a drug, in a manner of sorts. Magic is good for the body and the brain is wholly unfamiliar with it, thus resulting in a vastly improved, even euphoric mood, at least on a chemical level.”

“That’s great… so what you’re basically saying is that now my brain is wired differently and essentially I’m a whole other person. And on top of that, I’m also hopped up on drugs.” Sam said with as much anger as he could muster, which wasn’t much thanks to his apparent new body. He might’ve not liked playing host to a multitude of mental maladies, but they still played a gigantic part in sculpting his personality into what it was today.

“That is a very harsh way to look at it. My suggestion is to view the remaking of your body as a ‘miracle pill’ that a psychiatrist could have prescribed for you before. One that would have solved any and all of your mental problems that were a result of your body alone. This does not change the way your brain work and how you think. You are still yourself, just a better of version of you, physically wise.

“More importantly, what you are experiencing, vis-à-vis the introduction of magic to your system, is only temporary. As your mind gets used to the effects of magic on your brain and body, it will eventually dispense with the mental alteration aspect you are now under. From personal experience, this feeling of ease and euphoria, which plays a great balancing act in allowing you to function despite the shock you should rightly be feeling, is due to pass in a couple of months. One day soon, you will simply wake up and know that your brain is now fully acclimated to magic.”

Sam took little comfort in the doctor’s words. It all made sense and was nice and easy if he took him at face value; a nice miracle pill. True, he was feeling as though someone took the good parts of Ritalin and Prozac (sprinkle in a little Xanax too maybe), shoved them into one pill, which did away with the side effects, and also made you breakfast. But he wasn’t willing to trust that the change he underwent was as simple as that.

Sam spent many a night before a psychiatrist’s or doctor’s appointment wishing for a medicine of exactly that type. Some new wonder drug that will make all his problems go away. No more feeling shit because of bullshit; no more rehearsing a conversation a hundred times in his head; no more million other problems and annoyances that only served to give him an excuse as to why he wasn’t as good as other people. A perfect and happy version of Sam Anders that can do all the stuff that regular Sam would never be able to and also do everything he was already doing much better.

But the difference between his situation now and the one he wished for was that now he wasn’t sure if he was still the same person. Oh sure, you could go down the stupid existentialist route and wonder if he ever was himself, and doubly wonder who he was now that he was transported a hundred years into the future to a completely different world.

But Sam wasn’t even thinking in that layer of deep introspection. With a pill, he can stop using it and go back to his “default” state anytime. Sure you’re not supposed to do that, but you can. The real you is always in there. It’s just getting help. But with this magic and perfected body of his, this was his default state. There wasn’t anything beneath this new shiny exterior of his.

“Look,” said Maurice when he noticed Sam’s unresponsive state, “why don’t you go in and grab a shower while I get all of this written down. You’ll get yourself clean, have a few minutes just to yourself and afterwards we can continue.”

Sam very much liked the idea of a warm shower and a few minutes just to himself. So, he nodded, got off of the bed and into the bathroom. The bathroom, just like the room outside, was very nice, much nicer than what Sam was used to. Why the shower came with a glass screen. And the toilet, the toilet was plenty far from the both shower and the sink. Not to mention that the floor looked it belonged more in a hotel bathroom.

Taking off his borrowed (given more like, cause at this point he’ll probably never return them) clothes and putting them on the door hook, he got into the shower and turned on the water, letting the heat soak through his skin and try to wash the day away. Worst part was, the day had only just begun.