A pod opened. The man, who was laying inside, managed to open his eyes as he was dragged out by someone. He found himself in some kind of laboratory, with spotless walls of a clear color. An odd serenity, interrupted by the loud noises and red flashing lights of an alarm.

A woman had dragged him out, she had long brown hair, pale skin and dark eyes, and was wearing a lab coat. She was pressing some buttons in a large machine, which the capsule seemed to be a part of. “Tch, a few more seconds and it would have blown up in my face, had I not turned it off…” she said, with a foreign accent, and then she turned to the man “A failure. But there’ll be more,” she smiled in an eerie manner, as if the man wasn’t more than a lowly lab rat. “Many more.”

All of a sudden a man of sturdy build, with a shaved head and wearing a hospital gown that had a tag sewn on it which read “BR-00” burst into the room. Before the scientist could react, he shoved her to the ground and ran up to the spectator helping him up “We’ve gotta go! Now!” He said, with clear urgency in his tone.

“Ok.” He simply accepted the situation, barely keeping up with his athletic acquaintance’s pace. They exited the lab, entering an empty hallway, just as clean as the previous room. There were no other people or decorations, but that’s just how things were.

“We’re not gonna get another shot at getting out! That woman wouldn’t let something like this happen twice,” said the robust man with a fearful tone. “We might also need names… I know! Mine’s gonna be Barry! You got one?”

His follower stopped to think for a moment, and shook his head. He didn’t remember anything, but that’s just how things were. In fact, he probably had never existed before waking up. The man didn’t have a name, nor did he need one, but he wouldn’t be opposed to one either.

The two turned at a corner, encountering a broom closet in a dead end. Before they could turn back, the man without a name felt something round and cold pressing against his back. “Inside. Both of you,” slurred a female voice behind them, as if whoever this woman was, she was very drunk.

Barry put his hands up and entered the closet, realizing what the round item in question was, and the other man followed, with little care for it. They had been told to enter, after all.

“You two escaped the lab, yes? Turn around.” The woman lowered her gun and the men did as told. She looked different to the scientist, her face was covered by a mask and she wore a dirty hoodie. Her voice seemed familiar, but there was no reason to question it. It just was. “You two surely saw the machine, you must know where it is.”

Barry nodded with a smile “Course we do! But… who are you, and what’s up with the machine?” He tilted his head, with a confused expression, yet happy no one’s life was being threatened anymore.

“Name’s Jennifer. I’m here to fuck up that thing, the H.P.G.R.O. You two are experiments, as you probably already know. You’re not gonna have a chance of escaping if the machine still exists, not to mention living out there.”

The nameless man didn’t fully pay attention to her words. There was a window on the closet’s side wall, in which he was finally able to see himself in the reflection upon turning to it. He was very thin, with long gray hair even if he seemed to be in his twenties. He had different colored eyes, yellow and brown respectively, and even wore his own hospital gown, with a tag that read “CC-00.” He observed his appearance while Jennifer continued talking. “So you’re gonna take me to it, and help destroy it.”

Barry scratched his head “What’s it do exactly?”

“The High Precision Genetic and Reason Operator allows complete overwriting of anyone’s genes in any way and form, with any goal in mind. It can destroy diseases and even reverse aging. The creator… only made one, a prototype. He presented it to the authorities and they decided to just keep it, make themselves immortal and rule over the rest of humanity as gods. That was 200 years ago. Now the machine is the centerpiece in human experiments like you two: Project Barrier and… HEY! Pay attention, you idiot!” She gripped the man and forcefully turned him back to face her. Her eyes then quickly moved to his tag and stared at it.

“I don’t see a reason to destroy the machine. It’s just how things are. It exists and we haven’t a reason to change it, it’s normal.” He said, trying to prove he did pay attention to part of what Jennifer said.

“Project Complacency,” said the woman, muttering a swear. “That makes things way worse. They’re actually going through with it… I’ll be outside. I couldn’t care less if both of you or only one comes along, but if none does I’m putting a bullet in your heads myself.” That being said, she left the closet.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“She might be right,” said Barry, looking out the window. Outside was a shining city, with tall buildings and streets brimming with life. But farther away they saw a dark place, with little wooden and mud houses, and people dressed in rags walking with their heads hanging low. “The world as it is doesn't seem very pretty, huh?” the other man shrugged in response. “Well, we should still go… I wouldn’t want to leave you alone. We’re… gonna get out of this, okay? Together. I’ll watch your back, cause we’re friends right?”

“...I guess so. Thank you,” said the nameless man. Barry smiled brightly and left the closet, his new friend following.

“I’ve got a couple of questions,” said Barry as all three began walking. “What happened to the machine’s creator? What’s Project Complacency? And how do you know all of this?”

Jennifer answered hastily: “Project Complacency’s goal is to alter a human to make them lose any and all ability to question things.” The group turned, retracing the men’s earlier steps. “I’ve got my own sources. And about the creator… let’s just say someone with that level of intellect has no place in the world of the living. Not with people taking advantage of their creations.” She said in a sour tone.

The group reached the door to the lab. “This is it,” said the nameless man.

“Really? I don’t know why the hell I needed you two then, there’s no goddamn security. Just go in, I’ll join you in a minute.”

The men didn’t hesitate, one out of determination and the other due to a complete lack of it. They hadn’t taken more than a few steps past the door when the nameless man felt a light push, and heard a gunshot, followed by a loud gasp from where Barry was, and the large man fell to the ground, a bullet wound in his back where seconds before was the nameless man, whose life his friend had saved. He saw a faint smile on Barry's face, right before he stopped moving completely. The nameless man was frozen, motionlessly staring at his friend’s body. His lips moved, mouthing a single word again and again.

“Why?”

“Why?”

“WHY?”

The scientist woman walked out of the shadows of a corner, a smoking gun in her hand. “Oops, I missed. Such a shame,” she said, in a mocking tone. “Doesn’t really matter anyway. You were made to accept all of this as normal, to not react or go out of ‘human decency’. You can’t do anything about this, and you won’t be the last person like this. You weren’t perfect, not even close, and you’re still gonna be useful. In a couple of days, everyone out there other than my bosses will be the same… and all thanks to the data I’m going to get from your brain. That’s just how things are.” She said, stopping after every word, while she pointed the gun again, this time held right up to the motionless man’s head.

“Was this how the world was supposed to be?” The man asked himself. “This is just how things were but… did they have to be like that?” No…. No. No. They could change. Barry believed in that, and the man was not going to let that die along with him. But he’d realized too late. Did he have any way to avoid the same fate his friend had suffered?

He closed his eyes, his mind was racing to find a solution, when another loud gunshot resonated and the scientist loudly swore. She clutched her hand, and her gun was flung to the ground.

Jennifer burst into the room, but the scientist knew exactly what was going on. She immediately turned and landed a punch on the other woman’s face, which shattered her mask and stunned her for a second, allowing the aggressor to grab her wrists. The nameless man turned to see two women with the exact same face struggling for control over a deadly gun.

“You’re still the same innocent idiot you were 200 years ago, Jenny. The loner who wouldn’t think of anyone but herself, much less the consequences of her actions, and happily accepted when the authorities paid her to never make any more H.P.G.R.O. devices, just because it meant she wouldn’t have to work more.” The scientist smirked, looking down on Jennifer with pure disdain and contempt.

“Shut the fuck up!” Jennifer headbutted her enemy, and turned to see the nameless man, who had picked the revolver up and was aiming at the women with trembling hands. The intruder shouted something he couldn’t fully catch, and the scientist widened her eyes. A deep hatred and immense rage filled the man as he put his finger on the trigger.

And fired.

Jennifer put the scientist’s corpse down, observing it for a moment. “Cocky bitch.” She wiped the blood that had splattered on her, and pulled a drinking flask from her pocket, then began chugging it. She looked at the man, who had dropped the gun, and was still trembling like a leaf. “...Sorry.” It wasn’t clear what she was apologizing for, there were far too many reasons. She glanced at the machine’s built-in screen for a second. “The H.P.G.R.O's firewall and emergency protocols are disabled, but even then I’ve no idea how to destroy it, to be honest. It was all for nothing in the end,” she slowly sat down, her back tiredly leaned against the wall.

“I do.” said the man. “If it’s destroyed, things are gonna change, right? They won’t be… this way.” Jennifer nodded. “Then that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

“Whatever,” the woman sighed, her voice filled with guilt and sorrow, but understanding his plan. “Just… make sure it’s your call.” The nameless man gazed at Barry’s body, and started walking over to the machine. He heard one last gunshot, and didn’t dare look, even if he knew there was no one else around. He laid inside the pod and pressed the start button, choosing to finish what had been started an eternity of a few minutes ago, and 200 years ago at the same time. He held his breath and slowly closed his eyes. The flashing red alarm began blaring again.

And the explosion was heard all over the city.