The Control Room was nondescript, rectangular and illuminated by banks of dim light strips that stretched from side to side across the ceiling. On the far side of the room, a bank of computer monitors was mounted on the wall above a corner desk while rows of seats stretched along each of the longer sides of the room. Randee, seated in the chair at the desk,turned and lit up when he saw Shea and Wared enter the room.

“I’m glad you’re here. It’s almost time,” he said and waved for them to come closer.

“Time for what?” Wared said with hesitation in his voice. He had a feeling he already knew the answer to that question.

Randee grinned and pointed towards two chairs at the far end of the desk. “Come on, pull up a chair.”

“What are you doing here, Randee?” Shea said as she sat down next to him and leaned forward, her arms across her knees.

“We’re in the process of reanimating your grandmother. From here,” he said and gestured towards the screens, “I control the whole process, from selecting the subject for reanimation, to the retrieval of their pod and then the final stages where their body is slowly returned to an awake state.”

“How long does that take?” Wared said.

“Unclear. The process is about 67% complete at this point,” Randee said and pointed towards a progress bar on one of the monitors. “However, from what I’ve seen so far in the process, that does not appear to be process related to time, just how far along in the various steps the process is. It could be an hour, it could be days for all I know.”

Wared ran his fingers through his hair and grimaced. “I hate to say it, but I don’t think we have days.”

“Oh, I’m aware,” Randee said. “But, there’s really nothing I can do to speed up this process. It has to follow it’s assigned process. Cryosleep is a very sensitive state that involves the human body. Its reversal has to follow the prescribed processes without deviation. We don’t want to jeopardize the viability of the subject, right?.”

Wared sighed. “What’s the plan then? It’s only a matter of time before the Protectorate makes it through the security doors.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about the Protectorate,” Shea said.

Wared furrowed his brows and turned to Shea. “And why’s that?”

“To them, this place is holy ground,” she said and made a sweeping gesture. “It’s where it all began. The origin of our colony, ground zero of their power. Without this place, they wouldn’t exist. Yes, they’ll likely try to find a way in, but not in a way that will be destructive to the facility. That buys us time.”

“How much time?”

“Transportation,” Randee interrupted and glanced at Wared and Shea over his shoulder. “Once she is awake, we need transportation to get out of here.”

Wared sighed. “What kind of transportation?”

Randee shrugged. “Anything that can get us out of here. Here,” he said and tapped a few buttons on one of the screens. A floor plan of the facility appeared. “Look, there appears to be a garage of some sort here,” he said and pointed at the screen. “While we wait, why don’t you run over there and see if there is anything there.”

Shea leaned closer to the screen, furrowed her brow and then shook her head. “That area is outside of the bulkhead doors. If we open them now, we compromise the efforts we just put in to secure the core. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Randee leaned back and crossed his arms and rubbed his chin while he stared at the screen. Finally, he nodded. “Yes, you’re right, my mistake. We’ll just have to take note of where it is so that we can get there once she wakes up.”

“What do we do until then?” Wared said.

Randee stretched his hands over his head as he leaned back in the chair and propped his feet up on the desk. “We wait,” he said.

None of them said anything for a few minutes. Randee had closed his eyes and interlocked his fingers across his stomach. Shea continued to stare at the slowly creeping progress bar while Wared was on his feet, slowly pacing the room. It was Shea who finally spoke up as she put a hand on Randee’s arm.

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“Can I see her?”

Randee looked at her and blinked. “Your grandmother?”

Shea nodded.

“She’s in her pod still, there’s not a whole lot to see to be honest.”

“But I can?”

“Sure. She’s in the room next door,” Randee said and gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. “Just don’t touch anything.”

Shea put a hand on Wared’s arm as she turned towards him. “Will you come with me?”

“Of course,” Wared said. “Lead the way.”

Wared felt a flutter in his stomach as Shea took his hand stood and stepped over to the door. She put her hand on the door handle, hesitated momentarily and then pushed the door open a few inches. Wared squeezed her hand and nodded towards the door. She gave Wared another glance, then took a deep breath and pushed the door open. They entered together.

They were greeted by a blast of cool air. Wared heard Shea gasp as the departure pod appeared through the haze in the center of the room. Elevated on a platform and surrounded by racks of computers, the only source of illumination in the room came from the faint blue light inside the pod and the constant flickering of the tiny status lights of the computers. Cables snaked across the floor from the racks to the pod and several sets disappeared into the roof.

Shea hesitated, covered her mouth with one hand as her gripped Wared’s hand tighter. Wared spotted a tear in her eye. Without saying a word, he reached for her other hand. Their eyes met for a moment. This time, a tears crept down both of Shea’s cheeks. Wared smiled, nodded and together they stepped towards the pod.

The haze swirled around them as they approached the pod. The closer they came, the clearer the features of Shea’s grandmother became. Right next to it, it was as if they were standing next to someone that was just sleeping and could wake up at any moment.

Underneath the canopy of the pod, a small screen flashed the current status of the pod. It flashed one word with red letters: REANIMATING. A progress bar that mirrored what Randee had on his screen appeared below it. Her name, Althea, was also displayed on the screen.

Shea placed a hand on the canopy and leaned closer. “I can’t believe it’s really her.”

“Did you now her well?”

“I was young when she departed. I don’t remember a whole lot of those early years. But, I do recognize her.”

“Do you think she’ll recognize you?”

Shea turned and looked at Wared with wide eyes. “You don’t?”

Wared put up his hands in the air and took a step back. “I didn’t say that. I was just trying to understand your relationship with her and if you think she’d actually recognize you. After all, you’re an adult now.”

Shea looked uncertain and glanced at the pod. “I don’t know, Wared, I don’t know. I actually hadn’t thought of that.”

They stood in silence for several minutes, the whirring of the machinery around them the only sound. Shea folder her arms across her chest and bit her lips as she stared into space, deep in thought. Wared felt conflicted. He felt terrible that he had sown doubt in Shea’s mind about her grandmother. Yet, at the same time, the question was an important one. The grandmother had been chosen at her request. It had made sense at the time. Pick someone that can be recognized by at least some in the existing population. He felt certain that officers of the Protectorate would recognize her since many of them were much older than the rest of the population.

As if on cue, Shea suddenly turned and exited the room without saying a word. Surprised, Wared followed her.

“Are you ok?”

Shea sat down on a chair and ran her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know. Are we doing the right thing? What if she doesn’t recognize me?”

Wared felt a twinge of regret. With a deep sigh he pulled up a chair next to her and grabbed both of her hands in his as she looked up to meet his gaze.

“Listen, I don’t think you need to worry about whether she’ll recognize you or not. I have no doubt that she will, ok?”

Shea wiped a tear from her eye and nodded. “I know, it’s just—“

“Guys,” Randee interrupted. “The reanimation process is finishing up.”

Wared and Shea stood up at the same time.

“She’s awake?” Shea whispered as she looked at the screen over Randee’s shoulders.

Randee pointed towards progress bar on the screen. Instead of REANIMATING, the screen now read PROCESS COMPLETE.

Shea swiveled on her feet and took a step towards the door. She hesitated, glanced at Wared and then with a deep breath pushed the door open.

The red strobe flashed above the pod, now partially obscured by the haze. Wared stepped ahead of Shea, dispersing the haze with his hands as they approached the pod. The canopy was opening slowly, releasing a stale scent around the pod. At first, Wared was repulsed by the smell but he reminded himself that the candidate in the pod had been in there for many years.

They waited next to the pod as the canopy open completely. Wared could see the woman’s chest rise and fall on regular intervals. He smiled. She was alive.

Several minutes passed in silence as they waited. Randee joined them quietly and together they observed the woman in the pod without exchanging words with each other. Wared resisted the temptation to reach out and touch her. Was that even the right protocol in a situation like this? He wasn’t sure.

His question was answered by the grandmother herself when her eyes opened wide and she gasped for air. She blinked a couple of times, then her eyes flickered back and forth, freezing when they found her welcoming committee. She furrowed her brow as she looked at each person.

Her eyes stayed on Shea longer than the other two, examining her from top to bottom. After what seemed liked an eternity to Wared, she lifted a finger and pointed straight at Shea.

“I know you,” she whispered, her eyes staring straight into Shea’s eyes. “I know you,” she repeated, now with concern in her eyes. Her eyes then wandered to the Wared and Randee, then to the banks of computers around here. “Where am I? Have I arrived?”