Inevitability pt 5
Inevitability pt 5
As John ran, the massive pillars of the launch facility slowly came into focus. Reaching ten miles into the atmosphere, they were the pinnacle of human engineering achievement on this planet, though there were rumors that Earth, the humans' planet of origin, was carpeted in these giant needles. The forest was eerily silent during John's run; indeed almost as if the creatures of nature knew that if they stayed quiet, they would have a better chance at surviving.
John ran and ran, his mind occupied with thoughts of how similar this was to the beginning of his strange adventure; though this time, he was not running from his home, but to the ship that would take him to a habitable planet. After what seemed to be hours of running, though it was more like an hour, John arrived at a chain link fence, beyond it he could see the bases of the pillars. For only a few seconds, John was nervous, as he could not see a gate. Looking to his left, he saw a gate a few yards from where he was. He walked towards it, and just as he was about to go through the gate, a booming voice commanded "Stop right where you are".
John froze and closed his eyes, fearing that the voice belonged to an angry human military officer. John's acute hearing picked up the sound of a door opening, and then the very earth beneath his feet began to rumble. The sound grew progressively louder until abruptly it stopped. John opened his eyes to try to see what had caused the sound. Standing, or more aptly, towering above him, stood a robot. Made entirely out of the strange human metal, the machine was about fourteen feet tall, and humanoid in build. The voice bellowed "Present launch ticket".
Reaching into his pocket, John grabbed the ticket that was with the human gear and handed it to the robot. The robot grasped the ticket with its three fingered hand and proceeded to scan the ticket. Apparently satisfied, it returned the ticket to John and said "Ticket valid. Please follow this unit. Be prepared for medical examination." And turned one hundred and eighty degrees back into the base and marched off. John remarked "I can stay out here with the infected and get glassed with the rest of the planet, or follow some damn human-built robot to who knows where and what." The robot, sensing that it was not being followed, turned around again, and said "Second request. Follow this unit to the medical bay." Based on the sound of its voice, John dejectedly muttered "I guess I've got no choice then" and shuffled slowly behind the machine.
As the robot, with John in tow, moved through the facility, John saw no other living beings; neither humans nor Furs. The two neared what John guessed was the med bay, judging by the red addition symbol painted on the side of the building. The robot escorted John to the door and said "Enter the medical bay. This unit must return to sentry duty." John saw no way of opening the door; no latches, handles or anything else, only a touch pad. Placing his left paw on the pad, the door made a series of clicking sounds, and then slid into the bottom of the door frame.
Stepping inside, John was nervous, partially because as soon as he was inside the door had risen up out of the frame and sealed behind him, and also because of the rumors. He had heard the stories of what the human "doctors" did to his kind in the name of "science". In an effort to calm his shaken nerves, he said aloud "If they'd have wanted you dead, that robot would've killed you." It did little to steel him, though. John was in a hallway, and though well lit and clean, the lack of any detectable presence set him on edge. The corridor was long, with rooms on either side, but the doors would not budge, they were locked. At the end of the hallway was an open door, and john walked towards it. As he stepped inside, a robot, similar to the one outside but painted white with a small red addition sign greeted him.
"Hello!" it said in an enthusiastic and slightly shrill voice. "You are probably nervous. Well don't be! I am just going to confirm that you are either uninfected or immune, and then you will be on your way off planet. But before that, there remains a small formality." A thin slit appeared on the surface of the robot. "Please insert your launch ticket into the slot." John did so, and a clicking and a muted whirring sound issued forth. "Thank you. You will receive a permanent identification card if you are either immune or uninfected. Please remove your garments and place them into the biohazard boxes on the shelf behind you." John, still nervous, slowly took off his clothes, noticing how cold the room was. He placed his clothes into the biohazard box, and then there was a flash of light and then the only thing in the box was ash.
"Step into the decontamination shower that is located behind me." The strange robot said, stepping to the right to reveal a chemical shower. "Do not worry; the disinfectant will not hurt you, unless you let it run into your eyes." John stepped into the shower, and a plastic curtain lowered from the ceiling until he was quarantined off from the rest of the room. A drain at his feet opened, and the robot called out "The decontamination process will now begin; do not worry!" John shut his eyes. The liquid disinfecting agent, an orange-yellow color, rained down upon John and began to soak into his fur. After about five minutes, the shower ended, and from outside the chamber, the robot said "Please keep your eyes closed for until the signal is given." "Okay" John mumbled, and closed his eyes more tightly shut. There was a humming sound, and then the quarantine chamber was bathed in invisible ultra violet light. A few seconds after it had begun, it stopped, and the robot called out. "You can open your eyes now. Please step out of the decontamination room. Now that your skin and fur is clean, the results of a blood test can be accurately determined. Please raise your left arm."
John stepped out of the room, and offered his left arm to the strange machine. He felt a brief moment of pressure on his arm. The robot said "Thank you for your cooperation. The results of the test will be back in a few minutes."
To be continued