The Test of Worthiness
“Test run 76 of Project Preservation. Our test subject is Jalen Revis. Are you ready Jalen?” Asked Dr. M, the head scientist.
“Ye-” I tried to reply,
“Nobody cares! Let’s get this over with. Even if he never comes out again, nobody will care. This guy is worthless!!” Interrupted Dr. M’s colleague. Dr. M kicked him.
“I’m sorry Jalen, my colleague has no respect. As I was saying, the year is 2042, you will be released in 2050.” Dr. M pressed a few buttons on his control panel.
“Now closing Subject 76’s Preservation Pod” A robotic voice announced. Dr. M looked back at me.
“Once the pod closes, heavy anesthesia will be administered into your pod. Trust me, you won’t feel a thing. Sleep tight.” He smiled warmly towards me as my Preservation Pod closed. Just as he said, a gas entered my pod and I suddenly felt a strong wave of relief come over me. As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help but think about what his colleague said. Was I really worthless? Sure, I was short, skinny, and I lived in my mom’s basement, but I do have at least one redeeming quality, right?
I awoke in cold sweat. I looked around the room, and oddly, I wasn’t in my Preservation Pod. The room was dimly lit with a singular light fixture hanging from the ceiling. I got out of my bed and approached a table with food on it. The beaten down table held a rotting apple, a glass of ugly brown water, and 3 crackers that were more green than they were brown. As I lifted the apple to my mouth, it’s putrid smell filled my nostrils. I took a bite and immediately spit it out. The apple was moldy and for some reason, tasted salty. I took a tiny bite of the cracker and swallowed it. The stale cracker tasted like it had been sitting there for years. I left the run-down cabin and walked outside to see a gigantic forest. Each leaf was a deathly black. It was as if I was looking into a black hole. Above me, I noticed a billboard that featured a robot in the center. The robot was a metallic gray with red eyes that stared deeply into my soul. The billboard read: The System needs YOU! The System…he must be who put me here. All I need to do is find him.
About 20 feet away from me, I saw an opening in the forest. I ran towards it and dove into the darkness in hopes of finding The System. The deeper I walked down the pathway, the more cramped it got. The walls around me went from being 10 feet above me, to only 2 feet. My footsteps echoed, each one booming louder than the other. I could feel my heart racing, as if a killer were about to jump out from the leaves. I could hear the eerie sound of water dripping around me, drip, drip, drip. I heard the leaves rustle somewhere in front of me.
“Hello? Is somebody there?” I called. No response. Then, all of a sudden, the leaves started closing in on me. I tried to run, but I was frozen, paralyzed in pure fear. “No,” I told myself, “I won’t die here.” I tried to move again. This time, however, I was not stuck. I ran as fast as I could, ignoring the pounding in my brain and the fatigue that inhabited my body. Somehow, I made it out alive. “Ha!” I thought to myself, “Who’s the worthless one now?” As I thought about what my next move was, a noise caught my attention. Screaming. I ran towards the shrieking, wondering what could have possibly happened to this person.
I finally found the person screaming. It was a woman. I barely noticed her with all the black leaves around her. She was laid out on train tracks. Her hair was ragged, and she looked beaten and bruised. She noticed me.
“Please, help me. I’ve fallen and I can’t get up. Both of my legs are broken and I’ve been here for days.” She griped.
“Don’t worry ma’am, I can help you,” I approached the woman, but then I stopped for a second. Could I really lift this woman? She doesn’t look heavy, but I don’t think I could carry her far. Maybe I could drag her, but that would put her in even more pain. Where would I take this woman? Do I really have a plan? How am I going to get us both out of here?
“Please, help me. I’ve fallen and I can’t get up. Both of my legs are broken and I’ve been here for days.” Why did she repeat herself? I know I’m taking a while to help her, but I haven’t been standing here for that long, right? I looked closer at the woman, only focusing on her face. After staring for a few seconds, the woman started to flicker, similar to a hologram.
“What are you?” I asked the woman, clearly confused.
“Please, help me. I’ve fallen and I can’t get up. Both of my legs are broken and I’ve been here for days.” She said, once again. I backed away, my head was throbbing from bewilderment. I looked above the woman, and saw dark, red eyes in the leaves staring deeply into my soul. I’ve seen those eyes before. Those are the eyes of The System. I stepped back again, but this time, I tripped over a branch and fell to the ground. I got up and slapped myself.
“STOP!” I shouted, trying to wake myself up from this insane nightmare. I looked back to the woman, she was still laying there, desperate for help. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I have to find out what’s going on. I slowly walked towards the woman, but this time, I heard something in the distance. I looked to the left of her, and saw two bright lights, side by side. The lights got closer and closer. Is that a train? How could a train be here? Before I could react, the train passed me. The screams of the woman echoed throughout the forest. I fell to the ground. How could I let this happen? Why didn’t I help her quicker? I started to break down. Guilt and shame washed over me like tidal waves. The leaves started to move around me, but I didn’t care. Sadness was weighing me down. It didn’t matter whether that woman was real or not, I should’ve helped her. The leaves started to wrap around me like a cocoon, and everything went dark. I woke up in my Preservation Pod.
“Wha-what happened?” I muttered.
“You passed my test Jalen, congrats.” said a robotic voice.
“The System? Is that you?”
“Yes Jalen, but you know me as Dr. M.” I sat up promptly. I looked around the room. There were monitors that showed my vitals, and lots of other medical things. I looked towards the door. It looked like it had taken a hundred hits with a bat. It was definitely the same room I had entered my Preservation Pod in, but it looked like it had seen better days.
“Jalen, are you okay? The Horde will be here soon and we need to get moving.”
“What happened here? Who’s The Horde?” I asked.
“Don’t worry, I’ll explain it all to you” Dr. M responded. “In 2042, you entered your Preservation Pod and we put you to sleep. You were scheduled to come out in 2050, but that never happened. That never happened because in 2045, the world became infested with zombies after a science experiment went wrong. When I heard the news, I quickly went into hiding and transferred my consciousness into an advanced robot body to stay safe. I watched helplessly as my friends and family were taken by The Horde. I scoured the country for survivors, but alas, there were none. When I thought all hope was lost, I remembered that there were 100 people in Preservation Pods. Even though they were supposed to be in their Pods for a certain amount of time, the Pods can virtually keep them alive forever. When I arrived at the lab a few days ago, I ran into a problem. I only had enough power to safely wake up one person. Do you know how hard my decision was? Each person in the test group was hand picked by me, and I had to choose one person? That, my friend, was the hardest decision of 2075. Not that there are that many decisions being made anymore.”
“Let me get this straight, out of the 100 people you could’
ve chosen to wake up, you chose me? Why would you do that?” I asked.
“Jalen, I chose you because your mind is precious. You have compassion like nobody else. That was clearly shown with the woman on the train tracks. You’re able to discern whether a situation is safe or not. You’re young, resourceful, and agile. Not to mention, you played a lot of zombie video games in your mom’s basement. Your experience in situations like this will be key to us finding a cure. I also studied the minds of each person here, and your brain is the only one that is strong enough to be transferred into a robot. Every other person would have lost their sanity in the process. That’s saying something.”
“So, what you’re saying is, I’m not worthless?” I asked, wanting confirmation.
“No Jalen, you’re not worthless. What my colleague said all those years ago was not true.” Dr. M responded. BOOM!
“Was that an explosion?” I asked worriedly.
“I’m afraid so. Can you stand? I think The Horde found us.” I leaped out of my Preservation Pod with a newfound confidence. Dr. M tossed me a weapon and gave me a vial filled with a blue substance. “If you open this vial, the zombies will back away from the smell. It only works for a few minutes, but it works in a pinch. If they break through, open it and put it on the ground. I’m going to start working on a way to get us out of here.” I positioned myself at the door. I started laughing to myself.
“I’m not worthless,” I said, unable to contain my happiness. “I’m not worthless!”
