Future Student's Thesis

After what seemed a long dreamless sleep, I felt a sudden jolt which sprung my body back to consciousness.

I expected to wake up in the same high-tech cryogenesis casket. On the contrary, I find myself lying on a cold and hard metal bed. My only source of comfort is the pillow below my head.

I glance to my right arm. Last time I was awake, it was in a sorry state. Strangely, I found no trace of my previous disease, not even scars or any marks.

Was the treatment really that effective? How long have I been treated? Even worse, how much did it cost to be this effective? I left behind a decent sum of savings, but it would have certainly ran out along the way. I also doubt my health insurance company covers even cryogenesis caskets. These was totally new tech, wasn’t it? It scares me to think that my sister toiled away day and night to make meets end for me.

Also, it might be just my imagination but I feel as if my arm has shrunk.

I feel so weak. There is a nagging feeling of drowsiness. I just awoken but I somehow have the urge to drift back into a slumber. This is probably what a long period of being frozen does to you. In the first place, how did I make it into this bed? My rough guess is that the company has taken me out of the casket and unfroze me first before waking up. Cryogenics is not exactly a field I know much of.

I slowly look around. I expected to first see the company's employees, instead, around me were four young adults. They hardly looked like they worked for the company. They all wore their own casual clothes.

“Youngsters? Are you interns perhaps? I must say you guys are not dressed appropriately.”

Exhaustion was evident in their faces. They all have bags under their eyes which perfectly compliments their tired and slightly annoyed expression. From their looks and stature, I presume they are around the age range of 21-25.

While observing me observe them, joy started creeping in their expressions. The emotion then erupted into tired cheers. This filled me with nothing but confusion. Why would interns burst into joy? Nevertheless, I continued to observe them.

A boy with a sleek hairstyle pumps his fist. A tall muscular boy clasped his shoulder and smiled approvingly. One short girl initiates a high-five while the another bespectacled girl somehow awkwardly misses the high-five the first time. She adjusts her glasses and tries again, and this time, the shorty intertwined their fingers and energetically shakes both their hands.

The muscular boy then suddenly said something in a language I can’t comprehend.

While still in a state of glee, the whole crew of youngsters sprang into action. While I never reached mastery of more than 3 languages during my lifetime, I was nevertheless familiar in the sound and flow of several widely-used languages. Nevertheless, while the language sounds strangely familiar, I can’t quite figure out which exactly it is. (Note: Italic dialogues are said in a language Ignacio can’t understand)

“Felicia! Check her vitals.”  -muscular boy

“There seems to be nothing wrong.”  -shorty

“Charles, are you having all of this recorded?”  -muscular boy

“Yep, with three cameras from different angles at that.”  -sleek hairstyle

“Good. Good.”  -muscular boy

Despite not understanding a single word they said, the scene reminded me of me and my university teammates. During the days when we were working on a complex project in crunch time. Everyone would be in their utmost concentration and attention. Rigorously fulfilling their tasks while updating each other of their progress.

It's kind of amazing how such scene can be conveyed even with a language barrier.

There seems to be a dextrose tube attached to my arm. I tried lifting my hand a bit to get a closer look but bespectacled girl gently held my hand.

“P-please stay put.”

“You can speak my tongue?”

“Yes! We will be over in a minute, so can you stay put until then?”

“Can I ask how long I was frozen? It feels like a long dreamless sleep.”

“We don’t exactly know. Time records were varied a lot when your memory data was transferred from one database to another.”

“What? Can you at the very least tell me what year is it today?”

“It’s 4025.”

“I’m sorry. Did I heart that right? 4025?”

“Y-yes.”

“She is experiencing shock. This is clogging the readings for our data.“ The short girl remarked while being in front of a screen that displayed several graphs and constantly changing numbers.

“Anna, can you not converse with her for a while?”  -muscular guy

“Wait, this all does not make sense! You all gotta be playing a prank on me? My sister is quite devious. She thought this up right? Right? Patricia! I know you’re watching." I tried getting up, but I was quickly held down by the muscular guy and the bespectacled girl. Furthermore, there seems to be a helmet of sorts attached to my head. Alongside it, there are several devices attached to my chest, fingers, and wrist. I presume they are for monitoring my vitals, but I can't be so sure. I also did not notice it earlier, but there also seems to be a belt binding my abdomen to the bed.

“Shock escalating--”-shorty

“Anna, put her to sleep.”-muscular guy

“I’m sorry… but please sleep for a while.” Anna, the soft-spoken bespectacled girl, was then handed a syringe and proceeded to inject me with something. The muscular guy held my hand in place in the meantime. It did not take long for me to feel intense drowsiness.

I don’t want to sleep, I need answers. I could only protest in silence as I my body once again slowly succumbs to another sleep-inducing drug. I feared that the next time I wake up, they will tell me that I am another millennium into the future. Although, all of this might just be a prank, right?