Loaded Secrets (ONC 2023)

Chapter One: A Journey Through Time

Aria's eyes fluttered open as she was met with a piercing white light. She tried to put a hand up to her face to shield herself from the punishing rays, but her body was paralyzed. She was unable to move no matter how hard she tried. Panic set in as she attempted to make sense of her surroundings.

Where was she? The thought that she was in an unknown place chilled her to the bone. She finally managed to avert her gaze from the light and focus on something to the left of her. What was this place? Some kind of glass encasing obscured her vision, but she was able to make out a lab bench. Was she in a laboratory? How did she get here?

The last thing she remembered was walking into a poorly lit garage where a robbery was reported to have taken place. She recalled the damp, moldy smell assaulting her nostrils as soon as she lifted the creaky door off the ground. Then, the struggle to force the door up its rails. Then, her fingers along the uneven, slippery wall, trying to find a light. Finally, the yellowish light bulb struggled to come to life, and then it all went black. 

But now, she wasn't in a dinky old garage. She was trapped inside some kind of a glass capsule. And, what was this thick cloud swirling around her? It was getting thicker and thicker, so it was almost impossible to see anything. Was she being suffocated by some sort of gas? With a pounding heart, Aria tried to scream, hoping someone could help her. But her vocal cords were shot, and she could barely manage a high-pitched squeal.

"Somebody, help me!" she finally forced out and then she waited to hear if someone was there.

She did not need to wait long. Suddenly, the machinery whirred, and the door to her glass coffin opened with a precise, mechanical movement, letting the gas escape into the well-illuminated room.

As the steam cleared, a figure appeared before Aria, his form outlined in the bright light. Aria felt a sense of unease as she gazed upon the man, for there was something not quite human about him. He was tall and imposing, with piercing blue eyes that seemed to flicker with the light of a computer screen. He looked relatively slim, but most of his figure was obscured by a white lab coat. So then it was true, she was in some kind of laboratory or medical facility. He walked slowly towards her, carrying a tablet in his hands. His movements were deliberate and calculated, like a machine carrying out a complex operation.

"Welcome, Aria," he said, his voice flat and emotionless. "Your adrenaline levels appear to be high, and your heart rate is elevated. You must calm down first. I have something important to tell you."

That, of course, had precisely the opposite effect on Aria's already strained nerves, and she felt the palms of her hands moist with sweat. Her heart hammered out a desperate rhythm in her chest. Wait, she could feel again? Could she move? Aria tried to move her hand, only to find something was straining the motion. It felt small, smooth, and cylindrical. Was it a wire? Was she wired into this capsule? The sense of confinement was excruciating and overwhelming. What the heck was going on? Was she captured and now being held against her will? 

She tried to look around to see if there was a way for her to escape, but nothing appeared to be recognizable or useful. There were no windows, there was one door, but it appeared to be shut. There was a lab bench that she identified earlier, but there wasn't anything on it. There were no potential tools to help her break from her imprisonment. Then, her gaze turned to a strange, tall, metallic apparatus near the door, behind where the man was standing. It looked almost unreal, like it was a prop from the set of a sci-fi movie.

Despite her agitation at being held captive, Aria did not want to betray her thoughts of escape and tried to listen intently as the man spoke in his monotonous drone. After all, he was the only person who could explain what had happened to her and, most importantly, how she could get out of here. The man, who still had not identified himself in any way, indicated that she was in some kind of a research facility located in the Old New York of the Republic of the Northern Hemisphere. Wait, what? What was he going on about? Did she have a stroke? She wasn't comprehending him correctly, was she? Finally, he told her that she was in the year 3000, after being cryogenically frozen since 2023. What in the world?

"Unfortunately, at the time of your incident, the technology to undo the freezing was not available. More unfortunate yet, it appears that the personnel in charge made some fairly grave miscalculations, and it took much longer than they had expected to perfect that technology into a usable state. Although you, of course, were not the intended subject of the cryogenic freezing experiment, and therefore, did not sign any of the requisite consents or authorizations, the exceptional circumstances of your situation warranted the continuation of the experiment, to prevent your imminent death. This included collecting medical, education, employment, banking and other information about you."

"Other information?" Aria said dumbfounded, not knowing where to even start addressing her situation. She really needed to ask him some more pertinent questions.

"Information gathered from your friends and family files, social media accounts, and other sources, such as your phone, electronic mail, and any written correspondence found at your residence...."

This was really getting out of hand, who did this guy think she was? Someone who was born yesterday? Her days were filled with grueling police work, she wouldn't fall for some kind of futuristic scam.

"Look, I have to stop you right there. I get it, I was captured and you now need to get some information from me or ransom, or whatever else your goal is here. But there really is no need to get so elaborate by telling me all this fantastical nonsense. Though I got to hand it to you, this is one heck of a story here. You would give Isaac Asimov a run for his money!" She finally managed to interject. Damn, she had to stop being such a smart mouth. She wasn't in any position to  bargain here.

The man looked nonplussed, in fact, if he was able to display any emotion, he had yet to exhibit this particular ability. He must be some kind of ex-military or ex-police. But what would someone like him want with her? Was he working for one of the crime families she had investigated in the past? It made sense that they would want her out of the picture, but why go through such an elaborate ruse? 

After a few moments of staring at her, the man looked at the screen of his tablet again. He began reading out loud. He definitely wasn't talking to her anymore. He recited information about her, and then her parents, her sister, her friends, and colleagues. He mentioned when they were born, what ailments they had suffered from, what their likes and dislikes were, and even when they died. When they died?! What? This was really taking it to the next level. Did he manage, or whoever he was working for, manage to fabricate all this information while she was out?

"These are facts that we have on file about you. I have erred in presenting the information about all the changes to you viva voce. It should have been downloaded into your brain prior to your awakening to avoid shock and denial that you are now experiencing. However, the thawing mechanism from the 2023 models was not yet perfected, and I did not expect for you to be revived so quickly. I will correct this forthwith," he said as he approached the capsule and pressed on something.

Before she could form a response, the mechanical noise began humming again, and the door to the capsule closed shut. She wanted to scream but instead she felt something poke at her head. The painful sensation dissipated quickly and all she could feel was fatigue. Was she losing consciousness again? No, she needed to focus but the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion swept her under and she began to drift in the sea of thoughts and questions. As memories of her past life flooded her mind, she could still feel the adrenaline rush that came with her last case. Yes, that fateful case. She was supposed to chase down those robbers as a detective with the NYPD. It was a routine matter, really. An open and shut case and the promotion would be hers. She worked so hard for that promotion too!

She could see her life again. Her job gave her purpose and determination to make a difference in the world. She recalled the feeling of accomplishment that came with putting on her badge each morning and walking into the precinct. Her colleagues respected her, her family and friends were proud of her. She had it all. Sure, it was lonely at times, working long hours and being unable to see her family more than a few times a year, but it was her choice, and all her sacrifices were worth every moment she had on the police force.

Wait, what was she seeing now? Was this a dream? She saw images of wars, people suffering, civilizations collapsing, cities burned, and then rebuilt, new countries formed, and then broken apart. It was like watching a movie. It was all happening before her eyes, hundreds of years of history. And then it suddenly hit her. She really was in the year 3000! What in the world would she do now? She solved cases and put away criminals. Who knew if this was still something people did? For all she knew, she would be homeless in this millennia. But worst of all, everything and everyone she had once known was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it.