Push the Limits

(Bonus) Prequel Chapter

The interview was terrifying.

Yes, I'll admit I was only speaking to automated voices and a recording device, but it seemed to be the fact that the job I was applying for was a lifelong contract; I would be in it until death, and even then, it wouldn't stop them from making me continue my work.

Whoever got the job would be too important to lose, no matter that person's experience. 

The truth? I wanted it to be me. More than anyone else, I wanted it to be me who got the job. Yes, some people here were starving and desperate from third class planet like Ceres, but surely I would be the outstanding candidate. 

First class citizen, one of the exclusive ones in the room, and coming from Earth, I clearly had the upper hand. A better life, a better education, my parents' generous inheritance, and of course, I ticked all the boxes for what the career path was asking for. Straight-A student in school, a degree in technology, work experience, and a great attitude. In other words, I was perfect.

Of course, in no time, I was hired.

"Cornelia Ida Wilson. Congratulations, you have been selected to fill the role as CEO of the Jupiter Enterprise. Please make your way back to the interview room. Apologies to everyone else who tried out today, but if you could follow the exit signs now, you will be shown the way out." 

Pride blossomed in my chest. 

Why? I asked myself, You knew you were going to get this job. You shouldn't be proud of yourself. This was just another simple task.

I stood up and strode past the failures toward the blue painted door. I turned the handle and let myself in, briskly shutting the door behind me. I blatantly ignored the distant screams that were back behind me.

Why should I care? They only wanted to take this job from me.

It was only when I was in conversation with myself when I felt the sharp pain of a needle being plunged into the side of my neck. It wasn't long before I fell to the floor and everything went black.

*

When I woke up, all I felt was overwhelming pain. I couldn't pinpoint the location - my head hurt too much for that - but it just felt like I was hurting all over. 

And then I looked down at my body.

Except, it didn't look like my body.

My skin was angry and red, coated in numerous scars and jagged pink lines. Half of my body was covered by a thin white sheet, but other than that, I had been stripped of what clothes I had and been dressed in a paper thin hospital gown, similar to those on my own planet. 

Despite being mostly covered over, I could still see what they had done to me. My hands had been roughly tied down so that I couldn't sit up, and I felt the tickling of a cannula breathing tube against my face and in my nostrils.

What have they done to me? I look like a reject patchwork doll. 

"I see you're awake." Came a professional sounding male voice. I didn't know where he was in the room; the lights were white and luminous, tied in with every surface coated in a pure white marble tile. On top of that, my head throbbed and my skin felt a stinging sensation. 

I went to speak, but my throat began to burn, so it just came out as a pained and pathetic whisper. 

"Don't try to speak. We're attempting to administer different pain remedies to you, but you reacted so strongly to morphine that we have to be careful what we use now. Please, refrain from struggling against your restraints. It's for the best." He said, cheery.