The Living condition

1

"This is safe, right?" You had asked, hesitant to step into the cryogenic pod. It was a simple process meant to keep your body in stasis until you'd arrived on Copper-9, at your parents' request. To be the family business's liaison on copper-9.

The pods were meant to keep an optimal temperature for humans, while providing just enough oxygen throughout the pod to keep the body alive, but unconscious.

The way it was explained to you, it was like being in a voluntary coma until you were on the exoplanet. The lack of oxygen was almost meant to acclimate your body to the exoplanet's atmosphere so that it would not shock the body when arriving.

"Perfectly safe and tested" you were promised by an older gentleman in a coat. Your parents were far too busy to see you of themselves, with too much work to be done, and family matters to attend to. And you, like anyone else, had tasks lined up in place once you had arrived on the planet.

"..tested on what?"

The man's expression soured minutely as he glanced away from you once you'd stepped into the chambers. he does not answer your question, instead grabbing at the glass of the cryo-pod, shutting it closed on you while you stared on, open-mouthed "Wait—hold on,"

"Have a safe trip. You will be brought up to speed when you arrive," the man's voice was muffled behind the glass as the chamber locked shut with a short click. You watched the man walk away, turning your head this way and that to look around the chamber as cold air spilled into the chamber, fogging up the glass and waving you chilled. Your vision went dark with the sound of a vacuum lulling you into a dark, dreamless 'sleep'.

——-

When you awoke, it was not peaceful. It was not simple, as you'd been told. It was not to another face, catching you up to speed.

It was with the sound of shattering glass and the sound of your sputtering gasps as you came into consciousness before you were decidedly ready to be awake. It was with the first thing you saw was yellows and flashing greens, purple hair of a body on the ground in front of the broken pod.

It was to the feeling of cold air that was hard to breathe despite what you were told about acclimating.

It was with gasps and scrambling barefoot out of the glass chamber, ducking yourself out under the thick piece of solid black metal, avoiding stepping on pieces of shattered glass. You awoke not to peace, but to danger.

A sort of danger that–you really can't make sense of, but maybe that was the 'jet lag' of being in cryo for...however long you were under? Something gangly and metal with too many yellow pinprick eyes, and wires running up to the ceiling. Half of a metal drone head, just with sharp teeth. You tucked yourself back momentarily, watching. What was it that you were standing in? Snow. Too much snow. The chill was enough to make one's teeth chatter, but the adrenaline was enough to wire one's jaw shut. A dilemma.

The thing was holding something between metal claws. A person.

Not a person, a drone. Maybe a drone?

"Lucky for you, it's snack time. Time to go into my mouth now." Robotic hands reached up, pawing at the claws, trying to get themself out of the solid grasp. A drone, for sure.

A broken thing on the ground. Glowing green, like it was radioactive. In fact, that was the first thing you'd assumed it was and took the chance of the little drone being crushed by the claws and not having been noticed to get away.

You don't get far before you turn to see what you believe to be another drone with chainsaws for hands landing on the ground. To hear an alarm blaring from the broken green thing, the glow of it going from green to red.