The Space Corporation

Chapter 2: Getting Dressed

I sat for another 5 minutes, when the door on the other side of the table entered. A long, slender man entered. He had a very hallow kind of face with a small mustache. He wasn't wearing the standard black garbs the secret police wore, and he seemed kinder than the others. If that was possible of employees of the ZTC.

"Name, date of birth, and qualifications please." He said staring down at his tablet and dragging things from here to there.

"My name or the name ZTC gave me?" I asked. The man stopped and looked up from his tablet.

"There's no other name outside of your registered name. Understand? Any further talk could warrant a possible reeducating. Name please?" He asked again tapping away again. I was startled to hear such a harsh town escape a man of his build, but I wasn't about to test him. I didn't want to end up in a hard labor camp or worse.

"Wings of Gold, sir."

"Birth date?"

"August 15, 2158."

"Any qualifications or references that you would like to state or have?"

"None, I'm alone at this point and I have had no past occupations. I grew up on a farm. Kind of. If that helps any."

"I see. Well that makes my job easier. Farms could use some young workforce." He said sliding his finger across his tablet. A knock at the door came.

"I'm doing an interview. Please wait, I'll be out soon." He said without looking up. There were three knocks one after another. The man straightened his posture. His face went pale and he lost almost all force in his voice.

"I'll be right there. Please wait here for your assignment. I'll be back momentarily." He said getting up from his seat, and leaving the room. I waited for about 5 minutes, before he returned.

"You were spared of the farms. The governor himself actually required a new hand for his personal garden. I suggest that you don't mess it up, because a beating is not the punishment for failing this one." He said smiling. He got up from his chair and closed his tablet, made it compact, and slid it into his pocket. He reached into his opposite pocket and put on a pair of black gloves.

"So where do I go?" I said looking up at him. He didn't say anything, but he held out his hand toward me.

"Hand please. Wrist up towards the ceiling." He said. I put my hand in his and put my wrist up as I was directed. A second man walked in. He was much bulkier than his counterpart. He whispered something in the career specialist's ear. The specialist grinned.

"It has come to my attention that your new employer wants you vaccinated. He's already payed up front for it all. Good for you. Ivory, take him to the medical bay please." He said releasing my hand. His partner walked over and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Follow me please. Do not attempt anything not necessary for your safety." Ivory said as he led me out the door he had entered through. We made our way through the tunnel, and we seemed to have walked for a little while before we came to a steel door on my right.

Ivory opened it by holding his wrist up to a scanner and it clicked. The door opened up and I was almost blinded by a massive amount of light. Once my eyes had adjusted, I followed Ivory inside. The room had a steel operating table, counters, and cabinets. The floor and walls were marble tile, while the ceiling was the standard steel. There were 3 men in lab coats going back and forth between tables and vials and microscopes and tablets and beakers of fluid.

"Hey doc, we got the one Feathers of Ivory paid for. I'd hate for this to go over the dead line he set." Said Ivory leaning against the marble wall. A doctor stood up and from his stool and walked towards us. He looked at Ivory and then at me without a word. He reeled back and punched me directly in the face. Lucky I wasn't about to speak or else I would have bit my tongue off.

I was caught off guard and I flew back into the steel door. Ivory didn't say a word. The other doctors, who hadn't stopped working in the slightest, didn't even stop to look at the commotion going on. I slowly got to my feet using the door as a support. The doctor started typing on his tablet the entire time I was doing this. Once I was back on my feet, he collapsed his tablet and looked down at me.

"I'll be surprised if he survives Zaacplot flu. It took him over 5 seconds to recover from a single punch that I didn't put my all in." He said turning around and walking away. Ivory stifled a laugh and turned to me.

"Stay here and do everything the doc or his colleagues say. Any sign of going against them, and I'll be back here, you'll come with me, I will walk you personally to Feathers of Ivory's residence, and I will shoot your legs and arms for every vaccine and dollar you wasted." Said Ivory like he'd said it all before. He left the same way he had entered.

"Please lay down on the table, and we will get started." Said the doctor without looking at me. I did as I was told, and one of the doctors walked over took measurements of my arms, legs, and body temperature. The doctor that had hit me walked over to me and measured my head. He typed it all into his tablet and strapped my arms and legs down.

"Zaacplot flu please." He said putting on gloves. One of the other doctors walked over and gave him the syringe. He flicked the needle and wiped it clean on a towel. Then the other doctor who hadn't given him the needle, walked up, and grabbed the towel and threw it in an incinerator in the wall.

"Time to see if your body can handle these." He said shoving the needle into my arm.