Immortality Code

Chapter II

Chapter II:

Experiments. Results. Roles. Functions.

I lost count of how many times I've woken up to this sight long ago.

Don't ask me how long.

The sight of the sterile-white plastic tiles and their dark grey dividing lines creating a perfect cube whose inward faces form the limits of my world.

A world created for me. A world under external control.

A world of rest and pain.

The loudspeaker crackles.

"Platform-01?"

To my surprise, it is Sana's voice. Macallion is usually the one to speak to me first after I wake.

"Sana. I can hear you."

My voice is quite clear. I am uninjured. This is also a surprise.

"Do you know what we are doing today?"

"No. I have not been told."

"I see."

Her voice carries no hint of surprise, but has its usual sympathetic tone.

"Platform-01, the regeneration trials are over."

"Oh." I reflex, oddly disappointed. "What are we experimenting next?"

I am still crucified, so they must still have need of me.

"Before I tell you, can you answer a few questions?"

"Yes."

"Do you know how long the trials have been running?"

"No."

"Can you list the adverse conditions used in the trials?"

"Yes. Acidic exposure. Exhaustion. Foreign body intrusion. Poison. Drug injection. No restraints. Rapid exsanguination. Extensive burning. Psychological stress. Acidic submersion. Lethal infection. Constant movement. The saw."

I hesitate as I recall the last one. One hour was the longest I could stay awake with the jagged blade dividing my abdomen, having already bifurcated my groin.

The first time round, I had fallen asleep before it even reached there.

"Joint immobilisation with metal rods. Implanted parasites. Increased air pressure. Lowered air pressure. Suffocation. Drowning. Neural shock. Electric shock. At least twenty trials for each."

I become aware of a hesitation before she speaks again.

"I'm surprised you remember all of them."

"I thought the purpose of repeating them was so I would remember."

"Mmm, it's possible. It makes our results more reliable mainly."

I understood at this point that Sana had not designed the experiments. This certainly correlated with her sympathetic tone.

"Have you concluded that I can't be killed then?"

"The others have already told you this, but that was not the purpose of the trials. We were testing the upper limits of your regenerative abilities."

"Did you find them?"

My voice is apathetic. I honestly care little.

"It seems that, unless every last cell in your body is destroyed, you can recover, though you'll need help beyond a certain point. Severe head injures can also result in permanent amnesia. Your memory engrams don't regenerate along with the rest of you."