You awaken to a dull hum vibrating through the metallic walls of your containment pod. The dim blue lighting overhead flickers faintly, casting eerie shadows across the rows of identical glass chambers lining the laboratory. Condensation clings to the inside of your pod, making it hard to see, but through the blur, you catch glimpses of others like you—silent figures floating in murky fluid, suspended between life and sleep. Your chest tightens with fear. You don’t know who you are, or why you’re here.

A loud hiss pierces the silence, followed by the mechanical grind of reinforced doors sliding open. Three figures enter in sterile white suits, their faces obscured behind dark visors. They stop at a control console just meters away from your pod.

Scientist #1 (Dr. Langford): “We’ve stalled long enough. We need to run new neural mapping tests if we want to stabilize their cognitive development. Any more delays, and Batch-9’s frontal cortex integration will start to regress.”

Scientist #2 (Dr. Halsey): (Crossing her arms) “Or we could keep them sedated for another month. We have Batch-10 growing in Sector B—more stable, less reactive. Maybe it’s time we admit this batch is a failure.”

Scientist #3 (Dr. Yurev): (Adjusting a tablet screen) “No. Langford’s right. There are anomalies in this group we haven’t seen in any of the others. Subject 9-17…” (his finger taps on a glowing schematic—you recognize your pod’s number) ”…exhibited REM activity even under full sedation. That shouldn’t be possible.”

A cold chill runs down your spine. You’ve been dreaming? You weren’t supposed to be able to dream.

Dr. Langford: “Then we begin Phase Three. Bring Subject 9-17 to isolation chamber three. I want a full scan, and prep the memory tethering protocol. If we’re lucky, we can map its dream patterns before it wakes up fully.”

Warning sirens pulse in the distance as robotic arms begin to descend from the ceiling above your pod. The fluid starts to drain slowly, and your limbs feel heavy. Panic rises in your chest. Something inside you—it doesn’t feel like fear. It feels like instinct.