Collected (Selected Book 1) Read online

  "Thank you, Ms. Fletcher," said the voice. "Please take a seat and remain calm. Someone will be with you in just a moment."

  I made my way to the bench and sat. It was a long moment, but only two or three minutes before another door opened, this one opposite the first. I looked up and watched a blurry shape approach. As it grew closer, I could make out another woman. She could have been a doctor for the way she was dressed.

  "Ms. Fletcher," she said. "My name is Rita. If you will come this way."

  "I'm practically blind," I complained.

  "I'll take good care of you, and we'll start by fixing your vision." She took my arm and helped me to stand, and then she was my guide for the next hour, holding me by the arm as needed to direct me.

  She led me from the room. We traveled a short hallway and then turned left through an open doorway. She sat me down in a chair facing some sort of machine.

  "This device tests your vision," she said. "It's used to calibrate a pair of goggles specifically for you. Can you see well enough to move into place, or should I guide you?"

  "I can see." I shifted forward and set my chin into place on the machine. it startled me as it shifted slightly, but then it was comfortable.

  "Look straight ahead. The machine does the rest."

  At first, everything was blurry. But the machine made a few noises, and after a moment, a simple geometric image appeared before my eyes. The image moved around a little until it was sharp and clear and appeared like a pyramid, floating in space. It turned in slow circles, and I watched it as it moved.

  Then everything grew dark, and Rita said, "Very good. You can lean back. Make yourself comfortable, and we'll test your hearing."

  She helped me get comfortable. Then she settled an odd, metal band over my head. It adjusted in size, becoming snug but not tight.

  "I know everything is strange," Rita said gently. "But if you relax, you'll be fine. You don't have to do a thing."

  I did my best.

  She gave me a moment, and then another machine, from somewhere behind me, settled into place, and a pair of ear buds invading my ears. I tried to remain calm.

  Then I sat there as the ear buds played a variety of sounds, some loud, some quiet, in a wide range of frequencies. Sometimes the sound came from one ear, sometimes from another, sometimes from both. Then it stopped, and the machine withdrew, and a moment after that, the metal band.

  "That wasn't so bad," Rita said. She helped me to stand, taking possession of my arm again, and she led me from the room.

  We traveled another short corridor and into another room, and she moved me to a seat. Everything I could see was white, but the room seemed small. "We have to wait a few minutes," she said. "They are calibrating your goggles. We can talk if you want."

  "What happens next?"

  "First I'll help you with the goggles. The aliens call it a visor, but everyone thinks that means a hat, so we call it goggles at first. You'll see.

  "Then you'll go through a medical exam. It's not that different from the other exams you've had in the past. We take a few samples and send them to the lab for analysis. It's the usual drill, you could say. After that, I take you to your room for your next phase of tests." I could see her blurry image grin. "That's the fun part, or it was for me."

  I nodded, and then we waited quietly. It wasn't that long a wait before I heard a noise. Rita moved away from me, and when she returned, she was holding something. She let me look at it.

  It wasn't a pair of swim goggles. It looked a lot more like Geordie's visor from Star Trek.

  "I'm going to see out of that?"

  Rita knelt in front of me, our eyes on the same level. "Better than ever," she said. "You'll see as well as possible without corrective surgery." She smiled. "One of the perks of my job?" She tapped her cheek underneath one eye. "Implants. I have bionic eyes."

  "Seriously?"

  She nodded. "We get points for working here, and we can spend them in a variety of ways, and we get more points if we sign a long term employment contract. I had to sign a ten-year contract, but I got these eyes and a decent salary besides."

  "What do they do?" I gestured to her eyes.

  "Perfect vision. And they can zoom. I can see in the dark. Oh, not in pitch black, but starlight is enough to see. I can also see partway into the infrared and ultraviolet, but that's a little distracting, so I leave that turned off most of the time."

  I nodded. "Sounds awesome, actually."

  "Yeah." Her voice was soft but then she became more professional. "Now, these goggles are a little different."

  "I can see that."

  "They'll be off until I get them settled, so you won't be able to see. Some people find that disconcerting and close their eyes. But the most startling thing is that they will adjust to your face, and once they're in place, they won't come off until you're about to leave." I didn't say anything. "Also, there are ear buds. They're a little disconcerting, too, but they're harmless."

  "All right."

  "Here's the worst. The goggles decide what you get to see and hear. Once they're in place and we've tested them, we'll leave this room, but you'll only see what the goggles show you. We'll actually be in the same room with other testing candidates, but you will not see or hear them. You'll see and hear me and anyone else with whom you need to interact, but that's all."

  I stared at the goggles. "So you're saying those would be a great way to improve employee productivity by eliminating time wasted around the water cooler?"

  Rita laughed. "I suppose so. Are you ready?"

  I nodded and closed my eyes. A moment later, I felt her begin to slide Geordie's visor over my eyes. At first it felt no different than when someone puts a pair of glasses on me, but once the visor was in place, it began to morph. I could feel my eyes covered completely, and it felt like someone had placed little rubber cups over my entire eye sockets from just below my eyebrows to the rim of my cheeks. Reflexively, I opened my eyes, and it was absolutely pitch black.

  I tried to sit calmly.

  The visor wasn't done. It pressed against the sides of my head, although comfortably, and then I felt tickling at my ears as the ear buds settled into place. But they weren't standard ear buds. I actually felt something worming into my ear canals. It was quite unexpected, and I gasped. But Rita took my hands and held them, squeezing gently.

  I couldn't see a thing, and once the invasive hearing aids finished settling into place, I couldn't hear a thing, either. Oh, I had no doubt if there was a sufficiently loud noise, it would penetrate, but the normal sounds were all gone.

  "That's so weird," I said, but I couldn't even hear my own voice. I wasn't sure how that was possible.

  It took a moment, but then I heard Rita asked, "Can you hear me, Ms. Fletcher?"

  "Call me Sapphire," I said. "Yes."

  "All right, Sapphire. Is everything comfortable?"

  I thought about it. Yes, actually. It was unexpected, but completely comfortable. "Yes."

  "You can feel if you want to." She released my hands, and I lifted them, pressing against my face and the sides of my head. I explored for a while before lowering my hands.

  "I still can't see."

  "That's next. It will start dim." It took a moment, but then, slowly, I could begin to see. Rita was kneeling in front of me, smiling, and I looked into her eyes.

  "Oh, wow," I said. "You're right. Where can I get a pair of these?"

  She laughed. "Ten year contract. They gave us some technology, but after this, we're on our own. If you want something special, you have to work for them."

  "Aren't they afraid someone will reverse engineer your eyes?"

  "We're all protected. You couldn't kidnap one of us. But I'm free to walk into any laboratory I want and tell them to go at it. They don't seem to be worried about it. They say at our current rate, we're at least a hundred years from being able to produce this tech."

  "That doesn't seem like a long time."

  "It makes you wond
er what else they can do," Rita said. "Look around. Is everything fine?"

  I looked. Yes, everything was fine. In the past, sometimes new glasses made me feel dizzy, but these didn't. Rita waited until I nodded then helped me to my feet, careful to steady me. "We'll walk slowly for the first minute or two, just in case."

  * * * *

  She led me from the room, down yet another corridor, and into another room. It looked like a typical examination room at any clinic, although the equipment wasn't remotely familiar. Rita led me to what appeared to be a dentist's chair in the center of the room. I sat, and she pulled up a chair.

  "Look around," Rita said. So I did, amazed at how well I could see. "How big is this room?"

  "I don't know. Maybe fifteen by fifteen?"

  "It's actually not. It's huge. The corridor we passed through wasn't a corridor, either, but a path between the various examination stations. Do you see anyone except me?"

  "No."

  "I see forty other testing candidates, each with an attendant. Some are talking quietly. Some aren't. There are fifteen technicians administering exams."

  I looked around again, not sure if I believed her.

  "Did you notice I didn't let you near any walls?"

  I hadn't.

  "If you tripped, I didn't want you to rely on that wall for support. Most of them aren't even there. Look." She moved away and then pushed her hand into the wall. The wall indented away from her hand, as if it were made from rubber.

  "That's a little freaky," I said.

  "Yeah. They encourage us to go through testing as often as we want. With each other, we sort of play it straight, like we would with any candidate. But we also experiment to see what works best. And we've found that being honest about what's going on is best."

  "Why do they hide everyone else?" I asked.

  "I don't know. But they do."

  I looked around and then asked in a low voice. "Are there aliens in the room?"

  "If so, they don't look like aliens," she said. She looked around. "I know all the technicians and most of the attendants. A few are new, and I don't recognize them."

  "Is everyone a woman?"

  "Are you sure you want to know?"

  I sighed. "Are there a bunch of guys watching me?"

  "There's a bunch of guys, but no one is paying any attention to you except me. Oops, and one of the technicians coming this way."

  "Male or female?"

  "She's going to look female to you."

  I nudged her with my shoulder. "And to you?"

  "No comment."

  "So it's a guy?"

  "Not necessarily."

  I grumbled.

  "Is your gynecologist a man or woman?"

  "Woman."

  "Ever had a male doctor?"

  "Yeah."

  "So no problem."

  "I guess."

  It was only a few more seconds before a woman appeared to step through the door. The door closed behind her, and she crossed the room to stand in front of me. I looked up at her. "I am Doctor Gavins," she said. "I need to see your wrist."

  I held out my right hand. She glanced at it and checked a tablet she carried. "Very good, Ms. Fletcher. How are you doing so far?"

  "Fine, but if you check my blood pressure, it won't be normal."

  "There's no reason for concern," she said. She pulled a rolling stool over and sat in front of me. Then she began asking questions about my medical history, taking notes on her tablet. The questions were thorough, and it was some time before she was done.

  "Why don't you just give me a form and ask me to check off the little boxes?"

  "The visor requires you to actually answer verbally to detect lies."

  "What?" I squeaked.

  "Oops," said Rita beside me. "I'm so sorry. I'm supposed to warn you. I'm really sorry."

  I turned to look at her. "It's fine. Really." I turned back to the doctor. "Why would I lie?"

  "Sometimes people lie." She shrugged. "They seem to have their reasons. Most of them seem to be due to xenophobia, although usually the truly xenophobic display far more signs than you have so far."

  "I haven't lied," I said.

  "I know," she said. "The rest of this exam is going to seem quite strange to you." She gestured. "Most of the machines you see are window dressing."

  "I wondered about that."

  "There's one you can't see yet."

  "Alien technology?"

  "Quite. And somewhat startling. We have to strap you in. The machine will take some samples and then spend some time scanning your body."

  "So I'm going to be probed after all?"

  She smiled. "Not like that. Blood and saliva. If the machine finds a reason, you'll find yourself peeing into a cup."

  "Eww. So I have to drop drawer?"

  "No. It's an exceedingly clever machine. Now, are you going to fight me?"

  I thought for a second before answering. "No, of course not."

  "Good. Try to relax. Lean back and get comfortable."

  I squirmed around. Then the doctor rolled over to my side. "Place your hand here, please," gesturing at the arm of the chair. I did so, and she took my hand, holding it gently, her other hand pressing my upper arm down. A moment later the arm of the chair, in effect, wrapped around my arm, holding me snuggly. I squirmed, but I was truly trapped.

  The doctor nodded and rolled to the other side. She didn't have to ask for me to grimly offer my hand. The chair swallowed it.

  "I know it's disconcerting, but we're not here to hurt you."

  "I know," I whispered. But I didn't.

  She moved my legs where she wanted them, and the chair swallowed them. My waist. My chest. My neck.

  I didn't like that.

  I began to pant.

  "Ms. Fletcher," said the doctor gently. "Look at me."

  I turned my head. Her gaze was kind.

  "I know it's a little frightening. Do you need something to help you calm down?"

  "How-" I licked my lips. "How long is this chair going to eat me?"

  "I suppose it is a little like that," she said. "About a half hour. It's actually quite comfortable, once you relax. The visor will give you something to distract you, but you're on the verge of panic. Do you want something to help?"

  I panted at her for a minute, and I was sure she was about to make my decision for me, but then I said, "Will you answer a question honestly?"

  "Of course."

  "Are you a human or an alien?"

  "Oh, Ms. Fletcher," she said. "I am completely human. I grew up on a farm just outside Fargo. I finished my medical residency six months before the aliens arrived. I was going to be a GP back home." She smiled. "Instead, I underwent testing, and the day they let me out, they offered me a job here and described some of the perks. I haven't looked back."

  "Do they let you go home?"

  "We're not prisoners. Of course. I was home for my mother's birthday two months ago." She smiled. "You understand, I was happy to leave the farm. It wasn't for me."

  "I suppose."

  "Ms. Fletcher, you are perfectly safe. Do you want to know a secret?"

  "Um. Sure."

  "Sometimes I come to this room and sleep in one of these chairs."

  "You do?"

  "I wear a visor. I have the best dreams, and I never sleep better than when I'm in one of these chairs."

  "Does it swallow you like this?"

  "Completely."

  I took several deep breaths. "I'm not really seeing what's going on, am I? I'm seeing on little tiny computer screens."

  "That's true. Your visor is showing me, and Rita, and what looks like a rather hungry dentist's chair. Nothing else is real."

  "How completely is it going to swallow me?"

  "Completely. Do you want something to calm down?"

  "What will I see?"

  She smiled. "What do you want to see?"

  "I don't know."

  "Do you like to swim, Sapphire?" Rita asked.
<
br />   "Um. Sure."

  "Underwater?"

  "Yeah."

  "Ever thought about being a dolphin?"

  "No."

  "Want to see what it might be like?"

  "Seriously?"

  "Seriously," she said. "Doctor Gavins, maybe you can give her a sample."

  "Do you want a sample?" the doctor asked. "Or I can give you a gentle meadow. We have a little time, but we can't take all afternoon."

  "Oh, I'm sorry," I said. "A sample of the dolphins would be nice."

  "All right. But you must promise to be calm. Relax for me." I nodded and did the best I could to relax. The world went dark, and the sound disappeared, but then I heard the doctor say, "I'm going to let the chair continue to swallow you, Ms. Fletcher."

  "All right," I whispered.

  The light came slowly, as did the sound. Around me, I felt the chair continue to swallow me, but in front of me I saw the ocean, and around me, other creatures. I turned my head, and there was a dolphin swimming beside me.

  And the sounds, oh all the wonderful, underwater sounds.

  "Relax, Sapphire," said the doctor gently.

  "All right," I said, and I felt myself calming down.

  "Do you like the dolphins?"

  "They're beautiful," I said. "Will I get seasick?"

  "No."

  I smiled. "This is nice," I said.

  "Good," she said gently. "Let the chair do what it wants. If you begin to panic again, I'll have to give you something to keep you calm. Otherwise, feel free to just relax and zone out."

  "All right."

  The chair grew snug, all about me, even my face, but I could breathe easily, and I was absolutely comfortable. And so I watched the dolphins and listened to their sounds. I saw nothing else, but what the goggles showed me, and I heard nothing else but the underwater sounds. If the chair made noises, I didn't hear them. If I made noises, I didn't hear them, either.

  It was fascinating to be the dolphin. We swam through the water, leaping into the air periodically to breathe, my dolphin brothers and sisters all around me. And we dived deep into the water, which might have been frightening normally, but I relaxed and let the chair do what it wanted.

  I felt when it took a sample of blood, but I paid it no mind.

  And then a portion of the chair slipped into my mouth, and at the chair's urging, I opened my mouth. I felt it take a swab from inside my cheek, and then it withdrew again, closing my mouth for me. My mother's hands couldn't have been more gentle.