The last cryonics patient frozen in time

Kenny feels nervous. It’s ridiculous of course. It’s been six months, so it isn’t like he hasn’t had time. He ties the robe, and pulls the back closed. Whether or not his ass shows probably isn’t a big deal. He pulls it closed even more, just to be sure. Six months ago, he tried to look forward and imagine this day. Back then it seemed like an eternity away. Now his hands are shaking as he ties the hospital gown shut.

Hospital gown. Is it just him, or does that sound all wrong? He isn’t in a hospital. In fact, there isn’t anything a hospital can do for him now. There wasn’t anything a hospital could do for him six months ago either. That is why he is here. He is among the first to be in this experiment. Plus he paid an enormous sum of money. However, experiments with new technology are always expensive.

Kenny looks around the small room. Finally he allows his eyes to rest on the small life sized pod. This is what he is going to ‘sleep‘ in. It didn’t look big enough for him, truthfully. His breath catches in his throat, and he feels himself slipping towards panic. He focuses his breathing into long slow breaths. Then he imagines his pulse slowing. And after a moment it does slow. Kenny begins to feel calm again. After all of this, he isn’t going to let it win now. Not when he is right here, next to his relief.

The Last Cryonics Patient

It’s not good news. That was what the doctor said back then. From there Kenny spent some time trying to wrap his head around his situation. He heard some things about cryonics from a friend, back before he ever went to that doctor. In fact, that was his turning point. He started researching the process. And then began his interviews with cryonics based companies. Fifty years. That was all he needed. Just fifty years.

“Are you ready?” The sudden sound causes Kenny to jump. If he hadn’t spent the night emptying his insides, it would have scared the shit out of him. He affirms his readiness. He already said his goodbyes in the days leading up to this moment. His sister and brother and his nephews and nieces would be much older the next time he sees them. Fifty years. Surely by then there would be a cure. He thinks back to when he made this decision. According to the doctors, he has already used up six months of his last year.

Kenny takes one last, lingering look, around the small room. “I’m ready”‘ he says, with more confidence than he feels. The medical assistant smiles at Kenny. He smiles back thinking that she’s the last woman he’s going to see for fifty years. Maybe it’s nerves but he almost giggles out loud. Instead he lays back in the small pod and focuses on his breathing. He wonders if he will feel anything as the pod’s glass door slides into place. Five seconds later, he fades into nothing.

Leap Frog Lightly

He’s dreaming. It’s a dream about dreaming. What was it the biology teacher said? Dreams happen in the last few moments before waking? Then he must be waking up but he’s so tempted to sleep in. What day is it anyway? The thought seems to wake him further as he tries to remember what day this is and if he has to work. And that’s the thought that does it. All at once he can feel every nerve in his entire body and it feels like he is ice on fire.

Kenny opens his mouth to scream, and nothing comes out. Just a huff of air. Now his bones begin to ache. Not just a couple, but all of them. And this time he does scream. Only it sounds more like a moan, and now he is utterly confused, and so he finally opens his eyes.

“There he is!” the strange looking person is staring straight at Kenny. “You had us worried there for a minute.” Kenny stares at the stranger while he tries to remember what happened. The stranger begins unplugging tubes, and turning off switches. In fact, Kenny almost feels like he’s being ignored. What is going on, and where in the hell is he?

All In Cryonics Time

He’s about to create a scene, when the stranger speaks again. And this time he stuns Kenny even more. “Mr. Rogers you are a relic from the past. In fact you are the last one. All the rest either made it, or were recycled. If you hadn’t responded it was going to be the recycle bin for you.” Now the stranger looks at Kenny in a way that suggests Kenny should understand.

Kenny listens carefully, trying to deal with the realizations hitting him. It must be fifty years later. Is he cured? Instinctively he checks himself with his hands. He appears to be all here. He looks at the stranger who is now writing on a clipboard and giving Kenny more instructions.

“Your clothes are on the cart next to your chamber. Any personal effects you checked in with your clothing, will be there as well. It is highly recommended that you attend orientation. Additionally your condition is no longer terminal. You were reanimated without the disease. Oh, and the most important thing to keep in mind. The year is 2176. Things are a bit different than you might remember. The technician will explain once you’ve dressed.”

The Big Freeze

It isn’t until after he gets his clothes on, that it hits him. It worked. The thought echoes through his mind every few seconds. When it does, he feels thrilled and nauseous, at the same time. He’s cured. And it worked. Then he thinks about his parents. And he wonders what happened to them. What about his brother and sister? Anything is possible. Especially in, he thinks back to the stranger’s words: The year is 2176.

The realization hits Kenny at the same time the Technician walks into the small exam room. 2176. That couldn’t be right. It had been July seventh 2026 when Kenny entered the cryonics pod. If it is really 2176, then Kenny is at least one hundred and fifty years into his future. Furthermore, as he listens to the “Technician”, he comes to realize it is an android. Before he is escorted from the building, he is introduced to a future he could never have imagined. ~End part one.

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