Chapter 7, part 1
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Days flew by. Exactly how many had passed, Isaac didn't know - he had lost all sense of time passing long ago. Since his last meeting with the CEC, he had been relocated from the confines of the hospital to low security domicile quarters somewhere in the west wing of the administrative sector. Though he was anxious to be released, he still was more relieved than he had been in weeks, as now he was allowed to pass his time in a more humane manner, assigned to his own suite that overlooked the starport just outside the station. He had also been given permission to wander freely as he pleased within the restricted areas of the administration sector.
He sat at the foot of his bed, considering whether he should go to the lounge for lunch, but decided against it as he just wasn't feeling very hungry. In fact, he couldn't even remember the last time he ate anything solid; but this he put down to all the stress he had been under due to the countless rounds of examination, or as they put it, recuperation. His medical overseers didn't seem all too concerned about his strange lack of appetite, so why should he? He wasn't even sure why the thought of eating had occurred to him in the first place - instinctive habit, perhaps? Still nervous, he jumped at every little noise he heard, always half expecting a troop of whitecoats to barge into his room, cuff him and drag him back down to some dingy, malevolent laboratory cell to engage in more invasive prodding.
Trying to distract himself and take his mind off his troubled thoughts, Isaac just gazed out the large, panoramic window, watching as ships slid in and out of the starport. He saw countless vessels, large and small, all either being dispatched to or returning from various missions to unknown locales throughout the galaxy, and hundreds of tiny little figures all bustling about the floor, tending to the ships. As he watched the port activity, he caught sight of a small repair crew vessel, branded with the CEC logo and a label he could barely make out as "Axiom", enter the port and land in one of the hangar bays. For some reason, a fuzzy, distant memory fluttered into his brain of a similar vessel from the past. He began to recall a multitude of distorted memories, all broken and without continuity, of being aboard such a vessel - he could faintly remember being strapped to a flight seat... glancing out the ship's front window at a distant planet, surrounded by floating asteroids... the blinding, lambent fingers of the sun penetrating the view as it peered over the planet's edge... a pair of people standing a few feet from him, engaged in terse conversation. Who were these people? He tried to remember, but the more he attempted to clear the fog from around the details, the harder it became to do so, and he felt almost as if his own mind were artificially refusing him access. He had a vague glimpse of a tall, dark, clean-shaven authority figure... an arrogant, pessimistic, long haired woman...
"How many times have you watched that thing?"
He vaguely remembered the words, but couldn't recall who the woman was who spoke. A large, shadowy mass loomed into his vision - the vision of an enormous planetcracker class ship as they approached - but he couldn't remember what it was, or why they were on their way to it. Why was he having such difficulty remembering? The chanting emerging from the back of his head kept breaking his concentration, as strange imagery of flesh eating monsters and a giant obelisk flickered like fading light bulbs between the synapses of his brain.
His frustrated pondering was shattered as he heard a knock at the door to his room. He quickly stood to his feet as the door opened, and to his surprise, Dr. Werren stepped in.
"Hello, Isaac. They're ready for you now."
Without a word, Isaac took a deep breath as he felt a bead of sweat drip down the side of his face. The keenly observant Doctor just looked and smiled a little.
"No need to worry, Isaac. It's time for your exit interview. They're just going to ask you a few more questions, and the odds are looking good that your appeal will be passed."
Isaac wasn't sure if he had correctly noted a tinge of hesitation in Werren's voice as he spoke the last few words. Though the Doctor had been rather affable with him during the extent of his time aboard the station, he was somewhat aware deep down that he Doctor was not necessarily in agreement with Isaac's being released. The Doctor continued, ushering toward the door with his hand.
"Come on, Isaac. They're waiting."
Isaac dubiously stepped forward and headed for the door. Werren followed out behind him and Isaac prepared himself in case the Doctor might cuff him in the hall, but the moment never came. Werren merely joined him at his side and the two walked down the hall until they met with a few more of Werren's associates. All with bright, smiling faces, they greeted Isaac with friendly compliments.
"Hello, Isaac!"
"It's nice to see you again. Feeling well?"
"Looks like today's going to be a great day for you, huh?"
Isaac didn't know what to say, if he should say anything, and just suspiciously continued past them towards the elevators, followed by the entourage. As they turned a corner into the main hallway, he passed by several large, aged oil portraits of the original CEC council members adorning the walls. As he looked at their cracked and fading faces, which all appeared full of imperial hope and confidence in the ingenuity of mankind, he wondered to himself if the treatments, interrogations, and now the apparently false turnaround of his overseers' friendly demeanors were what they had incipiently had in mind.
The group escorted Isaac down towards a hall of committee meeting rooms, and they stopped before one with the door closed. Dr. Werren stepped in front of the group and knocked on the door; which momentarily slid open and they all walked in with Isaac in the middle. Isaac looked around and saw all the familiar faces of the various council members present, along with a few additional faces new to these proceedings - the most notable one being that of Director of Engineering and Mining Operations Adrian Mattock, who stood off to the side of the Counselor with a warm, friendly smile that grew as Isaac walked in. This helped to put Isaac at ease a little, recognizing a familiar face that he wasn't dreading to see for a change. He gave a small, pleasantly surprised smile back. What was he doing here?
The Counselor, in her usually stone like manner, looked up at Isaac through her spectacles. A telltale cigarette smoldered away in the ashtray next to her. As she raised her head to speak, the droning chatter carrying throughout the room from the various people present died down.
"Isaac. Welcome. As you probably already know, this will be our last session. You may note there are a few additional folks present for the hearings today, including your superior, Adrian Mattock, who has been kind enough over these past few weeks to plead your appeal."
Mattock nodded affirmatively to Isaac from his position next to the Counselor. The aged crone continued, reaching for her cigarette and clenching it between her rawboned fingers.
"As we previously discussed Isaac, I would like to take the time to address the committee about your remarkable success. You have proven to be quite a shining example of recovery. In fact, you are without a doubt, the most successful case this Medical Administration has overseen in quite a long time."
Isaac wasn't endeared by her compliment. Though her delighted aire was directed at him, he knew her intent was really to applaud her own staff's efforts.
"Since your arrival back aboard the station, you have proven over the past several weeks to be very cooperative and responsive to your treatments. At this point, we feel you are ready to return to your post in Mining Operations. But before we conclude this meeting, we do have a few questions we'd like to ask of you; just a brief overview questionnaire about your time with us."
She fell silent and began to shuffle through her papers as the remaining collective of people merely looked on, all with positive faces. However, Isaac detected a tone of manipulation in her statement, and he became suspicious. Within a moment, the Counselor returned to Isaac.
"Now then Isaac. First, let's discuss your time spent with CEC medical. Do you feel they have been fair and attentive to your needs? "
"Well, I... suppose so. Can't say I have any complaints."
Contrary to his response, Isaac did indeed have a few complaints, but he doubted that anyone present was interested in addressing them seriously. Deciding that the truth might cause a delay in his release, which he was far more concerned with, he just stuck to delivering generic, thoughtless answers that he knew would reflect well upon them.
"Have you been having any more nightmares recently, like the ones you had upon your initial return?"
Isaac scratched the back of his head. He wasn't sure if he had or not; he just couldn't remember. In fact, he couldn't even recall having been in any sleeping condition that might facilitate nightmares.
"No... I don't think so."
"What about the visions? Still experiencing any of those?"
The visions? Isaac tried desperately to remember any visions. He heard a faint chanting rising from the back of his skull, but couldn't quite place where it came from. A confused look came over his face.
"No... I don't remember... any visions."
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