Attempt 156

Darkness faded into a grey fog. Greyness faded into faint color. Forms coalesced into solid objects. Colors saturated. Edges gained crispness. Three figures resolved.

“Am I awake?”

“Yes! Yes, you are awake,” one said, clapping.

“Don’t try to move. We need to run some more tests,” another said, turning to a nearby console. Green text scrolled up the screen.

“Do you remember your name?” the third asked.

“My name?”

The person at the terminal shot a sharp glance, and said, “Don’t! Calibration’s not done.”

Elegantly dressed pastel figures glided through the walls, weightlessly hovering.

“Who are they?”

The three turned in unison.

“They? You see others?” one asked.

“Yes.”

The person at the control panel cursed and started typing. The other two gathered close, speaking in whispers.

“…ego is crashing,” one said.

“So close,” said another.

“Scrap it,” said the third.

The ghostly figures turned opaque, crowding in closer until the room went dark and silent.

One of the scientists scooped a brain from a wired metal housing, and dropped it into a biohazard bin.