The ATLAS Program

“Name please.”

“Ryan Nero,” Ryan answered.

“ID Number?”

“ASD34523.”

The guard nodded and opened the doors to the underground chamber, revealing gray stone walls, and a high-tech looking computer at the end. There were two platforms on either side of the chamber, holding carbon fiber pods with a bluish substance inside them. Ice.

As Ryan walked into the chamber, he peered into the pods, with curiosity rippling over his face. He saw ghostly pale faces inside, eyes closed, almost like dead bodies. Which they practically were.

Ryan was inside the top-secret underground laboratory of ATLAS. ATLAS was an extremely confidential program, started by the government.

Ryan was one of the few test subjects of the ATLAS program, and was risking his life for the improvement of the world!

“Welcome,” a man said with a British accent, walking towards him. He was wearing a stainless white lab coat, and his face bore a very well trimmed brown mustache. He resembled Ryan, although he was older, “Mr, uh-”

“Ryan,” Ryan replied, “Ryan Nero.”

“Yes, well, my name is Doctor Alexander Algorithm — yes, my parents were mathematicians, one of the best in the world. And I see we look alike!” He added with a chuckle.

“Yup,” Ryan said, a grin rippling over his face. He wasn’t sure what else to say, so he just kept quiet.

“Back to business. Now, do you know why you are here?”

“Yes,” Ryan assured him. He was here to have his body frozen and to hopefully last hundreds of years in “hibernation.” He had chosen this because he didn’t see the point of living in the present world. He had lost his parents to a fatal car crash, and his brother was shot dead in battle. Ryan didn’t have kids, or a wife, or anything. Just a small flat, and a small platinum watch, to remind him of his father.

He could also escape his dark past, full of death and darkness, betrayals, and corruption. He gave a slight shiver even as he thought about it. It was all a secret now anyways. All the monsters of the underworld were gone, and he could escape his present life.

“Let me walk you through the procedures then,” Alexander told him with a small smile on his face, and lead Ryan towards one of the many pods inside the room. Another scientist was near the pod, clipboard in hand, with glasses. He was looking into it and writing on his board. Probably checking it for defections.

He looked up and found us walking towards him. He gave a slight nod and walked away towards the computer setup.

“This is the pod in which you shall be in during the freezing of your body,” Alexander said, “When you wake up — which will be in approximately 500 years — you shall be fit and fine. Now, once you wake up, the entire world might be extremely different from what it is right now.”

“I understand,” Ryan said.

“And there is also the possibility of you dying in the process of freezing your body. Many have faced this fate. We keep their bodies inside the pods, and dispose of them.”

“But … why? Couldn’t have you just reused the pods?”

“Once a human perishes inside one of those, it contaminates the entire thing. We cannot afford to keep the entire lab in danger, and that is why we do what we —”

Alexander suddenly wheezed and coughed, his face turning purple. Some of the other scientists cast pitying looks at him but didn’t come to his help.

“Doctor,” Ryan said, concerned, “Are you okay?”

Alexander shook his left hand at him while his right hand dove into his pocket. He pulled out an inhaler and kept the nozzle inside his mouth, and took deep breaths.

After he was done, he explained what had just happened. “Asthma,” he said, “The usual. Got it because of the air pollution you know? Dreadful stuff, dreadful indeed. And I take it that it is one of the reasons you decided to undertake this precarious job?”

“Yes,” Ryan said. It was a reason, but not as big of a one as his parents and brother. But it still was one. Plus, it was already harming the Earth and humans, so it’s better to be one of the safe ones, right?

“Anyways,” Alexander started, “I shall run you through the procedures now.”

He signaled to one of the scientists and waited. The scientist whom Alexander signaled to pulled a lever next to a number: 63.

Immediately, the bluish substance Ryan had seen inside the pod vanished. “That was to protect our body from the freezing cold inside,” Alexander explained, “That way, the lab does not get affected, and we stay safe. Win-win!

“Now, once you’re inside the pod, one of the scientists shall close the hatch. It can be opened from the inside, in case you suddenly wake up. Don’t worry,” he added at the look of horror on Ryan’s face, “We haven’t had any cases like that. But better to be safe than sorry.

“And once the hatch closes, you might feel a bit claustrophobic, but it will all be gone. Me or another staff member shall start the freezing. The temperatures inside the pod shall go subzero, up to -150 degrees Celsius. After that, your body shall go numb, and you’ll go off into cryogenic sleep. Then, by God’s grace, you shall survive for the next five hundred years. So, any questions?”

“Nope,” Ryan said.

“Great! I shall just show you how to get in now, and also close the hatch! But do not do anything! Stay right here.”

And Alexander heaved himself into the pod and shut the hatch.

Little did he and Ryan know, a junior assistant was present at the computer setup. He saw Alexander jump into the pod. But he thought that Alexander was Ryan. So, for reasons including “I have to impress the staff so that they’ll take me seriously,” he pressed the button next to the label numbered 63.

In doing so, he did not know that he had just doomed Alexander’s life for good, he just thought he was helping out. But when Ryan turned around, with a look of terror etched all over his face, did he know what had just happened.