CRYPT 12

C 1 2| E P I S O D E 01

Another wave of electricity swept through Bishop's body. He remained numb, suspended in the opaque liquid which he had been in for the past 20 minutes, his arms outstretched to his sides and his legs, spread at ease. Bubbles escaped from his nostrils like balloons set free into the open skies while his eyes peered through the cylindrical glass chamber in which he was.

Although temporarily paralyzed, Bishop was still conscious of his environment. Completely paralyzing a person during a Data Run was risky and made the process complicated. Some degree of responsiveness was necessary to be sure of an accurate result from the test unlike a Total System Rendition(TSR) where all systems in a person's body were shut down except for the brain whose activities was kept at the barest minimum.

Floating at about 7 feet high, Bishop watched as the Human Analysts observed the surreal replication of his body, taking notes of their progress and imputing a new set of instructions into his body to boost his immunity. He noticed the group of Analysts around his replica give a satisfactory nod to each other, pointing at various parts of his body and going through the holographic display of his brain's activity before signaling to the chamber operator to end the session.

This was the part of the session he hated and as much as he wanted to leave the confines of the glass chamber already, he wished he didn't have to experience what happened next. From the corner of his eyes, he could only make out vague movements and as soon as the operator pulled the lever planted in the ground, just inches from the chamber, the opaque liquid in which he was suspended began to drain out.

Holes opened up in the floor of the chamber, drawing out the liquid content of the chamber calmly and then progressed vigorously like a mini-tsunami within seconds as the liquid was sucked out. Bishop's heart beat picked up pulse, his breathing becoming unstable. The raging liquid tossed him about in the chamber and a few seconds later, he felt his numb body drop from space to the solid white floor of the chamber which was now only an empty vacuum.

A flash of an unpleasant sensation washed over his body as his muscles retook form. He remained motionless for a while, waiting for the effects to reduce before regaining full control of his body. A long sigh escaped his lips; he picked his unclad self from the floor and moved towards the exit of the chamber. A section of its glass wall slid open for him to go through, exiting into the large room filled with sophisticated medical machines, several huge chambers similar to the one he had just exited, some of which were occupied by hybrid test models that were being observed.

"What was that?" Bishop asked, pulling a robe over himself.

"We're sorry about it," Doc. Jamal answered without looking in Bishop's direction, occupied with throwing holographic objects and images about on the interface being displayed on the machine in front of him.

"That's it, sorry?"

"We're trying out new electrolyte and you happen to be our first human subject," Doc. answered. "Apparently, it creates a perfect replica to work with but it looks like it has got a side effect."

"A severe one," Bishop added, trying to flex his muscle.

"We'll work on it," Doc. Jamal replied, reaching for the entrée on the right side of Bishop's neck to inspect. Bishop's sight went out of focus as Doc.'s hand came in contact with the still active entrée. It was a spherical mark with a distinct maze-like pattern that linked the brain to the outside world. Everyone had a peculiar pattern on their entrée so no two humans were ever the same. This had become a necessity for humans since the 4th evolution. The zest for knowledge had pushed the natural world to its extreme limits, depleting pretty much everything in the environment and in this altered world, humans depended on an extra support for their brains and so, the entrée was developed.