Story 30/1001

• empirical
• introduce
• youth

“I trust you will see just how different today’s youth is.” Markus said, pointing to steel doors a few meters away.

Killen followed him. Since he woke up, he hasn’t found one thing which reminded him of the life he knew. They called it a miracle, he is the only past-human to wake up. Killen didn’t understand why he was considered a past-human, like he was an outdated model of a toy.

He also didn’t understand why they were so fascinated with him. They looked just like him – they had two arms, two legs, a torso, a head. They had hairs on their body, prints on their fingertips – but something about them felt strange.

Markus lead Killen through the steel doors. They entered a huge room, with bright walls and lights. It was filled with machines Killen has never seen. Small heads were popping out here-and-there, but not out of curiosity or to see who visited them, but because they needed to check how their work was progressing.

Killen felt uneasy. He couldn’t voice his thoughts, so he just watched, trying to understand what went wrong in those five hundred years he was asleep.

“Let me introduce you to our Cell Creation Division. CCD in short.” Markus smiled proudly.

“You probably don’t even know what it means, as past-humans were very closed-minded. I wonder why they ever thought themselves as ‘liberal’.” Markus scoffed.

Killen avoided his gaze. Not because he was scared, but because there was something off about it. He got the same feeling from him that he would get from criminals he hunted before all this.

“I heard you were a ‘detective’? Is that how you say it?” Markus elongated the syllables, like it was a word he never heard of before. “We don’t have a need for that. There are no murderers, thieves or bad people. Why do you think that is?”

Killen opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

“Oh, yes. The sleep has such consequences. We don’t know how long it may last, but I believe it is like any muscle in a past-human. It will find a way to work again.”

Killen frowned. He didn’t appreciate Markus’s tone or words, but Markus seemed unfazed.

“Your empirical research only toyed with the idea of complete cell control, but your minds couldn’t quite grasp it. Ours can. Your genes, your thoughts, your behavior. There is nothing we can’t create here.” Markus gave Killen a wide smile.

That’s when Killen knew.

The feeling he got from Markus, the feeling spreading across this room.

It reminded him of psychopaths.