A homeless, sick, human, one of the last few survivors from a Deregger world. One that was now a grave world, having torn itself apart in a civil war after the uprising against the brutal CEO and their polity had driven the population into desperation. They smuggled themselves onto the last cargo pod that made it to a small way-station and soon collapsed to fall asleep in a small green park. -- Anon Guest
The woods were silent, dark and deep. Britta had fulfilled her last promise of getting away from her homeworld, and had already traveled miles. Therefore, by the logic of ancient words, she could sleep. Finally. The moss was soft, and the other noises around her were soothing enough.
She'd made it. She could die now. Far from the concrete jungles and tenement housing designed to be grey and miserable. She could take her rest somewhere that's green.
Thusly, she was very surprised when she woke up. Warm. Comfortable. Less of her constant aches and pains than normal. Well-rested. Her skin tingled a little, but it wasn't the unpleasant stinging of sleeping limbs. The last time she had felt it had been after a Control-mandated delousing care of the all-mighty Chief of Chiefs. Except... this was nice.
A screen in front of her face showed calming images. Baby animals playing in grass. Butterflies flitting amongst flowers. Cats curled up in the arms of their humans. There were letters floating amiably across those images, but they spelled nothing for Britta.
A soothing, slightly mechanical voice spoke in matronly tones. "Please remain calm. You are receiving emergency medical care, free of charge. An attendant will be with you shortly. Thank you for stopping at Intermediary Station. Have a smiley day."
Okay? What?
Britta had asked all the basic questions[1] before the drawer slid open and someone in a medical-grade livesuit appeared in her field of view.
She asked one of them again: "Who?"
"Good morning. Technically. I'm Medik Pang, I'm looking after you until day shift." They had a very friendly face, but Britta couldn't tell what their gender was by that much. "Security found you collapsed in the air recycling system and in medical distress. Did you come up from the Deregger world?"
Britta bit her lip, reluctant to answer. What if they threw her back?
"It's okay. You're not in trouble. The owner-operator of your world is refusing to acknowledge that he has any remaining quote-unquote human resources in need of emergency medical care. Your presence just means we'll be looking harder for more like you." There was some pressing of buttons, and much business with assorted devices. Friendly chirping and beeping filled Britta's ears. "Excellent news. We can reverse most of the damage done to you. Minor twinges may remain here and there, but you'll have those choices later. We've even removed all your microchips so Boss Chungus[2] down there can't claim we stole you. Assuming he gets that daft. Is there anything you'd like to know?"
"I was done. I was supposed to die..."
It wasn't a question, but they answered anyway. "The human body is the ultimate smarty-pants. It will pull all kinds of stunts to stay alive. It was a little hit and miss when you were brought in, but we're getting too used to that."
"Too used to-- there's others?"
"Lots," Medik Pang made a sweeping gesture that included lots of other drawers. All with friendly lights showing that they were operating, keeping someone inside alive. "There's a reason why we make the cargo drones ludicrously easy to break into."
And she had thought that someone had been cutting corners. It had never occurred to Britta that some would choose to cut certain corners on purpose.
Britta asked another. "Why?"
"Because life is precious and worthy of what it needs."
[1] Who, what, where, when, and why. As well as how. Those are the core questions behind most inquiries.
[2] Named after his ego, not his girth.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Sergeybitos]
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