The Pattern Ship (The Pattern Universe) by Tobias Roote Read Free Book Online Page B

manage, but its arrays were not suited to such critical support. The Ship’s A.I. was one Zirkos was familiar with, based as it was on its own original brain pattern. It would therefore sense any problems if they occurred and Zirkos would trust its bodily rebuild to it, and it alone.
    The Pod A.I. flagged his attention, it had found something.
    ***
    Zeke awoke. As was his recent habit he refrained from moving immediately lest he spark a new wave of agony. Instead, he briefly tried to think of where he was and how he got there.
    On a conscious level he realised that something was different. It took him a few minutes. His eyes remained shut, unmoving while he tried to place everything.
    Then all of a sudden he had it, there was no pain.
    Laying with his head on the floor he tried hard to remember what had happened.
    He did remember the excruciating pain in his whole body, and using his chair as a headrest after collapsing on the floor of his digs while not having the strength to move. His head was now on the floor, therefore, he must have slipped off the chair.
    He slowly opened his eyes half expecting the pain to return.
    Instead they focused clearer than they had for a long time.
    He noticed the grey furrowed mesh that he was lying on. He still felt no pain.
    Where did the new carpet come from; it felt spongy, hard, but forgiving.
    He could see a good distance from where he lay and he understood that he was no longer in his locked room.
    In fact, he decided, he was nowhere he recognised. The wall that he could see was grey and featureless.
    The white painted brick with stains from years of abuse was no longer there.
    He moved his arms, he still... felt no pain.
    Dammit, he thought, those scientists had got him back, that light-beam must have been theirs.
    They must have given him a shot of something.
    He pushed himself upright, resting on his heels... he still felt no pain, no pressure, or vertigo.
    Indeed, that’s interesting, Zeke pondered as he felt the absence of discomfort.
    Now, able to take in his surroundings from a position of apparent normality, the strangeness of his situation became apparent.
    He was in a grey room, much smaller than his lock-up. He judged it to be ten foot by fifteen and the height about normal, say seven to eight feet. Probably nearer eight, he decided. Disturbingly, he couldn’t see a door.
    The floor was covered in grey matting which, while stroking it with his hands, felt nothing like he had ever touched before. It felt different, not woollen fabric, not fur, not nylon. Nothing he could place in his memory as having a likeness to.
    Looking around the room he saw a plinth coming out of the wall at one end. It had bedding on it. It was therefore more than likely he presumed, a bed. The other end on the narrow side, was a washbasin, a toilet and a shelf with items on, from here it looked as though they were from his bathroom. He must be in a prison cell.
    Was it the Scientists? But then wouldn’t they be in here already?
    No, he decided, everything seemed too strange. He also knew if he had been recaptured they would be sitting there crowing at him having retrieved their research guinea pig. Eager to carry on testing, prodding and probing. He would already be assailed with questions, probes and they would be cutting off skin tags for biopsies. Talking of which, he took a good look at his skin.
    All the veins were back to normal, no discoloured shimmering red blue vessels protruding. He suddenly noticed that he could see his whole arm, leg... chest. He was naked.
    “What the Fuck!” he exclaimed out loud.
    He stood up looking down at his naked body. He discovered more...
    “Christ! I’m stark bollock naked, they even removed my hair...”
    Now, he was, decidedly disturbed. Not quite frightened yet, but he was getting there, fast.
    He was in a strange room, decidedly not normal, totally naked and feeling... healthy.
    No... not healthy... he was feeling... really felt... absolutely