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He wasn’t wrong

If I could have any wish, no e back Without that, nothing else I could wish for would be worth a fking thing And if you don’t like that, you can shove it up your ass, because I don’t care

--Fro of Shaun Mason, January 5, 2041

Twenty-seven

I woke up in a white bed in a white roo white sled white cobwebs of , ratlike, at the inside ofas I did that I earing white cotton pajamas and covered by a white comforter with no buttons or snaps I took a breath, then another, trying to forcesos were the bed I was in and a single bedside table with rounded edges I reached out and gave it an experimental shake It was bolted to the floor The bed probably was, too Nothing in the roowas out of the question, since there was nothing for e, inset mirror that almost certainly doubled as an observationtook up one entire wall That sort of fixture in this sort of roo facility, probably owned by the CDC That fit with the dreas about some sort of major outbreak No, not a major outbreak--there weren’t that many people involved, at least not e closed the doors And we had to close the doors We had to close the doors, because--

"I see you’re awake"

The voice cahtthe blanket againstan idiot Whoever had me in here could do a lot worse than talk to me, if they decided that hat they wanted I eyed the speaker suspiciously, letting go of the blanket

"I’ood Now, youto walk before you’ve had a little tiet adjusted"

I was out of the bed before the voice was finished with its warning, stalking across the floor toward the ht of my own reflection in what should have been--for lass a pretty fiction

Or they’re supposed to, anyway Only for so that way this tilass, I was looking atwere at least two sizes too big, or ht: I looked like I was recovering fro illness, all pale skin and bird-boned lito hitthick curls that always seerow out, andvery, very wrong

I was still staring at ain The voice frolad to see you up and about Some disorientation is normal at first, and you shouldn’t let it bother you Now, the speakers in your room are voice-activated; you don’t need to look for a button or anything like that Just speak loudly and clearly, and we’ll understand you Can you please tell us your na that you re it for adirectly into my reflection--and hence, directly at anyone who happened to be standing in the hallway outside the one-waytheir little test subject, I answered

"My na on here?"