#virtual cognition

The doors ground open, dragging the weight of the steel along the floor. I paid attention to every detail of these sounds; the groaning of the gears as they strained to move the two four foot thick sheets of metal along the floor, the soft squeaks and screeches of protest the floor gave as the metal slowly made its way across it-as it had done so many times in the past. It was all carved into my mind; the familiarity comforted me. I stepped forward, the loud click of the lock keeping the door open served as my signal to make my way into the facility. I walked forward steadily, keeping my steps in time with the clicks emanating from the doors as they closed until they faded away with one last, loudest click that echoed from the door as it locked, enticing me to survey the contents of the windowless facility. I scanned the room, wanting to take in every detail of this day. The dull steel panels lining the walls glowed a soft blue as the machines inhabiting the room buzzed with life, the erratic blue and white lights bounced around the room, giving off indistinct shadows of man and machine alike. Wires ran across the room like veins, connecting everything to one source that was hidden behind all else. It was a sealed off dome, enclosed in bulletproof glass that gave a faint, distorted reflection of the room before it. Within it were two rows of computers, each with its own predetermined purpose, and behind it a wall of 25 monitors, 21 of which displayed the images and information of 21 individuals. The four blank ones showed only static, with only one phrase displayed in the top right corner which might have given anyone clueless to the purpose of this facility some idea as to what they would be used for- No Signal.  I let my eyes glide back from the room, glancing at the men who darted around the room like gnats, and sighed with pride, letting the slightest of smiles make its way onto my face. 

This is my life’s work. This is what I will be remembered for.

 I let the thought slip into my mind as I once again advanced into the room, gliding across the polished stone floor which was scuffed and scarred by the combination of the 73 individuals who scurried along its surface daily, and the machines which have been dragged into the facility. I beamed inwardly at the technicians and scientists who rushed about me, taking note of their actions as they adjusted and toyed with the machines. Their actions held a deadly accuracy though they seemed to rush in everything they did. Speed and accuracy were required to make this project perfect; failure would not be tolerated. I clenched my right hand and walked along one of the three cleared pathways towards the back of the facility, my footsteps faded into the chaos surrounding me. I glanced between those three paths where piles of equipment and wires laid, almost seeming to have simply been tossed into their current location, left to lie there until their time to be used came. However, amid the chaos strewn about me there were 21 sealed chambers. Each had their own set of monitors which my colleagues slaved over, checking and rechecking every detail regarding the system and its components. I followed the trails of wires pouring from the machines to my destination, subconsciously reciting the purpose of each wire as my eyes met them.

 If even a single one of those were to be broken or misplaced, the entire operation would fail.

 I returned my focus to the task at hand and glanced down at the clipboard I held beneath my left arm, held tightly to my chest, and ran my eyes along the algorithms and diagrams recorded on the sheets of paper held on it, I nodded slowly with satisfaction and turned my gaze once more to the room before me, steadily making my way through the facility. I passed at least seven more chambers on my way to the room that I would inhabit-non-stop- for at least the next forty eight hours. It was relatively small and- when everybody who was needed was within it- was somewhat crowded, but that was a trivial and necessary sacrifice to be made to ensure that we would have a computer system capable of running and maintaining the project. As I neared the room, a wave of anxiety and triumph wafted over and engulfed me. Then, as I finally reached the room, I turned and looked out upon the rest of the facility, and let a small, crooked smile crack on my face, thinking of when this was all just speculation eleven years ago. When I’d written that essay on Cryogenics to attain my major in Bioengineering, I’d never imagined it would lead to my involvement with something so…glorious. So necessary. Yet not even a week after it had been turned in I was approached with the idea to conduct an experiment that would require my expertise in that very same field. Yet here I stand, overlooking an advancement in technology the scientific community had only dreamt of. While at first I did object to the use of live human subjects, finding it not only to be inhumane, but also impossible for a project of this magnitude, none of that mattered now. Once the technology is perfected and released for public and industrial use, surely the means used to develop it would no longer matter. I let out one last sigh to calm my nerves, turned and walked into the room, joining my colleagues within this facility for what we hoped would be the last time. I approached my assigned workplace- which was compiled of two separate monitors, one of which was inactive, and the other showing only static, and a folder containing my notes from the past eight years- and began to check the status of the chambers and their inhabitants one by one. There was a mere hour left before the program was to be launched, and it certainly would be unfortunate to find even the slightest of miscalculations present within the system. Booting up my portion of the program, I glanced at the first name to come on screen- Jordan Moran -along with a list of his information regarding his current physical condition, and the status of the chamber he was being held in. My eyes swiftly glided down the list as I observed that each vital sign was within normal range. I rechecked his status once more before clearing him for participation and moved on to the next individual on the list. Edwin “Eddie” Cardona Jr. …

So there it is. Firstly, I'm going to thank my editor; http://bardofbacon.tumblr.com without her this would've been absolute shit.

Now, if you are wanting to get every new post of this fanfic all in one place, I'll be tagging every single post with the tag "virtual cognition"-the possibly-temporary title of this fanfiction. Let me know if you have any comments or questions, and thank you for taking the time to read this.