The lab was an orchestra hums, beeps, screams and even laughters of these instruments- machines, numbers, signals, or monitors. The light that lit the lab was bright and artificial, while three-fourths of the walls were plastered with screens. The technicians took heavy faces under white coats moving slowly without emotions on their faces because they kept on repeating the same thing.
Among those technicians was one different from the others. Hiroshi walked slowly through the aisles formed by the walls; a quiet, commanding presence streaked with an unreadable countenance.
His bespoke suit set him apart from everyone else; his sharp, piercing eyes raked over the monitors as he passed. He was the architect of this facility, the mind behind the research, the one who made the road map to progress and retrogression for advancements.
A young lab assistant approached him with a tablet under his arm and prefaced his words with a slight bow before talking. "The subject, Sir, Test Subject 013, is showing stability. Its vitals fall within the predicted ranges, although there are some anomalies. Do you want to look at this data?" Barely granting him any notice at all, Hiroshi's expression did not give anything away as he said, "Take me there."
They traveled in silence with doors that were strong and came with strange codes at the front of each one. Some doors stayed totally dark, while others flickered a cold, clinical light. Then, after entering the final door, the assistant keying in a sequence, the door hissed to glide wide open. It was stark inside. Sterile.
In the center was a reclined chair where one figure lay, thick straps binding her. Thick wires ran from her temples, her wrists, her chest, feeding into a myriad of machines surrounding her. Monitors pulsed at slow rhythmic beeps, displaying data only Hiroshi could fully understand. He took a step closer, his face inscrutable. He surveyed this girl-the lineaments of her delicate feature- the slight rise and fall of her chest. She was here. Still here. Part of him-should have felt something. But emotion was irrelevant. "Continue with the tests," he said, voice cold even as it echoed against the walls. "There is much more to be learned."
The assistant nodded and made an entry in his tablet. Hiroshi turned on his heel, now leaving the room for good. The door closed behind him with a last mechanical click.