"Let me be the first to offer my congratulations. I hope our relationship will be long and prosperous."
The speaker is Winston Q. You are standing in his office. You look around, alarmed.
"Winston…?"
"Yes, Mr. .?"
If Winston notes the alarm in your voice, he says nothing. You glance down at yourself. You are no longer wearing the threadbare rags you possessed in the Surgeons' homeworld. No, you are dressed in immaculate professional clothing. Startled, you snatch up the tablet lying on Winston's desk and check the date.
It is the day you first met Winston Q, and accepted the job as CEO of MetaHuman. The alien machine has sent you back into your own history.
More than that, it has merged you with your former self. Your memories of the future are already starting to blur. You struggle to retain what you know of the months to come, but there is just too much information, too many moments. Your memories are spilling away from you, disappearing into the ether.
"Mr. .," says Winston. "Is something wrong?"