[163 Whole-Cycles ago.]
Cryosleep: the process of placing people in hibernation using cryogenic technology to slow down bodily functions and preserve the body in long journeys through space. Though the technology has been around for several generations and has been iterated from and improved constantly, there is always a possibility of error and that is where the "Acceptable Loss Ratio" originated.
This Cycle was a busy one. Several staff members aboard the Maxo's Lightbringer hurried around to ensure that the next batch of humans were "defrosted" properly. However, even with their best efforts, 8% of the batch still perished. That didn't stop them however, anything lower than 10% was considered an "acceptable loss".
Unfortunately, every time a batch is taken out of cryosleep, there will always be a loss of human life.
"Batch 3.6182 defrosting!" a voice over the PA system announced.
The announcement served as a signal for the staff members to work faster and better. They moved with greater intent and finished their tasks with greater efficiency. They double-checked and triple-checked their work to ensure that the newest passengers aboard the ships were inducted into the system and proceeded straight to orientation.
This involved several workers leading the shivering and hazy-eyed people towards the orientation lobbies to begin their orientation.
Several orientation lobbies were always ready to go during a batch defrost to maximise the number of people inducted at once. A batch usually had up to a thousand new souls introduced to the ship's economy, and to keep the vessel running smoothly, the orientation had to be smooth and fast.
In every batch, as sure as there are always losses, there are always those who seem a little lost. A side effect of the cryogenic process could cause a few people to lose a little bit of their memories, however, after a small amount of time, those affected usually regain their lost memories.
There was one who seemed a bit more lost than usual.
Though his defrosting happened without a hitch, he constantly stopped in his tracks and looked even more hazy-eyed and confused than the others of the batch who suffered similar memory loss symptoms.
It was a slow process for the staff members to lead this particular lost soul into a queue to enter an orientation lobby. A task that usually took them four minutes with other lost souls took them almost three times as long with this one.
He mumbled and groaned as the staff herded him down the cramped metallic corridors as his facial muscles were still waking up from being in cryosleep for several hundred years according to the batch notes.
He stopped his throaty protests when he found himself alone in a small cubicle when he reached the front of a queue and stood in front of a particularly beautiful staff member with the nametag embroidered on her chest: R. Molwerk.
Her striking black hair and sharp cheekbones caught his eyes and he felt his face warm up with embarrassment.
"Let's see who we have here," R. Molwerk spoke out loud to herself as she moved her finger in the air in front of her in a scrolling motion, "Citizen ID number 59781130-03 — Jafferson Palmount. Batch number: 3.6182-278. Family originating from Saint Augustine, New Southern Continent. Single Cryo-Ship lottery entry."
She waved her hand sideways and looked directly at the man, Jafferson, "We're just going to scan you. Close your eyes. Don't want to blind you so soon after you defrost."
She turned away and a section of wall beside him started to shift before he quickly closed his eyes. He heard a high-pitched whir that slightly tickled his ears and when that stopped, the woman told him he could open his eyes again.
When he opened his eyes, she was facing him once more and again moved her arms in the air in front of her as if she was scrolling down an invisible display.
"Let's take a look at you," R. Molwerk mumbled, "183 centimetres tall, weight: 98 kilograms. Physically healthy, and physical-work capable. Age: 21 Ancient-Era Years. Defrosting progress at about 79% — still not fully with us it seems, facial musculature and limb extremities still not quite complete, but don't worry, every reading looks normal. You'll be able to speak soon, but don't force yourself. Facial disfigurement correction is not covered in the Post-Cryosleep Care Act. You will have to live with it for the rest of your life if it happens to you…"
Once again the woman looked directly at Jafferson, this time she studied him up and down and grinned to herself, "…it would be a shame if something were to happen to a looker like you."
If his face wasn't still in the process of defrosting from his cryosleep, Jafferson's cheeks would have reddened considerably.
"Looks like nothing out of the ordinary happened during the defrosting procedure, just make your way inside," the door behind her slid open revealing a short metallic corridor beyond as she spoke, "Find yourself a seat anywhere you can. The orientation would be starting soon."
His throat still not working properly, Jafferson simply nodded and awkwardly hobbled past the woman towards the opening that opened behind her. He heard her call out for the next person in the batch to come into the cubicle. He turned around right before the door shut, but she had already started the process over again with another poor soul.
The short corridor looked identical to the ones that he was herded down earlier and at the other end of the corridor, another door slid open automatically and Jafferson's senses were bombarded by stimuli.
Almost all of those that came before him had already fully defrosted and an insurmountable wall of noise from countless conversations hit him all at once. Thankfully, his ears still hadn't popped from the defrosting procedure and the sound was slightly lessened, but he could feel his ears buzz from the overstimulation.
Almost worse than the sound, was the smell.
Because people who undergo cryosleep are usually already anesthetised and unconscious before they're placed in the special cocktail of chemicals and liquids to prevent any freeze damage from the cryogenic process, they always avoid experiencing what the cocktail smells like.
Until they're defrosted.
Though the smell wasn't completely overbearing to the point that it would make someone pass out, it was still horrible and difficult to stand.
Because his toes were still a little numb and frozen, he was only able to hobble towards an empty chair that was close to the exit that he came from. Jafferson sat down heavily and sighed. While he waited for the orientation to start, he tried to open his mouth to test how far into the defrost procedure he was.
To his surprise, he was able to open his mouth and was able to cough out a raspy couple of words.
"Where am I?"
While he waited, Jafferson's mind raced as it tried to catch up to the situation he found himself in.
Jafferson didn't know anything about his situation.
He didn't know where he was.
He didn't know how he got there.
He could only remember that his parents had sent him out to buy some groceries for dinner.
He remembered he climbed into his car, annoyed that he had to go on the errand, but understanding enough that he was the only one available and free to go on the errand.
And then…nothing.
His head was fuzzy. He didn't know whether it was because of the "defrosting", but it felt like his head had two sets of memories, and two sets of memories were one too many.
He thought as hard as he could but when he thought about his parents, on one hand, the faces of strangers that he'd never seen before appeared in his mind. But on the other hand, he recognised them as his parents.
He shook his head and that motion brought a sharp stabbing sensation behind his eyes.
All the odd terms that he knew he had never heard of before; "defrosting", cryosleep, Ancient-Era; strangely, he knew what they meant. Almost as if he had always known what they meant.
He felt tingling in his fingers and toes and started to tense and relax the muscles to try and get blood flowing to his extremities.
Once the sensations disappeared, he felt comfortable enough to move around in the lobby space.
He avoided getting close to anybody else to ensure that he stayed unnoticed. He was freaking out on the inside while he tried to make sure that nobody noticed. He believed that if anybody found out he was not who they thought he was, the outcome would be unimaginable.
He noticed that there was a sizeable group all huddled under a small screen. Letters of an unknown origin yet still legible to him (another effect of the contradicting memories that he was experiencing) announced that they were on board the Cryo-Ship Maxo's Lightbringer currently cruising towards a location named Sanctuary Station.
The transmission on the screen wiped to a still picture of a blue-green planet that reminded Jafferson a little bit of the Earth he knew and words once again appeared on the screen, this time more like a news bulletin:
'The future of Kor's terraformation process has once again halted as the planet's hostile atmosphere continues to baffle engineers.'
"Batch 3.6182, your orientation will begin in a few moments." A mechanical voice informed the area through the PA system. The announcement caused the people around him in the lobby area to bustle in excitement.
Everyone was excited to start their new life aboard the Maxo's Lightbringer.
All but one.