*
Kingston's form could barely been seen through the ç'aether shell, which had begun to grow again. Cracks had appeared in his as well, but they were tiny, insignificant. The ç'aether was draining him, stealing his energy, his life-force. If nothing was done... if no one came to save them, then they would be lost forever.
“Initiate Booting Sequence in ten, nine, eight-”
Darkness surrounds me. A cold, lonely darkness that envelops me, purging the warmth from my body. The bed beneath me is a hard, splintered chunk of wood and wool. Outside, a crow cries out, heralding the sun's imminent arrival. Minutes later, the frozen light of dawn breaks through the cracked glass of my window, and makes it to my wrinkled face. I open my eyes to the same sight I have seen for almost forty years: an empty, dirty bedroom.
Seven.
How long has it been, since I stopped cleaning? How long has it been, since I stopped caring how I looked? After all, I have no one to care about, and there's no one to care about me. Today, like every other day, is simply another day of my life... my empty, lonely life.
Six.
Somehow, I manage to crawl out of bed.
SOMETHING IS WRONG.
For an instant, an image flashes across my mind: a book made out of crystal, with a violet eye on the cover. A heartbeat later, the image is gone. I stare out the window, looking north, towards the Station. How many years has it been, since I stopped visiting it?
Five?
Ten? More? How many years since I stopped caring about the people sleeping within? I tried to be their protector. I tried to watch over them. But what is the point? What will I gain from wasting the remainder of my days on this pointless escapade? No one will thank me. No one will praise my hard work. No one will even know who I was, or what I did for them. So I forgot about them, turned off my monitors, terminated my links to the mainframe. Am I happier? No, but then again, I wasn't happy before either. And so, without that sole duty to perform, I allowed myself to waste away, as I waited patiently for death. It's amazing what disappears when you accept your inevitable fate.
Four.
The guilt I felt, for having broken the most important promise of my life? Gone. The self-hatred for failing to protect the one thing in my life that meant something to me? Gone. The despair at being the only person left on the face of the planet, to be forever alone, until death finally relieved me of this mortal burden? Gone.
Three.
SOMETHING IS WRONG.
What? Is someone... calling me? No. Impossible. I am the only one left. But, maybe I should check on the pods, just in case. Now, where did I put that computer? Under the sink? In the attic? No... I think it was... ah! There we go, right where I left it! So all I have to do is turn this knob, flick this switch, and my worries will be proven to be useless feelings of lingering guilt. And once I've made sure that the people of the Station are safe, I can go back to my sad, pathetic life.
Two.
Let me just pull up the list of occupants... just have to sync up to the global network... and use my back-door program to access the Station computer core... and override the anti-intrusion security measures... and I'm in. I already know what it's going to say: status normal and all that, but I still feel a bit of trepidation. One more keystroke, and my fears will be assayed. One more input, and I can get back to my miserable, purposeless life.
One.
“Genesis Station Thirteen, Sector 7, Population: 9923. Warning, critical error detected. Malfunction in pod door release detected. Occupants awoken prematurely. Unable to exit pods, all occupants asphyxiated after three minutes twenty-one seconds. Number of occupants to survive awakening: 0.”
No. No. NO! I can't stop the tears from streaming down my face, as my endless scream shakes the room. Dead. They're all dead. Because I abandoned them. Because I stopped protecting them. I could have saved them, I could have done something!
“Kingston? Kingston, can you hear me?”
No, He has to be alive! He has to be! I just need to bring up the individual statements... let's see... HUM-7726... expired... HUM-7727... expired... please, I beg of you... be safe...
“Just hold on, I'll have you out of there in a moment.”
HUM-7728... no... no... no... no... I'm so sorry... I've failed you, all of you... HUM-7728... Barsch... forgive me...
Awakening Page 200