Alarms blasted, A red light pulsed against his closed eyelids, He tasted a metallic flavour. His vision was blurry. With something covering, just inches from his face.
He gasped, his lungs burned as he tried to breathe the air, that felt like he was inhaling dust.
Asha (the voice in Kael's mind): "Vital signs stabilizing. Cryogenic reversal sequence 98% complete. Neurological activity resuming. Welcome back, Kael."
Kael's mind struggled to understand what the voice is saying. It's a female voice…but don't sound like a human.
Is this a dream? He thought, as he try to lift his hand, to push away the curved surface close to his nose.
His muscles barely move.
Kael (a choked whisper): "I-I… can't… move…"
Asha: "Motor functions will return momentarily. The re-animation process introduces temporary neuromuscular for further, prevent of self-injury during you're revival. Current muscular is estimated at 32%. Do not be alarmed; this is within projected parameters for prolonged stasis."
The words echoed in his mind. As he focused, he felt a twitch in his right hand. Then another. He noticed a strap across his chest and legs.
Kael (his voice raspy): "Where… where am I? Who… who are you?" As he tried to turn his head, dizziness overwhelming him.
Asha: "Welcome to Cryo-Preservation Unit 734, nestled in Bay Alpha of Cryo-Vault Terminus. I'm Asha, the Phoenix Core AI. I'm connected to your biological systems. My role is to guide you and help achieve the goals of Project Phoenix. It's truly a pleasure to finally speak with you directly, Kael."
Kael let out a groan, he finally managed to fumble with the quick-release buckle on his chest strap.
It clicked open. "P-project Phoenix?" That name didn't ring any bells to him. With another effort, he freed his legs, and his body slumping forward against the now-unlatched cryo-pod door. It swung open dropping him onto the cold metal floor.
He lay there, gasping for air and the cold seeping through his thin cryo-suit.
Kael: "G-Guide me? I… I don't get it. Are there others…?" He pushed himself up, wincing as he try to move.
His eyes slowly adjusting to his surrounding, revealing rows upon rows of identical cryo-pods stretching into the dimly lit bay, each one are still sealed, and still the emergency lights flickering. Theres only silence is this room, only by the distant hum of machinery is what he heard.
Asha: "The other cryo-units, which hold genetic cohorts, are stable but aren't set for immediate reanimation. Your early awakening is… an anomaly. Data indicates that a power surge to your unit might have triggered a revival sequence." Her tone shifted, hinting at something Kael couldn't grasp.
Kael: "So… it's just me?" He glanced at his hands that are shaking. "What happened? I remember… there's sunshine and my… my mom is at the park…" A fleeting image of a woman's smiling face flickered in his mind, only to vanish like smoke.
Asha: "Accessing pre-stasis memories can be fragmented at first. Full recall may return over time, or not. The Vault's chronometer shows that 107 years, 4 months, and 12 days have passed since Project Phoenix initiated cryo-stasis protocols."
Kael swayed, gripping the edge of his open cryo-pod for support. It was hard to imagine the world he remembered now is no more.
Kael: "A hundred… no. That's… that can't be right. We were… there was some kind of warning… an emergency broadcast…"
Asha: "Indeed. The 'Sunflare Scorch' event, followed by the rapid global spread of Viral Neuro-Degenerative Syndrome. The humanity collapses and… annihilated." Her voice was a calm. "You, Kael, along with the other occupants of this Vault, represent a genetic protection. A last resort for humanity to survive."
Kael barely process the details. His eyes darted to the silent, and frozen figures in the other pods. They looked peaceful in their sleep, unaware of the century that had passed.
All of a sudden. A new light pulsed on his internal vision, totally something he had consciously not registered before: like transparent text overlapping to his surrounding.
[Objectives: Evaluate Vault Status. Seek Cryo-Bay Alpha Control Room.]
[System Note: Vault Power Levels: Critical level (12%). Immediate action required.]
Kael: "What… what is that?" He blinked, thinking it was an aftereffect of the cryosleep.
Asha: "That is your primary visual interface with the Phoenix Core, Kael. It will provide you with relevant information, objectives, and analysis. I recommend you prioritize the current objective. The future of this facility, and the life of the other dormant cohort is dependent on available remaining energy fuel."
Suddenly, his survival seemed linked to those flashing words.
Kael: "Okay, Asha." He took a deep, breath. "Okay. Control Room. Which… which way is that?" He looked down at the dark, identical corridors leading from the cryo-bay.
Asha: "Proceed on your path, then the third access tunnel to your left. And Kael?"
Kael: "Yeah?"
Asha: "Try not to push yourself too much. Current muscle mass is not advise for sprinting. I would hate to see you trip."
Tripping was most likely the least of his concern. He take one glance along the rows of cold sleepers and then he straighten his posture — even though he didn't understand the gravity of the whole situation. But he knows if he stands still, the girls die.
He took his first step into a hundred-year-old dark place.
Kael's internal HUD pulse, along the left corridor. Visible on to Kael's path is whether those glowing signs really exist or they're just some spots into his eyes from the cryo-awakening.
Theres a heavy silence in Cryo-Vault Terminus. The scuff of his own old cryo-suit boots on the metal floor is pretty loud and makes him nervous.
He found himself listening to every creak of the ancient structure.
Asha: "The corridor ahead splits. Maintain your current position. We are approximately 200 meters away from the Cryo-Bay Alpha Control Room. Immediate power fluctuations detected in that region. Caution is advise."
Kael (muttering softly): "Alright.. Asha. I'll do my best.." He glanced down at the side passage, narrower and darker than the main one. His instincts kicked in, that told him not to go that way."This place feels...sad, Asha."
Asha: "The emotional reaction you feel, Kael, is likely the result of visible decay and absence of humanity. The Vault is intended for long habitation, but its current condition is neglected for since the last 87 years, there is no normal routine maintenance left."
Kael nodded slowly. That is an awful lot of time for a place to be lonely - no repairs for 87 years? He stepped past a recessed alcove within which a boxy little machine that looked almost like a toy was lying on its side in an extraordinary amount of dust. One of its optical sensors is lifeles.
Kael (stop and look in sympathy): "Asha, what about this one? Was it... waiting for someone?" He had a hazy memory of similar machines.
Asha: "This is a 'Sanitation Custodian Unit, Mark IV.' An automatic cleaning and collecting unit. The internal chronometer of the unit indicates that the power cell got exhausted during its 20th operational year. Therefore, it was not 'waiting'; its programming simply ceased."
Kael: "Oh...." He looked at the lifeless machine. Without really thinking, he gently caressed the small drone, brushing some of the thicker dust from its chassis. "There. A bit better."
Asha: "An unnecessary expenditure of energy, Kael. The Mark IV is non-functional. Our priority remains with the Vault's critical power crisis."
Kael: "But... it looked unhappy all tipped over." He gave the drone a final pat and moved on, Asha's silent (he imagined) sigh almost noticable in his mind.
At the end of the corridor, there's a section of wall exposing a mass of thick, wires and pipes. One particular large pipe was coated in frost, there's a beads of icy condensation dripped down onto the floor, forming a small puddle.
A faded stenciled warning read: WARNING: COOLANT LINE – EXTREME TEMPERATURE DIFFERENTIAL.
Kael walked toward it. He could feel the chill coming from the pipe between his fingertips.
Kael: "Asha, this is that ice stuff... We eat back before?" He remembered a cold compartment of frozen treat's.
Asha: "You are most probably referring to a freezer unit, Kael. The principle is similar – heat exchange leading to reduced temperatures. However, this acts as a primary cryo-coolant conduit for the entire Vault sector. The surface temperature of that uninsulated portion approaches about minus 70 degrees Celsius, which would cause a instantaneous loss of body extremities and other body parts due to cryo-burn injury of tissue upon direct skin contact."
Kael flinched back. The hairs on his arms standing up from the sheer cold radiating from it.
Kael: "So, definitely not for making ice snacks then."
Asha: "That would be a catastrophically ill-advised, I am adding 'Interaction with exposed cryo-conduits' to your 'Things That To Avoid List.' Let's try to keep that as short as possible."
Kael just mumbled in acknowledgment, his gaze already drifting to a partially open doorway ahead. It seemed to lead to a larger chamber. The air filtering from it felt slightly warmer. His HUD arrow pointed directly towards it.
He paused at the entrance. The room beyond was vast, and eerily silent the quiet drip-drip-drip of water somewhere in the darkness. Faint emergency lights flicker around the area.
Tables were overturned, the trays scattered, as if occupants had fled in their middle of they're meal. A large, once-colorful painting depicting a vibrant outdoor scene – and people were laughing now cracked and peeling, revealing bare metal beneath.
Kael (whisper): "They were... Still in the middle of eating. They thought they were safe here."
Asha: "The analysis of the scene indicates a quick, evacuation or at least some very disruptive event more than 87 years after stasis initiation within this sector, which tell the first reports of widespread failure in the systems. The cause of that is inextricable from this place. Kael, control room access is possibly around here."
Kael nodded. Every instinct told him this silent, place was heavy with bad memories. He stepped forward senses on high alert.
Behind the mess-hall, a solid steel door bore the letters SECTOR COMMAND - CRYO OPERATIONS.
Kael's HUD arrow pulsed toward it. The hum of machinery sounds louder, and the air here seems much cooler than that of other areas. Through the bottoms of his boots, he sensed small vibrations.
Kael: "This is it then? The... main brain place?" He tilted his head left then right, "You sure it's really safe, Asha? It feels really... grumbly."
Asha: "Kael, this is certainly the Cryo-Bay Alpha Control Room; the term 'main brain place is an oversimplification. My remote sensors suggest consistent with failing systems trying to maintain core activities significant power draw variations coming from within. Its not a formal diagnostic term, feedback from broken dampeners responding to power surges. Approach with caution, but we have to keep going."
He nodded. "Alright," Kael continued on to the access panel next the blast door. It was another bio-scanner, just like the one allowing him passage to this hallway from the main cryo-bay. Kael slammed his hand upon it. Then a succession of internal door clicks, the blast door started to pull back and shake gently into the wall.
Beyond the room is pitch black, with flashing crimson emergency lights. Most of them dead, and panels are showing fast error messages in a language Kael didn't understand but Asha maybe did, consoles lined on to the walls. Everything was covered with a layer of dust, and wires hung from the ceiling. A big, circular holographic display table was totally closed in the middle of the room.
Kael was staring wide at the site - "This place seems.. Like, It's needs a tough...fixing"
Asha: "That is a smart observation on its present state of randomness in a system, Kael. Exceeding the limits by several orders of magnitude, primary systems have run on emergency backup energy for about 7.3 years." She stopped and added, "Locate primary command console now, it should be the biggest array, probably positioned for best oversight of the cryobay schematics."
Kael moved forward. He discovered a sizable console set in front of what seemed to be a huge black screen. Before it there were a few turned up chairs. It had little, dark screens, buttons, and switches.
Kael: "Okay, Asha. Lots of... clicky things here. Which one that make is right button?"
Asha: "Accessing the diagnostic logs and attempt to reroute auxiliary power to stabilize critical life support for the dormant cryo-units. First, I require direct system access. There should be a neural interface port or a primary data conduit."
Kael stared at the console. "Kinda hard to figure that out" His mind seemed all a mess here. His finger hovered over that little, circular hollow which appeared clean-almost-new among the dusty buttons surrounding it.
Kael: "So this shiny circle? Is it.. what were looking for?"
Asha: "That is a diagnostic input jack, Kael. Though not a design specification, that is definitely the interface I need. My main link, though, is included in your Phoenix Core. If one is available on this console, I can assist you find in your basic cryo-kit a multi-tool that I need you to interface with the Vault's main system using a compatible physical port."
Kael blinked. "Ummm...I don't know any of that?" He glanced down at his hands, then back at the console. "I... think I just have this suit and some extremely blurry memories of toasted bread." He discovered another hand-shaped scanner.. "Oh! Is this the one?"
He smacked his palm down on it.
All at once, a dark screen above the console brightly open into life with an overwhelming rapidly scrolling text, error codes, and diagnostic readouts, all in that strange-sounding language. Alarms now shouting from speakers around the room. Red lights strobed violently.
SYSTEM CORRUPTION DETECTED - UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS ATTEMPT - PRIMARY CORE INTEGRITY COMPROMISED - FAILURE IMPENDING flashed in angry red letters on the main screen.
Kael (wincing, shielding his eyes with his hand while looking at the gap of his fingers.): "Asha! I think I've made it angry!!!"
Asha (her voice remained calm, but she was running a thousand calculations at once): "Kael... that was the emergency physical lockdown override. You've not only bypassed several security subroutines but also triggered a full-system alert. While it has given us unrestricted access, it also...." -she paused- "significantly brought forward the timetable for power failure and probably alerted any remaining automated defense systems to our presence."
Kael stared at the flashing screen, and then back at the screen. "Oh... So... 'unrestricted access' is good, but 'catastrophic power failure' is... Not?"
Asha: "Remarkable summary and description of the facts, Kael. We now have approximately twelve minutes left before complete power loss to Cryo-Bay Alpha, including stasis maintenance for the dormant units."
Kael's stomach flip He didn't even know what they were supposed to do. He looked around the chaotic control room.
Kael: "Okay...Okay, Asha. Don't worry." He took a deep breath, trying to channel calm seriousness he knew he had somewhere inside him. "What's the first thing we need to do, really, really fast?"
Asha: "Locate the manual override for the primary power conduit. If we can divert its remaining output directly to the stasis field generators, we might extend their operational window by a small margin. I am highlighting the suspected panel on your HUD. It will require precise manipulation."
Kael looked where the glowing box on his internal vision indicated.
___
Author's Note:
Tanjiro Kamado from Demon Slayer is a major inspiration for building Kael's character; I adored the anime and his personality. I wonder if it would be cool to put Tanjiro in a harem novel. I'll do my best to portray his character in this book, but don't expect much. 😂
If you enjoy the story, kindly support this book by giving it some power stone.