The Heart Of The Machine
When Case woke up that morning he couldnít feel his legs, or rather he could feel them as 
if they were there, below him, but no matter what he did he couldnít move them, the story 
was the same with his arms, and his body. He could sense them, right there, but when he 
tried to make them budge it was as if he couldnít put any strenght in the move. The 
sensations themselves felt almost distant, numb, as if his brain only reluctantly 
registered them. It felt almost as if his entire bodyíd fallen asleep, rendering him 
immobile. It was dark. He lay there staring into infinity, into nothinhgness, contemplating 
the half remembered dream of last night, the one heíd had just before waking here, foggily 
he remembered other dreams heíd had earlier during the night, strange images of people he 
hardly knew. And now he was here, wherever here was, no light, no sound, at all. He 
couldnít even hear his own strained breath in the night, he could feel his chest rising and 
falling, or what probably was his chest, he wasnít sure. Was he paralyzed? was that it? He 
turned the thought over in his head slowly, no that couldnít be right, he could still feel 
his body, numb as it was, he just couldnít move any bodyparts. Perhaps they were tied to 
something, but he couldnít feel the bonds that held him in place. He tried flexing his arm. 
No movement. He tried again, with more force, the arm remained firmly in place. Nothing. 
But maybe, just maybe he wasnít alone here, perhaps there was some other unhappy soul 
fastened here in the darkness just like him! Perhaps he could talk to them. îHello?î he 
said hesistantly. No sound, not even a remote echo, just a terrible brooding silence. 
îHello?î he said again, louder, he could feel a sharp edge of desperation in his voice. 
îHello!?î he cried, this time, at the top of his lungs. He could feel the words leave his 
mouth but still not a sound, not even a whisper in the eternal darkness closing around him. 
He fought to remain calm, or at least not to panic, trying to confront the problem with 
rationalliy and logic. It didnít help much, he couldnít just let his mind relax and focus. 
He tried to remember, tried to grasp the memories floating in his mind like icebergs, cold 
and hostile. They slid away, sank beneath the water only to surface again a few meters 
away, but finally his mind clicked and pictures swept past him, crystal clear, almost 
crisp. He saw the crowded street, the tall buildings of the city, people passing him by, 
strangers, their faces locked in a frown of uninterest. He saw the cars in a long line, 
queing, waiting for the green light. It all seemed so unreal, so distant now, as if it had 
happened a long time ago. He didnít see who fired. Probably the bullets werenít even aimed 
at him, rather it was one of the passer-bys who was the real target. That didnít matter 
though, not to the bullets anyway. Next picture is the sky, blue, so very very blue, not a 
cloud in sight. Around him, faintly as if his ears were failing he heard screams, cries for 
help, but he himself was silent. Silently he stared at the sky, a weak smile crossing his 
lips, he werenít meant to die here and now, but it didnít matter, the sky was so beautiful, 
he never looked at it anymore. The houses around him disapperad, the sky filling his entire 
field of vision with itís calm blue light, he began moving up towards it, slowly. The sky 
became a tunnel, a tunnel with a strong light at the end and as he stood there he felt an 
urge to move towards the light, to become one with it, forever. The light was calling him, 
urging him to come to it, he felt calm, almost peaceful as he walked towards the light...
And now here, the memory had shattered, crumbled into nothing, into a dream. So that was it 
then, he must be dead, but this wasnít how it was supposed to be, this couldnít be the 
light that was calling him towards it. But what was it then? was it hell? He had never 
believed in a god, true, but could an eternaly forgiving god send him to hell just for 
doubting? He hadnít done anything wrong besides that, heíd been a good and decent man, the 
few years heíd been allowed to live. He didnít deserve this, nobody did! Flickering 
memories swept past him, his life summed in an instant of revelation, it had ended before 
it had started. And now, purgatory no doubt, preparing him for an eternity in hell, the 
ultimate punishment for sinners, demons torturing him, living of him for ever and ever. 
Why? Why? He felt his throat clench at the thought, the injstice of it all standing clear 
to him. Locked down, with only his own thoughts as company, heíd go mad.
He was so deep in his thoughts that he didnít notice the darkness taking form around him, 
he didnít notice that now there was something to see in this dark room of untold fears. 
îCaseî a voice boomed out, exploding against his ears, he became suddenly aware of the room 
in front of him. In front of him, he couldnít reach into it, it was as if he only could 
observe from a distance, like through a glass covered window. îCaseî the voice boomed 
again, with greater urgency now. He wondered how satan, because that was the only one he 
could think of that would talk to him, could have a sense of urgency. A face appeared 
before him, a human face. Dumbstruck he stared at it before he could assemble his thoughts 
enough to formulate an answer. îThat is meî He answered shakily. î I am Dr Rosen, your 
physicistî the human said. Behind doctor Rosen case could see an assortment of cables, 
tubes and wires all disappearing from view. The Beaming smile that crossed the manís face 
when he answered took him aback. î It works, it really works!î the man almost shouted, with 
effort he regained his neutral composure. îCase, iím going to tell you this straight of, 
you are deadî, or at least your body is, your brain though is kept alive in this, a wide 
hand gesture and an image showing cables and tubes all leading into some sort of gigantic 
computer with wires all over the place. îThis meansî rosen continued îthat you havenít got 
any rights, legally you Are dead, you have been declared company property from now on, and 
you will be used for scientific researchî He cut of Caseís reply îI am sorry Case, i have a 
meeting in five minutes, we will continue this later.î Click. The face disappeared and 
darkness settled once again around him. He was alone again, deep in the heart of the 
machine.
Per Sikora 1999