4
.
3780
3780
Nichole Haines
The first view Shafer got of his new world was a bad one.
But before he could have that view, there was procedure
to go through. First, he woke alone in the dark, shivering
with cold even though air grilles were already blasting him
with dry heat. He saw steam rising off him in curtains,
sucked into ceiling vents. His hair dried so quickly he
could feel it tightening, pulling back across his scalp.
He looked around, trying to remember where he was,
how he had got here, why he was here. There were no
friendly faces, no people at all, to answer any of his
questions. The tiny room was empty.
He had been lying on a table. But now the table rose up,
inclining forward, so that he was dumped onto the floor
42
4
.
3780
3780
Nichole Haines
The first view Shafer got of his new world was a bad one.
But before he could have that view, there was procedure
to go through. First, he woke alone in the dark, shivering
with cold even though air grilles were already blasting him
with dry heat. He saw steam rising off him in curtains,
sucked into ceiling vents. His hair dried so quickly he
could feel it tightening, pulling back across his scalp.
He looked around, trying to remember where he was,
how he had got here, why he was here. There were no
friendly faces, no people at all, to answer any of his
questions. The tiny room was empty.
He had been lying on a table. But now the table rose up,
inclining forward, so that he was dumped onto the floor
42
and forced to stand under his own power. He stumbled forward. It was a conscious effort to tighten the muscles in his legs