🌑

“Hello, Admin,” you say.

Vanitas takes the seat across from you. “Hello Aydan. There has been a change in schedule. Your exam is a new type of test scenario, so the Admins wish to oversee its first run personally. That of course is all I can tell you about the exam.”

“Okay, that’s what I’ve come to expect, surprises and mysteries,” you say.

“Before we begin, disable all external messages except from the ADMIN channel,” she says.

“Okay.”

“Good.” She hands you a bottle. “Drink plenty of water, we don’t know how long to expect this to take surfaceside.”

“Okay.” You look at the clear liquid and then drink all of it.

“Ensure your terminal is open only to your own system and the standard access ports of the academy server.”

“Done.”

“Good. You are ready,” she says.

You’re starting to feel strange. Your body relaxes. You sink deep into the chair. The white walls shift to blue. The colony’s spin feels off. And around Vanitas, your eyes pick up the faint red aura of a TLA Admin in the near-æther.

“Do not worry. Relax. The test is starting,” she says.

Your eyes feel so heavy, all you can do is let them close. The tunnel of light encroaches around your vision as you drift into a peaceful dissociation, hearing the last echoed words of the Admin: “Your objective in this exam is simple...”

Your body feels heavy, but your bed is soft and warm. Words echo from the back of your hypnopompic mind, “Return to consciousness.”