cryonically preserved

As Justin woke up, he laid still. He couldn't get the fog in front of his eyes to go away, no matter how much he blinked. He tried hard with no luck. His skull vibrated. His back hurt. The cold, rough surface where he laid caused him unbearable anguish. He was nude. Why? He was uncertain. He knew he should care, feel embarrassed when he felt his genitals recede from the frigid air. However, he didn't care.

"Mr. Cain," an anonymous voice called out from behind the white mist. "Can you move, Mr. Cain? Any movement would work."

Just then, Justin realized that he was Mr. Cain.

He propelled himself upwards. At least, he made an effort to jump up, but his body refused to cooperate. He could not move. Panic gripped Justin until a hand warmed his chest.

"Justin," the voice spoke again, this time with more kindness.

"Calm down. I understand that there's a lot on your mind, but I urge you to relax. Your vitals are all over the place. I want to make sure we don't miss anything. So please take your time. Let's begin with you taking a nap."

Justin went back and forth in his head between questions and panic. A weighted barbell was attached to his head, and he was in some weird dream.

"Can you try to move again, please?" With a bit of effort, Justin's toes started to move.

"Excellent," the voice cheered. "This next part will sound crazy, but please, believe me when I say it is necessary. You were, in fact, deceased."

Justin closed his eyes and tried to wake up from the dream. Knowingly the voice rushed on.

"By my honor, I have restored you to life. I'm about to turn on some music to soothe the atmosphere. You should lay here and get some rest. I'll return shortly to see how you're doing."

This time, Justin heard the machine beep as his vitals increased. Again, he felt the voice's palm resting on his chest.

"Please. You can count on me. I am obligated to follow your instructions because you requested them. Relax. I'm going to play some music, and I'll be back in a bit."

Justin made himself calm down. After the white cloud cleared, the darkness came. For the first time in ages, Justin was asleep when he dreamed.

He dreamed of growing up in the streets of Miami, of being a kid. Justin saw himself walking down those graffiti-filled streets before they were redeveloped, gentrified. Justin was then transported back to a day when some strangers came to their house and offered to buy it. A second later, he was transported to the future, and a condo was where his childhood house used to be. Justin could smell his mom-cooked upside-down pear cake. The thought was out of place, but it was so fragrant, it reminded him of summer. Suddenly, Justin was transported to his first encounter with a pear tree. At the start of his sophomore year in college, he and a few friends decided to visit a farm. The pear tree would cement itself within his memories, reminding him of his mother's cake. Standing beneath the tree, he immediately knew he wanted to be a real estate developer at that moment. Justin committed himself to restoring neighborhoods destroyed by progress. Justin could remember a fulfilling life where he created affordable housing for families drove out of those communities where they once belonged.

Suddenly, the lights came back on. It wasn't long until Justin's eyes, dazzled by the glow, were accustomed enough to realize he could see the ceiling. The cloud has dissipated. A chocolate skin woman with long wavy hair appeared in his vision. From the white lab coat and her hipster glasses, Justin could tell she was a doctor.

"Can you move Mr. Cain?" She asked him. Justin gave a little nod. He was shocked to discover that his head was in motion. The astonishment and joy he saw on her face told him that she, too, was stunned and happy.

"Excellent. Are you able to talk?"

Justin attempted to speak, but he was unsuccessful.

"It's fine." The women said. "We can end here and start again tomorrow."

Michael looked around the room. As he gazed, he felt like an animal lying across a butcher's table, and his vitals spiked again. The room's plastic walls reminded him of every horror picture he'd ever seen.

"Ok. I know you're in no position to take this all in, but I will tell you anyway," the woman asserted.

"You're in a laboratory. A cleanroom like this is a common sight these days. I'm exposing you to my microbiome to reacclimate you to the world. Believe it or not, I am your closest relative alive, your doctor, and I guess you could call me your employee."

Everything in Justin's world began spinning. He was curious why he was in someone's lap on a table. No members of his family shared any physical characteristics of the women in front of him. As Justin asked himself more and more questions, it was as if she had heard his thoughts. She spoke up again without being prompted.

"Yes. Everything I said is completely accurate. Mr. Cain, please listen. Justin. You sacrificed yourself. We cryonically preserved within two minutes of your death. Two centuries have passed since then. You requested that you be awakened now when modern technology caught up to your wildest dreams.

Shaking his head in astonishment, Justin started.

"Justin." He heard the voice speak again, this time in a softer, sorrowful voice. "Remembering everything could be hard, but you'll get there. Please believe me. I'm going to start your music. You should get some rest now, and we can continue this later."

Justin just shook his head in astonishment and closed his eyes. Had he, by any chance, died? He had no recollection of when he had died. It was unbelievable. Justin fell asleep almost immediately when the light was extinguished.