There once was a man named Robert, he was a successful entrepeneur who has always taken risks in business and in life. Robert had conquered the business world and had spent his life traveling the world in search of the next thing, Robert was always searching. He had swam in the great barrier reef, went sky diving over Las Vegas, he raced bikes and cars whenever he could, he even bought his own track for his six supercars. Robert had a love for free climbing, extreme kayaking, running with the bulls in Spain, he didn’t even want a cage when he went swimming with sharks as his friends would say “Bobby is going to do and see everything or the man’s gonna die trying”.
Robert was now approaching the age of 36 and as the days creeped closer he felt his mortality, he felt that he had done everything that the world had to offer. He was beginning to become stagnant, disilusioned about what his next adventure would be. He had thought to himself, space? what if I go to space? what if I explore space further than any other person in the history of mankind? When he thought about it more he realised while he was rich he wasn’t exactly billionaire go to deep space 2001 a space oddyssey style rich.
Robert woke up on his birthday and he woke up with the feeling of pressing weight on his chest, it was like someone had put bricks on his chest and each time he tried to catch his breathe someone threw another one on top of him. Robert jumped out of bed with the tonne of bricks falling to the ground, he dressed himself quickly and took a coffee and ran out the door. He went to the airport, got his plane and flew to the Netherlands. He had met a scientist there years ago when he was travelling Europe and now that he had just gotten his pilots licence he took off. Robert landed and went to meet his man, he hadn’t even called, he didn’t even know for sure was he still there. Robert met Dr. Schneed a few years back when he came across a scientist that was exploring the possibilities of freezing human beings in a type of cryogenic sleep so they can awake in the future. Robert remembered thinking this guy must have loved Futurama a little too much but he was curious. Robert and his entourage at the time went with Dr. Schneed to his research center. They went into a building not far from the center of Amsterdam, a regular apartment building standing three storeys with a beautiful walkway and view of the canals. He got to the front door took out his keys and said
“No going back now boys”.
Robert smirked and looked back at his friends, they all smirk that smirk you make when you’re enjoying the incoherent ramblings of the guy on the bus who talks to his reflection. The door creaks open and they enter, Schneed shuts the door and under the stairs he walks into a small room, he tells Robert to enter with him. Schneed shuts the door and gives a retinal scan as Robert looks on in confusion. The room begins to lower, Robert wobbles and grabs onto a railing on the back wall.
” HOLY FUCK, THIS IS AN ELEVATOR? I gotta get one of these for my garage ! be livin like a bond villain“.
Dr Schneed says we’re almost there now. The elevator doors open up to reveal a laboratory with glass walls surrounding the round lab at the bottom of the canal. The windows we’re reflective and perfected by Schneed’s father in the 60’s when he built the lab. Originally it had been on the top floor and Schneed’s father used it to experiment of nazi scientists that he was able to trick into visiting the home. However that was a different story for a different time.
Robert walked around the lab, past the tanks that reminded Robert of a sensory deprevation tank or the tanks that Ripley used in Alien. Robert considered that kinda stuff more like time travel and wish fulfilment than anything else. He was always fascinated with time travel and he knew that every story about wishes is a cautionary tale but he wished he could travel through time like we travel the world. Dr Schneed explained the process which involved the person simply laying in the tank, being put under into a dreamlike state which will feel like a good nights sleep then waking up 100 years in the future. Dr Schneed had discovered that this was the maximum amount of time someones body could maintain its integrity but he thought it was a damn fine jump in human evolution. Schneed was able to artificialy preserve life for up to 100 years and gave people a chance to be time travellers. who knew what advances would take place in 100 years. Schneed and Robert spent the next 45 minutes in the lab and Roberts potential investment but Robert hadn’t seriously considered it until now.
Robert returned to the house from that night. He remembered the house and it looked the same as it had 6 years earlier. He knocked on the door but there was no answer, Robert waited on the steps, 6pm turned into 10pm and into 2am. Robert had fallen asleep on the steps after smoking a joint to settle his nerves about preserving himself for 100 years and hoping that this goddamn Schneed guy was even still alive and why hadn’t anyone else invested by now?. His head was racing but he slept against the front door until he was woken by a flick on the nose.
“Hey what are you doing asleep at my door?”
The two men spoke at the door and Robert explained his predicament to the Doctor. Robert wanted to live in the future, he had done everything he had seen so much but he wants to see more and do more. with 100 years passing his money would be worth enough that he could be a space man of the future and go deep into unexplored space to search. That’s where Robert felt he belonged. Dr Schneed listened to Robert talk and he invited him down to the lab again. He explained it to Robert again and he agreed to let him use the tank and be the first person to see the future from our time. The process would feel euphoric Robert was assured by Dr Schneed and he would feel well rested and fresh to take on the new world awaiting him. Robert got into the tank and was connected to all of the rods, Iv’s and equiptment hooked up to keep him alive in here for the next century. Robert was instructed to count back from 100 and by the time he reached 90 he would be asleep. Schneed looked down on Robert and chuckled as he began to fall asleep, he hit buttons and a magnetic seal was formed around the door of the tank. A time lock began to count down 99 years, 364 days, 23 hours and 59 minutes, 59 seconds, 58…57…56…55……..
Dr Schneed connects the tank to a magnet and begins to move it, he places the tank in a room connected to the lab. This room is easily 100 foot long and there is tanks placed in lines against the glass staring out into the dark and murky waters of the canals. Schneed whistles as he moved the tank down past tank after tank and tank, he passes by 25 tanks on either side before he finds a place for Robert to rest for 100 years. Some tanks have 95 years left, some have 85 while other tanks have 65 and 60 years left on their time. Schneed places Robert’s tank by the glass he looks at Robert before glancing down at his watch. Schneed watches the time tick by slowly, he loooks back up and sees horrified eyes frozen and staring back at him. Schneed looks into Robert’s eyes, he slowly smiles a smile so large it consumes his face with its menace. Schneed licks his lips before he says softly
“Enjoy your next adventure Robert and dont worry even if I don’t live 100 years if this room isnt unarmed every 3 days the room floods“.
He walks away and as he walks down the corridor and past all the other people frozen his footsteps echo loudly into the distance. Robert stares intensely at the dark waters in front of him, the footsteps echoing into the distance and he is frozen inside of his body. he isnt breathing, blinking or moving he’s simply existing, watching and watching. As Schneed reaches the end of the door he locks the barrier on the room and the lights begin to turn off one at a time, each light getting closer to the end, closer to Robert, closer to darkness. The darkness grows and grows and grows, Robert now sees nothing, theres just darkness and 100 years until the doors open and he is released. Robert stares out into the abyss, he stares and stares nothing but the creaking of the wood and metal under the water for company.
I think it's interesting 