Reinvention
He was a loner, had no friends, always being bullied by everyone. He would go to sleep wishing he was someone else. Someone smarter, stronger, more attractive, and he felt all of these things would make him successful. He hated how mundane his life felt, the job bored him, his skills seemed mediocre. Everyday it seemed to him he is wasting his potential, trapped in a body and a mind that did not suit him.
When he came across the project, it was an easy choice for him to volunteer. The scientists promised him a chance to become a new person, with enhanced abilities and better personality. The science of genetic engineering and neural manipulation had reached its peak, and he felt this science could allow a way to rewrite not just their identity but help shape a new destiny.
He signed the consent form, without even reading the fine print, just eager to start his new life.
As he woke up groggily, he looked around the chamber. It was dark with mostly LED lights blinking back at him. He could faintly make the wires and tubes that were hooked on to him. He felt a sudden surge of pain in his head, as if something was trying to penetrate through his skull. He tried too scream - but no sound came out.
As his eyes got used to the low lit chamber, he saw other people in similar chambers. Their faces twisted in agony, some even had grotesque mutations like extra limbs, or eyes. Others had parts of their bodies missing, replaced with metal.
As he turned his head, he caught his reflection in a glass window. He recoiled in horror as he realized he was one of them, completely unrecognizable even to himself. His eyes were not bloodshot, but just red and somewhat flowing, his skin looked scaly and he opened his mouth to look at his sharp and jagged teeth. There were small bumps on his head and as he finally looked down, he saw claws instead of his hands and feet.
He was not human anymore.
He heard a voice in his head, cold and emotionless. “Good morning Subject 27, welcome to the reinvention program. You have been selected to be part of a new species. You’re now superior to humans in every way. You will undergo a series of tests to evaluate your performance and compatibility. If you succeed, you will join the elite ranks of the new world order. If you fail, you will be terminated.”
He felt a shock in his brain, making him convulse.
“Your first test begins now. Good luck.”