The Cell

Sanjay doesn’t keep track of the days anymore. Each day is merely another addition to the parade of horrors he has been forced to endure. He used to keep markings beneath his pod, small lines ticking away the days, weeks, months, years of his life that are being robbed from him. But he doesn’t need a record to know he will spend the rest of his life imprisoned. His entire world is a single cell. In the cell, simulations control his reality—while they are active, he has no inkling that what he is experiencing isn’t real. To him, he feels every blow he is dealt, every heartbreak that befalls him, and every death he must both witness and experience.

Through his ability to time travel, Sanjay has experienced so many different timelines, he isn’t quite sure which is his original story anymore. In each, however, he is certain to suffer tragic loss. No matter what he does to save it, the world always comes to a shuddering halt. He has witnessed androids claim the lives of all his loved ones before his eyes, assuming their visages, until he too dies at their hands and is replaced by an uncanny version of himself. He has watched asteroids plummet into the Earth’s atmosphere, laying waste to all in their path and consuming the planet in fire. And finally, he has experienced a small faction of androids calling themselves the Off Guard gain power and conquer the world, enslaving all of humanity--including him.

These failed attempts are what the Off Guard uses against Sanjay now. He wakes early. He eats the nondescript brown slab that barely constitutes food. He stands, and the simulation begins.

Immediately, he has no memory of his cell; he has no memory of getting captured and dragged away as he watched the other remaining five fight against the Guard, calling out to him, desperate to retrieve him. Once the simulation starts, he knows nothing but the sandbox before him.

He turns to his left and sees Brooke. But this isn’t the Brooke with whom he’s shared a bed or stolen kisses from under the stars. This Brooke is different; she’s wrong. His Brooke has eyes that sparkle in the faintest light, a long, angular nose, flaming red hair, and a heart-shaped locket she hasn’t removed since he gave it to her a lifetime ago. This Brooke doesn’t radiate light and warmth the way his Brooke does. This Brooke doesn’t wear the heart-shaped locket. This is not his Brooke. Before Sanjay knows what he’s doing, he is grabbing this False Brooke by the collar and shaking her.

“What have you done with her?" Sanjay demands, heart beating erratically against his rib cage, threatening to lodge itself into his throat. His vision blurs, tunneling to obscure his periphery, and his stomach churns. "Where is she? Give her back!” His voice catches in his throat as he wavers on the precipice of tears.

False Brooke grabs him and shoves him off, her expression dark and dangerous. Unable to fully comprehend the sight before him, as uncanny as it is terrifying, Sanjay feels his heart clench painfully. His mind is fractured as he attempts to comprehend being thrown aside so carelessly by Brooke while still being resolute in his belief that this is not Brooke.

Sanjay’s heart stops, its frantic beating ceasing in an instant, as their eyes meet. These eyes don’t sparkle; they are dead and lifeless—another error. It’s only then Sanjay sees the barcode stamped on this False Brooke’s neck. Sanjay pulls out his gun, aiming it directly at the imposter’s heart. A soft smile pulls False Brooke’s lip upward.

“Goodbye,” she whispers just as she is obscured by hoards of figures, each adorned with a barcode, streaming into the room. In an instant, Sanjay knows only pain. The android doesn’t look as Sanjay is ripped apart by the mob.

Sanjay comes to on the floor of his cell drenched in sweat.

Brooke.

Where is Brooke now? Sanjay longs for her, like a fish out of water longs to be cast back into the sea. Thoughts of Brooke are what prevent him from giving up. The prospect, however impossible, of seeing Brooke again, of holding her in his arms so tightly he would never again let her go, is enough to keep him going. It has to be, for he has nothing else.

That night he dreams of her. Their fingers intertwined, the warm reassurance of the pressure of Brooke’s hand against his. The sky stretches endlessly around them, star-strewn and glittering. The breeze that wafts around them is warm and languid, bringing with it a comfort of its own. Enveloped in the arms of peace, Sanjay sighs. Closing his eyes, he feels Brooke wrap her arms around him. This must be what happiness feels like. But to Sanjay’s horror, when he opens his eyes, the stars are no longer twinkling but erupting in flame.

The sky is raining fire. Brooke is gone.

Sanjay wakes with a start.

Overtaken first by frustration, he punches the wall of his cell and the panels glitch momentarily before resuming their harsh, red glare. Devastation consumes him next as he realizes he is living in a hall of mirrors. Both his waking and sleeping hours are a reflection of each other: whether he is conscious or unconscious, Sanjay must suffer Brooke being ripped from him.

His brown slab awaits him. Another simulation begins.

Sanjay and Brooke are standing among the ruins of what’s left of Earth, guns drawn. Brooke, his Brooke with her sparkly eyes and heart-shaped locket, looks at him with all the sadness in the world.

“I’m sorry, Sanjay,” she gasps.

Sanjay, finger quaking on his own trigger, pleads with her, “Brooke, please. We don’t have to do this.”

“We don’t have a choice!” Brooke chokes out. “This is how we save the world.”

“Brooke, no,” he says, desperation infused in each word. Brooke is just as beautiful now as the day he met her, despite the gun in her hand aiming directly at Sanjay’s heart.

“Yes,” Brooke says, tears flooding her eyes.

Sanjay pulls his trigger, out of instinct more than anything. Terror shoots through Sanjay just as his bullet shoots through Brooke.

Love does nothing to impede the flight of a bullet, Sanjay learns; what a tender world that would be. Sanjay has planted his anti-seed, and now he must watch Brooke die.

Sanjay’s entire world implodes.

He envelopes Brooke in his arms. Red tendrils of blood spread across Brooke’s white shirt, staining it with her life as it leaves her body. Desperately, Sanjay clamps his hand over the wound, attempting to stuff the life back inside Brooke.

The pallor of the sky darkens to a deep burnt orange, an ominous warning, and Sanjay looks around wildly for help. But there is no one there to save them.

Overwhelmed by despair, Sanjay brings Brooke’s lifeless body to his chest.

Just when he thinks he cannot survive the pain, he awakes, hunched over on the floor next to his sleep pod, tears streaming down his face.

He crawls, listless, into his bed, completely devoid of comfort as always. That night he cries himself to sleep.

The dream his troubled thoughts craft for him that night is set in a familiar place. Antoni is beside him talking animatedly about their plans, instilling each of them with confidence they wouldn’t be able to achieve without him. Sanjay's head is on Brooke’s shoulder, and Brooke is gazing fondly and proudly around at the rest.

“Let’s go over it one more time,” Theo suggests, wringing her hands together in her lap.

“We’ve gone through it enough,” Sanjay hears himself say. “You can do this, Theo,” he adds comfortingly.

Theo offers a small smile in response.

Sanjay decides to indulge Theo’s anxiety, and lifting his head from Brooke’s shoulder, he explains, “I’ll hack into the Off-Guard mainframe. This will be the first time we’ve tried it this way—I’ve never been able to channel my abilities through anything before. This is exactly what we need to fix the timeline once and for all and stop the world from being destroyed. Getting inside headquarters will be tricky. You and Mamoru will allow them to think they’ve caught you off-guard and then create the diversion. Antoni and Jin will be our eyes and ears. Brooke will have my back, making sure no one interrupts me while I work.” Brooke squeezes his hand reassuringly, impressing upon Sanjay that she would never let anything happen to him.

“Clear?”

They nod, expressions steely.

Before anyone has time to change their minds, they are out the door and the plan is in play. Mamoru and Theo successfully clear the entrance for Brooke and Sanjay to enter; Antoni and Jin direct them to the Nerve Center, all while avoiding any guards. Sanjay positions himself before the computer and begins hacking away, Brooke standing guard at the door.

When the Off Guard arrives, there are too many of them, and they subdue Brooke despite her ability to teleport. She shoots and kicks, thrashes and jabs, but before Sanjay can finish, the Guard is surrounding him, pushing him to the ground and handcuffing him. The last thing he sees before his vision is obscured is Brooke being punched in the gut and crumpling to the floor.

Sanjay awakes with Brooke’s name on his lips.

Another brown slab struggles down his throat. Sanjay stands.

Brooke is standing behind the angry, red paneling of his cell. Her hair is longer than he’s ever seen it, and she is looking triumphant.

Sanjay. He cannot hear Brooke’s voice, but he knows she is calling out to him.

In the blink of an eye, Brooke is standing across from him in his cell.

Why is he in a cell?

“Sanjay,” Brooke’s voice breaks. As if in slow motion, she bounds toward him, and Sanjay braces himself, ready to fight, terrified in the knowledge that one of them must soon die.

But Brooke’s arms are gentle around him. Sanjay doesn’t move. He cannot trust his surroundings, he cannot trust his senses, and he most certainly cannot trust Brooke. Not until he’s sure. Sanjay pulls back. His eyes penetrate Brooke’s, and he can almost count each individual sparkle in Brooke’s eyes. His fingers graze the heart-shaped locket adorning her neck.

This is Brooke—his Brooke.

“Brooke,” Sanjay’s voice comes out in a sharp whisper. “Is that really you?”

“It’s me,” She whispers, tears of joy cascading down her face. “We have to get out of here; I’m not sure how much time the others bought us.”

“The others?” Sanjay asks, his heart swelling.

“Yes, it’s because of them I was able to get to you. Let’s go.”

“But I can’t teleport, you know that.”

“I’ve been practicing,” Brooke smiles in spite of herself. “Do you trust me?”

Sanjay hesitates. How many times has he experienced the searing sting of Brooke’s betrayal?

He stares, leaning back infinitesimally, and Brooke senses his hesitation.

“Sanjay, what’s wrong?”

“You’re not real. You’re going to kill me, or I’m going to kill you.” Sanjay’s heart is beating erratically as he takes actual steps away from Brooke.

The hurt of Sanjay’s words blisters across Brooke’s face. “What did they do to you?” she asks quietly, reaching a hand out toward him. Sanjay recoils.

“I’m not going to kill you, and you’re not going to kill me.”

Sanjay doesn’t move.

“I don’t know what they did to you, but it wasn’t real. I’m real, and I’m going to take you home.”

Sanjay stands with his back pressed against the wall.

“Stop this! We’re running out of time,” Brooke says angrily, reaching out once more. This time she ignores Sanjay’s quiet protests and pulls him against her.

“Sanjay, I love you.” Brooke’s voice is soft.

The Brookes in his simulations have never conveyed such a sentiment before.

“Brooke..”

Relief floods her features. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”