Chapter 1

Summary

• The protagonist is awoken by a computer asking "What’s two plus two?"
• Initially unable to speak properly or open their eyes, the protagonist senses they are lying on a soft surface, likely a bed.
• Struggling to open their eyes and speak, the protagonist slowly manages to answer the computer's question correctly as "four."
• The protagonist realizes they are connected to various tubes and covered in electrodes, suggesting a medical setting.
• Further observations reveal the protagonist is in an oval-shaped bed with robotic arms equipped with tools hanging from the ceiling.
• The computer demands more answers to simple questions, like the cube root of eight, to which the protagonist eventually responds correctly.
• When attempting to physically move, the protagonist discovers they are considerably weak, yet their muscles are toned, contradicting expectations of muscle atrophy from extended bed rest.
• The room lacks normal features of a hospital and includes strange elements such as a ladder and a hatch.
• After experimenting with movement, the protagonist finds they cannot remember their own name when prompted by the computer.
• The protagonist experiences a sudden memory recall of an email from Dr. Irina Petrova discussing an inexplicable infrared line in space, suggesting a previous interest or career in astronomy.
• The protagonist discovers their roommates are long-dead bodies and questions why they have been left there, suspecting a connection to their coma status.
• The protagonist makes an attempt to climb a ladder but is weak and ends up being placed back in bed by the robotic arms.
• Upon waking again, the protagonist is instructed to eat a tube of nutritious paste which, despite its appearance, tastes incredible due to intense hunger.
• Allowed more freedom, the protagonist fashions a toga and begins to explore, eventually reaching an adjoining laboratory.
• The lab setting and knowledge of the equipment lead the protagonist to conclude they are a scientist.
• An attempt to climb another ladder in the lab results in a fall and minor injuries.
• The protagonist conducts a gravity experiment with a test tube and finds out that the gravity they are experiencing is stronger than Earth’s gravity, leading them to the realization that they are not on Earth.