Vreloran never much cared for disembarking his squeaking and creaking bed. Rising in the pre-dawn hours of the day meant only one thing: another workday. With his ‘profession’ as it was currently evolving, he would just as soon spend his day nestled comfortably into what otherwise was a rather old and uncomfortable bed.

Alas, additional sleep was not to be found on this day, or any other workday. Using his hands to push himself out of the covers and off the bed, Vreloran stumbled slightly on his first step. He gingerly moved away from the bed only to fall into the clutches of a floor that began its own chorus of annoying sounds, voicing its objections to the pressure of his weight with each new step. Successfully reaching the bath without waking his partner, he closed the door behind him, turning on the light. He reached into the shower, twisting the lever to set the sonic-assisted spray, and placed his hand palm side up until he felt the spray reach a level of warmth that was just short of the edge of human tolerance.

Peeling off his robe, he ducked slightly and stepped through the narrow opening into the shower, finishing this exercise by sliding the door to the right until it came to an abrupt stop at the side jamb. With a lifetime of practice, he unthinkingly launched into scrubbing his hair, his body, then stood letting the vibrations rinse and satiate his clamouring skin. His sub-conscious mind now freed from the constraints and ritual of bathing related multi-tasking, Vreloran took a moment to just stand and relax. His mind quickly turned its full resources to troubling recent work events.

Vreloran was a government employee, tasked to a highly classified and experimental facility in a location he  was sworn not to reveal. One mention of where he worked to anyone not authorised to be aware of such information, and he would spend his life rotting in some far off and forgotten hell hole.

And secrecy was only the beginning. Vreloran was being trained to use devices designed and created by people who were light years ahead of him in terms of scientific knowledge. He need not understand the hows and whys of the newly created technology placed before him, all he need do is manipulate the right controls at the right time, with just a touch of suggestion and improvisation added to seal the deal. At least the latter offered him a limited window to break out of the rigid protocols established and literally ad lib his way to creative satisfaction.

Vreloran was a decent person when one got right down to things; like most every other citizen of this world. He did not wish to make waves, he wished to earn a living, he did not wish harm or bring ill will upon anyone else, and he wished to keep he and his family out of the spotlight and away from scrutiny. More than anything, that is why he remained in this position – for the sake of his family’s well being.

Two days before, Vreloran was witness to a demonstration on an unsuspecting and innocent creature. That creature no longer exists. He came away from that demonstration harbouring no illusions of the true intent and usage of this technology, associating its development with recent government changes. After he left that test area, he ducked into a restroom and let fly every drop of content from a meal he finished an hour before.

And now… to quit his posting meant he might well be the next test subject for an all too real and horrific technology. Loose ends and all that implied. What else to do but to reconcile his reluctance and objections, get over how he felt, and put every last ounce of effort into learning about this technology?

Work. Ugh. How little Vreloran knew at this point in time – how could he? There would come a time when he would have before him the power to save or destroy. The choice made might determine the fate of an entire world, and the fate of a singular individual. This as yet unknown and coming choice was one of whether to be insubordinate by not carrying out to the letter the direct orders of his supervisor, or doing his government sanctioned duty and ending all hope of freedom and equality for an entire world – as well as its most precious citizen.