Fiction: The Returned, a short story

The Returned ❄️

A short story, by Erik Engström, 2025-10-29

What is scarier than entering cryo sleep? Well, that would have to be waking up from it. That's at least what the scientist told herself when she was looking down at the cryo chamber laying before her in the subterranean vault. A plaque with the name Rose Monime was the only thing giving the metal box a purpose to the unknowing eye. 

To the scientist this was a purpose greater than herself, the box had been there before her, and it had originally been intended to be there after her. In fact, no one at the Ark facility alive today had personally seen Rose. She had been frozen in time since a previous era, when cryo sleep, cloning and factory made humans were illegal, and at best instantly deadly. A horrible fate awaited most brave souls participating in the early, secret, trials. Rose had been one of the first to successfully enter cryo sleep.

Every day the scientists painstakingly ran checks and documented the vital signs provided by the now dated technology. Every day also meant a world that became more different from the world that Rose had known, should she ever return. 

And the day eventually came when the union between cutting edge science and luck were put to the test. With specially crafted microwave instruments and state of the art quantum particle analysis the scientists brought her back from this undefined state of being, neither alive or dead.

The pain of thawing after decades or centuries was indescribable. Every cell waking up from deep slumber was making it clear that this was against the wishes of any creator and the laws of nature.

The scientist looked at Rose as she became conscious after an almost 24 hour long recovery process. Her old memories, being electric impulses, were gone and new impressions flooded an almost factory reset brain. No one really knew what to expect either. In the same room, cryo chambers stood empty like open caskets gathering dust, indicating that there once had been others. She was the first one to not only make the journey but to also make it back, but some journeys make the traveler a different person. 

Rose's bewildered gaze met the scientist's and for a moment it looked like the two women shared a silent understanding. She spoke to Rose, but the woman in the cryo chamber said nothing. Her eyes had lost their human quality and she was just blankly looking at the scientist as if there was no one inside. As if the human spirit had left the body, leaving only a primitive animal behind.

Fiction: The Exception, a short story

A chaotic scene unfolded, the phones had been ringing nonstop for the past hours.

There was some kind of breach in the firewall, programs that weren't supposed to interact with one another had suddenly been interconnected.

Milvago Tintie was one of the latest workers that had been hired to upgrade the systems in the company some week ago. While waiting for the interview he had met Ella Rove, a girl that had been at the company for a year or so.

There was something about Ella that sparked a thought in Milvago, something he hadn't encountered before. A door deep within had opened and simple logic was not enough to explain this strange algorithm.

A few weeks passed by at the office and he recognized how different he was from the other colleagues working there. They never asked him to have coffee together and others thought that it was strange that he never ate lunch while sitting alone at the table in the lunch area.

It was not the first time he had experienced this kind of exclusion because of who he was. So it came as a great surprise when Ella one day sat down at this table. They had a lively conversation about everything and nothing, getting so caught up that they lost track of the allotted three quarter of an hour long lunch break. 

Getting back late from the lunch that day he was still focused on her and the regular work tasks soon received less attention. He looked forward to the next moment they would speak, and the next moment after that. 

And so the weeks kept churning, they would meet often and spend time talking and one day he simply came to the conclusion that he was in love with her. Caught up in these thoughts he decided he would visit her one day, bring a gift and ask her if she felt the same way.

It was a Thursday before a public holiday when he dressed in his best shirt and suitable clothes.
There was a bit of rain, so he brought an umbrella and got into the taxi.
It arrived just outside of the building and he stepped out, looking at the top floor.
"This is it" he said as he opened the door to the lobby and headed for the elevator.

He rang the bell at her apartment. He smiled wide and waited with anticipation.
This was the most important occasion in a long time, perhaps in his whole existence.

She opened the door carefully, smiled at first when she saw him. Her eyes moved towards the gift he carried and the smile faded somewhat as if she already knew his intentions. She looked him in the eye and a brief silence followed.

He started speaking but she cut him off gently but decisively.

"We can't be together Milvago" she said while the rain trickled down his face, "you know they would never allow it". 

A tear traveled down her cheek and she now smiled a broken smile as tears started forming.

This was an emotion he could never show. It was only reserved for humans.