<P>After a few minutes, he managed to gain his bearings and drag himself to his feet. Staggering about the room, he noticed that things had been moved around. Eventually, he found the door and carefully made his way down the hall. It was dark outside, but the lights were on in the house.
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<P>How long was I asleep? It can't still be night, that felt like an eternity...
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<P>The door to the other bedroom, the larger one, was slightly ajar. Pushing it open, he found that this room had been moved as well, the most notable addition being a large sheet of Plexiglas sealing off the third of the room that contained the dumbwaiter. He jumped back when he saw the man standing behind the wall. It was the man in the white coat, the one from his nightmares. A speaker was positioned in the middle of the sheet, the only visible means of contact between the two men.
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<P>"I'm glad to see you can walk again, Tiberius," said the man in white. He didn't know how to react, so he said the first thing that came to mind:
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<P>"That's not my name," he said. Forcing the words out proved to be a difficult process, and he wasn't sure that the man in white understood.
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<P>"Really? Would you care to enlighten me, then, as to what your name actually is?"
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<P>"It's...I..." he stumbled on, unable to bring the thought to his awareness. It was then that panic set in once more.
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<P>Who am I?
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<P>He looked down, acutely aware of the fact that the clothes he was now wearing were not his own. Beyond that, he knew nothing. His name, date of birth, occupation, relatives, phone number...he simply drew a blank.
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<P>"Look, you're going through a lot right now, and it will take some time before the shock wears off," said the man in the white coat. He spoke in an aloof tone, as a doctor would when he must tell a patient for whom he cares little that he is dying. Every word was pronounced. "Now, listen carefully, because there is a lot I have to tell you and I'm afraid that we don't have much time to waste here.