<P>Chapter 6 - The World We Knew
<P>"Yet as we stand at night in the great hall, removing our garments for sleep, we look upon our brothers and we wonder. The heads of our brothers are bowed. The eyes of our brothers are dull, and never do they look one another in the eyes. The shoulders of our brothers are hunched, and their muscles are drawn, as if their bodies were shrinking and wished to shrink out of sight. And a word steals into our mind, as we look upon our brothers, and that word is fear."
<P>-Ayn Rand, Anthem
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<P>He woke to an empty room. Carson had told him that someone would wake him up, but there was no sign of anyone. Everything was still, even the medical bot.
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<P>What time is it?
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<P>He searched in vain for a clock, trying to recover from a decent sleep on a very uncomfortable surface. Not caring to alert anyone to his awakening, he went to the cabinet and removed the augmentation canister. With his head now cleared, he realized that the decision was not all that difficult.
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<P>If Tokyo was just the beginning, then I must be prepared.
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<P>It was the first time since he had watched the lights go out in Paris that he had been prepared to accept the new life he had been forced into. If Carson hadn't found him and pulled him into his plan, Tiberius doubted that he would have found a will or a way to survive in this strange new world. He stepped over to the medical bot and inserted the canister. He selected "Combat Strength" and allowed the machine to do its job.
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<P>When the doctor finally arrived, the bot was removing the final implement from Tiberius's arm. Emotionless as usual, he entered the room without knocking and motioned for Tiberius to exit.
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<P>"Where are we going?" asked Tiberius.
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<P>"Outside," the doctor replied. "Your mission awaits."