The world is a blank slate. I do not know who I am, where I am, or why I am here. I fade in and out of awareness; from he**-driven nightmares, to utter blackness. In that blackness, I hear noises from another world, or is it my own? I wish I could see it, feel it. Feel something. I am nothing. I listen to the other world’s noises as I drift back into the horrors of my own mind.

“We believe she can hear us at times; and the dreams she has when she can’t, well, they must be amazingly surreal for her. We see this through the brain activity in her MRIs.” I assume they’re talking about me. I am She. I am actually a something. This gives me a feeling; I don’t know what to call it. It is warm and bubbly and making me tingly all over. So tingly, I twitch. “Oh!” a high pitched, flowing voice exclaims, “Her fingers moved!” So that’s what part of me that was. Not only am I She, but I have fingers.
…
“We haven’t seen any improvement since her movement three weeks ago, although her vitals remain steady. The longer it takes her to wake up, the less of a chance there is for her. I’m sorry, but she may remain a vegetable forever.” I don’t know what a vegetable is, but it does not sound good. I want to connect with this world so badly, to understand what they say. It’s like I’m underwater and can’t come to the surface. That’s a strange thing to say, I don’t know what water is, but I think I like it. I’m in this black world all the time now, and I hear everything. I want to be able to see the things making the noises. I want to move my fingers again. I’ve tried, but it exhausts me, and I can’t think straight for a long while afterwards.
…
I moved my fingers again! More, too, I think. I was trying really hard to make them move, and I did! The high pitched voice said, “Her whole hand moved this time!” I think that is good, because the warm and bubbly feeling returned again.
…
“We think she’s very close to waking up now. Her movement is increasing, as is the moaning she emits. After five months of nothing, it’s all we can hope for.”

I moan? I thought I was speaking to them. I mean, the words are in my mind, and I say them aloud; but I guess to them it sounds like a turkey gobbling. That’s strange, also. I don’t know what a turkey is. More things like this, maybe memories, keep coming back to me. I try to ask about them to the voices, but I guess I’m just moaning.

I need to reach this world, to find out why I am here. I need to see what they see. Why can’t I just see? I keep telling my mind to let me, but it won’t. It’s so frustrating. Wait. Was that a flash of light? There it is again, but longer. Like a lighthouse, breaking through this sea of darkness. This time I see a shocked woman, with honey colored eyes, and golden hair. She rushes out of the room, crying, “She’s awake! After all this time she’s really awake!”

I look down, and see what must be my hands: Soft, padded, with five long extremities that must be my fingers sticking out of it. They are pink, and fleshy. I move them and it feels good. I also move what my hands are attached to. They are long and thin, with a joint in the middle. I wonder what they are.
…

“And that is who you are, Cathleen, and what you are for that matter,” My doctor chuckles. I am a human, with arms and legs and feet and toes. I have a head with eyes and a nose and ears. He compares my re-learning to that of teaching a two-year-old. “Now for why you are here,” he continues. I am excited to hear this. “My team and I have been searching for centuries to find the perfect human subject for this experiment.” Centuries? That can’t be right; no human lives that long. “You may be wondering how we have managed to survive this long. Well, we aren’t human like you.
“We grew up on a completely different planet; one that is in danger now. We have altered many of your internal organs so that you may survive under our planet’s highly abnormal conditions. Abnormal to you, I mean. I’m off topic. The reason we have done all this is because our planet is in mortal danger, and you are the only one who can save it.
“You may not realize this, but you have the immense talent of someone with a mind strategic enough to solve our problem. That and you are one of the most athletic specimens we’ve ever seen. You’re extremely brave, so you wouldn’t be afraid to go into battle. Also, you have an interesting aura about you; it calms any living thing you come in contact with, and lets you control them with ease. All these abilities you have could help us end our massive civil war; which, if continued, would end our race.
“Many of our kind have been searching Earth for you for centuries. We have coexisted with humans longer than the U.S. has been established even. It is time for you to rise up, and help find peace on our planet.”
All this shocks me so much; I haven’t spoken throughout the whole spiel. Now, he is staring at me; waiting for me to say something. I would ask to go home, but they’ve spent five months changing me for their benefit. I’d be wasting their time. They have been very kind since I’ve woken up, and don’t seem at all dangerous. But stopping a whole war? Saving their whole race? How could I; I’m not even of their kind.
“Oh yes you could.” Was he reading my mind? “You have more power in your little finger than our best leaders have ever had. Oops, I didn’t mean to startle you; we each have a unique ability. Mine is the ability to read minds. No one else can though. Yours is the ability to calm masses of people, and make them do whatever you would like with your own thinking; quite remarkable, really.
“We need you Cathleen, I understand you don’t feel prepared for this but trust me you have been prepared for a long time. We’ve made sure. We watched your progress for years before finally choosing you. Do you feel ready?”
“I suppose,” My mouth is moving, but I don’t think I wanted to say those words. It’s too late now though, I guess.
“Lovely; we’re approaching Maldovia now. That’s our planet. Follow me to the exit.” I didn’t even realize we were on a space ship. This is all so amazing. He leads me through a series of confusing looking hallways, which are brightly lit, with chrome walls; although they glitter like diamonds. We come upon a door. It is a wide double door, with the same texture as the walls. As they begin to open, they spill a blinding, heavenly, light. I step through, into my destiny.