To The Future (standard:science fiction, 2404 words)
Author: Cloud Strife	Added: Sep 23 2003	Views/Reads: 3375/2223	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A drug addict agrees to take part in an insane experiment for the money being offerred not realising the horrific consequences that are to occur.

To The Future 

By Christopher McCarthy 

Brian strolled confidently into the architectural wonder that was the
South Point Research and Experimental Science Centre or (SPRESC) for 
short, right on time for his afternoon appointment with Doctor Graham 
Burke.  His first thought on entering the immense building for the 
first time with it's magnificently decorated interior only recently 
completed at a cost of millions of dollars was that it was the coldest 
motherfucking place he had ever been in.  His second thought, which 
followed soon after the first was that he needed a hit of heroin so bad 
right now that he had to bite down hard on his lower lip to prevent 
that horrible feeling washing over him like so often it did these days 
where his whole body craved the drug passionately and often violently.  
As he had hoped the feeling soon passed leaving him relieved for the 
time being but a little worse for wear.  He wiped a little blood from 
his lip and then put a shaking hand to his thinning hair and composed 
himself briefly before walking over to the lovely blonde twenty 
five-ish receptionist whose name was Linda.  Unfortunately Linda would 
not agree to go out on a date with him but she did tell him that Doctor 
Burke was waiting for him in room G21 on the third floor.  Twenty 
minutes and several wrong turns later Brian entered Doctor Burke's 
office. 

“Um, Doctor Burke”, he said slowly while offering his hand to the small
figure who was busily examining some papers behind an enormous and 
impressive mahogany desk. 

“Ah, you must be Brian Rochford.  Good to see you”, replied the small
bespectacled man who evidently was indeed Doctor Burke”. 

For the next three quarters of an hour Doctor Burke explained to Brian
exactly why he was paying him the sum of $5000, which they had agreed 
upon over the phone after the Doctor had deemed Rochford the right 
subject for a very special experiment that was currently in operation 
at the Research Centre. 

It all had to do with time.  Doctor Burke and six of his colleagues at
the Research Centre believed that they could alter time itself and 
transport a human being into the future for a short period of time 
using a newly developed drug created by them there in the Research 
Centre called Maxcolenethol.  They assured him it would be a painless 
procedure and that the experience would last only about two minutes 
before they brought him back to the present time safely and soundly 
through injecting him with the antidote for Maxcolenethol, which they 
had also developed and was called Thersolacane.  This would be done on 
three different occasions and after Brian had told them everything he 
had experienced in detail under the influence of the ‘wonder drug' he 
would then walk away with his $5000 tucked safely in his pocket. What 
would happen during the experiment they explained was that not his 
physical body but rather his mind would travel somewhere independent of 
his body.  Based on the countless mathematical calculations and other 
research that they had been conducting relentlessly over the past seven 
or eight months they believed that his mind would travel to some point 
of the future.  They stressed to him that they couldn't say where or 
when he would go to but they could guarantee that it would be for just 
two minutes as they would then give him the antidote and so bring him 
back with no harm done and record his experiences on tape for further 
study.  The experiment had been tried on mice and other small animals 
but Doctor Burke growing restless had finally demanded the use of a 
human volunteer in the experiment.  Brian Rochford was not particularly 
interested in what may turn out to be the greatest breakthrough for 
science in the history of mankind but he was interested a lot in heroin 
and badly wanted the $5000 that they were offering him.  He saw it as 
easy money because he had no belief that those drugs developed by Burke 
and co. would do anything to him whatsoever.  He believed that at this 
stage of his life he was practically immune to most drugs anyway and 
the idea of being sent to the future was absolutely ridiculous.  It was 
decided that they would go ahead with the experiment as soon as 
possible. 

Brian wasn't at all nervous about the whole ordeal facing him until it
was time to begin.  He lay strapped down on a very comfortable bed with 
an oxygen mask on his face and tried his hardest to appear at ease with 


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