text: EDIT: I just wanted to say this is the first story I've written in 5 years and all your upvotes are making me so incredibly happy right now! I'll definitely write more now, so enjoy! I can’t believe I ended up here. I always said this would be a last resort; I guess I finally reached my wit’s end. As I walk up the steep steps to the Centre, I can feel each one weighing on my conscience. *Oh well, we’re here now.* As I reach the top of the steps, the enormous archway entrance laughs at me and my choices up to this point. Inside, I catch a glimpse of what exactly I’m dealing with; female Androids, all blonde and blue-eyed I bet, busying themselves with their customers. Me, with my brown hair and hazel eyes, have another reason I don’t fit in. Before I can let that sink in, one of the Androids blurs into my field of vision, “Welcome to the Centre, where the opportunities are endless. How may I help you reach your dreams?”. I resist the urge to grimace and walk with her, trying to divulge as little as possible about how I got to this point; nobody’s business but mine. I’m led into a smaller room stemming off from the entrance, no less lavish though. The room is a stark white, adorned with colourful abstract paintings, plants in every corner with tendrils reaching for the ceiling - perhaps they’ve mistaken its brightness for what the Sun used to be. I get the impression of both a prison and a therapist’s office, how perfectly fitting. As I marvel at the furnishings, *nothing like home,* I feel the only occupants eyes focused on me, contemplating my reasoning for being here. “Hello, June I presume? Please take a seat and we can begin the initiation process. My name is Vanessa and I’ll be helping you choose your room today.” I do as asked and gingerly take a seat in one of the available chairs in front of Vanessa, choosing the one that puts me further away from her gaze. My eyes flit up as I try to relax and I see she is still watching me. *How... unnerving.* “Perfect! Now let’s get started. I already have your personal information on file thanks to your chip so let’s jump right into the questions, starting with the most important. Why are you here today?” As I speak, Vanessa types away on her display, her eyes never leaving mine for long. Mine is a typical sob story; mother passed while giving birth to my younger brother, father disappeared in the Rebellion with nothing to trace, and now, my brother has run out of life support funds. I only had enough funds remaining for a year, or enough for the Centre. I guess looking back it wasn’t really a choice after all. Vanessa smiles, “You’re a perfect candidate! It will take a week to process your results, we look forward to seeing you this time next week.” As I leave the Centre, I can feel eyes watching my departure. Am I that interesting to stare at? // The archway is still laughing at me, this time it feels more like a goodbye, though. I’m guided to Vanessa’s office again, just as lavish and sterile as before. I’m fitted into one of the compression suits to monitor vitals; the material is soft and silky yet very tense and unforgiving. As the Androids rush around me, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror before I leave. Eyebrows drawn down over my steeled gaze, hair done up in a severe bun at the crown of my head and the suit, black with outlines of blue tracing the electromagnetic lines running from the chip in my neck to all my extremities; everything I experience recorded for them. And finally, I am brought to the door. Again, I feel Vanessa’s eyes on me but I ignore them and enter, closing the door behind myself as I am greeted by; more doors? Doors on either side of me, stretching out further than I can see. All different colours and shapes; is this right? Perplexed only for a moment, I open the first door on my left. Lush greenery expands out of view, trees almost lumbering around me with branches extending upward and vines expanding downward. Soft underbrush littered with shrubbery and mosses, growing every which way almost in spite of the large tree trunks obstructing their progress. And the sweet, sickly smell of flowers and citrus permeates my nostrils coming from a clearing I see nearby overrun with grasses that look like they’d be so much softer than my bed at home. I slam the door. That’s not what I want. I open another door then another. A valley, a beach, a mountaintop, a mall, a warzone; it’s endless. This is not what I thought the Centre was supposed to be. I don’t want to see anything. I don’t want to be anything anymore. I open and slam doors so furiously I almost miss it, an empty room. Pitch black. So black that, for all I know, this could be the corner of the expanse. No smell, no sound; just what I want. I step inside and as my heel crosses the doorframe, it slams shut behind me, enveloping me in darkness. Nothing. That’s what this is. I can’t tell where I end and the room begins. I feel myself sit down where I can finally be alone, in my room, the centre of my universe. The blood pumping in my ears is the only signal to the passage of time. No responsibilities, questions, or stares. Is that light? Is that my shadow in front of me? I turn around to catch a glimpse of a door and a figure within it. “They might make it,” I hear someone laugh as the door slams shut again and I’m alone with only the echo of a voice.