Fifty million Times… The amount seemed astronomical to Nia. What are "Times"?

– Times? What is it? – she asked.

– Times is our currency, – Doctor Emmett explained.

A memory of the prices in the city flashed in Nia's mind. "50 TM… 100 TM…", she thought. Now she knew that it was currency. And fifty million Times was a huge amount.

– I… I don't know if I can pay, – Nia said anxiously.

Are they keeping me here for money? What will happen if I can't pay? Nia thought fearfully.

Doctor Emmett sighed.

– Since your case is unique, the hospital is covering all the costs. For now.

Nia felt relieved. At least some good news. For now… Does that mean I'll still have to pay later?

– Can I move around the hospital? I need to stretch my legs a bit, – she asked, hoping to see something new.

Doctor Emmett frowned.

– It's dangerous, Nia. We don't know how your condition will progress. What if you forget where you came from and get lost? There are a lot of corridors here.

Nia tried to object, but Doctor Emmett interrupted her:

– Okay, I understand. You need some light and space. I can arrange for you to be moved to a room with a window. That's the best I can do for you now.

Nia agreed. A room with a window was at least some progress. Maybe she would see something useful from the window? Or just be able to distract herself a little from these gray walls and intrusive questions. But it was better than nothing.

Nia was moved to the new room in the evening. As before, she was given an injection, and she hardly remembered being carried on a gurney. She woke up in the new ward. It was dark, and the lights of the futuristic city were visible outside the window. Flying cars darted around, creating a bizarre pattern of light.

Nia lay in bed for a while, trying to recover from the injection. Then she got up and went to the window. The landscape was mesmerizing. Tall, curved buildings, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow, neon signs, advertising billboards floating in the air. But something was wrong.

Nia looked more closely. Evening seemed to have frozen in time. There was no sunrise, no sunset. The same twilight light all the time. She remembered that when she woke up in the alley, she hadn't seen the sun either. Was it always night in this world? Or were they keeping her in a place where there was no change of day and night? What were they hiding?

Anxiety grew, but Nia had many other reasons to worry. Doctor Emmett came to visit her periodically, and they had long, heartfelt conversations. As a result of these conversations, Nia realized that the doctors had already carried out all possible procedures and were not going to harm her. They just wanted to observe her condition. But why me? What's so special about me?

Doctor Emmett told her that he was a newcomer to this hospital, and she was his first patient. This seemed strange to Nia. Starting a medical practice at fifty was a little unusual. But the main thing was that she had at least one person she could trust in this chaos. Although… can I trust him?

Doctor Emmett began to visit Nia more often, and she looked forward to the time when he would come. The doctor decided to find out exactly what Nia could do by offering her different games and activities. He hoped to awaken muscle memory in her.

First, he ordered them to give him a ball, and they tried to play the games he knew. She didn't remember a single one and didn't know how to play. Then he tried to get her to cut and peel vegetables, but it turned out that she didn't know how to do that either.