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Paul was waiting for us like he promised and ran towards us as soon as we’d landed. He gave us the injections immediately. “Will we really wake up after this near death experience?” I asked while the fear was getting heavy now. The nervous nod he served as a confirmation did nothing for my confidence. No time for questions. Paul emptied the syringe without further ado. I felt the liquid spreading through my body fast. For a moment I saw everything through splintered glass and I shot up. Then everything went black. A voice spoke to me. It was a middle aged woman with a soft, kind voice. I couldn’t see her but I could hear her talking. She put something moist against my forehead. I felt safe. I was being taken care of. Slowly I started to make out colors and shapes. I could understand what she was saying as she became less of a blur. It was Sonja. She smiled at me. “Welcome back, Rosanne,” she said. “It all went well.” I tried to wish her success but found it hard to speak. Not long after that I fell into a deep sleep. “Is Sonja still here?” was the first thing I asked when I awoke in the empty room. Jessica was sitting next to me. Nice to see her again. “Sonja has already taken off with the M-Stores,” she said kindly. Only then I thought of Adrian. I sat upright in an instant. “Is Adrian alive?” I called out. “Listen,” Jessica smiled. And yes, I heard his snoring next to me. I was happy. I still had that feeling of harmony I’d had just before the jump. All was well and peaceful. Jessica was taking my blood pressure. “So you’re on the good side as well?” I teased her. “Did you ever doubt it then?” she teased back. Her eyes lit up with pleasure and she made it obvious that she was happy to see me as well. “Tomorrow afternoon we’ll be going to Portland,” she said. So soon? It was all going rather fast all of a sudden. This morning I left my hotel room, unsuspecting. Now it was night again and I had experienced the strangest things. And in a few hours I’ll be on a plane to Portland? Adrian woke up coughing. For a moment he looked around, confused, and then the words flooded out of him. Still confused, he spoke about a tunnel and a bright white light, the peace he felt and a dimension without time. I didn’t understand much of it. Jessica was very interested. She encouraged him to keep talking and so he went on passionately, talking about weightlessness, colors that you could feel and smell in stead of seeing and the feeling of being taken up into the atmosphere. “Didn’t you experience it?” he asked when he started noticing I wasn’t following him. “What was your experience like then?” I had to think deeply before I could answer that question. I neither saw nor experienced anything. After the injection everything turned black and stayed that way, until I woke up, feeling all peaceful. “That’s possible,” Jessica explained, “everybody has a different sort of near-death experience. Apparently it’s your expectations that make the difference. Adrian’s description is classic but yours is just as common. Maybe you just don’t believe there’s something beyond death?” I wouldn’t know. I had never considered it properly. I’ll see it when I get there. Or maybe I won’t. “But what will happen when someone has such an experience uploaded?” I wondered, thinking out loud. “Those creeps will soon find out.” Jessica answered casually.
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