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They pull him out the next day. He stays limp, he’s hardly been able to move at all. He barely registers that he’s being carried instead of put into the rolling cage. He leans further into the chest of the person holding him, trying to get as much warmth as he can.
When the hands place him down on the table, he whimpers.
He’s so cold.
“Shhhh. You’re being so very good.” Danny leans into the hand that’s petting through his hair.
Then the hand retreats and the restraints are placed around him.
“If you’re good,” he hears, “I’ll let you watch another space documentary.”
Danny feels the smallest burst of energy.
Space. Stars. Countless constellations and black holes, stars being birthed and dying in an endless cycle, swirling galaxies, the James Web space probe, he wonders how far out its floated, zero gravity, 0 kelvin temperature, the quasi-stellar object, unexplored planets where no human has set first, he could be the first, comets trailing through space, asteroid belts, dark matter, polaris, Baham, Pegasus, Baten Kaitos, Cetus, Beid, Eridanus, Bellatrix, Orion, Little Dipper, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, and so many more.
Pain flares from his arm. He can’t tell what they’re doing. He can’t move. HIs arm feels like it's on fire.
“It’s reactivating negatively to test 1A. Signs of discomfort, flushed color, injection sight is swollen.”
“Wait five minutes and then we’ll check again.”
Space, space. Think about space.
Orion, Polaris, black holes, the James Web, galaxies, mars rover.
Another injection made him writhe.
Everything hurt.
“Test 3A complete. Move on to 3B.
Planets, galaxies, the moon.
He screamed behind his teeth.
Stars, space.
Why didn’t they stop?
Space.
“Prepare for test 4C.”
Danny drifted.
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When Danny next becomes aware, he hears the sounds of a space documentary in the background. He wishes he were strong enough to open his eyes.
“It trains up nicely, don't you think?” says a voice he doesn’t recognize.
“Yes.” says Agent E.
“And it’s so interesting that even with its powers blocked it can still heal when indulging in it’s obsession.”
“At least it’s a simple enough one to provide. Imagine getting stuck with a ghost whose obsession is some kind of action, like that singing ghost.”
“Yes, that would have been tedious. Good work, getting it to admit it's an obsession.”
“It wasn’t difficult. Like most animals it responds well to a gentle hand.”
Danny wants them to be quiet. He wants to listen to the program talk about space. If he can just ignore them, he can pretend he’s back at home listening to one of his shows.
He loves space.