Snippet #2374589

Elsewhere.
Days ago.

He stood in his room, staring at the unimaginatively painted white walls. His room was rather bare, sporting little more than a table with writing utensils, a bed and some speakers hooked up to his cell phone. When he was blind he needed very little. Of course now that he can see he has not needed much either.

His hand began to reach out towards one of the walls. He was about to reach through again but a knocking on the door interrupted his concentration.

"Arthur? Can we speak with you? Can you please come out?"

He heard the familiar voice of his mother through the door. He didn't bother replying. It was not important to him right now. They were often like this. Always fussing about him, asking why he doesn't come out often and worrying about him. Most days he kept a better patience but they interrupted at a particularly poor time today.

"Arthur, please open this door. We need to talk with you."

"I just need more time! I'll be out soon enough." He responded, his tone sharp with irritation. He was just about to try and understand the physical properties of these 'holes' in the walls again. He held his hand back up again, ready to test his realities boundaries once again.

"But Arthur, the last time we even got to see you was a week ago!"

"And things haven't changed since then. I suggest you wait the few minutes it will take me to finish this speculation of mine and then I will humor you." Their concern was beginning to irritate him now. They never understood just what he could see, they never really tried to either. Admittedly the concept was a difficult one to comprehend. The very idea of the universe and everything in it having more than three dimensions would of seemed impossible to even Arthur before that fateful day he regained his sight and so much more.

"Arthur, this is your father speaking! Open that door right now or I am going to knock it down!"

"Damn you! I have been more than patient with all of you! The very least you could give me is the same courtesy!" Arthur shouted back through the door at them. His parents, his girlfriend, his co-workers at the coffee shop, everyone dismissed him. They called him crazy, told him he was just seeing things, that everything he has seen and done since he could see wasn't real. He didn't care now. He wasn't going to let them interrupt this, not now at least. His hand was but mere inches away from the hole, away from the angles he was going to change. He was about to see if he could alter the holes like he would if they were three dimensional, but differently since they are not.

The loud crashing and banging on his door got quieter and quieter as the world grew dark. Before the door could open all was black.

Room 8.
1315.

He awoke.

Looking up at the magnolia ceiling Arthur rose from the strange bed into an unfamiliar place. He ran through his head trying to remember anything connecting that last memory to now. He was relatively jarred by this sudden change of scenery. "How... How did I-" He spoke out to no one in particular, pausing upon realizing a far more disturbing revelation. "The holes. Where are the holes!?" He was now in a panic. The walls, the roof, the floor, the door, even the barred window to this room were the same no matter what angled he looked at them. Looking down at himself he was a little relieved to see that he still had differences in shape in the other dimensions.

It didn't really bother him that he had been stripped down of all his clothes save for a dreary grey night-cloth. He went over to the door, still deeply disturbed by this most unusual room, and put his hands on it. Before he could search the door's frame for a gap to see through the door swung open sending Arthur stumbling forward into the hallway. After regaining his composure he looked forward to see four other similar cells in his wing. They were all impermeable like his own cell however not all the walls were so unperforated. The other walls had more typical geometries of the outside world as he examined the surrounding area more. Before he could see any more a female voice came on from the speakers.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," "It is currently eleven-thirty in the morning on Monday the seventh of July. Lunch will begin in thirty minutes in the Dining Room, and all residents not confined to their rooms are requested to visit before twelve-thirty to receive their medication and meal."

This enticed Arthur's curiosity. He was beginning to put the pieces together, one detail after another. 'This appears to be some form of asylum.' He came to the conclusion in his head. The questions began to pile up in his head even more now that he had his answer. 'How did I get here? Why am I here? Who brought me here? Why can't I remember how I got here?' and many more questions were asked of himself in thought. The biggest question to stick out amongst them all was 'How are there no holes in those walls in particular?' He decided to check his door number so he'd have a landmark to navigate this facility by.

"Door number 8. I'll have to remember that for future reference."