MENTAL PLANE

1:34 am, in a certain hospital room,

The radio is on, and the sound of a beautiful classic song fills the entire room.

""We're caught in a trap ~~ I can't walk out ~~ Because I love you too much, baby ~~ Why can't you see ~~ What you're doing to me ~~ When you don't believe a word I say?""

As the melody envelops the room, a pair of eyes suddenly open. Those eyes belong to Akio.

Akio finds himself in the middle of a room surrounded by cylinders, air masks, and other medical equipment.

Realizing he is in a hospital room, Akio wonders, "Am I having trouble with my mind? First, my house, then a tube, then again my house, and now... here? What's going on?"

The memories of the strange place with the giant eye and the goat without irises flood back to him. "And what the hell was that?"

Just as the song on the radio stops, a pressed voice comes through the radio, as if broadcasting news.

"Happy Friday. We wish you a new birthday. You are at one of our bases now. Welcome to the Zord Association."

Akio flusters, "Is this radio guy talking about me? And wait a second, my birthday?"

That radio continues to blabber, "This audio is pre-recorded, so your voice won't reach us. All you can do is listen. We understand that you have a lot of confusion going on in your mind."

Akio nods in agreement, "Kind of true."

Radio: So, you want to know who we are and how you ended up here? Well, you're not a true-blood Zord. Until now, you've been living among the newborns. No wonder, you know nothing about us.

Akio is shocked, "Newborn? Zord? True blood?"

Radio: Yes, we are going to provide you with a lot of information. You are currently in one of the Zord headquarters. Zord is a defense organization that works with the internation government to secure people's lives.

Akio stops the radio, "Wait a second. Did you just say yes to my questions?"

The radio remains silent for a moment, "No, not at all. You must have misheard me."

Akio: Well, you are still speaking to me. it's not recorded. It's a live broadcast. Isn't it?

Radio ignores akio and starts speaking, "so, who are we? And what are you doing here? Actually, in this world of mystery, a Zord exists. It is a defence organisation as i told you before. We secure people's lives."

Akio mutters, "life?"

Radio : you know, people can't handle more than they can actually chew. Imagine an entire civilization with superpowers. what would happen?

Akio : chaos?

Radio : you catch on too fast.

Akio : So you are telling me that, there's a chance that humanity may turn into some superpowered civilization?

Radio: yeah. But you may wonder how? For that you need to know about a new world. A mental plane. It's a realm in a different dimension, an extra-dimensional space. It appears differently to each person who enters it, hiding most of its true nature, except for a goat with no iris and one big eye which looks down at anyone who enters it.

Akio recalls his experience in the mental plane, "So, it's called the mental plane."

Radio: Yes, and that eye grants unimaginable power. Every person who enters the mental plane gains superhuman strength. Among them, only a few receive additional abilities from the goat. Those are called hacks. Hacks that defy the laws of physics.

Akio touches his chest, taking deep breaths,

"So, that place wasn't a dream... It was real. I thought it was just a nightmare."

Radio: Indeed, it is real. The mental plane is connected to our universe through the human brain. However, it's not easy to enter. High stimulation on the brain is required, which humans can't handle easily. Only in rare cases do people enter the mental plane on their own and live to tell the tale.

Radio: You entered it due to Zord's technology, artificially.

Akio recalls the experience, "That means... you made me go through that experiment?"

Radio: Yes, you took ten years to enter the mental plane in an artificial way.

Akio is astounded, "Ten years?"

Radio: Yes, but in a natural way, it usually takes minutes. And in artificial way, with varz motor, Some may take months or even years. In your case, We used the Varz motor, which helped normalize your mind's stimulation.

Akio: Varz motor?

Radio: It's a machine created using a rare substance that allows artificial entry into the mental plane safely, preventing the brain from being overwhelmed.

Akio understands, "So, it prevented my brain from exploding."

Radio: Exactly. It was essential to make sure you could handle the stimulation required to enter the mental plane. Zord alone has the power to artificially enter the mental plane.

Akio then looks at the window and he then smiles like a freak, "so 10 years, Oh god. It was a huge time."

Radio: yes it was.

Akio again asks, "By the way, you just talked about the natural way. So, Can you enter it the natural way?"

Radio: of course you can. I did say that, normally you can't enter it. But, there are abnormalities in this world. Some people in life just break the limit of their brain capacity. in some abnormal cases, Some moments just get people too hyper and your brain starts to adjust with that situation….

Akio: and you enter the mental plane.

Radio: And that's what we try to prevent. As I said, that mental plane shares its power with people. If humanity gets a hold of this power…. The chaos. I hope you understand.

Akio sighs, "so zord is an organisation which keeps the power to themselves, so that we can prevent the unwanted war between normal people."

Radio: exactly. You're a genius.

Akio lifts his blanket and comes out of it, "What I can't get is, Why did you guys bring me here and make me go through the experiment? And that experience from the mental realm… It was horrible."

Radio: oh boy. You're a genius but Your curiosity level is so bad.

Akio: I did ask you a question.

Radio: about yourself not about zord or mental plane

Akio tries to justify, "this is what normal people do. And I particularly don't care about what happens between other humans."

Radio: oh, ok. But I can't tell you much about why you're here. It's actually a top secret which is only shared within zord higher ups.

Akio sits on the bed's left side as he looks at the radio, "So are you a higher up?"

Radio: yes. I am now speaking to you from zord headquarters. You are in zord base 009. And I personally deal with new subjects.

Akio: through radio….

Radio: yes. Through radio.

Akio exhales, "hmmm. So you're not gonna tell me why did you guys bring me here?"

Radio: Unfortunately, no. All I can say is that your life now belongs to Zord. In simple terms, you've been adopted by the Zord Association.

None says nothing for a while.

Akio raises an eyebrow, "Adopted? So, I have another question. What do you do with those naturals?"

Radio: Naturals? Ah, you mean the newborns who enter the mental plane naturally? We have protocols to find them. We offer them a deal – to join Zord and leave their old life behind. If they agree, we welcome them into the organization. If not, we have no choice but to eliminate them.

Akio gets shocked, "So you're just a bunch of murderers? How is that supposed to help the world?"

Radio : We do it for world safety.

Akio then looks at the radio with fierce eyes, "so, I have a question. Do you guys burn a house for world safety?"

The room turns gloomy as the radio remains silent for a few seconds.

"Are you suspecting that Zord might destroy your house that night?"

Akio's response is hesitant and silent.

Radio: Time's up. I have to leave. The other details will be explained by your monitor. Goodbye.

Akio tries to protest, "Wait, I didn't-"

The radio goes silent and starts playing songs again. The information supply is cut off for now.

Meanwhile, an announcement floats in the air,

"A huge accident occurred in Room F5. The survivors were Rigaka, Aritsu, our subject Akio, and the scientists. With a heavy heart, we, the Zord Association, regretfully inform you that the other subjects within the tube lost their lives."

Sanjo remains in Room F5, sitting in a chair as many helpers take injured people to the hospital. The room is filled with noise and commotion. Sanjo looks at the corpses of the other subjects from the tube. He realizes that they too had potential and could have awakened if they had more time.

Sanjo sighs, "This was surely a big accident."

Tina, a soldier and Sanjo's good friend, approaches him. Sanjo looks to his left, where Tina stands.

Tina asks, "At least, you managed to keep the subject alive. Where's that monster, Akio?"

Sanjo looks at Tina, "He is alive. I couldn't kill him even if I wanted to. He is a charge holder. We need him alive."

Tina nods, "True."

Sanjo explains, "All I did was put him to sleep. And that sleep took off his monster shell."

Tina asks, "So, what's next for him?"

While talking with tina, sanjo looks at the corpses from that tube.

and Suddenly, Sanjo feels as if the fingers of one of the corpses has moved. He immediately puts on his glasses.

Then with his glasses on, he sees nothing unusual happening there.

Tina: What happened, sanjo?

Sanjo replies with a broken voice, "I think I saw a finger movement from one of the corpses."

Tina exclaims, "what?"

Tina shouts out, "Any helper here?"

A small guy comes in response.

"Yes sir.

Tina: you're in the Helping team?

"Yes ma'am, my name is takashi."

Tina asks him if anyone has been found alive or not. Takeshi replies in negative.

Sanjo replies with a broken voice, "I think it was just an illusion in my mind. Let's leave it there."

The corpses are being taken out one by one from the pile and placed on stretchers. Helpers cover them with white cloth.

Then, the stretchers are moved to the Morgue. The room is pitch-black, filled with the corpses from the incident— lifeless bodies, all in one place.

After the helpers finish their somber task, they leave the room, except for Takeshi.

"President sure gives me trouble," Takeshi mutters to himself.

He looks around the morgue, surrounded by bodies, creating an eerie graveyard-like scene.

And then, among those corpses, a hand moves slightly.