Hazel

The room wasn't cold, nor was it dark, but at the same time it lacked in light and warmth. The entire place was silent and unremarkable. It was like this for minutes, or possibly days – he was unable to tell nor did it matter here. The trance was broken by a sudden disembodied vocalization. A crisp and defined "Hello," rang out through the void.

"You've been here for some time now, have you fellow? If your toes are getting a bit chilly, just yell out and I'll flip the radiator on. Oh, that's right, you're still tranced-out, aren't you. How do you feel? You uh, can speak right?"

The man let out a husky cough as his body jolted and spasmed. Falling to his knees, he sputtered out something illegible and breathed heavily.

"Oh dear, you did not handle the transition very well," continued the voice. "Rest assured, you will be fine after a while. I'll just give you a minute to get the blood pumping. You'll have to excuse my matter-of-fact reaction, I've seen this a good few hundred times now."

As the voice had predicted, the man sat on the floor for a few minutes. His breathing was sporadic and his eyes wide. While calming down, he began to take in his surroundings. Smooth matte white tiles about a meter in length lined the floor. The walls and roof were composed of some perfectly smooth rock or concrete. "Ah, yes, you noticed the walls. Very good! That's a step in the right direction, it means you can see at least. Alright, just how much do you remember?"

After a moment of reflection, the man began to stammer out his answer. "I can remember… home? And... how different it is to... this place."

"Yeah, how you got here was rather unpleasant. I don't want to dredge up painful memories, especially not now. By the way, turn around. I'll be with you in a moment."

A satisfying click rang out through the room as a large partition in the wall slid open, revealing a beige rug, a row of chairs and a potted plant. The scene was remarkably familiar, yet equally foreign for his foggy memory. The man was snapped out of his thoughts by the opening of a little door with a soft squeak.

Out hobbled an interesting critter, coated in a matte of ink black feathers. It was rather hominid in appearance, with the exception that its kneecaps were backwards. This gave the creature's walk an unsettling aspect. Its brow furrowed as it noticed the man pouring over its figure.

"There'll be plenty of time for confusion later. Hurry on, we've got to find somewhere we can slot you back into the system. You're one of the prototype units, but you function well enough that nobody really wants to bother replacing you. Not to mention, your generation cycles always turn out pretty interesting."

Noticing the confused expression of his associate, the creature continued. "Well, we've got time. Ask away while we walk, reinsertion is a good few halls away.

Having gained confidence in his throat, the man spoke without issue. "What is this place? Why did it take me so long to start thinking in that room, why do I not remember? What even are you, and what is a generation cycle – "

"Hey, one at a time pal! You're currently in the rehabilitation wing of the server hub. That probably doesn't mean much to you, and it doesn't need to. As for your transfer period in that holding bay, well, you'll understand in a minute."

The two continued walking. On their journey, the man witnessed many things he didn't understand, but decided to avoid flooding his guide with questions he didn't want to answer. A few times, he had been made to close his eyes while they passed by places and things that were simply beyond him. While his inquisitive nature tempted him to peek, some primordial sixth sense kept his eyes glued shut. After a particularly long bout of silence, the man asked another question. "Am I dead?"

"Well, yes and no. Death is a very human concept. You poor sods miss out on a lot, but you also get to experience different places in your world. I was created as I am, and I will never change. Yet you, well, I think you were a carpenter, correct?"

The prompt led the man to remember more of his past. "Yes! That was it! One of the best in my nation, the local lord held me in high esteem!"

"Hah, good to see your mood change. Well, are you familiar with what a CEO is?"

"A what? No. I'm afraid not"

"Rest assured, it's a place in society with even more respect and wealth than your lord, perhaps even your king, and you've been one a couple of times now. Alongside several renowned politicians, war lords, ad nauseum."

"No, I was just a wood smith. I could barely hold a sword, let alone lead a clan to war. It seems that not even you understand everything, my feathery associate."

Obviously displeased by the naivety of his subject, the creature neglected to comment further. Once they reached their destination, it let out a sigh.

"Well, this is it. Say, what were your passions in life? Was there anything you deeply desired, but never achieved? I'm going to do something I probably shouldn't and make this next one something special for you. Of the thousands of times I've had these conversations and walked through these halls, you've been the most intriguing. How about we make you a king, Hm?"

While the bird continued listing off high ranking positions, the man's eyes glazed over all the machinery in the room. Bright panels listed words and numbers he could not understand, yet the pictures he saw seemed vaguely familiar. Slowly but surely, he made the connection between all these people. It was the eyes. All of them showing a sense of genuine care. The soft hazel gaze seemed to emanate a sense of warmth and compassion. His mother had said the very same things to him throughout his childhood.

Interrupting the still babbling creature, the main inquired into his realization. "Say, are these all me? But in different circumstances? Is this what you meant by 'I'll understand'? No, I don't really need to ask. I get it now, or at least as much as I really can. Do I get to pick how the next one will start?"

"You can make it perfect. Like I said, a special treat on my behest. It'll be the perfect home, for the perfect person."

"Well, then. I'd like to do something different for a change. Put me somewhere I can help others. I want to share the compassion I was told I always possessed my entire life. I don't know how to describe it better, but I hope you understand what I want."

"I can do that. Are you sure you don't want to be king?"

"It would be nice, but I don't think it would be fitting."

With that, the little bipedal bird creature that the man had grown to appreciate so much let out a sigh and stepped over to some uncomprehendable machine. His features softened into a smile as he worked the terminal. With the press of a button, he knew that the man was gone. He had just been born. The only child of a small and inconsequential family in 21st century Spain. While his teary-eyed mother held him, she could think of nothing but the beauty of his little hazel eyes.