"Ugh," Eliot groaned to himself. "Why is my brain so cold and soggy?"

"Welcome back!" the cryo technician chirped brightly, causing Eliot to wince as the tech's voice seemed to reverberate inside his throbbing head. Wait, welcome back?

Eliot flopped his head toward the sound of the tech's voice and tried to force his recalcitrant eyes to open. The dark-haired, slender tech was bustling around Eliot's pod stowing equipment and adjusting settings on panels. As Eliot focused his bleary eyes on the tech, he croaked out, "Wait, what do you mean 'back?' You just started the freezing process a minute ago. Did something go wrong?"

The tech finished entering some information into the pod's panel and turned to face him. "Well, no. Everything is fine... the freezing process worked perfectly: you just finished your thawing sequence."

Eliot struggled to scoot himself up into a sitting position as he tried to process what the tech had told him. "But you were just telling me that I'd feel a chill and then..."

"And then everything worked like it was supposed to. I know it doesn't feel like it, but you and I last talked about 16 years ago. I'm Ren, by the way," the tech said, offering his hand to shake.

Eliot shook his head one last time and then smiled, shaking Ren's hand. "Ah, well I guess you do good work, Ren! That was the smoothest, most trouble-free 16 years I ever spent!" He laughed, but then his face turned more serious as Eliot continued. "Wait... If it's been 16 years, that means there are still more than 30 years to go, right? Why am I awake?"

Ren nodded and put a comforting hand on Eliot's shoulder, "You're right. Your waketime was scheduled for D minus one year, but our orders have changed. Apparently some eager beaver at the Space Agency concluded it was a criminal waste to have some of the best scientists in the universe doing literally nothing for decades, so they've ordered us to experiment with research team rotation. I've been on the maintenance team that's been cycling in and out of cryo since the start, which has worked pretty well. But now they want us to try it with the science nerds, too."

Eliot nodded, but then looked confused. "That makes sense, but I'm not a scientist... I'm just a medtech. Why did you wake me?"

Ren looked momentarily distracted as a beautiful young doctor entered the cryo chamber. "We all have our roles to play, I guess. Speaking of which, since you're now fully defrosted and there don't seem to have been any adverse effects from the cryo, I'm going to pass you off to Doctor Monroe. Good luck!" Ren said as he nodded at the doctor and exited.

The doctor looked carefully at the readout on Eliot's cryopod for a moment, nodded, and then smiled enthusiastically at Eliot, saying, "Hi Eliot... I'm Doctor Katrina Monroe, and I'm heading up the Extended Research Stream Optimization project--ERSO--and you're going to be assigned to me for a few weeks."

Eliot felt a little self-conscious meeting his new boss while sitting semi-naked in a cryo-bed, but mustered as much dignity as he could and shook her hand, saying, "Great to meet you, Dr. Monroe. I don't remember meeting you during the medical training before we launched... what's your specialty?"

The doctor shook his hand energetically, answering, "Please, call me Katrina! I'm a cognitive scientist by training, but I'm part of the behavioral practice and applied psychology group. I think you med folks called us the 'head shrinkers?'" she said with a laugh. "The Agency has sent us some new training they'd like for us to deploy to enhance crew cohesion and efficiency during the new research rotations. There's a medical component, so we thought you had the right skillset to help assist with the trial deployment."

Eliot nodded approvingly. "Great! Feel free to call me Eliot, by the way. I'm happy to help in any way I can, especially if this increases the odds our mission will be successful."

Katrina smiled. "That's great to hear, Eliot! I look forward to working with you on this. Actually, since we are very limited in the number of research subjects we can defrost for our research project, I was also hoping that you wouldn't mind being assigned to one of the treatment groups. It's a little unusual, especially since your treatment won't be blinded, but based on the pilot study they did back on Earth the Agency argued a fully-blinded trial would be unnecessary."

Eliot looked surprised, "Wow, okay. I guess that makes sense if they've already done that work. What's the treatment, and when do we start?"

Katrina looked pleased, answering, "It's basically a new training method targeted at crew exiting cryo-sleep to rapidly bring them up to speed on innovations in their area of expertise since they went into cryo. And then there's a related accelerated team-building component, but I'll tell you more about that later so you can get the full effect now. Are you ready to try it out?" she asked eagerly.

Eliot asked, "Try it out? As in right now?"

Katrina nodded, saying, "Yes, the treatment is designed to be administered within 30 minutes of completing the thaw cycle, so the timing is tight. We actually have your consent to participate in Agency-initiated research projects on file, and I will give you a copy of the full protocol later so you can be certified to administer it to other crew members under my supervision. Oh, and I should note that the intense training protocol includes a cocktail of attention- and memory-enhancing drugs."

"Umm, drugs?" Eliot asked. "That seems a little weird... what specific drugs are we talking about? I haven't eaten anything in 16 years... I'm not sure if I should be ingesting a bunch of chemicals in my current state?" Eliot said with a nervous chuckle.

Katrina nodded sympathetically, but looked at the clock. "Yes, the Agency has spent a lot of time refining the mix, but it's basically a low-dose combination of NMDA-receptor modulators, catecholamine reuptake inhibitors, and nootropics, along with some essential vitamins and minerals. It was designed specifically for the post-cryo metabolic shift and you'll also be getting glucose through the IV until your digestive tract gets going again. We'll go over the specifics later when you get trained to administer it, but hopefully that can wait since we're nearing end of your window to be included in the study? I'm afraid if we can't proceed, I will probably need to go down the crew list further. Realistically, we would also probably have to put you back into stasis if you're not helping with the research project."

Eliot thought it over for a few seconds, then nodded his head. "Okay, I guess if the Agency has already worked through most of the kinks, I'm happy to give it a shot, especially since you'll be supervising the treatment personally."

Katrina smiled broadly, uncapped a syringe and said, "Ah, and apt choice of words! Although fortunately your central line is still in place, so this literally won't hurt a bit," she said as she moved to inject the syringe's contents into his intravenous line.

Eliot was startled to see her proceed so abruptly, but held his tongue so as to not offend his new boss. As she finished administering the dose, she removed the needle and stared intently at Eliot's face. Eliot asked, "So how long until this starts... umm...until..." Eliot shook his head as if to clear it. "Wait, isn't this...I thought it would...I can't...concent...con..." Eliot trailed off as the concern eased from his face and he began to stare blankly.

"Eliot, can you hear me?" Katrina asked gently.

"Yessss." Eliot answered breathily.

"Are you completely relaxed and ready to begin the training?" she asked.

"I am... completely relaxed," Eliot answered with a faint sigh.

Katrina pulled out a penlight and flashed Eliot's pupils. She made some notes on her datapad, then said. "Very good. Let's begin." As buzzy, atonal music began to play, she folded out a display to Eliot's left and gently tilted his head to face it. "Please direct all of your attention to the words and images on the training screen. Let the messages flow without resistance into your mind. Your compliance is essential to our team's success."

Eliot's eyes widened as an intense spiral began to spin around the monitor. The spiral pulsed in time to the captivating music, and Eliot could dimly perceive words and phrases popping into and out of his field of vision.

Katrina made several notations in her datapad, then quietly whispered, "That's right. You're doing so well, Eliot. This will really help our group tremendously."

Eliot did not really comprehend how he was helping, but her praise filled him with a warm happy feeling. His eyes continued to widen as the information on the screen began to flow at an accelerated pace.

Katrina winced a bit as the music's vocal track became increasingly clear and strident. "YOU LOVE WORKING AS A TEAM. THE TRAINING HELPS THE CREW WORK AS A TEAM. YOU LOVE THE TRAINING. YOU LOVE USING THE TRAINING TO HELP THE CREW WORK AS A TEAM. THE MASCOTS KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR THE CREW. THE MASCOTS HELP THE CREW WORK AS A TEAM. YOU LOVE THE MASCOTS. THE MASCOTS ARE OUR FRIENDS. OBEYING THE MASCOTS' COMMANDS HELPS YOU WORK BETTER AS A TEAM. YOU LOVE WORKING AS A TEAM. THE TRAINING..."

Katrina frowned and made a note in her datapad: Shift audio to earphones; test VR goggles for visual channel. "He's the one getting brainwashed, but I'm the one getting a headache," she thought ruefully.

----

As the vocal track began to quiet down and blend once more into the music, Katrina took one last note of Eliot's vitals and began preparing to end the training session. "Eliot, you can stop watching the video screen now and lean back comfortably...but continue listening carefully to my voice."

Eliot slowly complied as Katrina folded the display. As he stared blankly and breathed slowly and evenly, Katrina gave him his final instructions.

"Eliot, you love the training you have received and the peaceful, fulfilled feeling it has given you. You crave that feeling and whenever anyone says 'enter mascot training mode' you will immediately return to this open, peaceful, compliant state. You will not feel the need to remember the specific details of your training except when you are actively training another crew member or are in your mascot training mode. Your training and the training you provide to others are perfectly normal and beneficial to our mission. You are happy to follow all of my orders and those of the Mascots, in addition to your superior officers. You will never notice anything unusual or strange about following these commands. Repeat those instructions back to me."

As Eliot began monotonously--but flawlessly--reciting the commands back to Katrina, she noticed with satisfaction that he continued to be compliant and pliable despite having fully metabolized the drug cocktail. She was momentarily startled as Ren ducked his head into the chamber and asked, "How's he doing? Are we going to need Master to..." Katrina interrupted by shaking her head and saying, "No, so far Eliot is doing perfectly. Unlike the prior cases, he scored exceptionally high score on his SSS evaluation, so hopefully this time everything will stick."

Ren sighed and said, "I hope so. We really need a win here if we're going to sell this plan to the Masters. Let me know if he seems to be slipping, though. We'll be in the corridor for the first test. Make sure you have that backup syringe ready, just in case," and then ducked back into the hallway.

Katrina muttered, "Obviously. I AM a professional, after all. Just because everything hasn't gone..." but stopped as she realized Eliot had nearly completed reciting his instructions.

As Eliot finished, Katrina smiled hopefully and touched him gently on his shoulder. "That's excellent, Eliot. You have excelled at your Training, and I am so happy you are joining our team. You love being part of our team, don't you?"

Eliot gave a sharp intake of breath and quietly said, "Yes, Doctor. I love being part of our team."

Katrina gave a satisfied chuckle, and said, "Very good, Eliot. In a moment, I am going to say the command that will take you out of your training mode. When you do, you will feel happy and motivated. You will not remember any of the details of the training you just completed, but will clearly remember that it was very helpful, and that you are very excited to be working with me on the project team. Acknowledge."

Eliot quietly said, "Acknowledged."

Katrina muttered, "Well, hopefully the fourth time's the charm" as she tapped the second syringe in her jacket pocket. The she straightened up and said clearly, "Exit mascot training mode" and looked at Eliot intently.

Eliot's eyes widened and darted toward Katrina as he took a sharp intake of breath. As his alertness returned to him, he smiled broadly and exclaimed, "That was amazing! I'm so glad I did the training. I can't wait to help train others so that we can all work better as a team!"

Katrina looked approvingly and said, "You did so well! I'm delighted we chose you for this training! Now let's move you out of this pod and start getting you set up with accommodations and some food, and then I'll show you our lab."

Eliot was momentarily dizzy as he tried to sit up, and as he closed his eyes he felt his thoughts spin wildly. For a moment, he felt like the spinning had somehow dislodged vital information, but it slipped away when he tried to hold onto it. Katrina turned back and was surprised to see his distress. "Is everything ok, Eliot? Did we push you too hard with all the training?"

Eliot tried valiantly to regain his equilibrium and through clenched teeth, he said, "I'm ok. Just a little woozy after the training, but it was totally worth it!" he concluded with grim enthusiasm. After a moment, Katrina steadied Eliot and handed him a crew uniform and shoes.

"Feeling better? Why don't you put this on and then we can get you going," she said solicitously. Eliot gratefully slipped into uniform and stood shakily on his feet.

"Okay," he said. "Okay. I think I'm good now. Thanks for your help!" he said as he took her arm and began gingerly walking toward the corridor.

"And...here we go..." Katrina said quietly under her breath as they turned down the long hallway.

"Doctor Monroe? Eliot? How did the training session go?" Ren called out as he walked toward them in the corridor.

Eliot turned toward Ren, noticing he was accompanied by a large, blue, oddly-shaped...his thoughts fuzzed for a moment, but then Eliot was delighted to realize Ren was accompanied by a Mascot! Eliot had no idea he would be able to meet one so soon. Eliot immediately forgot his weariness and hurried excitedly toward them.

As Katrina called out, "Eliot, wait for me!" and struggled to fish something out of her jacket, Eliot trotted up to Ren and the Mascot. "I take it everything went well with your training?" Ren asked Eliot, studying his face carefully.

Eliot smiled happily and said, "Yes, it was such a valuable experience! I'm really looking forward to training other crew members! And I'm so excited to get to meet a Mascot! I just wanted to thank you for all that you're doing to help us work as a team... We're so lucky to have you helping with our mission!" Eliot enthused.

Ren nodded approvingly and caught Katrina's eye as she caught up with them a moment later. "I'm happy to hear your training went so well, Eliot! If things continue to progress, I might be a lot busier as you and Katrina pull more crew members out of cryo and train them, too!"

Eliot beamed at Ren and Katrina, nodding enthusiastically. The Mascot seemed to be evaluating Eliot carefully, then blatted, <<WISH ELEVATES ASPIRATIONS HIGH AND CHARGES THE ENERGETIC POTENTIAL...BUT MISDIRECTED CURRENT CAN DESTROY THE CELL>>

Eliot was momentarily surprised and confused by the odd-sounding outburst, but then he smiled and nodded. "Your message is so inspiring! Thank you so much for your help!" he said to the Mascot happily.

Katrina gave a smug nod to Ren and said, "Please excuse us... I need to take Eliot to his quarters and then show him the facilities. I'll reach out soon to let you know who we should thaw and train next!" and then walked arm in arm with Eliot down the hall. As they rounded the corner, Eliot craned his neck to get one last look at the Mascot before being led down the corridor.

Once they were no longer in view, Ren sighed, but cheerfully said, "Well, score one for the Brainwashing Squad... finally! Now we'll see how Eliot does with training the next candidate. Hopefully we will end up with a scalable serial recruitment plan that will survive scrutiny by the other Masters."

<<OUR SPECIES' SENSES ARE KEEN; UNFORESEEN SIGHTS CAN ESCAPE PERCEPTION. THOUGHT NARROWS TO THE EXPECTED, FAMILIAR,>> Master responded.

"Lighten up, Master! This was a win, and we haven't had many of those recently! Enjoy this positive feeling while it lasts," Ren said, running his hand gently along the Master's tendrils.

<<EXUBERANCE OF YOUNGLING SELF-DIRECTED STEPS TEMPERED BY PROXIMITY OF PREDATORS,>> the Master buzzed as he placed a tendril gently on Ren's hand. <<ASPIRATIONS FOR LONGEVITY SCANT PROBABILITY; ESCALATE ODDS LEVERING POINTED STICK.>>

As they walked slowly back to their quarters, Ren nodded glumly. "I know, I know. It seems like something horrible is coming no matter what we do. Regardless of whether we want peace or whether we want to fight, our best path forward seems to be the same..."

As Ren opened the hatch to their quarters for The Master, he said grimly, "...we prepare for war."