Not everyone's memories were erased by the Chronivac, however. A select few still retained memories of their previous lives. A young woman named Emily was among that select group. One minute, she was driving herself to work. And then suddenly, she was teleported inside an aquarium tank, physically changed alongside tens of other people she didn't even know.
It was a blessing she was able to breathe underwater. She didn't quite understand what was going on. And despite trying, she couldn't even communicate with the others. She reasoned she was having a bizarre nightmare. There was no other logical explanation.
Eventually, she realized something odd about the others in the tank. They all had blank expressions on their faces with no signs of concern or confusion that she had. They were like mindless fish, simply swimming around without a purpose.
Her fear grew immensely when she finally gazed outside the tank and spotted fully-clothed, humanoid fish walking past. They were giant compared to her. And based on the other surroundings, it seemed as if she was in a pet store.
"This can't be real, this can't be real, this can't be real." Emily repeatedly thought to herself. It was as if she entered some strange parallel universe. Again, she tried to communicate with others inside the tank. But it was no use as she couldn't speak.
She could only look on at the outside world, thinking of how to escape her current predicament. She didn't even know where to start. While she was in thought, two large fish stopped closely in front of the tank she was in. Judging from one of the fish's attire, they were an employee most likely. The other was dressed in casual male attire.
The two fish verbally talked, much to Emily's disbelief. Although the water muffled the sound, she could slightly make out what was said.
"I'm looking for some feeder humans." One voice said.
"Feeder humans?!" Emily thought to herself, terrified. She wasn't about to be fed to some turtle or snake, or who knows what. As the employee started walking, Emily grew anxious. "No, no, no, no!"
Thankfully, the employee walked right past her tank. Moments later, the employee presented the other fish with a plastic bag filled with tiny swimming creatures. Despite wanting it not to be true, Emily accepted that those were humans. Judging from what she already heard, they were likely going to be fed to some other animal.
Emily felt immense pain in the pit of her stomach when the realization hit her. She needed to find a way to wake up from this horrible nightmare. She tried slamming into the wall, but that didn't wake her up. The collision even felt too real for a dream. But this couldn't be real life. It was impossible.
After colliding several times with the glass wall, Emily gave up. She could only keep looking outside while trying to think up a plan. In the meantime, a family of clownfish approached the display of humans. One dressed in older male clothing, one dressed in older female clothing, and one dressed in young girls clothing.
"Go on sweetie, pick one out." The father clownfish suggested.
"Okay daddie!" The young clownfish said as she eagerly ran to browse the aquariums.
Starting at one end, the young clownfish scanned the numerous tanks, eyeing the tiny humans inside. When she reached Emily's tank, she tapped on the glass as she had done to the previous ones. Though Emily didn't back away like the other humans. Moreso, Emily was startled and didn't quite know how to react.
Emily was in awe of the size difference between them. She was helpless, powerless to do anything.
"This one's cute!" The young clownfish giggled.
After her parents had flagged down one of the employees, Emily finally decided to hide upon realizing what was happening. Though there wasn't any place in the tank to hide. Maybe if she swam low enough, they would pick someone else.
"That one!" The young clownfish pointed out to the employee.
A small net descended into the tank. Before Emily knew it, she was engulfed by the mesh net and scooped outside. After emerging above the water surface, Emily forgot what air felt like and started choking. A few seconds later, though, she was dropped back into water.
While she was slightly relieved to be back in water to be able to breathe comfortably, she eventually remembered the gruesome situation she was in. She was now trapped inside a clear plastic bag. There was barely any room to swim around in.
The world around her started spinning as one of the fish carried her around. Before long, the bag she was in was placed inside a larger, less clear, bag. She didn't know where she was anymore, but she felt herself being carried around still.
Internally, Emily was crying. Was she really about to be some fish's pet? This couldn't be happening.