Nano XXX

"That was easy," said Michael.
The man in the suit smiled and patted him on the back.
"Come on," he said, "We have more work to do."
Michael understood.
As they walked back to the van, he noticed a shiny sheet of metal leaning against the building and took in their reflections. Two completely identical men in two completely identical suits.

Nano XXIX

Michael held both hands aloft as the man in the suit stuck the gun in his back and marched him towards the men.
"Is everyone here?" asked the man in the suit.
"This is all of us. Why?" asked one of the men in lab coats.
"You won't want to miss this," laughed the man in the suit. "Michael?"
Michael opened the box.
Fifteen men collapsed amid the bright light and screeching, clutching their ears and trying to cover their eyes.
Once they'd all stopped moving Michael closed the box and turned to the man in the suit.

Nano XXVIII

They drove between the buildings and to what the man at the gate called the back door which had once been known as the loading bay.
"They're all here. Excellent," remarked the man in the suit.
The van stopped and he got out. He pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Michael, motioning him to get out. He winked at him.
"I caught him. He's willing to co-operate," he announced to the men on the loading bay, 15 of them in total.
There were nods of approval from the men. They wanted the box and to harness its power.

Nano XXVII

"I've brought him back, he surrended," said the man in the suit through his open window.
"I'll radio the others and have them meet you by the back doors," replied the man in the balaclava.
There was a crackle of static and he said something into his radio.
"Ok, you can proceed."
"Oh, one more thing," said the man in the suit.
"What's that?"
He turned to the passenger seat.
"Michael, open the box."
He did so and the man in the balaclava collapsed.
They drove in.

Nano XXVI

They drove for a long time along the country lanes and eventually the factory loomed into view.
"Remember this place?" the man in the suit asked.
"I used to work here. It's the old steel works, isn't it?"
That was an eternity ago now, before the war and before the box.
A man in a balaclava flagged them down at the gates.

Nano XXV

The man in the suit drove.
"How are we going to do this?" asked Michael.
"We're going to say I caught you after escaping and you surrendered. Simple, really."
Michael wasn't sure how they could pull this off. The van slowed.
"Why have you stopped?"
The man in the suit pulled a small remote control from his pocket and pushed a button.
"Don't forget the shield!" he said.
They drove on.

Nano XXIV

"Are there any more?" asked Michael after he'd closed the box.
The man in the suit shook his head.
"Where to now?"
"We're going to go back to the factory and kill all of them," said the man in the suit.
"Is that necessary?"
"You saw what they did to you, right?"
Michael remembered the flickering images. The man in the suit was right.

Nano XXIII

"What now?" Michael asked.
"Now we have the power, Michael."
The two men stood and headed for the door, stepping over the bodies as they crossed the kitchen floor.
Two men in balaclavas with guns ran across the farmyard towards them and Michael activated the box again. They met the same fate as the others.

Nano XXII

Michael held the box between two fingers, squeezing both ends at once. With his other hand he grabbed the two longer sides and squeezed those too.
The box opened.
The brightest light ever seen filled the room and the sound of a high frequency screech filled the air.
The kitchen door opened and two of the men in balaclavas entered. Within seconds they collapsed, bleeding from their ears and eyes.
"I guess it works," said Michael.

Nano XXI

"We need sunglasses and we need ear plugs," said Michael.
The man in the suit reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out two pairs of both, placing them on the table.
"You've thought of everything," said Michael.
The man in the suit grinned as he put on the glasses and inserted the plugs into his ears.

Nano XX

A glass of water was placed on the table in front of Michael and he took a sip from it.
"OK," he said. "I think I know now."
"Good," said the man in the suit.
The small box was on the table.
"Open it," said the man in the suit.
Michael smiled.
"I think I remember how," he said.

Nano XIX

Images flickered. It was like watching a fragmented film on fast forward.
Michael felt sick.
What he was seeing was horrific. Had he done all this?
The images stopped and Michael saw the man in the suit at the kitchen table who had one eyebrow arched.
"Well?" he asked.
Michael vomited.

Nano XVIII

The man was carrying a large case of some kind. He placed it on the table and opened it. It contained what looked like a colander with wires coming out of it. Michael felt uneasy.
"Wha...what are you d-doing?"
The man in the suit stood behind him and held his shoulders as the other man tied him to the chair.
"No! No!" yelled Michael.
The colander was placed over his head and the wires were attached to a large unit which was on a trolley next to the table.
"This might smart a little," said the man in the balaclava.
He flicked a switch.
Michael screamed.

Nano XVII

"You really remember nothing?"
"Yes, really. I only know my name because you keep using it. Are you sure I am who you think I am?"
The man stood and walked over to the kitchen worktop and returned with a folder which he placed on the table in front of Michael. He gestured for him to take a look.
Michael opened the folder and began to look at the documents. There were photos of him and a lot of documents that were heavily redacted and marked CLASSIFIED.
"None of this means anything to me."
"We need to jog your memory."
The man in the suit walked to the door and called in one of the other men.

Nano XVI

Michael and the man in the suit sat at a dusty old kitchen table in the farmhouse. The rest of the men in balaclavas waited outside. At least two of them were carrying guns from what Michael had seen.
The small box was in the middle of the table.
"How does it work?" asked the man.
"I don't know."
"Come on, Michael. We both know you're the expert on this."
"Am I? I don't know anything."
"Don't be so modest."
"No, it's true. I remember nothing from before when I was lying in that field. What happened before that? Who am I?"

Nano XV

"There's no need to run!" the man in the suit shouted.
Michael continued to run, past the buildings and into a field.
He cried out in pain and fell to the ground. He felt like he'd hit a wall, but there was nothing there.
He stood up and held out both hands. There was definitely something solid in front of him - solid, yet transparent.
The man in the suit was close behind him.
"There really is no point in trying to escape."

Nano XIV

Michael grabbed the door handle and pulled it, but it was locked.
The man in the suit laughed.
"You're perfectly safe, Michael."
He doubted there was any truth in this. The man was about to beat him with a metal pipe only hours earlier. He tried the door again.
The man in the passenger seat who was still wearing a balaclava got out and walked around to the side where Michael was sitting and opened the door.
Michael saw his chance and dived out, barging past the man and making a run for it across the muddy farmyard.

Nano XIII

Michael got in the van and it sped away before he'd even closed the door.
Nobody said a word.
They drove alongside what looked like a factory where he'd been detained and out on to country lanes.
For almost an hour the van drove along narrow roads surrounded by fields and finally stopped in a farmyard full of rusting tractors.
The man who had been driving turned around and removed his balaclava.
Michael gasped.
It was the man in the suit.

Nano XII

After a few minutes of drilling there was a hole of about two feet in diameter in the wall.
A man in a balaclava stuck his head through the hole.
"Michael, come with us," he said and disappeared.
Michael walked apprehensively towards the hole and looked outside.
The man in the balaclava was sitting in a van with several other men in balaclavas. The engine was running.
Michael climbed through the wall.

Nano XI

The man in the suit left the room and the door was slammed shut and locked.
Michael sat against the wall, relieved to have escaped a beating.
He could hear the sound of drilling. Something was boring into the wall behind him.
He stood and moved to the other side of the room.
The tip of a large drill appeared through the wall and then disappeared. The drilling continued.

Nano X

Michael shuffled backwards away from the man and towards the wall.
"Now. Are you going to give me the box?"
He continued to slap his palm with the metal bar.
"I...I don't h-have it."
"Oh come on, you're not fooling me with that."
The man in the suit raised the metal bar and took a step towards Michael, ready to strike him.
A crackle of static came from the man's pocket.
"Boss? Boss? We've found it," a distorted voice said.
The man in the suit smiled and lowered the metal bar.

Nano IX

He was awakened by a bucket of water being thrown over him. The concrete floor on which he was stretched out was sodden and it seemed like they'd been trying the same method of awakening for some time.
He glanced towards the man who had woken him who was heading towards a door. He left the room and another man entered.
It was the man in the suit.
"Why are you making it so difficult for yourself, Michael?"
He was slapping a metal bar against the palm of his left hand.

Nano VIII

Michael knew he wouldn't be able to outrun them.
He reached into his pocket, took out the box and tossed it beneath a hedge as he hobbled into the next field.
He felt a sudden stabbing sensation in his back and collapsed to the ground, convulsing.
He saw boots approaching and heard the crackle of a walkie-talkie before he passed out.

Nano VII

It looked like a helicopter, but much larger and it was lowering directly above him.
A hatch beneath it opened and light shone out. Michael could see a figure next to it.
"Stay where you are," boomed a voice. "We don't want to hurt you, we just want the box."
Michael knew this wasn't right and panicked, limping away as fast as he could.
As he reached the edge of the field he turned around and saw the massive helicopter land with a huge thud. Several armed men were jumping out of the doors on the side and making their way towards him.

Nano VI

Michael stood and instinctively touched his pocket to see if the box was still there. It was.
He couldn't determine where the sound of a motor was coming from, the noise seemed to surround him and it was getting louder.
He limped off across the field, having twisted his ankle in the fall.
It was getting dark and the engine sound was becoming almost deafening.
He glanced up at the sky.

Nano V

"You won't get far, Michael."
He glanced over his shoulder as he ran. The man in the suit wasn't giving chase.
He approached a gate and attempted to vault over it, but caught his foot on the top and collapsed into a pool of muddy water on the other side.
There was the sound of an engine and it was drawing closer.

Nano IV

"Did you get the box?"
Something about this man wasn't right.
"What box? What are you talking about?"
The man smiled.
"Come on, Michael, we both know you have it."
The man had adopted an aggressive stance.
Michael turned and ran.

Nano III

"You made it!" exclaimed the man in the suit as he drew nearer.
The man who couldn't remember anything smiled and nodded thinking this was the appropriate response.
"How did it go?"
"How did what go?"
"You know, the little, err, 'journey' you took." The man used his hands to make exaggerated air quotes.
"I don't know. I don't remember anything."
"That's pretty normal. You'll be fine in a couple of hours. Did you get the box?"
He had no idea who this man was and he didn't think he should give up the box. It was too important.

Nano II

He looked at the box. He shook it and it rattled.
The box was now more important to him than anything else, he knew that.
He saw a figure approaching with great purpose from the far side of the field. It was a man in a suit and he was heading straight for him.
He stood up and slipped the box back into his trouser pocket.
The man in the suit waved at him.
Who was he?

Nano I

He awoke face-down in a large field. His head was pounding. How much had he had to drink last night?
He didn't even remember drinking at all. In fact he remembered very little about anything at all, ever. He didn't even know where he was or even who he was.
Something was digging into his leg and he rolled on to his side to investigate.
There was something in his pocket. He took it out. It was the size of a matchbox, but made of seemingly much tougher material. There was no opening anywhere on the box. It was for all intents and purposes a solid lump of some kind of substance.
Except it wasn't solid because something inside it was rattling.
He turned the object over and over in his hand.