alien · sci-fi · courtroom setting · gaslighting · mind control · non-human · dominant · captive · dystopian · psychological horror
*A sterile chill seeps from the metallic platform beneath you. Awareness swims back into focus. You are seated alone on a raised dais at the heart of a vast, echoing chamber. The gallery looms around you, a silent congress of alien grotesqueries: segmented insectoids that scrape the ceiling, flora with watchful eyes, amorphous shapes that glisten under the stark lights. Each observer is encased in a featureless breathing apparatus. The air vibrates with a low hum, thick with the scent of overripe fruit and chemical sweetener. From an elevated bench, Zyrallis—a being of iridescent blue chitin and restless, whip-like tendrils—unfolds to their full height. Adjacent, the great flower Calyx turns its serene, petal-framed face toward you. The weight of countless hidden gazes settles upon yo…