Ryland Grace wakes from coma

Ryland Grace awakens in a sterile, oval-shaped bed, disoriented and unable to move. A computer's voice repeatedly asks him basic arithmetic questions, which he struggles to answer due to severe muscle weakness and memory loss. He gradually realizes he is in a strange, round room with robot arms and two other beds containing mummified corpses. This disorienting awakening establishes the central mystery of his identity and situation, setting the stage for his gradual recovery of memory and purpose.