Ding.

Ding.

Slowly, the lights inside the narrow room coated the habitation area with a growing amber glow until their gentle fluorescence filled it from floor to ceiling. At the opposite wall from the room’s solitary window, halfway across from the exit, a gentle hum emanated from one of the room’s few furnishings. A metal cylinder which nearly touched the ceiling provided the source of both the hum and the incessant pinging chime. A series of diodes blinked to life in ascending order and gradient shades from red to green, and as the final light blazed, a harmonic tone sounded, signaling the end to the chimes. The front of the cylinder rolled open with a soft hiss, and the lone occupant, having come to the end of its charging cycle, disengaged from the electrodes and slowly stepped into the room.