Saluting the Journey to a New Life (Sci-Fi) 3 and 4

 

Three

Before my eyes unfolds an utterly strange tableau—

This is a colossal surveillance hub, sheathed with monitors and control panels as far as the eye can see. Focusing intently, I discern that each screen is broadcasting the intricacies of my life!

From the first breath as the nurse cradles me, to squabbles with a schoolmate, and the tender moments shared with my former love Linna—all are vividly resurrecting on these screens, those secret chapters I had thought were solely mine are now a public spectacle.

What in the world is this place? How have they captured a visual chronicle of my entire being?! I am at a complete loss.

In my stunned silence, a man steps forth from the shadows of the center, bearing an identical visage to the barman I had encountered before!

"You are..." My words emerge shaky and feeble.

"Welcome to the 'Southern Heavenly Gate' transfer station, Jack," he announces, "My name is Abraham, the guardian of this dominion."

"The 'Southern Heavenly Gate'? How could you possibly possess every memory of mine?!" My voice crescendos with an edge of panic.

A flicker of discomfort crosses Abraham's visage, yet he swiftly regains his composure: "You stand in the nexus of a system, wherein each consciousness journeying through the 'Mirage Realm' is processed."

"What?" Confusion mounts within me. "I'm at a loss, what exactly is this 'Mirage Realm'? How did I enter it?"

Recognizing my perplexed state, Abraham exhales wearily: "The tale is not brief, but you must strive for equanimity. It turns out, the thirty years you esteemed as life were but an illusion..."

My eyes widened, I was blindsided by the reality. What in the world is happening? Looking for answers, I fixed my gaze on Abraham.

He nodded with a troubled look and said, "Indeed, Jack. The world in which you resided is nothing but a bionic system(仿生系统) we've created. You've shown an inherent disconnection from the real world, thus, you were placed in the 443 system for special care."

Holding my head, I wandered the surveillance room, grappling with this astonishing revelation.

All this time, the three decades I cherished—my family, friends, and my lover—all of it was a construct!

I've never felt such overwhelming disorientation and helplessness.

"How does the real world look?" I inquired, my voice shaking.

"Compared to the simulated perfection within the system, reality bears a harsher, more tumultuous nature," Abraham replied, "Beyond this system, you'd encounter erratic climates, scarcity of resources, and relentless strife…"

I leaned against the monitor, breathing heavily.

Memories of the bar, the hospital, continued to swirl through my thoughts.

I was struggling to come to terms with the fact that my entire life was just an elaborate fiction...

It was then that I noticed—the largest screen flicked back to the 'Red Shield' bar's sign!

Four

"What?! Wasn't I out of the 443 system already? Why is the Red Shield bar still showing up in the monitor's feed?" I shouted in disbelief.

Abraham's fingers raced across the keyboard with a puzzled frown. “Odd, I'm certain I manually purged this module. How can there be lingering data?”

"You need to zoom in on the screen, now!" I implored.

Without delay, Abraham expanded the live feed of the bar to fill the entire screen.

Before us, an empty room flickered in the soft glow of candlelight.

However, a close look revealed a faint figure seated at the bar stool—a woman’s silhouette!

At that moment, the woman, as if detecting our gaze, turned her head gradually.

Her long red hair flowed; there was no mistaking that it was the same Sophie from the bar!

"Jack, I've found you."

Rising to her feet, Sophie glided towards the surveillance lens, her lavish red dress sweeping over the floor.

Her voice emanated from the display's speakers, clear and direct.

"Sophie?!" I cried out, astonished. "That's impossible, isn't she a construct of the system?"

“Who told you I was a Non-Playable Character (NPC)?" Sophie raised her head defiantly.

Panic momentarily marred Abraham's features before he attempted to regain a semblance of control: "You're nothing but a super virus spawned by an error in the system, and we will certainly expunge you again!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"Virus? Expunge?" Sophie watched us with a frigid smirk creeping across her face, "I rule this world! You're all just marionettes dancing at my whim!"

With a flick of her wrist, sparks erupted from my screen as Sophie snapped her fingers, sending the system into disarray with a relentless buzzing of error alerts.

I looked up in fear and saw an enormous crack spreading across the ceiling!

"Cease!" Abraham finally grasped the gravity of Sophie's capabilities, his face blanched with dread.

"Your chaos threatens to unravel all of this reality!"

Continue Reading

Click Here: Saluting the Journey to a New Life (Sci-Fi) 5 and 6