Five
Sophie cast a fleeting glance at Abraham through the surveillance screen and let out a derisive sneer, "You have merely concocted a plaything to hoodwink the masses with VR technology!"
My eyes grew wide, brain utterly frozen.
A mere assemblage of code — is that what I am?
And who is this woman?
She who enters the virtual realm and manipulates all within?
Wherefore lies the divide between the tangible and the digital domain? What manner of enigma ensnares us so?
With fists clenched tight, I was consumed by a sense of helplessness like never before.
Do I authentically exist, or am I but a figment?
Abraham retorted, standing his ground, "We forged this shield in contemplation of humanity's posterity!"
"A laughable claim. Is this so-called sanctuary not but a sty, where human minds are penned within the confines of play?"
"I owe no elucidation to an interloper such as yourself!"
All at once, the fissures scarring the ceiling overhead halted their spread.
With a hush to his tone, Abraham intoned, "System, mend thyself."
And just like that, the rift sealed shut, the ceiling restored to its prior unblemished grace.
"How is this possible? How on earth did you manage to rectify the system's malfunction so promptly?" Sophie cried out in disbelief.
The screens on the surveillance wall blinked out, one after the other, and Sophie's presence faded from view.
"Wait—” Her voice, still calling out as she dissipated, was carried away as if snatched by the wind, diminishing too quickly.
"Jack, there are certain truths that I must reveal to you," Abraham commenced with unprecedented solemnity.
I turned towards him, a chill of dread creeping into my heart.
"In truth, we stand within the bounds of an exceedingly sophisticated immersive experience game," Abraham elucidated with deliberation, "and I am the central program Agent, the beating heart of this game's universe."
I recoiled, aghast.
A game program? A state-of-the-art immersive simulation? What sort of witchcraft was this?
I struggled to grapple with the notion of being cast yet again into a world that appeared genuine yet was nothing but an illusion.
"This time, I shall lay out all before you," pledged Abraham.
The surveillance wall behind him erupted into a cacophony of frenzied flashing, leaving my thoughts in disarray.
After a brief moment of regaining composure, Abraham continued, “It all began with the apocalyptic crisis of 2041. In that fateful year, a colossal solar flare led to a catastrophic electromagnetic pulse and radiation contamination on a global scale. Human civilization teetered on the brink of ruin. Countless lives were extinguished in an instant, and the world was reduced to rubble."
The revelation struck me with devastating force, the very annihilation of human civilization laid bare before me.
Six
As I envisioned the once radiant metropolises of the world turned to expanses of bleached bones in a single night, misery engulfed me, leaving my body ice-cold.
"The survivors had no choice but to seek refuge in an underground sanctuary known as 'Fangyu'. For an extended period, their existence was one of seclusion, powered by nuclear energy." Abraham continued, “The ‘Trienosphere’ laboratory, in an attempt to mitigate the survivors’ immense mental burden, devised a consummate immersive game.”
“Subsequently, your brain—being the initial experiment subject—was embedded with this game chip, giving rise to an alternate plane of existence, the ‘Mirage Space,’ second only to ‘Fangyu’."
My eyes bulged, and I gasped for air: "Hold on, are you implying... that my entire life has been within a VR game's realm?”
With solemn composure, Abraham gave a silent nod, “More precisely, you inhabited the ‘443 Virtual System’ within the VR game, where I oversaw the trajectory of your life... ensuring, once you had mastered societal adaptation, that I would usher you back to reality…”
The room spun around me, and amidst the clarity of the unveiled truth, I clawed at the center of my palm, desperately needing to validate my existence beyond the numerical confines.
The agony was piercing, nearly shattering my composure.
"It's impossible!" I sobbed, vision clouded with tears, “I'm a sentient being—alive with flesh and senses! The entirety of this grand world cannot be merely an illusion!”
Abraham cast a compassionate gaze upon me, “Jack, your existence here is crafted by the 'World Model,’ a construct of neural networks. The sheer boundlessness of this universe springs from the vast data amalgamated by the program.”
I sank to the floor, the strength drained from my body.
All this time, I was ensnared in a façade woven from computer code; the actual world had perished alongside the cataclysm!
"And now? I've dwelt in this virtual expanse for three decades,” I raised my eyes to meet Abraham’s, "Is a return to reality still within reach?"
Abraham’s features grew tense with concern, “It's uncertain. Ever since the ‘Disconnection’ of 2047, our tether to the real world has been severed..."
“What?” The word escaped me in disbelief, “Am I to remain captive in this digital realm indefinitely?”
With a somber nod, Abraham turned to type a sequence of commands into the monitor, “The system's lingering data suggests that by vanquishing the game's ultimate Boss, we could forcibly trigger a ‘Game Over’ and strive to re-engage with actuality.”
Stifling my tears, I rose from the ground.
Maybe, just maybe, this is the gleam of hope I need to break free from this technological ensnarement!
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Click Here: Saluting the Journey to a New Life (Sci-Fi) 7 and 8
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