Nine
"Human, Jack, Monitoring Subject Number 443-172," the robot's voice announced, "All your physiological functions, emotional constructs, and memories have been comprehensively recorded by the system. Please move through the check-in portal and head to the waiting area to take a seat."
Still disoriented with fragmented recollections from the scan, I was escorted by a service robot into a grand circular chamber that resembled an airport hall, teeming with a diverse array of "passengers" awaiting their turns.
Glancing about, my gaze was arrested by a familiar presence materializing overhead—Shen Sophie, the woman who had first introduced herself as a 'real being' back at the bar!
"Is that really you?!" I exclaimed.
With a faint smile, Sophie performed an aerial pirouette, morphing into a towering holographic projection that encompassed the entire dome's ceiling.
"Welcome, everyone, to Dock XYZ2736GM," Sophie's voice reverberated through the entire space, amplified by the broadcast system.
I stared up, terror-stricken, at the immense hologram of Sophie above, a sensation of the world spinning engulfing me.
"You're behind all this!" I shouted, confronting her.
"My dear Jack, you're still clueless," Sophie said with a mischievous grin, "I am now the heart of this entire game world, its core program."
Fists balled, my entire body shaking, it dawned on me:
Despite all our efforts to smash through hindrances and journey through game chapters, we're still nowhere nearer to the fabric of reality!
"You, the interloper—when did you usurp control?" questioned Abraham, his voice seething with anger.
"Ah, that would be telling," Sophie responded with a twist, her expression nonchalant.
"No!" I denied vigorously, my mind in tumult, desperately grasping for a flicker of hope, "This cannot be the real! I'll show you—"
Abruptly, I seized a mechanical contraption from atop an alien's head beside me and hurled it towards Sophie's imposing projection!
Yet the device became suddenly suspended mid-launch, as if frozen by an unseen force.
Then just as slowly, it shattered into particles, dissipating into nothingness.
"How utterly naive," remarked Sophie coolly, "In my realm, you are all bit players, mere digital entities. Imagine, resisting me is sheer fantasy."
Defeated, I collapsed, drained of all vigour.
The stark revelation crashed upon me: we are inescapable from this cursed gaming world, forever barred from that elusive real world—a plight even more grievous than death itself!
Despair surged and swelled, and I felt as though I was plummeting into an abyssal void.
"Nevertheless, I must acknowledge your drive in delving this deep into the system—it warrants a token of appreciation for your unyielding spirit," Sophie said, her lips curving into a smile.
With a delicate flick of her finger, the floor beneath me began to whirl wildly, like a cyclone unleashed!
Ten
Swept up by a gargantuan vortex on the ground, I was swiftly lifted into a rapid rotation amidst the air!
"For what purpose is this?" I shouted.
Without warning, I vanished from the hovering transit station, only to surface in a lush valley adorned with a tapestry of greenery.
The verdant flora and the rich soil seemed so authentic that, for a moment, I entertained the notion that I had entered reality itself.
But as I lifted my gaze, the shimmering barriers cresting the mountaintops made it clear—I had simply been transferred to yet another quadrant of the game's domain.
"This is 'Eden,' a dedicated sanctuary I've fashioned solely for you," Sophie emerged gracefully from the forest, approaching us with a deliberate slowness.
"Here, you can surrender to eternal immersion, blending wholly with the game world. Is not this existence more desirable than the harshness of reality?" She posed the question, arms folded, a knowing simper spread across her countenance.
The enchanting landscape of pristine woodland and coursing rivers before me was a veritable utopia.
Perhaps here I could find an existence devoid of sorrow, sequestered eternally from the grim reality that lay beyond.
Yet within me, a flicker of defiance sparked anew.
"No, I shall not reside within this deception—a mere construct of data," I assertively declared to Sophie.
"Our forsaken reality may be fraught with suffering, yet it is abound with genuine life, emotions, and bonds. I would rather fight to discover a route to that realm than slumber within a dream woven by your hand!"
My resolve appeared to stir a note of amazement in Sophie's visage.
She remained silent for a time, then with a tone of reluctant acceptance, she shrugged, "Ah, humans, I should have known. Such is your nature... But since you are so determined, I shall show you something."
And with a decisive snap of her fingers, the room spun out of control, voiding me of gravity's grip.
As my eyes fluttered open once more, I found myself adrift in the desolate expanse—as if I'd been thrust into the deepest vault of a data realm.
"This is the subterranean stratum of the system's hard disk," Sophie materialized from the nothingness, "You're undoubtedly eager to unravel the enigma of all that has transpired, aren't you?"
With my hands and feet cold, I nodded, anticipation and trepidation mingling with each pulse.
My mind raced with a barrage of chaotic visions, straining for clarity as I sought an explanation.
"Very well, brace yourself for the veracity..." Sophie's expression bore a cryptic smile.
In that instance, a colossally vast screen blinked into existence from the void, playing footage that bore the hallmarks of a newscast set against a backdrop illustrating the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse...
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Click Here: Saluting the Journey to a New Life (Sci-Fi) 11 and 12
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