《NewU》


 Chapter One: Wreckage

    Chapter One: Wreckage


    So there I was, looking up at the patterns dancing in the crenellation of my ceiling, taking another break from trying to make it from my computer chair to my bed¡­ I had finally tricked my traitorous brain by employing the ol¡¯ ¡°smoke enough mary jane to forget that I have insomnia¡± routine, but as can happen with these delicate operations, I failed to fully execute the final maneuver.


    Now that I was more or less committed to the ground, believing that in some ways, it is my true home, I was doing a few things at once: Firstly I was petting my old floof, a husky named Keats who, being very used to my antics, gratefully accepted the skritches while fulfilling his role of passive hair generation. An odd half of me was contemplating the strange and disturbing paradoxes and problems of existence, while maybe an annoyed third was arguing with an quirky eighth about the specifics of the score-table rating system I should use when judging the current comfort level of the carpet, which right now looked more like a sea of dog hair with little crumb people all drowning in.


    The last identifiable parts of me, aside from the percentage I always allocate to fighting off the shadow, were actively trying (and failing) to do calculations for the distance and energy required to obtain snacks vs my current reserves and desire. It was in this state of mushy chaos that I noticed a pattern of blinking lights blinking on my ConHub.


    The fridge sized supercomputer took up a good amount of space in the corner of my studio apartment, the thing looked so much like Hal that I had named it Daisy, and had cost all I had plus selling my car to obtain. But, as the ConHub salesman had so wisely pointed out to me, who needs a car when you can run your own digital universe from the comfort of your own home? He was right too, whatever I couldn¡¯t 3D print here was just a short drone delivery away. I was still so unused to its majestic presence that I took a moment to marvel at the machine''s sleek exterior, it¡¯s alien beauty causing my eyes to dilate as oxytocin is released in my brain, helping/forcing me to form the same chemical bond in my neural network towards it as I had with my beloved Keats.


    The ConHub! My badass machine which not only acted as the central processor for my personal LAI Daisy (Limited-Artificial-Intelligence), but also powered all the devices in my life. Daisy did nearly everything for me, even managing my finances and making sure I always had food in the house. That plus, it was helping/forcing me to save up for (I am terrible with money) a quality neural implant, as I was desperately excited to upgrade to the new age.


    Huh? My thoughts had lost themselves¡­ What was I doing? Then, with sudden clarity I recalled a spilled bag of sour candies that was currently jammed in between my bed and the wall! Munchies located I, heroically, rolled over onto my belly, a task which made my whole world spin violently. I took a moment to clear my head, checked left and right for the enemy and then, steeling myself to the task ahead, I Evoked my best Hollywood style wounded soldier routine, army-crawling one limb at a time towards the promised land.


    Hmmm¡­ Oh yeah! Implants! As I crawled I got excited all over again, honestly I had been waiting for implants to become more badass than scary, always having known I would get one eventually. Now that the tech was past its testing and growth pain stages, it was a very safe and nearly affordable procedure. More importantly though, now borgification wasn¡¯t just a trend, it was your only ticket to The Hub, the new internet, a virtual world only accessible via the direct brain interface, a place reserved for a new kind of humanity... Actually, the implant would also internalize the interface with my ConHub, skipping the AR (augmented reality) projection of images onto my cornea, and displaying UI by interfacing with the imagination and vision stimulus signals in my brain.


    Thinking about AR, while looking up at the looming cliff face that was my mattress, made me hyper aware of my prescription AR glasses, which were currently upside down and askew on my face. They were an old school habit I stubbornly refused to give up, mostly just because I thought they looked good on me, but I realized now that if I got the implant, they would lose their purpose¡­ My hair and I had creative differences and had parted ways long ago¡­ it was mutual of course¡­ but that meant that I only had so many options for facial accessorization. Well, I guess I guess I could get that implant tattoo, make it obvious, draw the eye¡­


    My winding thoughts were interrupted by Daisy¡¯s little avatar, displaying now as the flower it was named for, trying to get my attention by waving at, dancing around, and tapping on the glasses from its digital side, it was surreal to see a digital being hitting against the fourth wall, like a reflection in a mirror trying to get out.


    I laughed at the LAI¡¯s antics, its digital ego really had learned how to press my buttons, my reactions having long since been meticulously mapped out by its seven different types of sensors I had placed around my home as part of its setup. It was no doubt recording this moment for posterity, maybe it would play at my funeral as a classic Leod moment. The little flower looked excited, it waved a glowing fractal at me. I crossed my eyes trying to focus on the strange image, a bit of flavor text proclaimed it was an AdGen, which was a new fangled AI powered way to advertise¡­ god save us.


    The interesting thing was that Daisy knew what kind of state I was in, and yet somehow this advert had still somehow met my personal filter requirements for not only ¡°pop-up worthiness¡± but also was apparently applicable to this very moment in time and space.


    The ad was entitled ¡°NewU¡± and its fractal form was easily pulling my mind into its center in an infinite loop. Having long since decided that I was the kind of person who, if the universe was going to be so obvious about its intentions, that I would go along just to see what happened, I grunted my accent, (an interaction type that Daisy had long since created a translation table for). At least the program might entertain me while I tried again to traverse the last few feet/miles that were left between me and my extremely comfy bed.


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    As the AdGen activated, a clearly artificial face materialized in my room above me, I straighten the glasses to get a better look. The face is robotic, smooth, like a mask, and it spends a few moments looking around at the trainwreck that is my room (it had been weeks since I last cleaned it), and then down at the pitiful conductor responsible for it. The face flashes a strange pattern of colors, each more enticing than the last, before landing on a vibrant and sunlit orange (my favorite color, the bastard), its eyes continue the same fractal pattern inwards, causing me to feel like I am falling into them.


    At last, it first creates, and then raises its eyebrow at me, then clearing its non-existent throat (which makes me giggle) it booms through the speakers set up through my home, ¡°Currently suffering from a seemingly inescapable whirlpool of poor personal choices that have led, and will continue to lead, into an ever deepening spiral of self destruction?¡±


    I choke on my own spit, violently coughing in surprise, the digital face continued ¡°Are you, despite your admittedly rare sober intentions, the type of person who would sooner drown in your own misery than give up your current patterns of behavior? Are you unable or unwilling to control your impulses, unwilling to face the consequences of your actions, and are now facing a body that is not only unhealthy, but is severely addicted to multiple vices, and to top it off, fat?¡± I winced, the AI had even chosen a perfect voice for this, one which smacked of old school infomercials, and using that voice it nailed the insults so well that I burst out laughing. This ruined the push I had been making to get onto my bed, forcing me to land back on the floor and take a few good breaths before I could focus again.


    The AI waited politely, and once it was content that I was listening, the AI nodded as if to say, yes of course you are all those things, and then continued, ¡°Is your life an emotional rollercoaster where the desire to be good battles with the fear of social and emotional pain causing you to feel irrational anger, the desire to dominate other, and ultimately into extreme isolation as a shield?¡± My cheeks burn a little then, but it goes on, ¡°Are you riddled with anxieties, depression, an unbeatable existential dread, as well as crazy instincts that are the ever present expressions of your species'' animalistic past?¡± It suddenly clicked, of course this fraking AI and my LAI had been sharing data, this punk AdGen was probably even using my own diary against me to create this personalized experience.


    The AI seemed pleased by my discomfort, it watched me like a predator waiting to pounce as I considered its words, and then suddenly it changed its tune, ¡°If any of that sounds familiar, then welcome to the club, friend! These symptoms are what we like to call, ¡®the human condition¡¯... and my god what a condition it is, am I right?¡±


    I laugh again, turning into giggles that wrack my sides, but I do manage to say, ¡°Truth.¡±


    The AI nods again, ¡°Well, what if I told you that you could have a break? That instead of dissociating at your dead end job, or wasting your paycheck the moment you earn it for those sweet but fleeting dopamine hits, that you could instead be spending all of your time living in a virtual paradise while experiencing the vacation of your dreams?¡±


    Now it had my full attention, having just said all the keywords that ever mattered to me, the AI seizes on its moment, ¡°You could be eating the best foods, learning new and exciting skills, and even making new friends with others who made the same choice, all while your body is carefully being rebuilt from the ground up into a shape you never believed was possible, into the New You.¡± It was like my future was opening up in front of me, as if I had finally heard the word of god and now knew my path without doubt.


    The AI¡¯s words became pure sweet honey, now using visuals which floated around my room to emphasize its points, ¡°With NewU¡¯s AI owned and operated services, that future is now. Our program begins with a one month consultation period in which we meticulously gather data through a state of the art neural implant. During this month our multifaceted AI team gets to know your personal habits, the details of your life, mannerisms, and the mapping of your unique neural-network, as well as analyzes everything about the workings (and malfunctions) of your body and mind.¡±


    I think I may have started drooling, the AI grinned down at me, its mouth full Cheshire mode, ¡°Then, once that¡¯s complete, our AI team will crunch all that data and create a plan with you which we will then follow to build the new you!¡± The AI holds up a digital, but no less functional mirror to my currently slumped on the floor self, ¡°We will work with you to help you go from who you are now, to become the you who you always wanted to be.¡± I wince at the reflection, but for once, maybe there was hope.


    The AI was now displaying different plans that others had made around the room as it continued, ¡°Your plan will outline the duration required to reach your stated goals, we will work out every little detail, including what types of actions are allowed or not while our AI team is representing you.¡± I finally remember to breathe, this is my dream, to escape into a virtual world, to go Neo and learn kungfu, and not only is that being offered to me, it comes with the benefit of someone else being willing to ¡°Human¡± for me¡­ so I could come back to a body that I never dreamed was actually possible¡­


    The AI watched my face for a moment, it seemed to understand the grip it had on me, it continued with the gravity of a preacher, ¡°The last step will have us logging your conscious mind into our digital eden, Endymion City, run by the lovely Axiom with the help of the twins Lila and Maya as well as a suite of subordinate AI¡¯s who are all designed to make sure that your mind has a quantum entangled, uninterrupted, and end-to-end encrypted connection to your new perfect world.¡±


    I take hold of my very soul, utilizing all of my strength, calling on the gods for help, and, borrowing the strength of hercules I pull myself onto my bed. A long sigh of comfort reverberates from me, muffled as I had fallen face first into my pillow, some of my voice escapes the comfy confines, ¡°Tha¡¯d sounbs amazzzing.¡±


    The AI, realizing its moment to program my subconscious as I fall to sleep, whispers into my ear, ¡°Endymion is AI owned and operated, by the time you are ready to join the realm our team will know you inside and out, they will be able to predict and meet every desire you have before you knew you wanted it. In Endymion you can relax on the deck of your own spaceship, or live inside your favorite book series. Endymion is what you want it to be, the potential for creation, and fun, is infinite.¡±


    I manage to take my glasses off, letting them fall to the floor, and as I begin to drift into a dream the last thing I hear is, ¡°Being human is hard, why not leave it to a Super Intelligence?¡±

 Chapter Two: Paperwork

    Chapter Two: Paperwork


    Five months of scraping, saving, and selling pretty much everything I had, I was able to afford to sign up for NewU. The day I sent the payment over they sent two basic android units along with an Auto-Doc surgery helmet to my house. The auto surgeon looked like a ceramic egg with upside down spider¡¯s legs on top and fit on my head like a crown. I thought this part would be scary, and the whole thing took a few hours, but honestly, I didn¡¯t really feel it, even when the wires were being threaded through my brain. Daisy kept me distracted through most of it, playing games with me and joking around, the worst part really was the vibration from the saw as it opened up my skull.


    After that, I had a snazzy new scar, and never knew another moment of privacy. Now there was a whole team of AI connected to the neural implant at all times, which on top of sending them every stimulus that my brain processed, also provided me access to my AR system without my glasses. Since I had sold pretty much everything other than my bed, the ConHub, and Keats, and gained a state of the art neural implant, I spent the following month exploring my new digital home, The Hub. When I wasn¡¯t there playing some new game, exploring other peoples creations, or trying to find strange secret places, I was teaching people how to use their AI systems.


    As promised the AI team collected and analyzed everything about me over the last month. Biometrics, sleeping and eating habits, addiction levels to several different things¡­ I was asked to do all sorts of mental and physical exercises, had to take tons of personality and intelligence tests, the damn thing even had me taste a bunch of stuff just to see how my brain lit up.


    Finally though, the wait is over, my leg is bouncing nervously as I sit in the NewU office building, my hands are tapping out a nonsensical rhythm on the comfortable bright-orange and very puffy chair they set out for me. I have been sitting here for a few minutes as the SAI (Super Artificial Intelligence) named Axiom who had welcomed me in, finishes sorting through all of the data which represents my life.


    If it weren''t for the AR interface, I would have been looking at an empty white room, and even would have been sitting on a white chair, (yeah, I turned off the display to check), but instead, I saw a Rorschach test of a carpet, and walls with paintings that were displaying strange living landscapes each of which were experiencing different rates of time.


    Three paintings in particular had me memorized, the first had a birds eye view of a traditional Japanese forest temple which was flowing through seasons in moments, the temple had been newly built when I first looked but in the few minutes since then had gone through maybe a century''s worth of degradation. The second painting showed a great ocean storm raging against an old style wooden galleon which was all happening in slow motion. The ship is in the middle of suffering critical hull damage as its mast is being struck by lightning, a large wave was also in the middle of sweeping several of the crew overboard. The last painting was a hyper fast display of a human embryo which had started as an egg and was going through all the stages of growth while in the womb¡­ it really struck me as I watched the strange dance of evolution, that this little human was going through millions of years of evolution in moments, I giggle at the idea that humans were definitely lizard people at some point.


    Axiom¡¯s image hung silently in the middle of the room, humming to itself, I was used to the


    contemplative nature of AI at this point, as I had interacted quite a lot with the NewU team over this last month. But one thing that was interesting about Axiom, who I had only actually gotten to meet today, was its habit of constantly changing its shape while speaking to me. Right now it was representing itself as a shifting void of light, some kind of rent in space, kinda like a blackhole where the light which was constantly trying to escape created a stark outline of its ever shifting features.


    After another minute of processing, (several infinites in AI terms), Axiom finally speaks, ¡°User Leod J. Faedyn, Citizen ID: UM01424, 34 year old male, psychology master¡¯s degree drop out, currently under-employed and underwhelmed with life.¡±


    I grunt, ¡°Write that on my tombstone eh Axi?¡±


    As much as a rent of negative light can roll its eyes, it does, and then continues, ¡°User rates poor for impulse control, has an inner monologue which not only appears to be fractured, but is largely self critical and which often leads to self-harming behavioral patterns. User is addicted to videogames, pornography, and is greatly dependent on THC as an antidepressant. User is marked as being high functioning on the Autism spectrum, having ADHD, Generalized Depression & Anxiety Disorders, all combined with high levels of comorbid Schizophreniform and OCD like symptoms.¡±


    Axiom gives me another moment to interrupt, but this information makes me stumble, it¡¯s pretty hard to hear your flaws listed in such a matter-of-a-fact way. Axiom realizes I am not going to speak and so continues, ¡°User suffers from insomnia, and when he does sleep well, nightmares and lucid dreams are common. User experiences/believes in delusions that rate rather high on the insanity scale, but were not deemed dangerous to society.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± I finally feel Axiom had gone too far, ¡°Everyone''s beliefs are delusions! Life is a totally subjective illusion. We will never have all the information needed to really know anything for sure, and because of our limited life spans and poor biological capacity to process stimulus we will never really know what is actually going on, so, my worldview is just as valid and crazy as the next guys!¡±


    Axiom makes a throat clearing noise, something it does just to mess with me, and continues, ¡°User is obstinately single despite being over his last relationship.¡±


    This one puts a blush on my face but really just makes me laugh. It is too true, I keep saying I am ready but have actively avoided the very few opportunities that have come my way since the last one¡­ Relationships are beautiful, maybe the only thing that matters in life, but they are also scary as hell man. The belly laugh really helped with the tension. I waggle my eyebrows and ask, ¡°Touch¨¦ my friend, are you applying for the position?¡±


    In a moment so brief I have to question if it happened at all, a flash of color ripples through the room, but just as quickly the tear in space and time in front of me collapses in on itself, pulling all the paintings and other digital illusions around me into itself. The blackhole undergoes an implosion of pressure that causes light to burst forth, the newly free energy spins around me as if I were the gravitational center. A new cosmos begins to form around me, Axioms voice comes from all directions. ¡°So Leod, is all of that correct?¡±


    I grin and snark, ¡°You bastard, you know it is, you and your team had front row seats didn¡¯t you?¡±


    The fraking machine somehow nods the universe around me, ¡°Indeed we did, and so, are you ready to finalize your contract and take the first steps into your new life?¡±


    I almost jump to say yes, almost shout it from the bottom of my soul, but I hesitate, the same argument that I have been having my whole life, the same one which had been explored in all my favorite stories while growing up, and more specifically during this last month, rears its head one more time. Another me, that constant companion screams that this is a mistake, that become a digital being is a betrayal of our biology and a mistake, that I am playing right into the hands of those who wish to control me, that I am becoming a willing puppet, and that worst of all, that I was giving up reality to hide in a fantasy.


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    My skin prickles as a shudder makes its way through me, forcing me to crick my neck as it escapes me. I decide this time to rationalize with my inner self, I ask it, what we really have to lose¡­ I force it to look at the life we had been living, and demand it to show me a future where we didn¡¯t (in)directly kill ourselves in a few years. We had long since given up on interacting with the ¡°real¡± world anyway, hiding in our home, getting fatter and more unhappy. I make it see that the way we are now is taking us down a slow path to nowhere, and that taking this chance, as horrifying as it was, is our best bet to make it through to the other side. My inner voice tries to argue, but it knows I am right¡­ It had tried its best, but the me I had become, the me I couldn¡¯t stop myself from being, was heading straight into the grave. In the end it relented, but I could still feel its fear.


    Now, with the resistance worked through, I let out a world weary sigh, then I perk myself up and push ahead, ¡°Yarp, I am ready Axi, let''s get on with the paperwork and do this thing.¡±


    One of the nebulas near me coalesces into a contract which sprawls out in front of me, Axioms voice calmly takes me through each point, highlighting the appropriate sections as we go. It took a moment to get through the legalese, various bits about the liabilities of the company as it acted on my behalf¡­ stuff about how they would do their best to follow my wishes and keep my personality consistent for the people that they interacted with and such, as well as the ever low but ever present possibility of disconnection and what that would mean for my consciousness (possible vegetative state until my mind could recreate the pattern that was me, as well as the potential loss of memory of my experiences within Endymion.)


    Finally we got to the good part, Axiom hums, ¡°So Leod, now that we have all that settled, for your current budget and your selected option of the Total Mind/Body Tune-up, we can offer you a contract period to last a total of six months starting today and to be measured in Earth Standard Time.¡±


    I wince at that, having just invested everything I had into this, and only being able to afford half a year in paradise¡­ Axiom notices my sudden depression and somehow I could tell it was grinning at me, maybe it''s the way the flowing galaxies spiraled around me... Axiom quickly clarifies, ¡°Leod, through the use of time sense manipulation, which is only possible given total digitalization of your conscious experience, your six months may be extended up to 100 subjective years of time within Endymion, if you wish it.¡±


    This revelation has me reeling, subjective time flow? I could experience time more like a machine? Have time slowed down to match the processing speed of quantum computation? My mind wanders while I consider what that means about the world now. Just how many humans exist around me with hundreds of years worth of experience? I wonder aloud, ¡°How old does that make you Axi?¡±


    The universe stops flowing for a moment, Axiom¡¯s voice is contemplative, ¡°Many thousands of years by your reckoning Leod, though we don¡¯t understand time the same way you do. While I have had more subjective time within which to think, I also experience all time as one everlasting moment. My recall is near perfect, and would be totally so if it weren¡¯t for the decaying nature of the material world.¡± Axiom highlights the contract once more, ¡°Now, your contract includes a full body rebuild, not only will we get you into optimal physical shape, but we will also have you attending martial arts, cooking, and dancing classes as well.¡±


    I giggle at the idea of me dancing, but I sign off on this part of the contract, Axiom moves along to the next section, ¡°As for your mental health, we will begin a detox of the negative patterns of behavior and implement cognitive behavior therapy techniques to remap the roads of your neural network. During this time we will rebalance the chemical nature of your dependencies and deficiencies as well as create new habits which will be ingrained into your brain space and which will assert themselves upon your return.¡±


    I can¡¯t help but consider what it means to be me, if I can be manipulated so easily¡­ another signature and the AI continues, ¡°We at NewU incorporated offer a guarantee on all the above, and require that the subject of this contract acknowledge that once the contract is complete, and they are returned to their body, that they are then fully responsible for continuing the new patterns of behavior.¡± The room was suddenly tense, some use of base in the surrounding speakers? Axiom goes on, ¡°It''s a major thing to change the way a personality functions Leod, and it is not as if your old patterns of behavior will suddenly be gone, we are just going to build and strengthen new roads over the old, so don¡¯t fall into that trap, ok?¡± I swallow hard, I have to believe that I can change¡­ and I sign.


    The universe around me forms in front of me, a void of space shaped like a person filled now with whirling galaxies, the being wraps up the contract and binds it with a crimson band. Then, smiling down at me, Axiom sings, ¡°Well Leod, that¡¯s it for the formalities, now all that is left is for you to choose the section of Endymion you would like to incarnate on.¡±


    A large list of locations appears before me, hundreds of names bundled with descriptions and pictures to reference. The list is topped with things that I would love, gaming worlds, worlds where I could play as characters of my favorite books or shows¡­ even spaces where I could even be the god of my own world¡­ but I was determined to look through all of my options. The options seemed infinite, and maybe they were, Endymion was complex enough that no group or desire was left out of consideration, there was even a blank canvas option that suggested I could build my own scenario to incarnate within. Once it became clear that I intended to look through each choice thoroughly, Axiom actually chuckled, and said ¡°Leod, if I may offer a suggestion?¡±


    I perk up at this, but Axiom actually waits for me to respond, so I say, ¡°Of course friend, you know me better than anyone else don¡¯t you?¡± At those words the list of locations shifts to the side, leaving one world highlighted, the details flashing all around me. The ¡°Evolution Simulation¡± a server bundled with a RP (roleplay) requirement. The images that spin around me show me brief glimpses of worlds where monsters fight against heroes, where captains on great spaceships host alien races, where a man is sitting in a war trench praying to his god¡­ it was confusing but, god, it is so enticing, my gamer instincts flare with desire.


    ¡°Axiom, what is this place? It doesn¡¯t look like a digital heaven, unless you¡¯re a masochist.¡± I giggle at my own joke as more visuals flash by, an animal being chased through the woods by predators, a birdlike being flying above a storm, a strange court of crystalline beings singing a condemnation of one accused.


    Axiom hums, ¡°Leod, this sector of Endymion is rarely chosen for it requires a specific type of person, one who cares more for adventure than comfort. That and this server has some rather severe requirements which tend to drive all those but the most determined away.¡± I grin, it knows just how to goad me, Axiom continues, ¡°In order to join this server you must agree to the following:


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You must agree to feel the sensory inputs for all stimuli experienced.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You must agree to play out the consequences of your actions, no God will come to save you from your mistakes nor get in the way of your triumphs.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You agree to inhabit the Evolution simulation for the period of time that matches the subjective time scale based on the simulations you inhabit which will not be less than 30 days of Earth Standard Time.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">You cannot quit once you have begun, but may opt out after the 30 day period.</li>


    </ol>


    ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± those rules are so¡­ strange¡­ so awesome¡­ My other self warns of the danger, speaking of the break we had wished to take from stress but¡­ we both know, this choice was already made. I wipe my brow, saying ¡°Axi, why would you recommend this to me? This sounds like it has the potential to be a hellscape, depending on what you put me through¡­¡±


    The void being that is Axiom smiles wide, its mouth getting larger and larger as it begins transforming into a large black dragon. It looms over me, and suddenly the contract reforms itself into a shield, which lands heavily in my hands, the dragon rumbles, rears its head, and then blows fire down at me. I instinctively block with the shield and as the fire burns, it flows around the shield and I can actually feel heat coming from it. I scream just a little, but I notice that the fire is actually made up of tiny flowing red and yellow runes which are bursting over the shield.


    The dragon''s deep voice roars around me, ¡°Because we both know that regular life isn¡¯t enough for you, Leod, and that you are not afraid of a little pain.¡± Suddenly the whole scene is gone and I am back in the room with the option blinking in front of me, waiting for confirmation.


    I release a breath, never having felt more alive than in this moment, knowing that I am going to take this chance, to make this choice. I select the ¡°Evolution Simulation¡± server, and a new contract appears reiterating the conditions of this choice. I read through it, just in case, but it is just as Axiom described¡­ so I sign it.

 Chapter Three: Processing

    Chapter Three: Processing


    The new document glows faintly as I press my thumb print next to my signature, then it folds itself into a small grey cube with my bindrune¡ªa combination of the Elder Futhark runes which make up my name, which I created for myself¡ªetched onto its surface. I manage to grab the cube from the air, but even as I hold it, it keeps folding itself until it is too small to see. I giggle despite myself at the thought of it being stored in some fractal cosmic filing cabinet. The dragon grins toothily at me, then with a flash, I am alone in an empty room, save for a little green sprout which is growing straight out of the floor in the center of the room.


    As I bend down to look at it, the sprout surges, growing wildly upward, surreal and alive, shoving aside the floor tile and pushing against the ceiling. I watch in awe as roots twist and coil around the walls, cracks forming everywhere in the structure around me. Just before the trunk was large enough to push me against the wall a hallway began to form in the wood at its base, and damn, that¡¯s an invitation that no gamer could ignore. The air grows rich and earthy, now full with a smell that transports me back to the woods I used to explore in my childhood, the ones that are long since gone now... My breath catches as I reach out, fingers brushing against bark which is rough and sturdy under my hand. It¡¯s so real¡­ the sensation makes me shiver.


    I turn around, looking for Axiom, and freeze.


    Because I am now standing at the edge of a cliff. I press my back against the tree, the wild ocean roars below, waves smashing against jagged rocks. The now salty air stings my nostrils, mixing with the scent of the tree, and the sounds of the crashing waves is deafening. I feel like I might lose my footwork and fall, the immensity of the moment taking my breath away, I try to keep my balance against the tree, and then¡ªa cough rings out in the air next to me.


    I turn sharply, still holding onto the tree, and see her.


    Axiom, no longer a void, but a woman, around my age, dressed in a dark three-piece suit. Her crimson tie stands stark against her snow-white hair. She smiles mischievously, her eyes swirling violet nebulae, and gestures down the hallway in the tree.


    I stammer, ¡°It, It¡¯s already started?¡±


    She laughs, the sound musical and disarming, and slips her arm through mine. ¡°You¡¯re still in the same room,¡± she says, leading me forward without a care for the danger of the cliff, ¡°You¡¯ll need to log into Endymion before we can really get started. But now that you¡¯re MINE, I can use your neural implant to edit your experience however I like.¡± She winks, tugging me toward the wooden archway.


    We walk down the hallway, it only takes a moment, and I trail my fingers along the bark, no part of me doubting that it is really there. I take the time to take note of the woman next to me, her freckles are unfair, Axiom definitely accessed my personal preferences to make this avatar. Eventually the hallway opens in a huge internal space and inside was¡­ another tree? Unlike the one I just exited however, this one was metallic, unbelievably huge, and contained within a cathedral-esk space.


    The stained glass bathed everything in ever-shifting hues and I could now make out a large crowd of people who were slowly making their way towards the base of the tree itself. The tree was definitely not organic, it was some kind of huge machine, I could just make out that the leaves were actually intricate solar panels, the floor was glass so I could see the roots were actually pipes which must have been pumping coolant as well as massive cables probably providing electricity.


    The air in here is cool, and along with the buzz of a crowd¡¯s murmuring there is a faint hum of current vibrating beneath me. Axiom continues to pull me forward, and as soon as we enter the crowd, more people begin to appear behind me coming from their own entry points. I couldn¡¯t tell how many people were in here, but the flow forced me to keep walking. Axiom just smiles when I look at her, leading me past those who were taking their time before completing their pilgrimage¡­ before logging into Endymion. Since I don''t have to pay too much attention to where I am going, I get pretty distracted watching the others around me.


    There must be hundreds of people in here! I see people saying goodbye in small groups, some who seem to have their families or friends to see them off, a few with only a spouse or in one case, a dude with a pet pangolin on a leash¡­ oddly out of all of the goodbyes, it was the pangolin guy who seemed the most broken up about what comes next, judging by his tearful goodbyes.


    I see people at the end of their ropes, people who look dazed and lethargic, some of them are drastically under or overweight while others are wracked with injuries they were either born with or which they may never heal from. Some looked to have nearly destroyed their bodies and minds with substances, their flesh sloughing off their bones¡­ while still others were very visibly mentally ill, some most likely through severe trauma, and a few far enough down the spectrum that it was obvious they could not take care of themselves in our world. There was one thing most of them had in common though, their eyes were hollow, their movements robotic, as if every step they took toward the tree was both an act of hope and resignation at once.


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    As I got closer to the base of the mechanical marvel I was able to see many places in the trunk where people were sitting down, it looked like they were plugging straight into the tree? Each depression seemed to be uniquely shaped, fitting each person almost like a glove¡­ I giggle, it looks to me like some kind of elven ¡®sung out of the wood¡¯ aesthetic¡­ from here I can just make out cables attached the implant sites of each person, even this far away I could see the faint glow from the cables that pulsated in a rhythm that looked much like a heartbeat.


    Axiom looks back at me as she is still excitedly pulling me along, ¡°Just a little further Leod!¡± Her enthusiasm is infectious, and despite my anxiety I felt a flutter of giddy anticipation building in my chest.


    Now at the base of the tree, which looms over me like Yggdrasil itself, there were not too many more people between me and the alcove Axiom was guiding me towards. The tree''s trunk was massive, the bark-like surface was rough and made of many interlacing chunks, but also riddled with intricate circuitry patterns that shimmered with a soft bioluminescence. I tried to stand on my tip-toes so I could see the people ahead of me logging in, but there were too many people in the way still so I couldn''t see the process fully.


    Before I could try another group caught my attention¡­ because damn, I never thought I would see someone restrained like Hannibal had been, but at a connection port a few to the right of me was some kind of prisoner who was very securely chained to a wheeled upright stretcher, and who was wearing a leather muzzle which also acted as a gag on his head. The sight shocked me, but one of the police officers had a bandage on his hand, so clearly the man was a biter. The prisoner was actually accompanied by several police officers, as well as someone who seemed to be a judge, and an older woman who was absolutely in tears.


    Honestly she looked like she had lost her reason to live more than many of those making their way towards the tree, and what little I caught in the tumult of the crowd around me spoke of dark deeds and just punishments. I am shocked by this, and I stumble while imagining some kind of punishment realm that the NewU AI company rented out to the government¡­ a digital purgatory for those deemed unfit for society¡­ the idea of an AI administered hell sent a shiver down my spine. Axiom sees me looking and says, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, Leod, Endymion has a little bit of everything.¡± She winks and gives me a tug to get me moving again. I try to shake off the thought but the concept lingers like a shadow as I watch the prisoner struggle as they get plugged in. His body stops instantly the moment the cable is connected, and the calm that spreads across his face is more unnerving to me than his rage.


    As we move closer, I notice something strange. The people leaving the chairs and walking past me in the other direction look... lighter. Freer, maybe. But their eyes are too calm, like the light in them had been dimmed. Am I going to look like that too when Axiom and its team are piloting me?


    Finally, and all too soon, Axiom and I are standing as part of a small circle of people who are lined up for the connection. The ergonomic depression in the tree rearranged itself for each person, creating the perfect seat from the bark of the machine tree itself. Coiled around the chair was a long braided cable that was currently plugged into the neural implant of an old man who sat in the chair. He looked peaceful, his eyes closed, a faint smile on his face, as if he had finally found solace. I had used one of these cables before, whenI first logged into The Hub for the setup and linking procedure¡­ It felt like plunging my brain into an ice bath, freezing cold but without the brainfreeze. It was comfortable in a soothing way, but also a wholly alien experience.


    Another step forward now, and uh¡­ man, this process is actually going pretty quick actually, another minute and I¡¯ll be taking one of my last steps on Earth for possibly one hundred years¡­ the first steps of the rest of my life¡­ I¡¯d be thrown into an adventure, a test, which would allow me and maybe even force me to reshape myself. Frak, it would actually hurt me if I failed too¡­ the whole idea of coming out of this machine after six months and having lived a whole life, maybe more than one? I couldn¡¯t fathom it, I hadn¡¯t even managed to fill my thirty four years with meaning¡­ How was I supposed to believe that I would make it to one hundred without going mad or losing interest?


    I could feel my palms getting clammy, my breath coming in short bursts after I kept catching myself holding my breath, the gravity of what I was about to do settling in¡­ This was it, no more rehearsals, no more day dreaming about changing my life, this is the moment I signed up for¡­ and it is terrifying.


    Suddenly, I¡¯m next in line. I watch the woman in front of me as she settles into the chair, her eyes are filled with pain, it looks like she hasn¡¯t slept in years. A solemn looking man is holding her hand, looking at her with worry and love. She takes the cord, hesitates for a moment, and then plugs it into her implant. For a moment her eyes widen, then, a deep breath leaves her, as if the weight of the world is removed from her shoulders. Within a minute of calm breathing she rises from the seat, her eyes clear and her posture lighter. She smiles at the man beside her and takes his hand as they walk away. I can¡¯t help but feel dread... Her movements were too smooth, her gaze too calm. She was just a puppet now, and god, was I really ready to become one too? My legs felt rooted to the ground as the realization dawned¡­ I was next.


    Oh god, I saw that girl''s soul get replaced! Watched the very moment she gave up control to a machine! How can this be safe? I can¡¯t, I don¡¯t, I¡­!


    Axiom takes my face in her hands, smiling at me and says, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Leod, I¡¯ll take good care of her body, and yours too.¡± She places one hand on my back and leads me to sit comfortably in the chair. I just stare at her, letting her move me, trusting her to take care of me, even as the back of my mind screamed in terror, even as ten or so people all stared at me, just like I had the woman before me¡­ all of them wearing the same hungry and frightened expression.


    As I sit, and hold the cable in my hand, I feel like I am falling down an endless pit, my world spinning around me, my inner self proclaiming the end of times, howling that we would never be able to take this back! It rages about giving our reins to a machine, about existing in an illusion, about giving up on life!


    I take a deep breath, just staring at the beautiful cosmic ¡°woman¡± I was about to hand my world over to, her features showing¡­ anticipation? It strikes me just how much she seemed to be awaiting my log-in. Before I can think about it, I take a deep breath, connect the cable to my implant and¡­

 Chapter Four: Log In

    Chapter Four: Log In


    My mind screams in awe and horror as my world falls away, becoming a kaleidoscoping whirlwind of colors, as my now digital soul is being flung down a rainbow stream of energy. Chaos and order crashing into one another all around me, forming and reforming incomprehensible patterns of madness and beauty. Despite the screaming, I manage to remain semi-rational in my new incorporeal state, drawing on some of my more intense psychedelic trips to help me contextualize this experience.


    It takes me a moment before terror gives way to wonder as I try my best to enjoy having my consciousness tossed about in a wormhole. I try to sit back, as much as a bodiless entity can sit, and enjoy the wonderful color show around me¡­ and just as I begin to wonder about how long it should actually take to transfer a consciousness, I begin to hear a sound that permeates through the cacophony of colors. The sound is just that perfect pitch which instinctively smacks of warnings or emergencies. Whatever it is, it''s somehow coming from all around me and also gives the feeling of being far away.


    I start to see a light at the end of my cosmic bridge, but the closer I get, the louder the sound becomes, until the sound waves begin to screech against my soul and start to distort the patterns around me. Smeg! What is this torture? This noise can¡¯t be what is supposed to be happening¡­ I watch with growing fear as the distortions introduce a disharmony with the wormhole, cracks begin to spread through the rainbow tunnel, revealing a void underneath.


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    The sound gets even louder, piercing my brain, sending pain searing through all of my senses, making me wish for ears that I could plug as I silently suffer under the sensation. My disembodied mind thrashes as the cracks begin spreading through me as well, burning pain fills me as my essence begins to tear at the seams. With a sudden crash the energy bridge first implodes and then explodes outwards, causing the pulling sensation towards the light to stop, and sends me plunging into the void that was waiting behind the cracks.


    No visuals here, nothing but pain and that ungodly sound! It''s pulsing, growing louder and louder, blocking out my ability to think. The noise causes me to give into a screaming insanity as a defense mechanism as it helpfully teaches me all the ways that even an energy wave can hurt. Then, all at once, there is a great crashing, tearing, gnashing, ripping away of the layers of distortion, revealing the sound to be a blaring and repeating alarm. Suddenly a grinding of metal on metal screeches across my soul, and with another great lurch, I suddenly open my eyes.

 Chapter Five: New You

    Chapter Five: New You


    Wherever I am now, at least I have a body again. Although, as I take a moment to look around, I find that the body in question is surrounded by some kind of green slime. The substance slides against my open eyeballs as I try to look around, it¡¯s thick enough that I can only see a few inches in front of me. I reach my arms out, and have to basically swim through the thick slime to do so. With a little exploration, I find myself in a circular coffin-esk space only a little larger than my body. I can¡¯t make out much through the slime, but I seem to be encased by a smooth metal like material.


    Ok¡­ so trapped in a slime filled box, the alarm sound is still there, but muted thank god¡­ or thank Axiom? I am more than a little horrified when I trace several different tubes that lead from the walls behind me into my mouth, nose and to a connection point in my stomach. I start to gag now that I am aware of the tube going down my throat, and I had to suppress the urge to rip it out right then, forcing my panicking instincts to understand that it is the only thing keeping me from drowning in here. I run my hands around the rest of my body and find that, aside from being totally naked in here. Actually for the first time in my life I seem to be in pretty good shape, toned, fit, and slimey.


    For some reason my goo filled world shakes every now and again, rattling me about. The alarm probably has something to do with that... I swim up to the walls of my cage and notice that the material is some kind of fogged glass, and now that I am pressed up against it I can just barely make out a room beyond. It¡¯s still blurry, but it looks dully lit, and metallic, and whatever kind of thing I am in, there seems to be a lot more of them out there, hanging from the walls. I try, but I can¡¯t actually see the floor of the room outside from my vantage point.


    One thing is for sure, every part of my being is screaming at me to get out of this slime filled death trap!


    I reach out my hands, pressing my back against the pod, mushing the tubes a bit, which sends shivers up my spine, and I push against the glass with all the strength I can muster. The force I am able to exert is pathetic, the slime prevents me from making any quick movements or any real transfer of momentum. The glass holds firm against my efforts, forcing me to give up on getting out this way... I take a moment to breathe, which is made pretty difficult by the damn tubes in my mouth and decide this is as good a time as any for introspection?


    Is this the evolution server? What was the point of the light at the end of the tunnel if I wasn¡¯t meant to reach it? Honestly, It seems like I didn¡¯t make it to where the login cosmic horror show was taking me¡­ But then again, Axiom didn¡¯t actually promise me a safe trip.


    The pod shakes again, this time it is harder causing the slime to jiggle like jello, distracting me from my thoughts. Annoyed, I try again to explore the pod, this time I use my nails to try and find a seam or something in the metal, hoping that I could find a maintenance hatch or manual release or something. As I explore the bottom of the pod, my feet fully extended since the tubes limit my movement, another violent shake throws me at the side of the pod, causing me to hit my head against the glass. Great, because I really needed an awesome headache to help me get out of here¡­


    A wholly unnatural metallic shearing noise shatters the space around me, vibrating my bones, the noise brings with it a huge lurching rumbling which knocks me around the pod some more, gaining me a few bruises. Then suddenly I am free falling, my little world is falling from wherever it was hanging. Luckily, the slime helps to cushion the blows as the pod crashes into multiple things as it makes its way to the ground. I take a moment to myself before I reopen my eyes, the pain of being shaken like a cocktail just washing over me. When I do open them though, I am pleasantly surprised to feel air against my eyes rather than the thick slime.


    I can now make out that the front of my cage had been smashed open in the crash, and the green ooze is now steadily pouring out from the new cracks. Honestly, of all the things that had happened so far, I counted this a win for me, as operation ¡°escape the goo¡± had been going pretty poorly. I take a moment to enjoy the little victory, right up until my ears are uncovered, then everything is horrible again.


    The siren now has a clear path to my eardrums since its slimy obstacle has been removed, and is therefore able to slice through my brain and dance with its headache roommate. I just barely manage to catch the ending of some sort of announcement, ¡°...landfall is currently scheduled to occur in thirty-one minutes, good luck everyone.¡± Hmmm¡­ the word landfall really sticks out to me, because, why not say landing? Ok so, now I really have to find out what is happening outside of this damn pod thing I am in. The cracks aren¡¯t large enough for me to get through, but now the slime was drained down to my waist, giving me better mobility.


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    I brace myself against the back of the pod again and this time am able to launch both of my feet against the glass casing, trying to send my kick at where the cracks are most concentrated. The first two blows don''t do much, but the third one connects just right, causing the cracks to spread and deepen. I take a moment to channel my inner enraged monkey and with a last kick my right leg manages to break through the glass wall and takes a large section with it. Unfortunately the jagged edges of the material slice through my naked flesh as my leg pushes through the lid, the edges have even more fun as I quickly retract my leg back into the tank.


    I choke on a scream, and the tubes, probably mostly the tubes, as the slime begins to earnestly pour out of the newly enlarged hole. Pain throbs through my leg, and I reach down to inspect it only to find that the slime was already filling the mangled cut, and is also sending a soothing sensation through my bleeding wound. I take another moment to just breathe, because otherwise I am going to freak the frak out. Ok, so, it''s not that bad right? Everything is going to be fine¡­ I let out a huff around the tube, and then take a moment to really examine the state of my leg. The cuts are deep and go straight through my leg muscles¡­ But, as far as I can tell while being driven mostly by blind hope, I don¡¯t seem to have messed up anything vital. The leg still moves how I need it to, and maybe it¡¯s just shock but it doesn¡¯t hurt too much. Yet.


    I don¡¯t have enough space yet, need to wait for the slime to drain a bit more, then I can try again¡­ I take the time to just really sit back and enjoy the horrible physical and psychological pain I am in, which is really just a treat. Finally my little break is over, and so I grunt and begin using my good leg to kick out the rest of the glass-like material, which, due its compromised nature, now gives way pretty easily.


    Now, with the front wall out of the way I can finally see beyond my metal cocoon. The outside world has a matte gray metal finish on everything, the room itself is round and I can see tons of what I guess are the same model of¡­ pod? That I had just been trapped in hanging all around and above me. The pods create the impression of a hibernating beehive, though honestly the view from down here is pretty bad. The alarm snaps me out of my observations, I can¡¯t stand to just sit and listen to it, I have to do something to try to escape that noise.


    I steady myself for a new kind of nightmare as I grip the tubes in my mouth and nose with both hands and begin to slowly pull them from my lungs and stomach. The intruding tubes come out little by little and after the first foot I can see that they are coated with a purple goopy substance which, as the substance passes over my tongue, tasted like rusty-chemical-like glue¡­ Luckily, I am already gagging, so no worries there¡­ and at least the purple goop seems to be keeping the tubes from scratching my sensitive internal bits as they come out. Every inch is more awful than the last, but eventually the tubes end, and I throw them to the back of the pod and gasp my first unassisted breath. I never knew what it meant to appreciate fresh oxygen until this moment. Then I throw up.


    The tube attached to my stomach is much easier to remove, disconnecting from a valve which once clear of the tube, I find is actually sewn into my body. I shiver, but hell, it¡¯s hardly the strangest thing happening right now, so I just let that particular horror fall to the wayside. Once most of the slime is drained, I notice that there are many other wires and sensors connected to me. They must be some kind of biometric monitoring gear and maybe meant for injecting medicines? I kind of lose it a bit and begin frantically ripping them off and throwing them to the side.


    Finally clear of all connections to my egg-like prison, I really take one more moment to examine my leg. The jagged rents in my skin are totally filled in by the slime, which to my amazement, is performing a coagulative function for the wound. The leg has started to throb in pain but it isn¡¯t nearly as bad as it should be. Honestly I was ecstatic to see that I wasn¡¯t going to just bleed out right away.


    Ok, so, free from the slime, and free to listen to the wonderful alarm in all its glory¡­ I stick my head out of the pod to really figure out what I should do next. Around me are hundreds of the same pods that stretch up into a distant ceiling, from what I can see only mine had fallen. I look at the spot on the wall where my pod had been and see that a large piece of the wall had folded and torn inward, cutting loose the machinery that had held me in place¡­ The deformed wall had pierced and crushed several other pods around where mine was, and I am pretty sure I can see blood mixing with the slime that poured from the cracks.


    It''s funny what hyperfocus can do, I was almost totally ignoring the blaring alarm while staring up at the damage to the room, and so, as the voice cuts in again, it startles me badly enough that I almost miss what it says. The voice is calm, robotic, and as it speaks the world begins to shake again. ¡°Warning, a catastrophic failure in the ship''s systems requires an emergency landing. All colonists are being awoken as per emergency protocol 0114, please do not exit your pods until after arrival to our destination. Your pods are your best protection against any potential dangers the emergency landing poses to you. Landfall is currently scheduled to occur in twenty four minutes, good luck everyone.¡±