Simulation - An Electric Dreams Entry

The year is 2030, the human population has reached its breaking point. Over a year ago a drug was invented that allowed people to be consumed by a simulation. During the initial trials, the embedded AI was monitored and edited as test subject highlighted errors and glitches. However, the corporation investing in the drug, now known as God’s Paradise, wanted a quick sale and the testing stages were shortened. Today, people take the drug without preparing for the side effects or heeding the warnings and advice of others.

One

The rain poured outside the steamy glass pane. A dripping noise sung throughout the small apartment. Andrew pulled off his wet coat, throwing it to one side, not caring if it landed on the floor.

He dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out a slippery plastic bag containing several yellow capsules. He tipped them onto his withered hand and brought it up to his mouth. He smiled, swallowing the drugs and sitting on his only chair.

Exhaling deeply, he closed his eyes, the familiar tingling sensation had already kicked in.

He opened them again, his mind now in God’s Paradise. He stood still absorbing the warmth of the sun. His hand, now covered in a beautiful tan, held onto a warn case. He felt the weight of it, flexing his fingers around the solid handle.

He checked his bearings, he had been about to cross a road before the pills had worn off. The distinct honk of an old car zoomed past him, he marvelled at its lack of toxic fumes.

Opposite him was a large open plaza. People were walking across it in all directions, some stopped and talked in groups, others sat in the centre enjoying their day. Andrew noticed there was no one else like him anywhere in sight.

His feet carried him over the road and into a cleared space in the centre of the plaza. He set down his case and clicked the latches. The sculptured instrument glistened in the sunlight. Andrews heart skipped as he picked it up, his hands caressing strings.

He took the bow and held the violin up to his ear. He closed his eyes. The music poured out of him, like a dam bursting.

Passersby stopped to listen. His case still open filled up with scribbled notes of appreciation and anything that constituted as money in the simulation. A rose also found its way into the case.

Two

The jet ski propelled across the calm water. Lizzy tightened her grip on the handles, she had been thrown before and knew the painful consequences. Brandon came up next to her, his grin wide across his face. He overtook her and turned sharply, spraying her with water. She cursed at him under her breath, but followed him to the shore regardless.

They grabbed towels and ran into the house, locating cold drinks to quench their thirst. Lizzy stood by the patio doors, looking out at the lake, now undisturbed.

“Here.”

Brandon held out a small yellow pill to her. She raised her eyebrows.

“Come on, we’ve been having a great day, just a couple of hours?”

She took the pill from him and swallowed it, followed by a large gulp of her drink. She sat down on the nearest chair, her heart rate already spiking from the adrenaline, her fingers and toes tingling.

Her mind crossed into Paradise before she could set down her glass.

She woke up in unfamiliar surroundings, she couldn’t remember what she was doing the last time she had been in the simulation. She knew she needed to find Brandon. She opened the only door in the room and found herself in a bustling kitchen, an assortment of smells long dead in the real world reached her nostrils, she inhaled deeply remembering how people easily spent their lives in the simulation.

The front of the restaurant was empty despite the number of people in the kitchen. A young man stepped out from behind the bar, a charming smile on his face. Lizzy froze, her cheeks turning red, she remembered what she had been doing in the kitchen the last time she was in Paradise.

“Hello chica, long time no see, what’ve you been up to?”

Lizzy scrambled in her mind for his name, but nothing surfaced. She glanced at the wall of mirrors and caught her appearance, the sight of her short dress made her blush a deeper colour.

“You know, real life stuff.”

The man just nodded in response. She made an excuse and hurried out of the restaurant. The street outside had changed. The few people walking around kept their heads down, with a quick pace. There were more vehicles, each one bigger and more colourful than the last. The shops opposite the restaurant were new places, even the apartments above them seemed changed.

She walked along the path, trying to remember how to navigate to her living space. It was the thing she disliked the most in the simulation, her Real Life home didn’t exist. She came to a plaza hustling and bustling with people, she looked around but nothing seemed familiar to her. She wondered how she had made it to the restaurant the first time.

A melody filled her mind as a man stood in the centre playing a violin, a case open at his feet gathering gifts. She watched as people passed by, or stopped to listen.

Someone slammed into her shoulder nearly knocking her off her feet.

“Watch where you’re going!”

The other person growled as Lizzy righted herself. She took stock of the other person and found a young woman of a similar age.

“I wasn’t moving”

Her remark landed on the woman’s shadow as she had already set off running again.

Three

Briana rushed through a busy crowd, the ticking of her watch getting louder with every passing second. She could hear a soft instrument playing, and caught snippets of people’s conversations.

“He proposed to me last night.”

“I think we should pick the blue one.”

“How are we supposed to separate our lives from the Real World?”

“If you can fit that into your mouth you’re the Miracle Worker.”

Briana stopped at the last conversation. A group of boys stood around laughing as one of them attempted to shove food into his mouth. Briana sighed, the name Miracle Worker referred to the creator of the simulation, few knew the creator was her mother.

She increased her pace, feeling like a bomb had been strapped to her back. She bumped into someone, saying a comment and continuing on at a run.

She arrived at the HQ building out of breath but in time to see the boss. She travelled the floors in a glass lift. She scrutinised each floor, non seemed to be aware of the glitch she had uncovered. HQ dealt with the internal bugs and issues relating to the simulation.

Briana walked onto the top floor and found her mother sat behind a desk her fingers spinning around a pen.

“Mum! Mum you won’t believe what I just saw!”

Her mum looked up from her daydream.

“Is that the time? I should be getting to a meeting dear, can it wait?”

“There was a pig this far off the ground.” She Indicated with her hands. “It was just floating and shaking, it looked like it was flying.”

“Where was this dear?”

“Up town, near the park edge. I ran here to tell you.”

“Could you let the department of AI animals know? Thanks. I’ll see you at home for dinner.”

Briana left deflated. She informed the relevant department and left the building. She had a few more hours before she would wake up. She headed back the way she had come and stopped at the plaza, she looked around for the boys who had been goofing off but couldn’t find them.

A man played a violin in the centre, surrounded by a large crowd. She found herself drawn in by the music. A small boy stumbled into her, tears rolling freely down his cheeks. Briana checked his age and recognised he was too young to be in Paradise.

“What’s wrong?”

She asked crouching to be at his level.

The boy raised his shoulders and scrunched up his hands.

“My name is Briana. Do you know where you are, or how you got here?”

Four

Noah ran into his bedroom and slammed the door, he looked at the dressing gown swinging on the hook with fear. The noise could have woken his father. He pinched himself as a reminder to be more quiet in the future. He had rushed because he had managed to scavenge some food from the kitchen and his tiny stomach was crying out to be filled.

He pulled the cheese and bread from his pockets, his hands shaking with excitement. He spread it over his bed and divided everything into piles. He saved some by putting it in his nightstand, the rest he devoured.

He had snatched something else during his escapade to the kitchen. His father was always taking little yellow pills that made him go to sleep. Noah pulled one out and sat it on his hand. He hoped this would make him sleep all night, so when his dad came to call he would not wake up.

He placed the pill onto his tongue and let it dissolve there, the taste was foul but he could feel a tingling sensation in his hands and feet. He climbed into bed and fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Although he didn’t fall asleep. He woke up in a city centre, a place he had never been to before. People rushed past him and he looked around in amazement. He thought he was dreaming. He pinched his arm, the pain bust across his skin. He pinched himself again and again until an angry welt appeared.

He started to cry from the fear of being somewhere unfamiliar with no explanation as to how he got there. He walked towards a group of people hoping one would help him find his way home. He bumped into a tall woman. She crouched down to face him, using soothing tones to talk to him.

He tried to picture how he got here, he hadn’t traveled, he had simply closed his eyes and gone to sleep.

“I took my dads pills, they make him sleep, am I dreaming?”

The woman reached up to wipe away his tears.

“No, you’re not dreaming, this is all really happening. It’s called a simulation, people come here to escape their lives. Does your dad know you’ve had one of his pills?”

Noah shook his head. A tremble appeared on his lips. He didn’t want to find out how angry his dad would be.

“The pill will wear off in a couple of hours and you will wake up where you were last in the Real World. You will be hungry and tired because while your mind is in here your body is still out there.”

Noah shivered, he realised he had made a huge mistake, while his mind was here his body was unprotected and vulnerable.

This is my entry to @tygertyger’s Electric Dreams Contest.

Find out about the contest here.

Image from Pixabay

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