2045
(Warning, there is some suggestive content and vulgar language. I also apologize for the formatting, this was copy and pasted directly from Google Docs)
(First story I've ever written, there is bound to be errors. I'm also a star trek nerd so there's heavy influence there)
2045 is a story involving a man who hasn't had the best of a life. He gets a call one day that changes his life forever.
For good or for bad has yet to be determined.
Chapter One: Initialization
My coffee? It's cold; I hate that. Coffee is meant to be hot and perfect, so, clearly this isn't coffee. I'm not quite sure what it is, but that doesn't matter. I've got to get this damn thing done already...
In a dark room sat a young man at his desk. His blonde hair, lacking in hygiene, was messy and oily. His jaw hung open from staring at the screen of a monitor for hours, attempting to debug an application he has been coding for work. Drool leaked out the right side of his mouth, collecting on the surface next to his mouse. KOAN Sound, his favorite artist, played quietly in the background. The scent of cold coffee invaded his nose, further irritating him.
Behind him, the door swung open, and a beautiful woman approached him. She wore a loose t-shirt that was too big for her, no bra, and no pants of any sort.
"Why aren't you in bed yet?" The tone of her gentle voice was so paralyzing, the process of deciphering the sentence's meaning never occurred. Instead, a pouty groan arose from the poor boy. As she came closer to him, his eyes widened more and more, before arriving at eye-level with her breasts. She leaned over so that her eyes met his, and she spoke yet again. "You dork, do you need some help getting in bed?" The man nodded slowly, her seduction taking a toll on his ability to socialize. With her hand, she pushed his jaw upwards, closing his mouth, leading him out of his chair towards his bed. The girl began to lift up her shirt, while the man followed suit. He pulled his shirt off, stretching out his arms and back. After closing his eyes and letting out a gentle yawn, he opened back up his eyes and noticed something wrong. She was gone.
A shock ran through the tired man's spine, jolting his body upwards. He gazed at his clock that read: "2:32 AM - SUN, DEC 20, 2015". Half of his face was drenched in stale, old coffee, as was the majority of his desk. Anger and sadness surged throughout his stressed, weak body and he couldn't help but release the build-up of emotion at once:
"Graaaaaaaaah!" He exclaimed, grabbing his keyboard and throwing it across the room, smacking into a picture on the wall. The picture fell to the ground, the glass now cracked from the impact of the keyboard.
That picture was taken years ago. He and the beautiful girl from his dreams were sitting together happily at a local cafe. She appeared to be in the middle of trying to kiss him, but before that succeeded, he intercepted by licking her mouth. A blush sprawled about her face, her eyes wide from surprise. Others sat in the background, minding their own business in the bright, sunny day.
Stop thinking about her. She's not yours. Stop thinking about her. There's nothing you can do. It isn't your fault! There's no sense in stressing yourself out.
Many things in his life have come and passed, and he learned to put them past him. This girl, however, isn't that easy to put in the back of his mind. He sobbed quietly, tears dripping from his eyes, adding to the puddle of liquid on his desk. Sniffling every now and then, all he had was himself and his thoughts.
Everything is just so fucked. Why me? Poor me. I hate me. Fuck me. I'm done with me. I just don't understand why out of anything that could have happened, this is the reality where shit hit the fan so hard that it clogged the fucking motor...
He lifted his head off of his forearm and stared at his computer screen. It was off, having shut itself down due to inactivity. His face was sticky from coffee, as was his entire right arm and some of the right side of his body. I can't go on like this. Something has to change.
His phone vibrated on his desk. Reaching with a hand to pick it up, he slid the phone icon on his screen to answer it.
"This is Kyle," he greeted. A stereotypical voice of a salesman rang through the speaker.
"Hey there, Kyle. Answer me this. What do you think happens when you die?"
"I'd rather not discuss it. Why?"
"What would you say, if I told you, death was merely an option?"
Kyle pulled the phone away from his face, and looked at it strangely. He then pinched himself to ensure he wasn't dreaming again.
"Well I'd be as intrigued as I am now. Is it?"
"It will be. We call it '2045'. We can set up monthly payments, and in a case of death, we will preserve your consciousness. When the technology of immortality comes about, we will resurrect you. Think of it as literal 'Life Insurance!'"
"Sure."
"...Really? That was too easy. People are usually skeptical at first."
"Well, I'm not a huge fan of my life. A change would be nice."
"Alright, Kyle. Stay on the line, and I'll forward you over to the payment department."
An hour later, he got on the line with a girl from the payment department. She sounded ecstatic to make a sale. Kyle brought up his phone, watching his bank account until he saw the deduction for the first month's payment.
Switching to the phone app, he pushed 9-1-1, then hit the call button. With the pull of a hammer, Kyle shot himself in the neck. Light-headedness overwhelmed him, pinning his body against the carpet. Alongside each weak beat of his heart, a stream of blood rushed from his neck and onto the carpet in front of him. His perception of the world darkened, until all he could hear is his human instinct of survival. Each breath he took got shorter, and the taste of his own blood horrified him.
"9-1-1, what is your emergency? ... All I hear is gargling and struggling breathing. I'm assuming homicide. I'm sending an ambulance." The responder then sent police and an ambulance to the address traced to the phone number.
Police arrived at the door, and pulled his ID out of his pocket, scanning it with a sort of device.
"Does he have it?" One of the policemen asked.
"He does, give em' a call."
Initializing neural interface ... underway.
Bringing the Central Nervous System online ... complete.
Running initial diagnostics ... underway.
Neurotransmitter levels are optimal. Cell integrity normal. Neural activity stable.
Initial diagnostics complete. Awakening test subject #0002.
Kyle's lungs expanded, and his eyes jolted open. Bright lights surrounded him, the only thing he could see is white.
"Lemme get that for you." An unrecognizable voice seemed too calming.
Correcting pupil dilation to compensate.
The world around him came into focus. Bright lights surrounded him. He looked down to expect his usual, imperfect body. He saw nothing.
"Whaa happeh oo mah bah-ee?" Kyle confusedly asked.
"So much for the initial diagnostics... Computer of Test Subject #002 -- Adjust hypoglossal nerve."
Increasing power to the hypoglossal nerve ... complete.
"Try talking now."
"Where's my body?"
"We're trying to decide that, but that's your decision. From analyzing the neural activity from your past, we have come up with a body that fits your likings. From reading your brain, this 'body' is what you may call a 'furry'. Is that true?"
"Yes, you could say that."
"Is that what you would like to be?"
"Well, is it a permanent change?"
"Only if you want it to be. It can be changed to anything, at anytime. We'll explain to you later."
"Alright, go ahead."
"See you in an hour or so."
Decompiling user perception ... complete.
Downloading body image instructions ... Access to that functionality is has been denied. Please state your authority.
"2045, Programman, 1-9-9-8-7-0."
Access granted. Downloading body image instructions ... complete.
Generating image.
The programmer looked at the image that was rendered as the man's body, studying it with an odd look.
Image has been fully rendered with standard parameters.
"Map the Central Nervous System to the new body image."
Processing body structure ... complete.
Making necessary modifications to motor and sensory neurons ... complete.
"Run consciousness examination."
Comparing consciousness ... No inconsistencies found. Past and present consciousness are equivalent.
"Bring him back online."
Running initial diagnostics ... In progress ...
Neurotransmitter levels are optimal. Cell integrity normal. Neural activity stable.
Initial diagnostics complete. Awakening test subject #0002.
"Halt."
Awakening procedure halted; awaiting further instruction.
"Access regards file."
File accessed.
"Make modification to the 'name' property -- change it to 'Kyle'."
State your authority.
"2045, Programman, 1-9-9-8-7-0."
Modifications made.
"Resume the awakening."
Awakening Kyle.
Kyle looked down at his new body, rubbing his stomach. His new soft fur greeted his palm. He reached under his butt, pulling up a tail. He pulled it too much, resulting in its dislocation.
"Ow! Ow ow ow holy shit!"
"You want that pain suppressed? Tell it to stop."
"Stop the pain!"
Unknown command.
"Try 'Suppress pain receptors.'"
"SUPPRESS THE FUCKING PAIN RECEPTORS"
Pain receptors suppressed. Attempting to repair damage...
Kyle stared blankly at the wall.
"You alright?"
"I'm fine. just confused. Where am I?"
"You're at the 2045 lab. You're actually a test subject; so I have a few questions for you." The programmer pulled out a clipboard with questions on it.
"Uh, actually, I have a few questions for you."
"I don't care. Either respond or I'll make you."
"Go ahead and try."
"Computer of Kyle - Comply with my demands. Authorization 2045, Programman, 1-9-9-8-7-0."
Awaiting instruction.
"Neural query. Why did you attempt death?"
"I hated my life. I just got this new weird life insurance, so I decided to test the insurance rather than suffer."
"Do you believe you succeeded in doing so?"
"Not sure. I'm a test subject, you tell me."
"We're working on it. Though the technology is very advanced, there are flaws here and there."
"Is there anything I cannot do that I could do before this technology?"
"Not to our knowledge. You'll find it much easier to think, with the silicon-based assistance."
"Cool."
"Computer of Kyle - New Neural Query. How do you feel about your current existence?"
"I'm not too sure. I don't really know what I am."
The programmer was inspired to ask a new question not on his checklist.
"Computer of Kyle - Release Neural Query." Kyle dropped to the floor, regaining his consciousness.
"Wha.. What just happened..."
"I told you I would make you answer my questions, so I did."
"Please... Don't do that again... I will answer your damned questions."
"Oh they're not that bad... What are your questions?"
"What.. What am I?"
"You're the product of forced evolution. A new species, forked from humans. You are whomever, or whatever you perceive of yourself."
"Why am I?"
"You paid for the insurance before you killed yourself. We used you as a test subject because you paid the least, considering you died within your first payment. Consider the rest of your contract paid."
"What happens if something goes wrong?"
"We were able to keep your consciousness alive while you were dead. If you die again, we'll simply repeat the process. Plus, we have backups."
"Backups? Of me?"
"Precisely."
"What can I do with myself?"
"Whatever you want. You're technically a holographic projection, with a few modifications."
"My family..?" "They didn't buy the 2045 insurance. They're dead."
"Can you teach me how to use my... computer?"
"Of course. Computer of Kyle -- Upload documentation Alpha 0: Administrative Commands."
Downloading new instruction ... complete.
Kyle blinked. "Analyze memory blocks related to family who are deceased."
Memory blocks found -- 13 blocks in total.
"Delete them."
State your authorization.
"Authorization Undetermined, Kyle, 1-8-8-5-4-3."
Memory blocks erased.
Kyle looked to his left, then his right, analyzing his surroundings.
Warning: Detected increase in serotonin levels.
"Investigate."
Memory remnants of deceased relatives can cause a decrease in serotonin levels, according to research. It is possible that when those memories were deleted at date 4:32 PM December 20 2045, the serotonin levels in the brain increased to levels comparable to those before such memories existed in the first place.
"What deceased relatives?"
That information is unknown.
"Access all related data to deceased relatives."
Event Log #042 - Memory Block Deletion, date 4:32 PM December 20 2045.
"Recover memory blocks referenced in Event Log #042."
All files pertaining to memory blocks referenced in #042 are irrecoverable, due to changes made to the 2045 Operating System at date 2:55 PM November 30 2045.
"Downgrade 2045 Operating System to the latest version that existed at date 2:54 PM November 30 2045."
Unable to comply.
"Why not?"
That information is unknown.
"I thought you kept backups?"
"As I said, this is a work in progress. We didn't have a stable build until that date. You were the one who instructed your computer to delete those memory blocks, so you may as well deal with the consequences." "Alright. Well, what's next?"
"You're a prototype. We need you for further studying and testing of new features."
"I thought you said I could consider my contract paid."
"I did."
"So let me go. I'm done here."
"Do you really want me to let you go? You're very unstable, believe it or not. You could drop dead at any minute, then get hit by a car or something. That is just one possibility of failure out of an imperceivable number of failures."
"...Very well." Kyle sat down on the operating bed, and laid on his back. Closing his eyes, he instructed, "Begin sleep sequence."
Initializing sleep sequence ... underway.
Decompiling user perception ... done.
"Halt." The programmer interrupted the command. "Initiate program Dream 2045."
Downloading program Dream 2045... complete.
Initializing universe simulation with parameters specified by Dream 2045 ... underway.
//** Work in progress. Next chapter coming soon.**