I quickly said, “Of course I never do such a thing. I already have no time for my research, to look for money for us. How can I have time for that kind of wasting time?” My voice was tinged with frustration, the weight of my responsibilities heavy in my tone.Aurora nodded, her eyes searching mine for sincerity. “Alright, I will believe in you.”“Thank you, believe in me. I will never lie to you,” I assured her, my heart pounding with the hope she understood.Suddenly, she stopped, her expression shifting. “Kathleen just sent me a message asking why we fired him,” she said, her fingers flying over her floating screen, typing a rapid response.“And what did you answer?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.“Of course, I fired her because she had sex with you. Even in the virtual world, I still don’t approve of that,” Aurora replied, her voice cold and sharp like a winter breeze.I chose to be silent sometimes when a woman is angry; it's better to shut my mouth.“Alex!” Aurora suddenly yelled,
Aurora Alex hadn’t come back home and he stubbornly hadn't called me yet. He was still an *asshole*, always protecting his workers, those he had affairs with. Was it so hard to just fire them? He could find other workers, couldn't he? Did he think his research was more important than me? I looked at the ball floating around me; this was the central unit of the system, the artificial Intelligence, we called it Linda. I knew Alex might still be watching me through that ball. “Linda, I don’t want you to monitor me all the time.” “But, Mrs. Aurora, I have a job given by the master to check on your health periodically, to ensure you are well,” Linda responded. “Enough with that!” I snapped, suddenly filled with rage with the artificial intelligence. “I command you to stop monitoring my health. If Alex wants to check on me, he should fire his workers and come himself.” Linda suddenly stood more upright, and the light on it started blinking, signaling a connection to Alex. After conveyin
Alex. Life and death are something that was really out of our control. We couldn't control how the baby made her movements inside the mother’s womb; it was just fate that we didn't have a baby at this time. I had already read everything and understood about ‘fetal demise due to umbilical cord torsion’, it is not something human could control. It was just fate and not our destiny to have a baby. Even though I had already prepared a name for her. Even though I had already wished and prepared everything for her. Even after I dream for her to grow big, pretty and marriage with her lover. Even after what I did, I knew it was useless. My tears I couldn’t hold it again. Maybe it was just the best arranged by God. Where would people go when they died? I didn’t know. But I knew that wherever I went, lived, and died, I would remember and always remember I had a daughter, even though she was only with us for 7 months. She was still my daughter, and I would find her when I died. At least for a
Aurora I hate this life because it doesn’t spin in the direction I want. I want everything to be according to my will. And because it doesn’t revolve around me, I try to force it to spin even harder. I want Alex under my control, to fire everyone I dislike. I hate it when Alex doesn’t listen to me, I despise Babel, and I hate it when my daughter died. I want to be in control of everything. I know something is wrong with me, but I can’t seem to stop this intense desire to control, and maybe in the process, I’m losing everything. Yet, the anger inside me hasn’t even subsided. In the living room, Linda showed me the recording of Alex’s video. “Aurora, I am sorry. I can’t tell you this face to face because I’m afraid we will end up fighting again and hurting each other," Alex’s voice came through the speakers, weary and resigned. "I found the gate two days ago. And I think you better return to Earth. I know you hate Babel and you can’t learn to love it nor try to find joy in it.” Alex
A year had passed. Trudging towards the police station, my appearance was akin to a homeless person. The relentless consumption of blue pills over the year had significantly reduced my body weight. Real food had become a stranger to my palate for too long. As I approached, an artificial robot glided towards me, scanning my face before greeting, “Welcome Mr. Alex. What can I help you with?”Feeling a deep unease, I confided, “I feel like my soul is in danger; can you protect me?” I was aware that the Babel system offered some form of sanctuary.The robot queried, “How long do you wish to be protected? We can offer one day of protection per year for every citizen of Babel.”Hesitating, I requested, “Can you protect me for two days?”It responded, “Yes, we can, but you will be using your entitlement for two years' worth of protection.”“Alright,” I consented.“Please follow me. Starting now, we will temporarily erase all your data from the Babel system so you will be untraceable by anyon
The nine members frantically scoured every possible avenue to locate Alex, but their efforts were fruitless."He might have found a haven from the authorities," Number 7 speculated, his eyes darting anxiously. "But there are countless police sanctuaries scattered throughout Babel. Figuring out his exact hideout is like searching for a needle in a haystack.""Damn," Number 5 interjected, his voice laced with frustration. He scanned the room, locking eyes with Number 2 and Number 3. "What are you waiting for? Get moving and find Alex!"“Do I take order form number 5 now?” Number 3 let out a bitter laugh, the sound echoing in the tense atmosphere. "I've had it with your nonsense. I'm leaving this group. It's on the verge of collapse anyway. I regret not siding with Number 10. This is farewell." With those final words, Number 3's avatar vanished from the scene.Number 5's face flushed with anger, his fists clenched tightly. "If Number 3 thinks she can just walk away, we'll bring her down
My disdain for Alex was burgeoning, every fiber of my being recoiling at the mere thought of him. To the world, he might be a hero, but to me, he was nothing but a despicable man who had inflicted pain on his own wife and daughter. This seething anger was a heavy shackle I vowed to carry eternally.Although some of his ventures were professedly philanthropic, enriching various charities, the reins of his empire were now firmly in my grasp. I was resolute in diverting the flow of funds solely towards profit maximization.“Linda, can we pivot all of the company’s efforts to profit-making? Why bother if it doesn’t yield financial gain?” I inquired, the bitterness lacing my words.“But Mrs. Aurora, Master Alex always advocated for a balance between philanthropy and profitability,” Linda cautiously replied.“That’s precisely why your master is a fool. He favored strangers over his own flesh and blood, breeding dependency and idleness. I intend to dismantle his so-called legacy,” I retorted
AuroraThere's an old adage that says, "When there is a common enemy, people will unite. But in its absence, they turn on each other."This notion resonated with me, especially as my life veered into territories I'd never imagined. Suddenly, I was flush with cash, a stark contrast to my previous existence. Despite Alex's wealth, he was a philanthropist at heart, funneling nearly all her resources into charity. Leavening me with nothing!And once the charitable flow halted, the influx of wealth was astonishing. Our coffers began to swell, rapidly filling with about a million dollars each week.Nicholas, my guide in this lavish new world, introduced me to indulgences I'd never fathomed. He led me to opulent havens where handsome men provided services that were anything but economical, yet they offered an experience that justified every penny. Their attention was relentless, fulfilling desires I didn't know I had, providing a daylong ecstasy that left me breathless and momentarily allevi
I looked at the baby he was so cute, but I know I had to act. I dressed him in new clothes and wrote the prophecy about his future role in saving the world on the cloth. He was destined to return here, to build a dome for humanity and fulfill his fate—perhaps he had already completed his mission. I donned the wrist device and fashioned a smaller one for the baby, so we could travel through time together. But first, I had to ensure that the future would be free of problems. The spheres were set to manage the environment, programmed to halt their work when CO2 levels reached 0.04%. As for who would rule in the future, I chose not to decide. The people must learn to govern themselves; some were already training to use the spheres. I couldn't always be their deity; they needed to become self-sufficient. With the baby in tow, I prepared to leave this era, knowing I would never return; it wasn't my place. Together, we activated the high-frequency drive, propelling us into the fourth
On the night the baby was born, the parents was sleeping soundly, unaware of the sphere descended to take a sample of the newborn's blood.It was painless. And the sphere quickly checked the DNA.As the results flashed on the screen, it not fit my DNA. But I saw a connection between myself and this baby—a sibling, perhaps.I didn’t now if I have messed up with the future or I still unborn in this time.Two years later, the woman I believed to be my mother was expecting again, this time a daughter. It was clear then that the baby wasn’t me.All I can do was waiting.In the five years since I came here, we constructed 76,910 domes worldwide, sheltering 500 million survivors from the once 8 billion-strong human population.The disparity was stark: some domes teemed with life, while others stood empty, their ecosystems meticulously engineered and automated, home only to selected wildlife.The advent of virtual exploration allowed people to survey these domes remotely, relocating if they f
"Show me where my parents are," I commanded the sphere with excitement. After long years, I was about to meet my long-lost parents.The sphere generated a screen for me to view, revealing a young man and woman, perhaps around 20 years old, entering the Eden Dome for the first time. They appeared bewildered and lost, their eyes wide with a mix of fear and wonder."Are you sure they are my parents?" I questioned, my brow furrowed in doubt. They were even younger than me. It felt odd, almost as if I should call them little brother and sister instead of parents."Yes, Master," the sphere responded affirmatively. "Your genetic DNA matches theirs perfectly.""But," I hesitated, scrutinizing the image, my heart pounding with a strange apprehension. "Send one sphere to them; I need to ask them something."The distance seemed vast, with our dome situated half a world away, creating a chasm between us."As you wish, Master."A sphere glided toward the man and woman in the distant dome. "Excuse
"Guys, please stop it," I implored, the urgency clear in my voice. "There will be no use."The spheres that had been hovering alongside each of the gang’s leaders and their members suddenly flared into a menacing red hue. "The host is showing harmful behavior. The security protocol will be launched," it announced in a dispassionate tone.Without warning, the spheres emitted a piercing frequency that targeted all guns, weapons, and harmful items. In moments, they disintegrated into fine atom dust, which the sphere then collected and whisked away, presumably to be repurposed as building material.The bear leader's and all gang’s members face registered shock, then eyes wide with disbelief and fear."In Eden, when you make a mistake, there are two options for you to choose from," I continued, my voice steady. "One, we simply expel you back to where you came from. Or, alternatively, you can e
In the dimly lit underground city, I had just finished selling my last can of food. Eagerly, I was about to purchase more slaves, when the bear gang leader approached me with his smelly body odour.Water was precious here; people wash their body once a year.His burly frame cast a long shadow as he strode towards me, flanked by two other gang’s leaders, their footsteps echoing in the small alley.“Alex, the fish seller,” he growled, his voice deep and menacing.“That’s me!” I responded with a cheerful smile.“We want you to take us to the fish factory. Can you, do it?” His eyes, sharp and probing, seemed to pierce through me, daring me to decline.“Sure,” I replied happily. “The owner already mentioned he'd be thrilled to have you all there. He said there’s plenty of food.”“Really?” he asked, scepticism written all over his rugged face.“Yes, take as many people as you can,” I urged, sensing their disbelief.The three of them exchanged looks of shock and disbelief. “Whatever,” one of
I stood in my house, gazing at the sprawling expanse of New York City below, dreaming of transforming it into a colossal dome.However, the architectural limitations soon became apparent, leading to a revised plan of constructing a network of smaller domes, each the size of a soccer field, interconnected like a honeycomb.This design was not only efficient but also practical in case of emergencies, such as shattered glass or structural failures. It could be easily detached and repaired without causing trouble to the entire dome.As the temperature inside the dome needed to be controlled for the plants and for the humans.The first group of eighty slaves, were settled in one of the completed domes. For the time being, they shared a common sleeping area, heavily medicated to aid their recovery and adjustment to their new environment.Each person was assigned a spherical device designed to help them acclimate to this "new Eden."At the night before, I was guiding them out of the undergro
‘No, I cannot move now before I know everything about them. I may wrongly save people and cause trouble. I need to study them more,’ I thought, my mind racing with caution.“Spheres 567, stay on the underground and record everything about their activities,” I commanded, letting them delve into the shadows.Finding one of the human underground hubs, I dispatched another hundred spheres to scout the area. Because humans may concentrate in one locale, and my hunch was spot on.Humans were crafting an underground city, intertwining with the natural caves and beginning to carve out a vast space within the earth's embrace.Through the spherical eyes, I glimpsed a colossal chamber that sparked memories of the largest underground city ever discovered, Derinkuyu in Cappadocia, Turkey, capable of sheltering around 20,000 people along with their livestock and food stores.But the population here seemed to surpass 80,000, with the capacity to house over 200,000. As I used the spheres to map the e
One had to remember where he was from. I had completed my research to elevate human frequency to a higher dimension, allowing passage through space and time. This ambition was fueled by my desire to meet my parents in the future.In my study room, I carefully handled the clothes that had swaddled me as a baby, left at the orphanage door. The fabric held the mystery of my origins. Despite using the gate to the past to uncover who had placed me at the orphanage, no one appeared. The clothes and I simply materialized out of nowhere.I placed the garment on the scanning blueprint machine, aiming to record every atom and deduce the era it hailed from. This information was pivotal for my journey to that specific time.The smart device strapped to my wrist was brimming with data necessary for the impending future war. In moments, the year 2112 flashed on its screen. Was it truly 80 years into the future?Activating the smart device on my left arm, my body began to feel ethereal, as the body
AlexI brought back a child, a five-year-old girl, to my mansion when I encountered Nadine. "Can you take care of this child as you do our own?" I asked tentatively."Who is she?" Nadine inquired, her eyes narrowing slightly in confusion and curiosity.I hesitated, grappling with the truth. The thought of Nadine possibly becoming a cruel stepmother to Aurora's daughter haunted me. But the weight of the secret was too heavy. As she could find the answer by herself anytime she wants."She is Aurora's daughter," I confessed. "I killed Nicholas, and soon Aurora will vanish from this world. This child is utterly alone, bearing no fault in these tragic events.""And her name?" Nadine pressed, her demeanour softening as she gently took the child into her arms, cradling her with maternal warmth.Shaking my head, I replied, "Aurora refused to name her. She's been living like a shadow among the maids, an unwanted soul.""How heartless can one be!" Nadine exclaimed, her face contorting in anger