FICTION | CYBERPUNK

Real | A flash fiction story

96 of 💯

Drawde stepped out of the Aether pod, his feet sinking into the neon-lit, plush carpet of the simulation arcade. His brain was a little foggy, the residual sensations from the Aether still floating around in his brain.

“Minda,” he called, rubbing his eyes, “the new pod is amazing! The Aether feels so real in this thing! This is incredible. It’s like it’s more real than reality itself.”

Minda was hidden behind a plastic wall panel, amidst an array of wires and tubes, busily plugging cables and refilling different kinds of fluids for the A8. The hum of machines filled the air.

“I know! Isn’t it awesome?” he said from inside the wall, his voice a little robotic.

Drawde peeked inside, searching for Minda. Instead, a sleek, humanoid bot stood up, a plastic smile staring at Drawde.

Drawde jumped.

“Oh, sorry,” the bot said. “It’s me, Minda. I’m using a surrogate body for the maintenance work. I’m actually in my place. I’m in the Aether myself.”

“Wait, what?”

“I know a human is supposed to supervise the shop’s activities, but like, what’s the difference?” The bot grabbed a small metallic tool from the floor. “I don’t really wanna be there. So I stay home, playing games in the Aether, and when I need to do some maintenance, I use the bot as my body.”

Drawde narrowed his eyes. “Doesn’t that feel weird?”

“Nah. I mean, the lag is minimal. I’m connected to this bad boy through fiber optics.” The bot — Minda — gestured to a thick cable sprouting from the back of the robot’s neck and rising to the ceiling, disappearing into a sea of cables and tubes.

As the bot spoke, it fiddled with the small device in its hand, its fingers moving with precision.

“I don’t know, Minda,” Drawde said, running a hand through his hair. “This feels weird.”

Minda didn’t answer. The bot just stood there, with its plastic smile, its artificial eyes staring blankly ahead.

“Minda?” Drawde waved a hand an inch from the bot’s face, trying to grab its attention.

“Hey, Drawde,” the bot finally said. “Long time no see!”

“What do you mean, ‘long time no see?’ We were just talking.” Drawde’s voice wavered.

“Oh, sorry. The bot was on autopilot.” The bot shrugged, dropping the small tool to the floor as if unaware that it was holding it in the first place.

“What?” Drawde’s eyes widened. “Autopilot?”

“Yeah, I fed it samples of how I move and speak and now it can behave like me, so I don’t have to be connected all the time. It doesn’t really make any difference.”

“What the- what do you mean? I’ve been talking to some AI this whole time?” Drawde rubbed his temples. “Man, you’re really making me question reality right now.”

“Oh, Drawde, my guy, who cares about reality anyway?” The bot put a cold plastic hand on Drawde’s shoulder. “It only serves to shackle you. You’re in the dark — in the cave. You’re only seeing shadows. Once you see the truth, you’ll step out here, where it’s bright and everything looks awesome!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Drawde pushed the bot’s arm away. “Once I see what truth?”

The bot paused, its artificial gaze locking onto Drawde. It spread its arms wide, gesturing to the arcade around them, filled with the hum of the Aether pods and the flickering neon lights. “Nothing is real.”

< Neverland | Real | Wastelands >

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