The Human Shell
Michael felt the splitting headache before he even opened his eyes. Beneath him was a firm, spongy mattress. The sterile smell of the room told him that he was inside some type of infirmary. He turned his head towards the beeping noise, and the first thing he saw was a figure in a familiar white robe.
"You must be going wary of finding yourself in a sick room every so often in last few days." Master Ishu flipped through the pages of the magazine he was looking at.
"Versus finding myself in heaven? I think not." Michael responded a bit dryly, mostly from the thirst he felt. His gaze fell at the glass of water on the side table. Master Ishu noted his glance and brought the glass to his lips.
"For someone who wants to live on, you were not trying very hard. But, the old physicist was very thankful that you took the bullet for him."
Michael nodded slightly when his thirst was quenched and began to rise.
"You must take it easy, Michael." Master Ishu's voice showed a little concern as he helped Michael sit up on the infirmary bed. "The surgeon said the bullet grazed your aorta."
"Does that mean I am off the hook and can go back to my life on earth?" Michael grabbed the remote controller and turned on the small screen that looked like a television, mounted on the wall.
Master Ishu chuckled. "Do you play games, Michael?"
"Like the one you people are playing with me?" Michael had run out of patience and was not mincing his words anymore.
"No, like the ones you must remember playing on earth. Video games, virtual reality games, whatnot. You play them only for certain hours of the day. They are not your true existence. Well, at least not on the earth, yet."
"I did not know you were a connoisseur of gaming." Michael's lips curled.
"I am a connoisseur of many things. Sometimes, we lose ourselves in those virtual reality games. That does not mean that artificial reality is our life."
Michael turned sharply towards Ishu.
"Your previous life on earth was similar to virtual reality, a real but empty existence. You can go back to those you called your parents, your family, but they are nothing but empty human shells United Systems Verse uses to ease their ex-employees into their new identities on earth."
"Then where is my real family?" Michael asked haughtily.
Master Ishu gave a long sigh. "I wish I could answer that question." He then stood up and walked towards the door. "You are older than I am, Mikael. You were banished when I first started here. Only you know who you are." He opened the infirmary door but then paused and turned. "Pardon me, by the way, for not congratulating you before. Since you have completed the second objective of the mission, enjoy your new privileges and perks. The doctors say you will be ready for some fieldwork in three days. I will see you then." Master Ishu gave Michael a smile with all the charm he could muster before turning and leaving the room.
Michael drew his gaze back to the television, but the unfamiliar and strange shows did not hold his attention for long. His eyes scanned through the infirmary room, and he found his familiar tablet on the sofa sitting against the white curtains. Carefully, he stood up and trudged towards the sofa. Soon as he turned his tablet on, several notifications rang and beeped, one after another. Michael pressed on his own profile to keep abreast of all the latest privileges he had unlocked that Master Ishu mentioned.
[User Name: Mikael De Besches/Michael Best
Race: Human
Role: Systems Engineer- Level II
Qualifications: Bachelors in Software Engineering
Skills: Fixer, Combat, Social]
Curious, Michael clicked on the new combat skill.
[Skill: Combat
Overall Current Level: 5%
Maximum Level: 40%
Component 1: Speed
Current level: 5%
Maximum Level: 20%
Component 2: Agility
Current level: 10%
Maximum Level: 70%
Component 3: Strength
Current level: 5%
Maximum Level: 20%
Component 4: Aim
Current level: 20%
Maximum level: 50%]
Michael would argue that his current combat level was much higher than that, especially if he imagined Ishu standing before him. But he quickly moved on to explore his other new skill.
[Skill: Social
Overall Current Level: 25%
Maximum Level: 30%
Component 1: Verbal Communication
Current level: 40%
Maximum Level: 40%
Component 2: Non-verbal Communication
Current level: 40%
Maximum Level: 40%
Component 3: Romance
Current level: 0%
Maximum Level: 0%
Component 4: Charisma
Current level: 20%
Maximum level: 40%]
Michael let out a silent laughter. He did not need the tablet to tell him his love life was non existent. For a moment, he stared blankly at the screen, and then, without waiting any longer, he opened up the geolocation system that he had noticed in passing, in the main screen. He did not know how or why, but he was more determined than ever that he would find a way out of this intergalactic system maze and return to his real home on earth.
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"You look good." Angela remarked when Michael returned to his work station three days later.
Michael smiled uncertainly at his colleague to the left. The second floor balcony was busier than usual, with all the workstations occupied. The buzz of the employees was interrupted occasionally by beeps of the machines or announcements over the microphone.
"I wish Master Ishu had warned me of all the bullets that would come flying at me." Michael quipped, making Angela snicker.
Michael noticed a few approving nods coming his way from other engineers working near his station that he gladly returned.
"It is not too often that the engineers here get to fight like superheroes. It is usually tinkering with the machines and lots of button pressing." Angela gave him an encouraging smile. "Oh, there is a mixers tonight for level I and II staff. Sasha was wondering if you are feeling up to it."
Michael remembered his unimpressive social skill stats. "I think so."
"Cool." Angela beamed and then turned to her computer. Michael did the same and found that his physics mission had updated to a new and final objective:
[Target World: Earth, Year 2021
Overall Goal: Restore Universal Gravitational Field
Objective 3: Connect Antimatter Universe to Current Universe]