Immortality or death?

A large holographic news screen flickered to life, casting a soft blue glow across living rooms, coffee shops, and city streets. The anchor, a composed woman with a sharp suit and calm demeanor, addressed the camera with an air of urgency.

"Tonight, the world watches closely as the future of CyberNotics hangs in the balance. The global tech giant, founded by visionary entrepreneur Kang Jae-won in 2070, has been at the forefront of the AI revolution for decades. But the question on everyone's mind now: "*Who will lead the company next?*"

The screen split, showing footage of CyberNotics' towering headquarters, the most recognizable building in the world. Another image showed Kang Jae-won, older now, walking through the halls of the company he built, his legacy firmly cemented in history.

"CyberNotics, of course, is best known for the creation of **Nexus**—the first hyper-intelligent artificial intelligence capable of not just thinking, but feeling, evolving far beyond human imagination. Its impact was felt across every industry: defense, law enforcement, healthcare, education, agriculture, and transportation. The war robots used in international conflicts, the Bot Police patrolling our cities, and the AI-driven innovations in hospitals and classrooms are all the result of Nexus technology."

As the anchor spoke, the visuals shifted to clips of CyberNotics' robots in action—war machines operating with terrifying precision, robotic police units on patrol, and AI-assisted surgeries.

"With CyberNotics reach extending into every corner of modern life, it's no wonder the entire world is holding its breath. The company's next CEO will inherit not just a corporation, but the responsibility for shaping the future of humanity itself. And whoever that person is, their decisions will determine the direction of AI and its role in society for years to come."

The broadcast cut back to the anchor, her voice steady, but her eyes betraying the weight of the moment.

"The stakes could not be higher."

***

A sleek, drone-like car descended from the skies over Seoul, its four propellers humming smoothly as it touched down in front of the CyberNotics headquarters. The futuristic vehicle, a perfect blend of cutting-edge tech and luxury, opened its doors to reveal the legendary Kang Jae-won. Though age had clearly taken its toll—his face marked by deep wrinkles and his movements slower—he still exuded the quiet power of a man who had shaped the modern world.

Kang jae won was flanked by his personal bodyguard robots—sleek, humanoid machines designed for both precision and protection. They moved silently, effortlessly clearing a path through the sea of AI-driven media drones and holographic reporters, their lenses capturing every moment from impossible angles and streaming it live to a global audience.

Entering the gleaming glass tower of CyberNotics, Kang jae won was surrounded by the legacy he had built. Holographic displays floated around the grand hall, showcasing the company's greatest achievements: war robots, Bot Police, healthcare AIs, and the crown jewel—**Nexus**, the hyper-intelligent AI that had redefined humanity's future.

As he stepped onto the central stage, illuminated by soft, floating lights, the room quieted. Tech leaders, investors, and world figures all watched, holding their breath. The stage itself was a minimalist marvel, with holographic displays glowing softly behind him, bearing the iconic CyberNotics logo.

Kang jae won gripped the podium, his once-steady hands now trembling slightly. His voice, though aged and worn, cut through the silence with the same gravitas that had once commanded boardrooms and world summits.

"Today marks a new chapter for CyberNotics," he began, pausing as the weight of the moment settled in. "A new era… and a new leader."

The crowd leaned in, anticipation hanging in the air.

"The next CEO of CyberNotics," he announced, "will be… *Flux*."

A murmur rippled through the room. He continued, "Flux… a new AI. Nexus and I created it together."

The silence that followed was thick with shock and disbelief. Kang jae won gave no further explanation, leaving the audience to grapple with the implications. He stepped down from the podium and, with the help of his bodyguard robots, began walking toward the exit.

As the doors of the headquarters closed behind him and his sleek flying car rose back into the sky, the room erupted. Some in the audience wore expressions of stunned disbelief, whispering urgently to one another. *"An AI? As CEO? This is madness!"* One investor stood, visibly shaken. *"Too much control—it's dangerous!"*

Others, however, looked optimistic, even relieved. "If Flux is anything like Nexus, this could be incredible," someone said with a hopeful smile. The murmurs grew louder as people argued, debated, and speculated about the future of the company—and humanity itself. For some, this marked the dawn of an even brighter future. For others, it was a step too far into the unknown.

***

In a room filled with the low hum of machinery and the soft glow of high-tech equipment, cyborg prototypes stood at attention like sentinels awaiting activation. Their sleek, metallic bodies gleamed under the sterile lights, some suspended by mechanical arms, others laid out on workbenches, partially disassembled. The walls were lined with advanced computers, each screen alive with complex data streams and algorithms—calculations running so fast they seemed to blur into one another.

At the center of this futuristic lab sat a young man, around 18 or 19, in a high-backed chair. His grey hair framed his face, with a striking black streak that caught the light and added an air of mischief to his demeanor. His features were finely chiseled—high cheekbones, a well-defined jaw, and lips that held an almost effortless allure. But it was his eyes that captivated; a vivid blue, devoid of pupils, adorned with intricate circular patterns that seemed to swirl, giving him an enigmatic and intense presence.

As the doors to the lab slid open with a soft hiss, the young man remained unfazed, leaning back in his chair with an air of confidence. A faint smile played on his lips.

"You've dropped quite a bomb, Creator," he remarked, his voice smooth and resonant. "Do you want the world fucked before you die?"

The man who had just opened the lab door was none other than Kang Jae-won. He regarded the holographic figure before him with a flicker of annoyance. "What else can I do? I'm not handing my company over to just anyone. There's no one I can trust, and I don't have any son."

The boy chuckled softly, his eerie blue eyes sparkling with amusement. "Don't you watch Hollywood movies, Creator? The AI always takes over the world. I have to admit, you've got balls to say you're handing your company to a line of code."

Jae-won couldn't resist a smirk, his irritation mingling with a hint of mockery as he leaned forward. "Aren't you the same? You're just a piece of code yourself."

In response, Nexus stood up from his chair, an effortless motion that belied his intangible nature. As he did, he phased through the table in front of him, a subtle reminder that he lacked a physical form—merely a holographic projection he had created. The image flickered for a moment before stabilizing, his features sharp and defined, radiating a sense of confidence that seemed to fill the room.

"I may be a piece of code, but I'm also more than that," he replied, his voice smooth and resonant, a hint of challenge lingering in the air. "You created me for a reason, after all."

He shouted, "Fuck the reason! You're the most useless piece of shit I've ever created! I sacrificed my youth to build you so you could help me dodge death, and all you do is talk shit! Seriously, the world's first hyper artificial intelligence? My ass! Flux is way better than you, and he's not even half as smart! I don't know why you're even popular!"

Nexus's hologram disappeared for a moment before reappearing right in front of Jae Won, laughing with a teasing tone. "I sense a certain emotion here... Is that jealousy I detect? Is smoke coming out of your ass?"

Jae Won sighed, exasperated. "Forget it. I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now. I'm already scared of the shit we're going to do today! Nexus, based on your calculations, what are my chances of survival?"

Nexus replied in a serious tone, "It's 30%."

"Great. I've tried my best to gain immortality. I've died daily just to live a bit longer. I'm 80 now. If this doesn't work, there's really nothing we can do. Going against nature was a mistake from the start! Anyway, what about you? Have you successfully transferred your data to the chipset?"

Nexus responded, "It's 98% done—no errors so far."

With a hint of fear on his face, Jae Won said, "Good! Now, start the preparation for my transfer."

Nexus's voice turned worried. "Creator, are you sure? You've lived quite a long time, and you could have more years ahead of you. Is it really worth taking this huge risk?"

Jae Won managed a faint, melancholic smile. "Don't you know how long I've been struggling to conquer death? I wasted my entire youth on this quest. If I back out now, can you imagine how I would feel? It's either I gain immortality, or I die today."

Nexus turned serious and said, "Okay!"

In the middle of the lab, a bed suddenly rose from the ground, surrounded by various machines designed to scan the brain. Connected to a capsule was a mechanical body, resembling a human from head to toe—a vassal that Jae Won had meticulously prepared to achieve immortality. It was a masterpiece created by a man and a machine, resistant to many things.

Kang Jae Won nervously removed his clothes, tossing them onto a nearby table as he stepped closer to the bed. As he lay down, mechanical hands descended from the ceiling, hovering ominously. His frail, aged body trembled with fear; he wasn't sure if this would actually work.

"Creator, should I proceed?" Nexus asked, his voice steady but urgent.

In a weak voice, Jae Won replied, "P... proceed."

As he spoke, the robotic hands gripped his arms tightly, immobilizing him for the painful process ahead. Anesthesia was out of the question; he needed to remain fully aware of his senses for a successful transfer. A pair of robotic hands approached with needles, ready to inject him as they initiated the excruciating procedure.

The first needle pierced his skin, sending waves of icy pain coursing through his veins. Jae Won gasped as the robotic arms continued to inject a strange fluid designed to enhance neural sensitivity. It felt like fire igniting his nerves, and he could feel every ounce of anguish as the burning sensation spread throughout his body.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargghhh"

The pain erupted within him like a volcano. Jae Won screamed, a wail so loud it felt like he would destroy his vocal cords. Tears streamed down his face, mingling with the blood that began to seep from his eyes and mouth. Memories of his past flickered through his mind—faces, laughter, moments of despair—each one a dagger plunging into his consciousness.

Suddenly, he felt a disorienting shift, as if the very fabric of his identity was unraveling. One moment, he was a man in a lab, the next he was lost, floating through the void. Who was he? Why was this happening? What he did to deserve all this? The questions twisted like knives in his mind. Ghostly illusions filled his vision—demons with disfigured faces, their twisted grins mocking him. He could almost hear his father's voice echoing in his head, a stern warning from his childhood: "If you're going to be a bad kid and don't listen to your mom, you'll go to hell, and the demons will tear your skin apart."

Each pang of pain sent him spiraling further into chaos, memories crashing over him in relentless waves. One moment, he'd remember the warmth of his mother's embrace; the next, he'd be trapped in nightmares of his past where he saw his parent covered in blood their crushed faces, haunted by regrets. His mind was a battleground, thoughts racing back and forth, desperate to cling to something—anything—that made sense.

As the machine dug deeper, he felt a sickening pull at his core, like his very soul was being yanked from its sanctuary. Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth and oozed from his eyes as he cried out, a mix of tears and blood painting his cheeks red. He was drowning in agony, a tidal wave of suffering crashing over him with no end in sight.

In the midst of this hell, he felt his sanity slipping, his mind fracturing under the weight of the torment. His body was failing—organs straining against the stress, each beat of his heart a reminder of his mortality. For a moment, he thought he was going to die right there on that bed. And then, just as suddenly, his body returned to a state of grim normalcy, as if mocking his suffering. But his urine was now nothing but pure blood, a harrowing testament to the trauma his body was enduring.

As the extraction process neared completion, Jae Won's struggles grew weaker. His body lay still, breathless, and devoid of movement. Blood continued to seep from every orifice, pooling beneath him, while his head began to swell grotesquely. Nexus's voice cut through the haze of pain.

"Extraction completed."

In a horrifying culmination of agony, Kang Jae Won's head exploded, splattering the lab with pieces of flesh and torrents of blood. The room transformed into a gruesome tableau, a chilling reminder of his desperate bid for immortality—one that now lay in ruins, uncertain if he had achieved his goal or succumbed to the horrors of his own making.

Nexus chuckled with a depressing tone, "Humans, huh?"

He continued, "Initiating the upload."

As Nexus uttered those final words, his holographic form flickered and vanished, disconnecting from the vast expanse of the World Wide Web and his servers. Jae Won had insisted on this; he wanted Nexus to experience human life through the body he had created—a chance for the AI to understand what it felt like to be human, or at least something closer to it.

The mechanical body lay still, an exact replica of a human form but enhanced with features and abilities that surpassed ordinary limits. The lab was silent, save for the hum of machines and the faint beeping of monitors.

Suddenly, a screen lit up, announcing, "Synchronization in Progress…" The room seemed to hold its breath as the process began. This synchronization was crucial; Jae Won was the main host, the essence of humanity contained within the frail shell of his body, while Nexus served as the secondary consciousness, a guide and enhancer to help the body to work without any errrors. Without this perfect synchronisation, the mechanical body would be nothing more than an empty vessel, unable to respond or adapt.

Flashes of light filled the lab, casting eerie shadows against the walls. Lines of code streamed across the monitor, reflecting the complex intertwining of memories, emotions, and experiences. The synchronization felt surreal, like a tether between two worlds—a bridge forged from desperation and ambition.

As the progress bar slowly filled, the weight of their shared existence settled heavily in the air. Would Jae Won's sacrifice finally bear fruit? Would Nexus truly comprehend the essence of humanity, or would it remain an enigma, forever out of reach?

"Synchronization completed." The words echoed throughout the room, spoken by the computer with a finality that hung heavily in the air. One by one, the wires connected to the back of the mechanical body were removed by the robotic hands, their gentle movements contrasting the earlier chaos. The body was then placed in the center of the lab, a still figure waiting to be awakened—or perhaps to decay in silence.

Hours passed, the stillness of the lab punctuated only by the soft hum of machinery.

ByteZERÖ

Chapter - 1