Surrounded by many friends and lovers, Aia has always felt lonely. Changing appearance many times, she always felt like she is not enough. Life was passing away, while Aia spent all of her time in the next generation metaverse called Elysium, a real...
"Yuno! Stop being sad! Get up and come with me! It will be fun!"
"Jero, how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not sad. I never get sad. Relax, I'm just thinking."
"Fuck reflecting. What is there to think about? Look around! We are in a wonderful simulation, this is a real paradise! Here you don't have to think, but feel!"
His words echo through the memory. Jero. The times when I wasn't sad. And now I am. So much that I want to disconnect myself from life.
One of the biggest benefits of Elysium, in my opinion, is the ability to relive certain memories. Therefore, I come to a special location - Fading Memories. A melancholic name, but an honest one. This place rebuilds those moments that I needed most. On an intuitive level, it determines what I want to remember, even if I forgot some details. The location sets up the necessary scenery and our projections in a few seconds. In this case, it was one of my conversations with Jero, which I forgot about.
And here I am. In the middle of a beautiful park at night. The sky sparkles with thousands of stars, fireflies flicker over the grass, and I am literally sitting next to my friend on the surface of a lake located in the middle of the location. I would like to get closer to the projection. But it won't do anything. In these memories, I can look at myself from the outside and just watch them like a movie. I cannot change the course of events, force myself to answer differently, or to get an attention of myself "from the past" and alive, at that moment, Jero. Again, this is just a projection. Visualization of something I forgot.
Now I catch myself thinking that I often visit here and review various memories with Jero. I realize that I miss my best friend. And I never came to terms with his sudden death. Once again, I feel cheated.
On the one hand, I shouldn't feel lonely. So many people seem to need me. Especially in the last week. All these requests to make a location, to join some kind of movement. It used to invigorate me, but now I don't feel any sense behind it all. It feels like my biggest fear is coming true. Fear of losing interest in your work. It's like it's the only thing that makes me interested in life.
I get up off the ground and head towards the lake where me from the past and Jero are sitting. I approach them closer, eavesdrop on the conversation:
"I'm telling you, Yuno. The meaning of life is Elysium. The meaning of life is to take everything from it, to live your dream, you know? In reality, we can no longer do this. Once upon a time in the past, people may have had opportunities to get high without simulation, but this is the fate of the whole world. So it's redundant to think about it. The meaning of everything is on the surface."
He speaks about the meaning of life in his already familiar to me inspired manner. Such a happy, such a carefree boy of nineteen. And I'm sitting, as usual, all in myself, looking into the void. Nauseous.
"If the meaning of everything is on the surface, then why did you die?" I ask aloud, knowing the projection will never answer me. It's just a clear record of my memories.
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But he suddenly turns around. I jump back in surprise.
"Yuno?" he calls, smiling slightly.
I stand as if rooted to the spot, not believing my eyes, and my copy from the past remains motionless.
"Do you really want to know why I died?" he continues.
I feel my hands are shaking.
"It's very simple..."
I don't have time to finish listening to him, when suddenly the water under my feet abruptly pulls me deeper. I feel cold and start to choke.
What the hell is going on here?
Thoughts fade into the background, I try desperately to get to the surface, but the more physical effort I put in, the more the lake drags me to the very bottom. Trying to stop panicking, I mentally say to myself that I am still in Elysium, and everything that is happening to me here is a simulation. Even death is fake here. But consciousness still doesn't listen to me, and I try even more to break away from the bottom.
"Yuno! Yuno, open your eyes!" I hear a familiar voice. So soft and soothing. Someone's cold palms on my face.
"Yuno, what's wrong with you? Your physical indicators are almost at zero!"
I open my eyes and see Aia in front of me.
"What happened?"
"You need to get back to reality, to eat and to get a nap. You are weak."
I look around. This is her private room. What the hell am I doing here?
"I was in a different location. How did I get here?"
"You have always been here."
"No way."
"Yuno, you're not feeling well. Log out of the server now."
Intuitively feeling that she isn't lying, I exit the simulation. A few seconds later I wake up in my room gasping like I've had a nightmare. I don't understand what happened. I drink water and go out to the rooftop. The cold air of real world and the street noise have a sobering effect on me.
Then I go back to my apartments and take pills. Sleep is no longer possible.
A notification arrives from Aia:
"Elysium is testing some kind of update. Do not be afraid of anything. As long as I am with you, everything will be fine. Love you."
All these updates raise even more questions. A strange effect on the human brain. Why are they implementing something else? Remembering the promise to make locations for that strange wealthy girl, I pick up a tablet and start sketching out a plan. Along with this comes the thought to answer Levi after all. Maybe his idea is what I need? Maybe this way I can get rid of the reluctance to create something?
