The stars faded, and the owls hooted at sunrise. Soothed in her soft bed covered in angelic wings, Piper, reluctant to start another day of school, buries her head deeper into the pillows, desperately trying to suppress the thunderous subway advertisements and electronic buildings filtering through her curtains.
The persistent echo of her mom's voice yelling to get ready for school drives Piper to finally wake from the long slumber. Annoyed, she unwillingly heads to the bathroom. Her reflection in the bathroom smart mirror seemingly mocked her as she instinctively brushed her teeth. Piper, refreshed by the minty breath looping around her mouth, walked down what apparently looked to be a thousand stairs. Each step felt like a slap, reminding her of the missing homework she had been saving, like a collection.
The aroma of bacon and eggs, made by R-T, Piper's personal robot chef, glides through the thick air and intrudes Piper's sense of tranquility. The dull routine, what used to be a cheerful habit, now felt like a tedious chore. There was no avoiding it.
After finishing her breakfast alongside her mom, she marched back to her cocoon, ruins of what used to be a joyful place, free of the stress and pressure imposed by the omnipresent social media surveillance. Piper, lingering in the doorway, catches the familiar chime of her mom's Zoom meeting. Serving as a timer, it ticked, becoming fainter each time. Sensing the urgency, she rushes to her laptop, her fingers slipping and grasping the lid, trying to get to her personal school meeting too. It was 7:59 a.m, a minute before she would be considered late.
The virtual world awaited the perennial Piper. Ever since she was three, her parents invited her to the digital realm. She has never left since, feeling like it was an extension of her existence. Around her, everyone was interconnected between the tangible and virtual reality. It became taboo not to own an electronic device.
The boundaries between the real and virtual world became seamlessly indistinguishable. Through Piper, people spent as much time in the digital world as much as the real world. It became the very essence of what was a part of existence.
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Science FictionPiper, a young girl, lives in a society surrounded by social media. Food, entertainment, games, are all on the tip of your fingers. Why should you go outside when everything is handed to you? Piper realizes there might be more than what seems. ONLY...
