Chapter 1
I was in a familiar cave. I could see clearly as though there was a fire burning behind me, the crackle and spit of flame in my ears, casting a glow on the roughly hewn stone walls and floor. There was black shapes cast on the furthest wall away from the far entrance, flickering in the invisible light.
“Chair, Tree, Fork.” I called out each of the shapes that I saw.
Good.
Colony’s disembodied voice echoed around the cave. The AI governed this world and was mother to myself and four hundred and ninety nine others, my brothers and sisters, through our fragile thirty year gestation.
We lived our life in vats, growing and living, in a simulated environment until we were ready to be born into the real world that awaited to be colonised. Until that day we lived a life in simulation. I grew up, went to school, had friends, made enemies, fell in love and out of love, had others love me, made mistakes and learned from them (not all of them though).
The shapes on the stone wall changed.
Adrian. Shall we start again?
“I guess.” I shrugged, not wanting too but I called out what shapes I saw. “Car, Vase, Book.”
My thoughts, however, were very different. Shadows.
Adrian, I can hear you.
I was caught out as usual.
“But I’m not wrong.” My face felt red from embarrassment. Or did it? Was it only my brain telling me my face was red, or even Colony?
Please, concentrate. I-
Colony’s voice stopped. In fact, all of Colony stopped. The ever present AI, all throughout my life, was suddenly not there.
“Colony?” My voice felt small and weak. I couldn’t hide the panic I was feeling. “Colony? Are you still there? Please answer me.”
I-I-I-ne-ee-
Colony’s voice repeated like a broken machine, half there and half not, flickering real and not real.
Adrian. I need yo-ou to co-co-me-me out. Awake.
The world vanished again and stayed that way. Everything was gone. I felt like I was floating in space.
Awake, Colony said awake. She didn’t mean… She couldn’t mean that. I’m only half way through my training. I’m not ready for-
And then there was pain.
Chapter 2
The pain was so excruciating, burning right through my lungs, that I couldn’t think of anything other than ‘breath’. Air came in through my mouth but I was being smothered with something thick and sticky. I began to panic, taking quicker intakes the stuff.
Slowly, and it felt like the longest time I could fathom, I realised I was breathing. As the pain, oh god the pain, tore through me from the inside out I remembered Colony had told me something like this would happen. But that couldn’t be right.
I could hear bubbling and soft popping around my ears. My ears! I could hear the sounds. I could feel it all over me. Colony had never told me sounds actually could be felt.
The fire in my belly made me want to be sick. I fell forward onto something hard and cold, and slipped down wards. Something connected to my head sprung lose like tendrils of moss violently letting go as it was picked off rocks. I was on my hand and knees, gagging, but whatever was in my body causing the heat and pain, was coming out, splattering on the floor.
