A dull headache, , was all he could feel. Even the pounding heartbeat in his ears and the lack of oxygen didn't dampen it, but the continued ringing made him open his eyes.
Covered in a cold sweat and out of breath, he turned to look at the holographic clock. 2 o'clock in the morning, why did I forget to take the drug?
Turning on the message on the holographic watch, he clenched his teeth and began to slowly sit down on the bed, an impulse of pain spreading from his head to his entire body.
Ugh…hell, the symptoms got worse.
It was an unfurnished one-room apartment with black wallpaper on the walls and a pull-out bedside table.
On shaky legs, he went to the bathroom.
1 message was left, starting playback.
“Hi Adam, you forgot to send your documents to your port, so I sent them, for which you owe me coffee”
Pressing a button, a wall-mounted cabinet with a mirror was pulled out.
Opening the door, he took the ampule, inserted it into the inhaler, and injected the drug into the neck, releasing a sigh of relief.
Alpha two, two, zero four send a message.
“Liza thank you very much, yesterday I was not very well, so I forgot about them, but about coffee, I'll see when I have free time”
Message sent
Phew…lucky to be born in 2334, the Federation invented these drugs to suppress the disease of cancer.
Lowering his head, he saw his reflection in the mirror, which he preferred to forget and never see again.
Short blond hair, dead gray eyes, low eyebrows, thin cheeks, and prominent cheekbones.
----------------------------------------
The artificial sun shone through the glass into the classroom, the sound of chalk scratching on the blackboard can be heard, and the quiet whisper of students comes from their seats.
“Thus, the concept of life was reformed 10 years ago, and written down in textbooks on Matunsophy.
It was then that the science of Philosophy became practical, not theoretical.
And so who will tell me the three foundations and the translation from Greek?”
Adam looked at his students and noticed how several outstretched hands appeared. Terrence again did not prepare, so I will not torment those who do not want to learn.
“Alice, tell us, and those who are now sitting in social networks”
A third of the students suddenly tensed up, and began to nervously look in the direction of Alice.
“Thank you teacher, and so in Greek matun is to learn, and sophia is translated as wisdom.
The first basis is Determinism (causation) which was used in Philosophy, but with the advent of Matunsophy, they switched from this method to Mechanism (Man as a biomachine, and not a person born of God) which became the Second basis of the life of all mankind.
The third basis is that this science is now rechecking and testing all kinds of past philosophies, backing it up with knowledge from other sciences, and all this with the help of the Second basis.”
“Clever Alice, and so soon we have a break, tomorrow I will check each of you's memory block, and put the appropriate mark”
Adam saw how some of the students began to look at each other in search of those who recorded his courses.
One by one, the projections began to fade until he was alone in the audience.
Sighing, he thought Everything, as usual, can go for a walk this time?
And his projection also disappeared.
----------------------------------------
The sound of a cane echoed around as a skinny man in a black coat walked along the sidewalk,
There were few cars in the circle, and people, as usual, happen on the evening night of sector 662.
Having reached the building with the holographic inscription "Cafe", he went inside and saw an old decoration with wooden chairs, tables, and a bar at which a woman who looked 30 years old waved her hand and smiled.
“Adam I'm here!”
Sitting next to her, he spoke sarcastically.
“I'm not blind yet Lisa, I “only” have blood cancer, why, scream in an empty café?”
Pouting her lips in feigned anger, a blonde with a bob haircut, blue eyes and a baby face answered.
“And who constantly did not notice when I hinted to you about our relationship?”
Rolling his eyes, he looked at the menu, chose the strongest coffee.
“I already said, I don't need it, especially if you still suffer in the future, caring for my body”
Her face took on a sad look, and at that moment, two mugs with their hot drinks moved out of the hole on the table, taking her mug, she asked.
“You seem to have been scanned not long ago, how long do you have left?”
Taking a sip of bitter coffee, he remembered how he was shown in bright red letters 10 years.
“20 years. That's the worst case scenario considering the symptoms and pain are getting worse, so for the last 10 of them I'll be paralyzed.”
She gazed firmly into his eyes until she saw that he looked away at his drink.
Lisa tightened her grip on her mug, realizing that this was a lie for her peace of mind. After all, he knows what strong feelings she has for him.
“How are you doing with the promotion?” He changed the subject.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
She immediately beamed and answered with a proud smile.
“I'm being transferred to the center”
Adam's eyes widened a little, no wonder she's in good physical mental and mental shape.
“Congratulations, now you will not be teaching these little ones, but will be preparing people for work in the central office.”
“Thank you, it's not in vain that I studied and trained hard for 10 years.”
The center of the Federation the greatest minds of mankind are located there, and every 5 years there is a reformation of the knowledge of past employees. And training new recruits, so that no one stays too long in a warm place.
“Industriousness alone is not enough to get into the center and you know it”
He said seriously as he finished his coffee.
She smiled slyly.
“Oh, do you still believe that we are constantly being watched?”
“This is not faith, but common sense, and this is not the first time I have said that this is …”
“Not personal, but passive observation from the Mind Center, yes, yes, you already said”
she interrupted him.
He frowned at her.
“An AI that was made into a person without feelings, and controlling its own kind, is not a smart vacuum cleaner for you, be serious.”
Lisa's face took on an embarrassed and guilty expression.
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just don't see the point in thinking about it so much, because
first,” she raised her index finger up, and her working behavior of a strict teacher turned on.
“He's WITHOUT feelings, so it's unlikely he'll use that information.
Secondly. The middle one followed the index one.”
“There are people responsible for its performance and errors.
Well, thirdly.” Nameless joined the other two.
“Don't be paranoid watching every corner because it's dark.”
She said with a smile on her face.
You did not take into account that those who check it can use this information, well, I will not escalate it.
Adam chuckled slightly.
“Okay, closed the topic, and I think it's time to go home,” he replied, getting up.
“Wait,” Lisa's hand grabbed him reflexively, but with a second's delay let go. “I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose,” but it was too late, his lips curled a little because of the pain he was holding back.
“It's okay, we don't see each other that often, I understand why you react so sharply”
“When can we see each other again?” She asked with hope in her eyes.
“I'll send you a message,” he gently placed his hand on hers.
----------------------------------------
It became much darker, sidewalk lights and lanterns turned on, from above you could see the iron dome, which gradually took on the appearance of a sky with stars. Everything is as usual. Adam thought as he walked home and saw a flickering light in the alley to the left of his apartment. Or not. Strange, this color of lanterns does not exist.
Something pulled him to check what was there, maybe it was the pain from his illness and thoughts of suicide. Or depression, which did not allow him to live a normal life, or maybe it was something else.
Coming closer, he saw a small dot the size of a speck of dust. She glowed black, and everything around her blurred. For the first time in his entire 30-year-old life, his heartbeat increased not from pain, but from anticipation, and interest, he extended his free hand to touch.
So, either I fainted, or this is some kind of Federation Center experiment. he thought. After all, the environment around him was replaced by black ancient walls, written in a language unknown to him.
Some places were covered with moss that glowed purple.
Going further, he saw a light between the cracks of the half-opened old doors.
Opening them all the way... Fuck, I'm about to vomit. But not from the kind of environment, it was something else, inside of him.
To the left of the wall are giant glass jars, with a transparent blue liquid in which floated naked bodies of all ages, from children to the elderly. And several non-ordinary creatures, as if they perfectly connected the DNA of a person and animals, whose faces were something in between, ears, nose, eyes, mouth, it was clearly not of a human appearance, but had a human proportion and size.
On the other hand, a man and a woman were tied to a chair, facing each other, both had no upper part, the skull and brain were visible from the outside, their eyes were clouded like those of a dead fish, and their faces did not express anything.
Next to them stood a man in a red robe with gold embroidery on the sleeves.
He held an incomprehensible instrument and poked around in the man's brain, and in his other hand he held a notebook to write something down.
After seeing all this for 10 seconds, Adam vomited.
His strangely cold mind wondered. What is this unpleasant feeling inside me, I can not understand whether it is or not.
“Ah, finally a civilization, without energy inside the world“ A voice rang out in his head, and the man with the notepad turned to look directly at him.
From under the hood you could see a smile and a pale face....
“I'll ask you once. Are you willing to give up your most valuable asset in exchange for knowledge and power?“
----------------------------------------
In one of the special rooms, red lights lit up and a faint siren sounded.
An inexplicable anomaly has occurred, I'm doing a scan...
Sector 662, serial number: Beta two, six, seven, zero, name Adam, disappeared from the network.