He entered the dark apartment and flipped the lights on. Realizing he was rather hungry, he walked into the kitchen and grabbed half of a sandwich from the fridge.

‘Kayn, are you home?’

‘Yeah,’ he responded with his mouth full.

He walked to the living room where he saw his sister sitting on the couch. She was wearing a tanktop and sweatpants. She had dark brown hair and a rather lanky body.

‘Got ya some chocolate,’ he told her as he handed her the box.

‘How did you get these!’ she yelped with excitement.

‘Oh, I know a guy.’

‘It was Dom wasn't it,’ she said with a knowing smile.

‘Yeah. You mind if I turn on the TV?’

‘Sure, but turn up the heat first, it's freezing in here.’

Kayn realized that it was rather cold. He walked over to the thermostat and turned it up. After that he went around the apartment turning on a few space heaters. Finally he sat on the couch getting into a comfortable position. He gave a relaxing sigh as he found the perfect spot. He then realized the remote was on the tv stand, and grumbled as he got up and retrieved the remote. He sat down trying to find that perfect spot, yet he knew it wouldn't be the same. The tv flickered to life, it showed a newsroom with a headline showing rather bold letters.

‘... and we have Dr. Vauhn Turner with us here. Dr. Turner would you like to say a few words before we begin?’

‘I would. First I would like to give my condolences to the Edgewater family, as Dr. Thomas Edgewater was an incredible man and the best scientist and programmer the world will ever see. The company he built has changed the world as we know it and his work will give us a new lease on life during these dark times. He was a humble man, being the world's first trillionaire, he funded numerous charities and projects to make the world a better place, nearly giving as much as he made. He had a particular fascination with entertainment, and his numerous studios have created countless movies, shows, and video games, nearly dominating the industry. His passion was to put a smile on everyone's face, regardless of their current circumstance...’

‘I can't believe he’s dead,’ Kayn’s sister spoke with a depressed tone.

‘Can’t blame him, they took everything from him.’

‘They had to, his project could save countless lives, there's only so many that can live in the bunkers, besides they tried to work with him, even letting him lead the project, but he wasn't willing to get rid of the world he already made.’

‘I know, it just kinda seems wrong, but I guess there really was no choice.’

Kayn switched the channel and to no surprise it was another news channel, this time, two experts seemed to be debating.

‘... and that's why we can't have a utopia, the psychological effects could, and I believe would, be a disaster. With no challenge or difficulty we as an individual and as a species would cease to grow. We would be stuck with no motivation or reason to do anything other than to satisfy our base desires…’

‘I'm not saying everything has to be perfect, I'm just saying that we could end numerous problems that we face here on earth. Cancer, disease, and starvation could all be a thing of the past. We as a species would thrive without the hindrances and difficulties that prevent us from reaching our full potential.’

‘Then who decides what stays and what goes. Are you sure you would trust anyone with that power. As far as I've experienced, those who have power want to stay in power. And there are many powerful people in control of this project, I can’t even imagine how much money has exchanged hands for “favors” in the other world. If we let others decide what's erased and what isn’t, we are just giving others more control over our lives.’

Kayn changed the channel again. This time it looked like a press conference, at the podium was a young woman that looked a bit older than himself.

‘Miss Edgewater, your father has done some incredible things, mainly the creation of the Omega Complex. Recent reports, and one done by Project Lead Dr. Turner, have stated that this system is at least 100 years ahead of its time if not more. How long was this system capable of what it is today, why did the world not know about its true capabilities, if used correctly it could have solved numerous problems?’ the reporter asked with a rather backhanded tone.

‘The woman sighed, my father believed that no matter how many “problems” that his creation could solve, there would always be another to take its place. Instead of trying to accomplish what he believed to be a futile effort, he decided he wanted to create something that would distract us from the challenges we face, through movies and games he brought our world into an era of entertainment we have never seen before. The latest project was a monument to how far he has come in his field and his grand gift to humanity, another world. And, given the current circumstances, it seems that this gift is truly grand, and much more than you deserve.’ The venom in her last few words were quite apparent to anyone listening. She walked away from the podium as numerous questions were asked and promptly ignored.

Kayn lowered the volume and reclined into the couch.

‘Ugh there's nothing on,’ his sister complained.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

‘I could throw in a movie?’

‘Hmm sure, lemme take a shower first.’

‘Alright, do you need help.’

‘I should be fine i'm getting used to it a bit,’ she said, as she made her way to the bathroom.

A ring tone echoed through the living room. Kayn took his phone out of his pocket and answered.

‘Hello?’

‘Hello, is this Kayn Lockart.’

‘Yes’

‘This is Sara from the Department of Relocation. Do to unforeseen circumstances we will be moving your relocation date to tomorrow at 9 AM. Please make sure you and your sister are ready to leave at that time. Since you will be participating in the new world project we ask that you bring the bare minimum. Small family heirlooms and other such sentimental items may be brought, and will be stored in a safe place. Thank you for your cooperation and I hope you have a good night.’

He sighed as he put the phone back in his pocket. He opened the app on the tv and put on a movie.

‘Damn it,’ he said as he grimaced in pain clutching his shoulder.

He got up and went into the kitchen where he opened the medicine cabinet. There were two small orange bottles, one that was nearly full and another that was nearly empty. He opened the bottle with a few pills left and swallowed one, washing it down with some water. He then grabbed the other bottle. He hesitated as he looked towards the living room then back at the bottle. It's my last day, he thought as he put the bottle back in the cabinet, and went back to the living room.

After a while he heard his sister come into the living room.

‘There you are, thought I was gonna have to watch this all by myself.’

‘Oh shut up, it just started.’ she retorted, as she felt her way to the couch and got comfortable. ‘What are we watching?’

‘Can’t you tell?’

She listened for a second.

‘Is this the third one!’

‘Yup, figured you wouldn’t mind.’

‘Aww I wish I could see it,’ she said with a sad look on her face.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything,’ Kayn said, trying to cheer her up.

He described each scene, trying to fit in as much detail as he could. She sat there listening to his words trying her best to visualize it. He felt bad for her, although they knew it would happen he still wished she had more time. He tried his best to help her while she adjusted.

‘I’m gonna head to my room,’ Kayn said as the credits began to roll. He walked through the dimly lit room laying on his bed. He grabbed a picture off of the nightstand. On it were him, his dad, and sister. It was taken a little over a year ago. He held it as tears began to slide off of his cheek. He took the picture out of the frame and put it into a small bag that he was planning to take with him.

Oh shit, I forgot to tell her. He jumped out of the bed as he made his way to her room. Just as he was about to knock he heard her crying. He sighed as his knuckles tapped on the door. ‘Can I come in.’

‘Yeah,’ he heard her say with a sniffle.

He opened the door and saw her sitting on her bed with her hands covering her face. He walked over and hugged her. She started crying again as she threw her arms around him. He waited until she stopped.

‘We’re heading out tomorrow,’

After a while she nodded. ‘Do you think in the other world that… that they will fix us?’ she spoke in a quiet voice.

‘I don’t know, I hope so.’

‘Me too.’

‘You gonna be ok?’ He asked.

‘Yeah, can’t let my little brother see me like this all the time,’ she said as she gave a somber smile.

‘Well, I don’t mind, goodnight Cass.’ He got up and went back to his own room as he crashed in his bed and fell asleep.

The transfer went uneventful. They got into one of the many busses that were packed full of people. It drove them for about an hour as they came upon a large grey building. They were directed into the building and led far underground into different areas. They had their bodies scanned and some other tests were run.

Kayn was split up from his sister when the scanning began. He was rather nervous. It was relieving, that all he had to do was what the workers told him to. After all the tests were done he was sent to an auditorium like room with a thousand other people. The speech given was one about their appreciation for taking a step into the unknown and how they were pioneers in the largest project humanity has taken. They reassured everyone that the process was safe and that we would soon be in another world. One that was shaped like ours. The details however have been kept under wraps. After the speech he was directed into another room where there were rows upon rows of pod like structures. They were each given a number that corresponded with the pod they would be on. He walked to his where he waited until an assistant came to him.

‘You ready?’ she asked in a cheerful tone. Kayn thought she was rather pretty, mostly because she looked a bit like Tanya.

‘Yep,’ he said as he tore his gaze from her.

‘Ok, do you want the long version or the short one.’

‘Uhh, short?’

‘Great! So we will hook you up to two things, one will be placed in your arm and another on the back of your neck. The one in your arm will deliver the NW serum which delays the natural decay of your cells, and the RT will shut them off. There’s a bunch of other stuff but those are the important ones. Your body will be put into stasis. It won’t age or function at all. That is except your brain which is where the other attachment comes in. As you can imagine it gets a lot more complicated, but thankfully you chose the short version so to cut it short you’ll be fine. Now if you will, please take off your clothes and enter so we can begin.’

A bit embarrassed Kayn took off his clothes trying his best to cover himself up as he got into the pod.

She smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve seen a lot these few weeks, besides, you're in the upper half,’ she said with a coy smile as she gave him a thumbs up. He gave an embarrassed smile in return.

She looked down at her device as she went through the procedures checking off each box. ‘Right or left’ she asked as she raised her head. ‘Oh shit, I’m sorry, force of habit.’

Kayn smiled, ‘it’s fine.’ She braced his limbs and his head. She grabbed the rather large needle at the end of a tube and stuck it in his arm.

Kayn felt a rather painful sting as he watched the needle enter.

‘Ok, the first dose will be small, just to check if your body rejects any of it. After that we knock you out and finish the rest of the procedure. He heard a faint humming of a machine as he saw a fluid in the tube enter his arm. A warm feeling began to spread around his body.

The assistant checked the tablet and confirmed there were no rejections.

‘Good luck’ she said.

He then heard the machine make another noise as his vision faded to black.