December 31st, 2032
His name didn’t matter. The name he went by currently was Rigel Anderson. Mr. Anderson had accepted the contract on this target for no other reason than the payday: 50 million dollars to kill someone and retrieve a vital piece of technology. That kind of task was right up his alley and, as he had no moral reservations whatsoever. It was an easy 50 million. The task wouldn’t even affect his sleep patterns.
The target was one Johnathan Bennard, CEO of Portals Inc. The technology was the hard drive Mr. Bennard carried around in his briefcase. Portals Inc. was a new company that claimed to be working towards the creation of technologies that would allow instantaneous transport from one location to another. His employers were sure that any research data Mr. Bennard might have would be located on that drive.
Rigel had been ordered to travel to New Mexico and wait for a go code a couple of weeks back. For a 50-million-dollar payday, with all expenses paid while he waited, he could wait as long as they needed him to. He’d driven into the mountains near Cloudcroft New Mexico, rented a room at the local motel, and had been waiting. The go code had come through 5 minutes ago and he’d received a report that Mr. Bennard planned to return to his estate today, within the hour. His fixers had provided him with the layout and schematics of the estate, along with security protocols and the access key codes that Mr. Bennard's parents used when they visited.
He’d traveled up and placed surveillance cameras overlooking the residence when he’d noticed the helipad. Truthfully, it was more like a landing pad, as it looked big enough that a V-22 Osprey could land on it with no issue. Once set up, he’d linked the cameras to the satellite transmitter that he could access through his laptop. He opened his laptop and checked the feeds. Sure enough, a V-22 was on final approach. Rigel watched as it landed, and Mr. Bennard stepped out and headed into the estate carrying a briefcase. The V-22 lifted and flew off towards Alamogordo, probably to refuel while the pilot waited to be called back.
Rigel waited for nightfall, then made his way south to Mr. Bennard's Estate. Two miles out, he exited the vehicle, made sure no one was around, then parked and camouflaged it so that no one would be able to find it without a close inspection of the area. Donning his gear over his Nimex thermal canceling body glove, which felt a lot like wearing a full-body spandex swimming suit, he was ready to go. It took another hour to travel the last two miles as he had to circumvent a couple of different surveillance devices and laser tripwires. Eventually, though, he found himself at a side gate. Utilizing the security codes he’d been given, the gate opened and he entered the grounds of the estate at 8:11 p.m.
Rigel heard music playing upstairs, which should cover any sounds he might make on the 1st floor. Moving quickly, he searched the lower floor and found no one else. He hadn’t expected to, as no one had entered or left the estate during the week he’d had it under surveillance. Also, the information packet he’d been given described Mr. Bennard as an extreme hermit, at least for the last 9 years.
Before he went upstairs, Rigel checked the house's security panel to make sure no silent alarms had been issued. No alarms had been tripped and the recording devices were off, though they would be turned on if an alarm was triggered. Best not to trigger the alarms then. He checked each side room upstairs and made sure they were clear. Rigel stepped down a corridor towards the main bedroom to the door, which was cracked open. He glanced inside, noticed it was clear, then stepped through. The music was coming through a door off to his left.
Rigel closed the bedroom door quietly once he was in the room and looked over the living room he was in. A TV was mounted on the wall to his right, opposite the door the music was coming through, a bar, and a computer desk. There was a briefcase next to the desk. He moved to the computer desk and checked the briefcase. Inside he found a removable hard drive. He used a specialized USB Stick which reported that the hard drive’s memory storage was 75% full. He removed his USB and put everything like he’d found it, just in case. If he had to bale, he wanted no evidence that he’d been inside.
Silently, he moved to the door the music was coming through. He opened the door quickly and stepped into the room with his CZ 75 45, silencer attached, leading the way as he looked for his target. He had time to realize the room was empty before he felt a momentary sense of vertigo, and then darkness took him.
Rigel opened his eyes and realized he was standing in a ten-by-ten-foot room with a single bed, table, chair, monitor, remote, and two doors. One door opened to a bathroom with a shower, sink, toilet, and a single towel and washcloth. The other door was closed and when he moved to check, locked. As he checked himself over he noticed that he was in a simple blue jumpsuit and there was absolutely nothing else on him or in the room. Wondering what was going on and where he was he went over to the desk, picked up the remote, and hit the power button.
He was expecting, well he didn’t know what he was expecting, but one thing he was not expecting was the message he heard coming from his own ears. A neutral male voice stated pleasantly, “Hello, by now I’m sure you’ve realized that you are no longer where you were. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with your surroundings. The room you’re in is your room. No one may enter this room without your permission except you. After this message is finished the main door will unlock and you will find that the door to your room opens onto a balcony which is set along the interior wall of a hexagon. Your door opens into a park. The roof over the park simulates the natural day-night cycle of a standard summer day with 10 hours of daylight and an hour and a half of twilight in the morning and the evening. The lights in your room are, of course, controlled by you. The clocks here are set to Eastern Standard Time in the United States.”
“Your door is one of twenty other doors on your wall, with twenty more doors along each wall. This allows for up to 120 people per floor. There are ten floors connected at each corner by a lift and stairway. Each stairway is marked with a number from 1 to 6. At the top of stairway 1, there is an elevator door. This door leads to the surface where you will find yourself inside a small environmentally sealed building.”
The voice paused for a moment, probably to let that sink in. Rigel waited patiently and the voice continued, “Before we continue to the rules for this location, the first thing you should know is that you are no longer on Earth. Welcome to Trappist-1e, a planet located 39 light-years from Earth. You are the 1st occupants of this dormitory which can house 1,200 occupants.”
“Horseshit!” Rigel exclaimed, cutting the voice off. “There is absolutely no way that I could be on another planet!” he yelled. He waited expectantly for a reply. It was a full minute before a prerecorded message played.
“This is a recording. When interrupted, the welcome announcement will pause for one full minute. Accepted verbal commands to the system are Pause, which will pause the message. Repeat, which will replay the last 30 seconds of the message, and Replay which will start the message over. If you’d like to hear the message again after it completes, simply say Replay Welcome Message and it will start from the beginning. The Welcome Message will continue after a short message from your sponsor.”
“Hello, my name is Johnathan Bennard, and I am recording this message specifically for you, Clarence. You have been brought here against your will for two reasons. The first reason is simply that you tried to kill me. Trying to kill me or any of my immediate family, holdings or personnel gets anyone sent here. Don’t worry, you won’t be alone for very long if my predictions are correct. The second reason someone is sent here is that they have tried to commit some form of a terroristic or strategic strike against me, my holdings, the United States, or our allies in general. “
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“You are the first to try to kill me and I also know who hired your fixer to send you. Those individuals, ALL of them, will be receiving their own welcome package shortly. Give it another half hour or so. When you all start exploring your new home you’ll see some familiar faces and some not-so-familiar faces. Please understand I do not hold a grudge against you. You tried, and did not, nor will you ever be able to, kill me for reasons you will come to understand very shortly. So, sit back, listen, and follow the rules that are listed. Everyone deserves a second chance. This is yours.”
How the fuck did that asshole know his real name, Clarence thought. That alone scared the utter crap out of him. He had been quite thorough about wiping out his identity and making sure there were no ties between his true name and his current Identity.
After a short pause, the voice began where it had left off and continued the original message, though it had changed slightly, “You are the 1st of the only 17 occupants in this 1,200-occupant facility. Your room is equipped with everything you might need. Also, everything is either controlled by the remote or voice command. For instance, if you wish for a glass of water please say, ‘Create a glass of water.”
Not waiting for the voice to continue, Clarence said, “Create a glass of water,” and was surprised when a glass of water materialized into existence on his desk. He picked it up, sniffed it, then took a sip. It was water and he was thirsty, so he took it and drank it down.
Sixty seconds later, the voice continued, “There is a complete menu of the items that can be created in this manner available on the monitor. When this welcome package has been completed, please be sure to check the menu. On certain occasions, specials will be made available for those who have followed the rules and received no minor infractions. You may also access any network or program you wish to watch that is available back on Earth, even the current news or one of your favorite shows. New movie releases will be available one hour after their first official showing anywhere on planet Earth. Now we come to the rules. You can think of these as commandments that you cannot break.”
Every system can be broken Clarence thought to himself.
“It is true that it was once thought that every system could be broken. That was before today. It is definitely not true now. The absolute first thing you need to know is that every atom of everything you can see, hear, taste, smell, or touch can be controlled by the system overseeing this facility. Those atoms can be controlled or reformatted as the Artificial Intelligence controlling it sees fit or Mr. Bennard wills. What does that mean? Simply, Mr. Bennard can have anything created or destroyed, though destroy is the wrong word in this instance as energy can only change forms. Observe. Please raise your right hand with your palm facing you and watch.”
Clarence did as instructed and raised his right hand.
“Good, you can follow instructions. Please know that anyone who does not follow the instructions in this video will suddenly find themselves following that instruction against their will as the system takes over and forces their body to obey. The hand will go where the system wants it to go. Now watch your palm.”
Clarence looked at his hand as a quarter-sized hole formed completely through his hand. He could see open capillaries and veins and even some bones. While that was interesting, what was weird was that he felt no pain, nor had he suffered any blood loss, not even a drop. Moving his left hand, he tried to put his finger through the hole and was completely surprised when he did. After he pulled his finger back, the hole started to close and a few seconds later his hand was completely whole again. That had been the weirdest thing he’d ever seen.
The voice shocked Clarence out of his contemplations. “As you just saw flesh and bone can be removed, reconfigured, and then replaced. How is unimportant; the only thing you need to understand is that with a command every atom that you are made of can be repurposed which effectively ends your life. There are some benefits to this technology being part of you, though. First, you will not get sick. Second, any wound can be healed and fixed instantly. Third, your body will be continuously repaired which effectively makes you immortal, or so close to immortal that it doesn’t really matter. Anything you desire can be created. If you follow the rules while you’re here you will find that any physical thing you desire can be yours. Ultimately, you may even earn the ability to return to Earth. Now that you have seen the power arrayed against you, here are the rules:
“Rule #1: This is a dictatorship, not a democracy. You will follow the system's commands, or you will be forced to. Continued defiance will result in mass repurposing, or more simply, you will die.
“Rule #2: No killing of anyone is allowed. First, it is technically impossible for anyone to be killed here unless the atoms that make them up are completely repurposed. The system can take anything apart and put it back together. For instance, if you broke your leg the system could repair the break. If someone attacked you and stopped your heart the system could repair the damage and restart your heart. After the system does that the individual or individuals trying to commit the murder will have their mass repurposed. If you are somehow successful in committing murder, the system might be slow in responding, but make no mistake it will respond, and the first you’ll know about it is when your body starts to dissolve around you, giving your mind just enough time to realize what is happening before whatever force holding your soul together is set free from your mortal body. Murder is not tolerated.
“Rule #3: Rape is forbidden. The consequences for doing so are the same as Rule #2
“Rule #4: Self-determination for each individual and their belief systems are to be respected by all. Actions that try to inhibit in any way other individuals’ rights or beliefs will not be tolerated. Any seditious or negative behavior which would lead others to “cancel” interactions with that individual. Anyone plotting to do so will find themselves locked in their room, unable to willfully move their body while they sit alone in the dark. There will be no Political Correctness culture here. Anyone attempting to gaslight their argument will find that the system does not tolerate such inane logic attempts and defaults to punishment. There will only ever be two warnings. After the second, your mass will be repurposed.
“Rule #5: How you feel is unimportant and does not matter to the system. It is an unfeeling, uncaring system with very specific criteria for how it will handle situations. As you are constantly monitored and kept in good health, there is no emotional argument that will overcome this fact. Think of the system as the ultimate Vulcan or a better analogy. The System is the Borg Queen, you have been assimilated and you will do whatever is required. Resistance is futile.”
“Rule #6: This is your Colony habitat. Do not enter another habitat without permission. More are being created across the planet. Eventually, there will be enough to house 10 billion occupants. That should be completed in approximately 10 days.
“Final Note: The System will not waste its time continuously trying to control someone. Anyone who breaks the rules or cannot be fixed will have their mass repurposed. This is a second chance for you. Follow the rules and opportunities will open up.”
“Finally, Surface exploration is allowed and encouraged. Be aware that you are in a binary Red Dwarf system so the sky will be different, and the temperature will vary. The technology inside you will allow you to move freely and breathe on the surface.”
The Welcome message ended and there was an audible click as the door to his room unlocked. Moving to the door, Clarence opened it and stepped out into a park with trees, flowers of all types, benches, and tables. He looked up into artificial sunlight. Wanting to see if what he’d been told was true, he went to Lift 1, took it to the 10th floor, and then stepped into an empty elevator. There were only two buttons, “Surface” and “Colony 0000001.” Clarence pushed the button to the Surface.
When Clarence reached the surface, he immediately knew everything he had just been told was true. He was standing next to an elevator shaft next to a clear dome with a diameter of about 300 feet. On one side, there looked to be a place where a vehicle could enter or leave, but it was also covered by the same material the dome was made of, though with the way things could be materialized and dematerialized it probably wouldn’t be a problem to pass through that barrier. The dome, however, wasn’t what had let him know that he was not on planet Earth. What immediately let him know was the fact that he was bathed in a soft red light that reflected off of every surface. As he looked up to see the source of that light, the Sun here filled the sky as a red dwarf star was cooler than Earth’s sun and the goldy Locks zone, the right distance for liquid water to be found, was much closer than the Earth was to the Sun. This made the star he was looking at appear much closer. His legs collapsed, and he just sat there.
As the seconds turned to minutes, more people exited the elevator and had almost identical reactions to what they saw. Some would point and look at others questioningly, though no one spoke. With their silent agreement, every person sitting under the dome realized two things: One, they were well and truly fucked. Two, they were trapped for the foreseeable future.