(2093 A.D.)

The door squealed open, waking me from my nostalgic slumber. The hospital room was dark as it usually was; it was the way I liked it, as my eyes had nearly quit on me. There was really no point in keeping the lights on, besides… I had found peace in the darkness as my mind was the only place my imagination sparked. Usually, the only person coming in was the nurse who ensured the giant mess of wiring connected to my body was intact. It had done a great job of keeping me alive long enough for my family to arrive before the end.

“There you are,” a voice called out. It sounded familiar, but without knowing more, I couldn’t be sure who it was.

“Wait… who’s that?” I asked, opening my eyes fully. That was when the light switch clicked, and light flooded the room. It wasn’t exactly helpful. My sight was too blurry to recognize anyone.

“You don’t recognize an old friend?” he asked in a cheerful voice. That’s when it hit me; I knew exactly who it was. Glen, an old mate of mine, back from when I served in the Royal Navy with him under my command.

“Major Smith, what is it… you need me to sort out for you this time?” I chuckled before letting out a wet chesty cough that rattled my torso; this was customary when I spoke too much.

“It’s General Smith now, Commander. And I’ll have you know, this time, I don’t need you to sort anything out for me.” He laughed. It had become something of a jest between us… back in the day, I had helped him get out of some nasty disciplinary actions. “It’s me that’s come to help you this time, old comrade. I have an interesting proposition for you.”

“What can you propose to a dying man?” I asked him before pressing the button on the hospital bed. The gears from within whirred and spun to life as they lifted me up. “You’ll have to come closer, mate. My sight isn’t what it used to be. I’m practically blind as a bat.” Growing older, my sight had been the first thing to fade. Even using the best technology available, it wasn't enough.

Glen did as he was bid and came closer before sitting down next to me on a small chair near my bed, his face was as blurry as everything else, but I could make out some of his distinct features. “It really is you. I never thought I’d see you again.”

“Of course, it’s me. There’s nothing on your medical report about severe hallucinations yet.” He chuckled, patting me on the shoulder.

“You mentioned a proposal? You do realize I’m probably not going to make it till the end of the week. With that said, what exactly can this old man do for you?” I asked, turning my ear towards him so I could hear clearly.

“Ah… yes, I know what I’m about to ask of you might be audacious. You might not like it nor agree with it, but it’s a chance I would take with you even if all the odds were against it. All I ask is that you hear me out and consider it. As you already know, this planet is dying at an alarming rate; we have, at most, about a century before most of humanity is wiped out unless… we find a way to live by other means.” He explained before pausing.

I knew very well that the earth was in some deep trouble but from the estimates I had previously seen still gave the earth a few hundred years at the very minimum… Now this is strange. Did something happen whilst I was stuck in here? My thoughts then shifted their attention to my family. This would mean they would suffer and die a painful death if something was not done to rectify the situation… if that was even possible at all. I gave Glen a nod for him to continue.

“The UN and the United Council of Artificial Intelligence are working on a new system where we can live within another world. This universe exists within the bounds of subspace; all with its own rules and laws. After decades of research, we’ve finally found a way to connect with it. It’s called the ‘Rekindle Project.’”

“The ‘Rekindle Project,’ fancy name. It sounds interesting. Keep going,” I said, eager to know more.

“Simply put, it’s another world of its own within sub-space, where with the correct apparatus… the system, we could live eternally even after our human bodies have withered away into nothing but dust... or so we hope,” he explained. “I’m not a scientist, so I can't give you a proper explanation, but it does exist, and we’ve spent the last ten years creating an interface for it.”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous? Besides, it hasn’t been tested with an actual person before, has it?” I had my doubts and knew the dangers of interfacing the human brain with simulations. Many had tried over the years, and just as many had failed.

Glen continued, “Essentially, yes. The system we’ve designed will allow humans to enter this ‘sub-verse’ while hopefully still communicating with the world here. We’re also working hard to add android functionality in the near future, so we’ll be able to return to this world in a robotic body years after the Earth has died. With the long-term goal being to repopulate the human race across the galaxy.” He sighed before continuing, “Of course that’s a long shot, and would be many years into the future… we’ve only just scratched the surface of this new technology.”

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I cleared my throat of mucus and coughed before asking, “So that’s where I come in, I’m assuming, to test this project of yours?”

“I won't lie to you, Ali. The survival of humanity depends on the success of this mission. I would rather give this opportunity to you than anyone else. You saved humanity once before from the rogue AI threat, and I’m sorry to have to ask this of you again, but will you sacrifice yourself once again for mankind?” he asked. From what little I could see, I had noticed he wiped away tears that had run down his cheeks in thin streams. It was difficult for him to approach me about this, and it showed.

Bringing up the rogue AI that I had destroyed unburied a few hatchets I had laid to rest a long time ago, what I did then nearly cost me my life and put me in this darn hospital bed for a few decades. Those memories felt a million miles away, but the resulting mental scars still burned in my head like a wildfire. I let out a long-drawn-out sigh,

I cleared my throat again. “All my life, I feared death and not knowing what would happen after then now you've come to me with this?” After years of waiting, I was ready to depart this world and it felt like he was trying to take it away from me.

Glen sighed, “I just don’t want to lose you, mate. The great times we had were some of the best moments of my life, and I will cherish them until my last day, regardless of whether you decide to go ahead with this. I’m asking you from the bottom of my heart, and as your best friend, help us one more time; join this mission. There’s truly no one else suitable.”

“I understand. If I decide to go ahead with this mission, I need your word on something,” my nearly lifeless voice croaked.

“You only need ask, my friend. What can I do?”

“My family… I don’t want them to die here, I would like them to join me, and I want you to let me keep in contact with them while I'm there. That is, if things work out. That goes for you as well, old friend,” I finished, before the irritation in the back of my throat became too much, and I burst into violent fits of coughing.

Glen pressed a button on the control panel near the bed to call a nurse. “It’s time you took some rest, mate. The nurse should be here soon,” he said moments before the nurse slammed the door open. She administered some medicine which numbed the pain and put a stop to the coughing fit. I started to feel drowsy when Glen added, “I’ll let you think about the offer and see you again very soon.”

Later in the evening, I found myself awake, once again surrounded by members of what remained of my family, children, and grandchildren alike… but not my wife who had gone her separate way when I had found myself on this death bed. My vision was even worse this time, but it was enough to recognize the one sitting next to me, my firstborn, my daughter.

“You’re all here,” I groaned gently.

“We all came here as soon as we could,” she explained, resting her hand on my shoulder before coming closer to hug me.

She had always been by my side and never left me, unlike my son, who moved away after graduating and living his life elsewhere. I didn’t blame him; he had his ambitions and goals in life, and worked hard to attain them. I looked around the room to see if I could recognize him in the pit of blurry faces. I couldn't see him anywhere.

“He’ll be here shortly,” my daughter explained. “His flight landed over an hour ago, and the driver has picked him up.”

Knowing that I put a smile on this old, wrinkled face of mine; I just had to hold out a while longer. The door opened once again, and a figure came closer.

“Hey...Ali. How are you holding up?” Glen’s voice greeted me.

“Could be better, I guess.” I sighed silently.

Everyone said their goodbyes and wished me farewell, especially the great-grandchildren. They had experienced the least with me but had heard more than their fair share of stories. I had become a man of great standing with them over the years.

I had asked Glen to explain the situation with the Rekindle Project. After thinking about it for a while and weighing the pros and cons I decided to give him the go-ahead for the mission. I was going to die anyway, so I thought, why not give it a chance and hope for the best? Besides, seeing the youngsters made me feel resentful about not spending more time with them. Maybe this second life could give me a way to fix that.

While Glen explained the situation, the door swung open, and another figure came running to stand next to me. I embraced my son for what would be the last time shedding phantom tears of joy from my bone-dry eyes. Within moments, he was updated on the situation and turned to face me for what could be the last time and wished me the best of luck for my final mission.

The entire ordeal had taken its toll on me, I felt the minute amount of energy I had remaining begin to fade. Nurses and doctors rushed in before the darkness overwhelmed me.

Glen stood next to me, and from what I could tell, I was also surrounded by a multitude of doctors and military personnel. He cleared his throat before explaining, “We’re almost ready to start the procedure. You might feel disoriented when you get there, and we’re not completely sure if the communications will be working at first, but once you arrive, you should have access to a holographic display built into your left wrist. Remember, time will pass differently in there, so don't panic. You’ve got the best the world has to offer working on this.”

“General Smith, we don't have much time. It’s now or never,” one of the doctors interrupted.

“I wish you the best of luck, I hope we get the chance to meet again one day. I’m sorry we didn’t have enough time to explain things properly, but I’m sure once communications are online, you’ll get the full picture… your memories might be hazy when you…-” Glen finished, patting me on the shoulder, but his voice faded before I could catch the last part of what he was trying to say.

That was when I felt the rush of chemicals enter my veins. My eyes grew dim before light as white as snow overwhelmed my vision and the sounds of the operating room echoed out of existence.