1 A Pointless Existence

March 9th, 4055

Eath Main home, 17 State, Ohio, Columbus City, Columbus

Section 343, H872.

If one were to look closely a large floating mechanical mass of land could be seen floating amongst other callosal structures, but this one in particular was special, the 17th state Ohio.

Now over the years the world has gone through various technological advancements and has achieved a civilization of type three on the Kardashev scale after conquering their own home star along with 2/10th of the other stars within their local star group.

But that wasn't the main focus here, in a world where anything is possible, diseases became irrelevant, terraforming became similar to real estate, and androids, cyborgs, and Ai now exist along with interstellar travel which became nothing more than a night drive out to the local bar across the galaxy.

And yet despite this, these things were only accessible to the rich, ironically enough despite the immense evolution of mankind, they as a civilization have yet to find other intelligent life, at this point, humans accept the fact that they might be alone in this thing call the universe

But then again, the poor would never see the likes of space, if they are even struggling to even pay rent in this harsh dystopian world where the energy is being monopolized to make the rich richer.

But being poor can be the least of some people's worries, for instance going down in the large floating state, and entering one of the cities of Ohio, Colombus in this case. A marvelous cyber punk-like world could be seen, floating cars could be seen along with skyscrapers that were also floating as well.

Android prostitutes and human prostitute side by side were a common sight as the dirt on the ground, neon lights gave the city life and excitement, and music coming from multiple directions along with ships promoting the new Celebrium updates for the mass majority.

Highways still exist, as land vehicles surprisingly still a thing although it was for the poor in this case.

Looking up you could see the starry sky revealing a vast amount of bright celestial body of the tapestry of stars that the universe had to offer, and the large moon with a gigantic iron ring around it was also visible in the distance.

But going further down into the futuristic city, and deeper into the slums of Section 343, a small metal shack 30 by 30 in size, could be seen, in an old mechanic yard, the property was labeled H872.

A beautiful woman with black, tan skin, bright green eyes, mechanical arms, and legs with long black hair was fixing a flying car that was out of commission.

However, she wasn't the main focus at this moment, no the main focus was something else entirely because what others might see as an old Mechanical workshop with a beautiful genius mechanic as the owner, this woman in her twenties see as the base was her most prize treasure and deepest regret lay motionless until she can figure out what else to do.

"Five more years Minerva, you just need to do this for five more years, and you save enough money to buy a suitable vessel for his consciousness, hopefully till then it won't be too late."

Those were the last words Minerva said as she began to rig this floating vehicle with different types of heavy weaponry.

Meanwhile going deep underground this old metal shack that was filled with roast and smell of oil, and grease, something rather unorthodox was there. Its location was presented there to no one but Minerva.

going 60 meters underground a small underground base presented itself for all to see, which was two times the size of the old shack as well could be seen, now in this underground base, what could be seen were many things.

Heart monitors, vitamin distributors, a solar reactor, a series of seventeen different computers each showing different information in weird codes, the main one showing what seems to be the brain activity of something.

You can also see a large television set, a desk filled with blueprints, cybernetics, and other weird parts, along with a textbook about human biology.

This place also had a couch, a coffee table, a dining room, and also a pool table. But what stands out the most in this room was what lies at the center of it.

A large iron tank could be seen, with various metal tubes, and extensions connected to several different power sources where their and connected to it.

The tank looks as if was made from secondhand parts such as card doors, elevator wires, old computer hardware, and other metallic structures that were cut and remend into this weird tank.

Now. The Irion tank in itself isn't really weird, to say the least, but it is what lies inside that would freak a lot of people out.

Because going inside the tank that was close and melded tightly together, we would see a disfigured mass of what appears to be a remnant of a human being floating.

The figure in question was floating in a weird blue liquid, but the body was so badly damaged to the point it could not be called human.

Male or female was unknown as well due to the damage done, looking cosley no one would believe this thing was alive in any way whatsoever, and yet it is.

The figure was naked and burned all over, it had no skin, even when you look at his face, you would see no features, it didn't have a mouth, eyes, nose, or hair on its head. And it also didn't possess any limbs at all, much less a lower half.

You could tell this person's mouth was clown off, or maybe even ripped off, seeing that a metal mouth was built to replace its lower jaw, which had an artificial oxygen mask to help this thing breathe. or more like the machines and computers were doing their work by pumping oxygen in and out of its body.

Its stomach and chest were cut open as hundred of small tubes, and seven large metal tubes were lodged into the figure's body, each having its separate functions, one tube was for the heart, the other for the failing kidneys, and many of them were just acting as artificial veins, and filters as well.

On the figure's head was a large metallic helmet that had the figure's spinal cord going true a tube, that had things that look like sections of the brains floating in separate but smaller iron cases above the large case.

One part of the brain was in the figure's head, but the other part was being mended and connected back together into a sphere-like shape with different chips, wires, and metallic parts as if making a smaller cyborg brain, and several different brain monitors were connected to this one as well.

Now to be perfectly honest with you, it didn't move, it didn't see, taste, smell, or feel anything, but its sense of hearing was intact to some degree, it didn't have private parts so telling its gender was impossible.

But this remnant of a human being was once a very handsome young man, who was fatally injured in an accidental explosion ten years ago.

The saddest thing about this fate was the fact due to intense brain damage made it look as if the figure was indeed dead, however, that wasn't the case, because unaware even to Minerva who think this figure was in a coma, the consciousness of this young man was being more than preserve in a small section of the brain. That is the cerebral cortex to what's left of it.

This man was Cain, and you can say he was living a very pointless existence, as he was trapped in his own mind for 10 years, seeing that accident happen when he was 14 years old on his birthday nonetheless.

The consciousness was dead, alone, and overall troubled by its fate as it began to talk to itself once more.

'Life!'

'It's a rather complex thing, isn't it?'

'It is defined as the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.'

'It is a fact that everyone knows, yet some scholars would go as far as to say that life has more meaning to it than simply reproduction.'

'Such as!'

'Experiencing reality by interacting authentically with the environment and with others. Giving something back to the world through creativity and self-expression, and, Changing our attitude when faced with a situation or circumstance that we cannot change.'

'Aww yes, this definition right here is a perfect example that tries to define the complex in the stupidest way possible, so let me ask you a question. What do you see when you read this?'

'Do you see an honest and intellectual answer of a person who learns from experience?'

'Or do you see a person, or maybe a group that shares their collective thoughts after eventful hours of dedicated research, our extensive observation on the topic at hand based on the populace?'

'Then and again, maybe you see both as equally possible. If that is the case then that makes you part of the neutral side, seeing that you see a person who learns from both experience and extensive research, and came to a final conclusion on what the true meaning of the concept we call life truly is.'

'Well opinions vary that much is an undeniable fact, but let me tell you what I see.'

'To say, experiencing reality by interacting authentically with the environment and with others, is by no means an untrue statement, I would go as far to say that this is the highlight of this definition, one cannot go to true life without interaction; as interaction is both a necessary and unavoidable factor we need and cannot escape from. Opinion wise I agree with this statement 10/10, however, it deteriorates as the statement goes on.'

'Now listen carefully to say giving something back to the world through creativity and self-expression, and, Changing our attitude when faced with a situation or circumstance that we cannot change. Is in my opinion pure utter bullshit. First of all, a person is not obligated to give jack shit back to anyone if they do not feel the need or see a reason to do so.'

'Now before you go down my throat, If I may, I will like to pose a very interesting question, do human beings truly do good for the community and populace as a whole out of pure kindness of their heart without receiving something of smaller, equal, or of greater value?'

'Think about it for a minute! Take a moment to reflect on the question. Now let me give you a scenario, you are a man, or maybe a woman, it doesn't matter whether you are a male or female, after all, we breathe the same air and walk on the same land, now you as a person is a bright mind, or maybe a dull talent at best, but regardless you do something that many would call contributing to mankind, let say you found a cure for all possible cancer, let that sink in... Great.'

'Congratulations you are now the hero of mankind, with your brilliance you have accomplished what many before you had dedicated their entire lifetime to solve but were unsuccessful in doing so, with this all those who suffered from cancer can now be cured; no surgery, no treatment, no therapy, no nothing, what was once a process has been break down into a single pill. Now here is where you benefit, there is no way that a medication like that can be considered free right, even if it is cheap, the number of people worldwide with cancer can be calculated up to 54.3 million across the globe.'

'Now let's say everyone gets this medication for as cheap as 1$ per pack, with this everyone can afford it with ease. Seeing that was the market price that was decided for this miracle drug beforehand, now let us take away relative taxes, labor fee, percentages, shares, etc, that needs to be shared across different medical facilities, and governmental bodies across the globe to make this feasible, in the end, I could assure you out of the 54.3 million dollars that were earned; you would still get the feasible amount or more like a large percentage of the overall share seeing that it was your efforts that made this possible.'

'Tell me. Would that be giving back to the community, or would that be contributing creativity to society? Well, you could argue that you as a person made a revolutionary change, that solve one of the world's problems, but in the end, you still benefit from it the most, you become rich, and the rich became richer.'

'Now let's look at another scenario. Let's say you are average at best, you have no talent, no net worth, no goal, no nothing. Then congratulation my friend you are a part of a society that is still trapped in the matrix, a brokey as Andrew Gates would say, you are a part of the 85% of people who lives an average life, you are not broke, but you are not rich either, but from the perspective of a millionaire you might as well be cheap existence from their point of view.'

'Now. Look at it like this, you work as someone that cleans the street for a living, and you are contributing to society, yes, but you are only doing such a shitty job because you have no education, no connections, nothing, this job is the only place one of your standings is capable of ever reaching in this lifetime, the only path that your life is worth anything is to be a living being that tries to spread their genes as that all you are good for at that point.'

'You work day and night, and yet your minimum wage is $300 a week, in this world nothing is free, bills, groceries, and passage fees depending on where you live. Now keep in mind; that we still aren't talking about how many people you have in your household.'

'Tell me what that mediocre $300 a week gets you? Nowhere... nowhere at all, meanwhile, your employer makes that much money in a matter of seconds, that is an undeniable fact, and now let us say someone is born into this family, and decides they won't go to school, nor would they work a day in their life, looking at it from a realistic point of view, what makes you any different from them, your bot uneducated, your both human beings, and you both have needs and wants. And yet that person is vastly superior to you in every category of the human endeavor.'

'So what makes you different?'

'The answer is simple. It isn't status, it isn't money, it isn't woman, it isn't your appearance, it isn't power, it's nothing. You him or her, are the same, you are equal, and yet your lives are like heaven and earth... Now let me tell you what's different though, undeniable you are humans just as me, just as you, just as them, just as they, and just as we, but the difference doesn't lie in the corporal being of these inferior bodies that our soul is subjected to, No! the difference is in the society you live in.'

'No! You see, from since the dawn of time, mankind has been known to set up a ladder of hierarchy to establish a chain of order, the Alpha eats the lion's share, and the betas get the remains, while the Sigmas are the rare few who loathes both worlds, they are the type to have it all, and keep it to themselves like a hungry wolf. But because they are hungry they refuse to let go of what is there.'

'They know what it means to be hurt, to be weak, to be rich, and to be powerful, and because of this they don't want to lose their position as the dominant force of their own world.'

'So with that said, what are the points I'm trying to make here? Well I could argue that the point I'm trying to make is several, such as society is flawed, the strong rules and weak obeys, or maybe that without hard work we cannot strive to better ourselves, I can even say that what kills me only make me stronger.'

'But no! That isn't the lesson I'm trying to spread, no the lesson I'm trying to teach here is much simpler than your brain is probably thing right now.'

'Tell me, if you could decide your entire life, or better yet be the monarch of your own reality, would you do it? Of course, you would, who wouldn't, reality could be whatever you want if that is the case. You can stop events that aren't to your liking and manipulate and alter them to your whims, you can change things about yourself that you don't like, you can choose your own path, your own destiny, and make your own story beforehand. At that point, you transcend your own world in more ways than one.'

'However. That is impossible in every sense of the word, you see; we as humans are perpetually trapped in a continuous abyss of limitation that no amount of science can help us escape from, we as humans have to play the card we are dealt with from birth, man can create gun but we can't beat them. we can kill dozen of people with a single round, but you are just as vulnerable as your target, one shot to the head and lights out, no questions asked, so why are you any different from them, when you are just vulnerable to gunfire as they are.'

'Well equality is very subjective, in my case if I was a human, I personally would be a sigma, but in my world, I am nothing but a living dying vegetable that is stuck between life and death, hello everyone my name is Cain, just Cain and last name in this world are only for the wealthy, that alone should tell you my situation.'

"You see, in this world, we live in a technologically advanced society, mankind can be considered a type-3 civilization at this point, and yet we are still driven by greed, and power, typical humans. Well I can't blame them, I'm stuck in my own mind but I have come to accept how reality works.'

'Now, I will be frank with you, I hate my life, to be honest, can you even call this living? I on a personal level believe this to be torture of the highest degree, ironic since I don't feel pain, I'm neither dead, nor am I alive, I don't feel, taste, see, or even smell anything at all. The only remaining sense that I have is my hearing, and yet over the course of ten years even that is slowly deteriorating.'

'The human body is a fragile thing, flesh, and bones can only get you so far, we feel pain, we are blinded by emotions, we are vulnerable to everything in the environment and worst of all, the lifespan of a human being is pitifully short without the aid of augmentation and biological reprogramming on the cells to make it more superior.'

'I hate humans, no! it's more like I hate the human anatomy, who could blame me, I can't eat, I can't partake in the pleasure of the flesh, I can't feel, I can't speak, I can't walk, I can't see, I can't smell, and worse of all I can't even die.'

'And to think, one machine is the problem to all of my suffering, several plugs are the only thing keeping me alive. God! Satan! Cthulhu! anyone; anyone at all, if you could hear me. Please end my suffering, may it be heaven or hell, or somewhere else entirely, I don't care, I just want to die, do you even know how it feels to have no arms, no legs, no eyes, no mouth, no lower half? All I have is my hearing, and even now that is failing me, soon I will be nothing more but a conscious mind stuck in a worthless vegetable vessel with zero senses.'

'Can you even call that living?'

Cain prayed like this every day for the past ten years.

But fate isn't unforgiving as Cain might have thought because, at the same time, his saving grace soon came in the form of a television advertisement that he could only hear/

"Isn't reality just boring?"

"Typical?"

"Sad?"

"Unfair?!"

"For Pandora offers wishes beyond what humans can fathom, sign up today, and see for yourself, for this one-month free trial, trust you don't want to miss this opportunity, all you will need is your Celebrium."