Elysium

30. DR34MLAND

Yuno:

I meet Levi in a chatroom called Dreamland. A space reminiscent of an exotic island at sunset.

"I often think about how people allowed all this to happen. When did we cross this point of no return? History gave us an endless number of signs about where inaction leads, and now we have become so used to what we have, and sometimes it's hard to even imagine that our life could be completely different. The position of the ruling elite allows them to determine the conditions in which we will live. They make decisions that have serious consequences for us. They define our reality, doing everything in a way that is beneficial exclusively for them. And what is left for us? We live in an atmosphere of depression, general fear, we are afraid to change something, we are afraid to defend our right to have a different quality of life... All this is too complicated..." Levi looks away thoughtfully, then adds, "The only question left is how to make a choice in all of this chaos? As the sages of the past said, a conscious life begins with a clear awareness of inevitable death. Memento mori. Tell me, Yuno, are you afraid to die?" he looks at me with his crazy and somewhat hungry for the truth look.

His large dark eyes, like cosmic black holes, suck in and distort to an insignificant size. Levi's vibe is oppressive, strong, absorbing everything - information, personalities, beliefs, rules. Spiritual Destroyer.

I don't like to look into his eyes, so I look through him. His question makes me really think for the first time. Am I afraid of death? Do I think about it? At some point, the realization comes to me that even the death of Jero didn't affect my consciousness in the way it should have. Am I afraid of anything at all? With these thoughts, I look into Levi's eyes, allowing myself to immerse in the question completely.

"I don't know. I really don't know if I have a fear of death. I don't understand how I feel at all. Maybe this is due to the fact that everything in the metaverse has become so accessible, because the feeling of death becomes something ordinary, because it is enough to go into a thematic event, and you died, and then resurrected again. Or maybe it's not the metaverse at all... The pills that we are stuffed with? The so-called antidepressants... Maybe they affect the psyche, removing the most primitive human fears along with other feelings? Why are we really stuffed with them consistently once a month? Who knows the truth? And in general... Think for yourself, consciously choosing death has become commonplace in our world. Moreover, I don't even think about it much, so there is no feeling of fear. It seems like it will pass me by. In the end, I just continue my secret prayer and choose to look the other way. In ancient times, the word 'death' didn't exist. They called it a transition, thus making this event only a part of a larger life."

Both Levi and I suddenly transport to another location. Scenery is loading all around. The room is a replica of Place de la République in the center of Paris in the twenty-first century. In the center, surrounded by well-groomed park trees, stands the Statue of the Republic, personifying freedom and brotherhood. A place where people from all over the world once met. When it was still possible. Holograms of skaters are circling around, musicians sitting on the steps, and office workers who have escaped during lunch to enjoy the rays of the sun. Here reigns the atmosphere of life in its purest manifestation.

"That's how it was before. People were almost free. This is pure freedom that has been available to a reasonable person throughout the history of the earth," Levi says.

I look around, imagining how all this once existed in reality.

"What can we do to make the world the way it used to be?" I chuckle.

"We are already doing it. The whole essence of my movement is aimed precisely at this. But first things first: if not to talk about how propaganda in wartime turned into the sphere of public relations, and already without forceful intervention, corporations received everything... Under the guise of democratic liberation. For me, one of the important and turning points in the minds of people occurred during a series of epidemics. A sharp restriction of freedom, a rapid gap between classes, the so-called 'Matthew Effect': 'For everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance; and from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.' There was no precedent in all of history when a government took away people's freedom and later gave it back. You are forced to communicate online, and even when you meet people on the streets, their faces are covered with masks. The possibility of contact decreases, hence everyone separates, and the feeling of loneliness increases. In the end, you are alone, in fear of viruses and paying your bills, reality becomes too cruel, and you seek shelter for your consciousness in meaningless information, in games, in social media, and the world continues to sink, and only at the bottom when the phone turns off the net, some begin to notice that their lungs are already filled with salt water."