A Big Book of Short Stories

Engineered to Suffer

Publish date: July 26, 2023
Word count: 953

Trigger Warning: gore, and many mature themes.

After a couple of minutes of sitting still, you start noticing things about the room your in. Like how, even though it's 2070, we still can't get a clock in a god damn hospital room. I know why there isn't one though.

They don't want us to focus on the time. To watch each second tick past behind us, slowly wasting our precious limited time. To go slowly insane as we imagine all the reasons why they're taking so much time. Could it be because they're trying to figure out how to tell us that we're going die.

The lack of a clock doesn't change anything anymore. Most people have some sort of bioengineering that can tell the time by itself. For me, it's the artificial eye.

I was so trapped in thought I almost didn't notice the doctor enter the room. "Hello Doctor," I say to break the ice.

"Hello uhh..." He says while flipping through the papers on his clipboard.

"Robert Jones."

"Mr. Jones, huh?" He said with a raised eyebrow. Almost saying that he doesn't believe me.

I sigh and tell him yes.

"Well, Mr. Jones, you may be wondering why we called you in on such short notice." What an understatement.

"I was thinking about it." Who wouldn't be wondering why they'd call me the day before they expect me to show up?

"Well, it says on your chart that you've been neglecting to pay us for th-"

"The cybernetics. Yes, I know I haven't paid the monthly payment."

"Not only the actual cybernetics but also the antivirus, the adblocker, and other things."

"I know. I just don't have the money."

"Well, we've sent you numerous bills. It seems that you have ignored each and every single one."

"Times are tough. I can't find a job that'll even hire me. Besides if they do hire me, they don't pay enough for food."

"Sorry, but if you don't pay by midnight tonight all your cybernetics will shut down"

"I just don't have the money." My voice would start breaking but years of living with bullshit and sad shit has given me an immunity to showing emotion.

"Guess you should've thought of that before getting enhancing."

"I would've lived a life of pure suffering, I wouldn't even stand."

"But you would still alive."

"You must have a sick twisted sense of reality if you think that what I would go through constitutes as life."

He points to the door. "Sir! Get outta of my office! I'm busy with PAYING people!" Of course. He'd rather throw me out than tell me I'm right.

"Fine!" I shout as I walk towards the door. "There's a place in hell for you."

"I told you to get out."

I quickly try to leave. I ignore everyone on my way out. I left so quickly I forgot to ask what would happen if I don't pay.

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The air stinks with pollution and heat. I try to look at the sky to see the stars but they still aren't there. The light pollution and smog have covered them for years almost everywhere on earth. So instead of stars, I'll watch the next best thing, ads.

You can't throw a stone without hitting an electronic billboard. It's absolutely awful. Even the tallest buildings, the ones reserved for the rich and con artists.

Some ads have the rich promoting it. Something like "this actor does coke, why don't you?" It's all bullshit. Funniest part is that none of these rich elitists have more cybernetics than your average street rat. Probably because they know how awful it is.

A drunk fuck walks up to me. Spouting some aggressive nonsense. Luckly, I have a robotic hand so I knock him out easily. He lays cold and motionless on the concrete. He'll probably either wake up on his own or not at all.

I look to the closest ad. It's for a cyber-cock. That's probably the only thing good about this world. It let's you feel everything about your most depraved, deplorable, disgusting fetishes. A friend I once had had got one of those. I walked in on him simulating an animal. I wasn't friends with him after that

The rest of the walk home was long and uneventful. If I didn't have my robotic leg then I wouldn't be able to make the entire trek. I just scrolled the internet on my cyber eye.

-------------------------------------------

I finally got home to my apartment. It's incredibly small. Practically just one room. All it has is a fridge, microwave, toilet, shower, and a mattress on the floor.

It's not like I need a lot of room. My cybernetics take care of any entertainment issues. That just leaves sleep, hygiene, and food.

I open the clock on my eye. The time is 11:58. I guess it's about time that I find out what happens when you forget to pay.

I take one quick look in the fridge. Nothing in there. Like always.

11:59. I just stand around. Not much to do.

12:00. For the first couple of seconds, nothing. Then my robotic legs breaks down and takes me crashing to the floor. I bang my head on the wall and leave a streak of red. It begins to pool.

Then my robotic eye begins to burn. It starts showing things that I didn't click on. Porn ads. Gore videos. Live leak footage. Some stuff is even a mix of porn and gore. I throw up the little food I've eaten.

My robotic wrist begins to twist and turn, and turn, and turn. It starts to twist so much that it tangles the veins. Eventually it gets so bad that it just snaps. Blood begins to pour from any hole in the hand.

Eventually, by the grace of the gods, the artificial veins stop pumping. Slowly my heart starts to stop. My brain eventully stops and visiom begun bluing. Oaim os uch. Tung byum.