Imagination's last hope: The quest to save the unseen world

Chapter 14

"I thought this is the world of technology. What are they doing with all of these books?" Rachel asked as she looked at all of the shelves filled with books.

The portal was hidden behind a bookshelf at the back of the library.

"Don't let all of these books fool you; all their pages are blank." Mira said, "We don't have a lot of time. We have to get to the headquarters and into their office. I'll show you when it's safe to follow me, but still be on the lookout for bots."

Mira changed her appearance to look exactly like a robot from the far future. The robot had many features that looked exactly like a human's. She had the same facial features as a human. Her arms and legs looked exactly like a human's. She was mostly covered in white metal. Her eyes were bright blue, and she could move around. Her voice sounded a little different. It sounded more artificial and less human-like. Mira waved to them to follow her. She opened the shop door and told them the coast was clear.

The world of Techtopia looked exactly like what it sounded. It had large and tall buildings. It looked like what everyone expects the world to look like in a hundred years. Everything looked shiny and new. All the shops and houses looked different and nothing like they do in the real world. They all had big windows, but the building was tiny and didn't even have a small garden.

"Why are all of their houses so small?" Rachel whispered to Mira.

"They don't need a kitchen or bed like humans do. They only need a place to charge themselves."

Mira ensured no robots were around them before walking on the sidewalk. She told Glimmerwisp two and Rachel to stay beside her so they wouldn't be so easily noticed. They walked to the next alley and checked again to see if no robots were nearby. They continued doing this for five or six alleys.

To Rachel, it felt like they had been walking 10km already. She started worrying about whether Mira knew the way to their headquarters.

"Do you know the way?" Rachel eventually asked.

"Yes." Mira was really focused.

"I was just wondering because we've been walking along this street for what feels like forever."

"Techtopia has only one street. You can't get lost."

Rachel didn't answer her. She was getting really bored. Apart from walking, she didn't like the world of technology. It was all so dull. Everything looked the same and didn't have any colour. All the buildings were identical, and they had nothing fun or unique about them. It reminded Rachel of what her life felt like. It was dull and ordinary. It was nothing fun or unique, and she hated this feeling. She liked everything being bold and exclusive. The idea of the real world becoming like this made cold shivers go down her spine. She knew that if they didn't stop whatever was happening here, it would end the world she knew.

Rachel wasn't focusing. She was thinking about all the bad things that would happen if this mission didn't go well, not only to her but to all the humans and guardians. It would be a disaster.

Suddenly, Mira shoved her into one of the alleys. Glimmerwisp two was right behind her. She stood close to the wall so that she couldn't be seen. Then she heard a voice say: "Why aren't you at work?"

She could instantly hear that this was a robot. Its voice sounded just like Mira's. She wanted to see what it looked like but stayed close to the wall.

Her heart sank. Mira's did too. Mira knew that she would get caught if she didn't think of a good lie to tell. She couldn't think too long to reply; otherwise, she would get caught too. She had to come up with something fast.