THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 2: THE SWITCH

I was only 38 years old when suddenly left alone without the two people I cared for most in my entire life. One can only image how my life unraveled after the car accident that took my wife and daughter. You'd think that in a world as advanced as ours, such tragedies would not be possible. And yet, against all odds, they were gone in a blink of an eye. If only I had bought Switch No. 2 for them.

There were times I thought about taking my own life to join them, but I was too much of a coward. I sold our family home - it was far too big for me alone now - and moved into a small studio apartment on the edge of the city. At least it had a nice, spacious backyard. After a long mourning leave, which every company is required to provide after the death of a family member, I was soon set to return to my job as a Junior Engineer at Space Riders. The company was specialized in making suits, mobile space stations, and shuttles for astronauts.

I occasionally grabbed a beer or two with James at our local bar. A while after Grace's death I even went on a few dates – lovingly forced by James and Becca – but no one could replace my soulmate. Flashing images of my beloved daughter and exhausting nightmares about the accident were my constant companions, day and night. I was a shadow of my former self, a pitiful shell, walking around in trance. I had lost a lot of weight, and my once short black hair had grown quite long, same as my unkempt beard. The only thing I cared about was an orange cat I found in my backyard. I had seen him wandering around the neighborhood a few times, scavenging for food in the street trash, but for the last few weeks, he was always near my apartment, waiting for me to come home. Since he seemed to have no intention of leaving, I named him Carl. I bought him a little cat bed to sleep in, a single toy, and some cat food. Carl was my small distraction in times of despair, and somehow, he knew that.

In 4024, life expectancy was nonetheless around 150, provided you didn't have Switch No. 1. Switch No. 1 was introduced to the general population by the government in 3763. Though it wasn't a physical switch, people started calling the tiny graphene-based nanoparticle that way because it could be "turned on" or "off" at any given moment. With the necessary precautions of course. Some called it "wonder molecule". The manufacturer behind it was the renowned company Orvis, a leader in new technologies, artificial intelligence, and biochemistry. Once the switch was installed in your brain, all the cells responsible for aging stop working immediately. From that moment onward, you no longer aged, and as long as you avoided deadly diseases or accidents, you could live indefinitely. For the average person, however, witch No. 1 was far too expensive, accessible only to the wealthiest who could afford it. In the early days of this revolutionary technology, a few switches were randomly given out to the public, almost as a marketing campaign. My mother was one of the fortunate few to receive one, which is why she is still alive today, at her advanced age of 278.

Twelve years after Switch No.1 became available to everyone who could afford it, switch No. 2 hit the market. This new switch ensured that you never got sick – whether it was the common flu, a brain tumor, or lung cancer – none of it could affect you. It was imbedded in your DNA, providing complete protection. But Switch No. 2 didn't stop there. It also guaranteed that you would never face a deadly accident, no matter the circumstance – a plane crash, a car accident, a fall in the bathtub, or even being crushed by machinery at work. None of these or any other potential dangers were a concern. The nano particle gave you an enhanced intuition that allowed you to avoid such accidents entirely. The only death you had to face was that of old age. And if you already had Switch No. 1, effectively halting the aging process, you were practically immortal. Not a day goes by where I don't wish I'd been able to afford this switch for myself and my family. If I had been rich enough, Grace and Joanna would still be alive today.

Only three years later, Switch No. 3 came to the market. Many people thought, Another switch? What more could one possibly want in this lifetime? But Switch No. 3 offered something unprecedented – it could bring you back to life. It would make your heart beat again, restore all brain functions, and revive you from death itself.

Orvis had faced criticism because, despite Switch No. 1 and/or No. 2, people were still dying. In a world where crime still existed, killers could forcibly deactivate a victim's switch, or malfunctions in the nano particles led to fatal accidents. Switch No. 3 was your insurance – your ticket back from the dead. You could even buy one, or all three switches, for your beloved pets. The animal versions weren't as expensive as the human ones – perhaps within reach for an upper-class citizen with some savings. Some people marveled at this new era, saying, "What a time to be alive," but to me, the world was turning into something dark, reminiscent of the year 2024, before everything went to hell. I wasn't born back then, but I'd heard many stories about it.