"Welcome to the LiSD Program. For a world free from the suffering that our ancestors went through, for a world free of pain, we offer you LiSD serum."
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Intended for mature readers, rated R (18+) for the subjects dealing with strong language, se...
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The first thing Durga noticed was the chirping of birds. She opened her eyes slowly, greeted by the kind of picturesque scene you'd expect in a VR nature tour, not a sterile lab. Before she could piece it together, the screen in front of her flared to life with its overly enthusiastic message:
"Welcome to the LiSD Program. For a world free from the suffering that our ancestors went through, for a world free of pain, we offer you LiSD serum. Every month, a fixed dose revitalizes your body at the cellular level, purging contaminants and foreign agents. You'll be rejuvenated, and all undesirables? Dead on arrival. Prophylaxis at its finest. Your friendly doctor will—"
Durga, not exactly in the mood for infomercials, slammed her fist into the screen. It flickered before mercifully shutting up. Just then, her fingers froze mid-punch as her brain processed what she'd just done. Her right hand—free. Completely untethered. That didn't sit right.
She glanced down at her left arm. Yep, just the usual LiSD injector plugged into her veins. But her right arm? That had been restrained as well, wasn't it? A sense of unease crept in, making her stomach churn.
She scanned the capsule, eyes narrowing. Everything looked exactly as it had before she went under. And her body felt normal. That mind-numbing, bone-crunching pain she'd felt earlier? Gone. Nothing but a mild sting where the serum had been administered. Standard stuff. Was it all just a nightmare? Had her mind completely fried during the session with Rudra?
She squinted, still suspicious, and brought her right hand closer to her face. Analyzing it with her built-in iris scanner, she activated her X-ray-microscopic vision, starting from her fingertips and slowly moving upwards. Just when her scan reached her wrist, a hologram of Dr. Tora popped up, smiling her unsettlingly perfect smile.
"Hello, Durga," Dr. Tora said, with all the warmth she could muster.
Durga wasn't having it. Something had gone wrong, she could feel it. She narrowed her eyes at the hologram, her voice dripping with skepticism. "Dr. Tora, I've got some questions about LiSD."
"Of course!" The hologram's grin remained eerily intact. "I'm here to help with any LiSD-related queries."
Durga bit her lip, then asked, "What happens if someone wakes up in the middle of a session?"
Tora blinked—an odd, artificial delay before answering. "That's not possible. The dreamscape is wired to shift your brain activity entirely. You're synchronized to the system, connecting with other participants worldwide. Waking up during the process isn't a part of the design."
"Yeah, but what if someone did wake up?" Durga pressed. "Say, hypothetically, their body decided to just rebel against science?"
The hologram hesitated, its smile faltering for the briefest of moments before replying. "If such a thing occurred—which it won't—they would likely transition into a different brain activity mode."
