The Birth of The Unity (sequel to Chronicle of Nautilus)

Chapter 10: The Two Deaths

It was just another beautiful day in this small artificial dream world. The world in many ways very similar to the one Adam 15 had awakened from.

The young blond man who would soon become Chuck 18 sat under the hot summer sun on a tall green hill. He was staring at his hometown, a small and quiet place with a population of two hundred.

The wind blew into his tanned chest messing up the open white shirt. This time, Chuck came to this place, not for the view. He waited for a new friend he had met a couple of days ago on the street. A friend who had told he would show things to Chuck, things he had never dreamed about. And while he waited, his narrow blue eyes followed the machines working in the fields on the outskirts of the town.

Those trucks and harvesters never broke down and did not age. They always had fuel supply even though the town never produced any fuel and never received it from outside because there was no place to receive it from. The thought about magically appearing fuel never came to Chuck's attention.

There were, even more, oddities that avoided his mind. Such as the radio that always played different music every day, yet the town never had any singers. The library in the town, most favorite Chuck's place had hundreds of books written by authors who by no chance could have lived in this town.

The only things he noticed were the details on how things operated. Chuck had a habit to disassemble different devices, find out how they work and assemble them back without losing a single screw in the process. Machines were his passion and the trucks working in the fields was the most favorite thing to watch.

Lack of awareness of the inconsistencies happening all around the fake world was common not only for Chuck but for every subject living in an artificial world. The machines generating the illusion had direct contact with more than a few subject's brain nerves. They received input and produced output communicating with the brain during every second of the experience. Even when subjects went to sleep in their dream worlds, machines went on, generating dreams which would keep the illusion alive and realer.

Having stared enough at the machines, Chuck lay down and looked up at the sun, a yellow bright speck that lit the world and provided it with life energy. Thin, transparent clouds raced through the sky and even though they covered the blazing sun quite often it did not make Chuck feel cooler for at least a moment. Minutes passed and when he was about to fall asleep, he heard someone approaching.

Chuck, opened one of his eyes, glanced to the side and said, "Hey, kid. How are you today?"

"Fine, the weather is amazing isn't it?" a childish voice replied.

"Indeed, it is."

Chuck sat down and waved his hand to a young boy. They boy was ten years old, his skin pale, head bold. The facial features streamed innocence and goodness. The boy never frowned and always smiled. Whenever he spoke and whatever he said, his tone was always soft and gentle. This kid for Chuck was as the young brother he never had. In this world, Chuck had never been attached to any person. But this kid felt as a family.

"So, have you thought about it?" asked the child.

"Yes."

"And?"

"I want you to show it to me. Show the place you come from."

"It is not reachable by foot or any conventional means, Chuck."

"You have told this to me before."

"The journey will hurt and you will feel discomfort for a long while after we reach the destination."

"I'm fine with it," Chuck joyfully replied.

The kid carried a strong spiritual aura which gave Chuck inspiration and made him eager to understand things. Near the boy, he felt strange as if he was awakened from a dream. Whenever the kid was close, he felt that the world he lived in was somewhat fake and hazy, even the trucks at which he would stare during their conversations for its duration lost their magic. Now Chuck was sure, no matter from where the kid came, it was much better and more interesting place.