The State of Cause

Chapter 11

11

            There is still something that feels so real about where I am right now. I’m unable to dream about anything, I doubt I’m even unconscious enough to do so. It can only be described as the ‘in-between’ amid the simulation and reality. But I feel almost uncomfortable being here. My surroundings, well I don’t actually have any surroundings. It’s all black. Plain. Eerie almost. Even when I move, I cannot hear my footsteps, nor can I hear anything else. Am I the only person here, or is this the protocol for all Players before we enter? Has everyone been thrust into a place that might represent who they are? If the latter as true, is this what I am? Nothing. Dark. No plausible features to establish myself as an individual. I shake the thoughts from my head and continue into this black abyss.

            I have no feeling of time in here. None at all. How long have I been in here? Ten minutes, an hour? Longer? I can’t quite grasp what is going on. I can’t even see my body. But I don’t even think I have on right now.

            What feels like an eternity passes until something begins to tug at me. At first it is weak and I attempt to resist, but it continues to get stronger and stronger until I am I can no longer put up a fight. Maybe I don’t even have to resist it. It might just be the simulation calling for me. Suddenly a piercing white light flashes in the distance, illuminating the in-between and eradicating this place of darkness. And then I know. I’m being pulled towards the light. It’s welcoming. Its beauty utterly hypnotizes me. Whatever was pulling me has vanished, but I don’t need it now anyway. I want to take myself to the light. I want to be consumed by it and if I had a body, I’d want to touch it. Nothing else matters to me apart from reaching it. I push through until I am only inches away. Closer and closer I get until I finally make it. The light takes over me, and then everything instantly changes.

            Color tries to find its way through my closed eyelids. Something is on top of me. It isn’t heavy, but it is warm. It feels soft, plush and I never want it to go away. I open my eyes to see I am in a bed, tucked in tightly underneath a duvet. I’m in an almost exact replica of the bedroom from the accommodation center. The silk even feels the same. The only difference is that this room hasn’t got a mirror, which I don’t mind really. I’m not that bothered about looking at myself.

            I whip the covers away from my body and step onto the carpet. My feet sink into it and a mold of my footprint is left every time I take a step. I move to the wardrobe to find a change of clothing, but it’s empty. Am I supposed to wear this one suit at all times? I mean it’s comfy but it isn’t going to stay clean all the way through the shpow. Unless they can make it happen? The back of the wardrobe disappearing snaps me back into ‘reality’ and it then returns with racks upon racks of clothing. Assorted colors, materials and shapes hang before me. I don’t test to see whether they are my size or not because I know they will be. I grab the first thing I see, a blue jumpsuit, and strip down to my underwear to change into it. I’m sure the whole country will love my exposure.

            Some of the clothes look horrible, ridiculous even. I know for sure that some of the other Players will take advantage on what we have been given, and to put it simply, they’ll look laughable.

            Speaking of Players, I haven’t heard any of my family since I woke up. Maybe they haven’t come to yet? Or they might just be relaxing? Nevertheless I leave my room and begin to search the house.