PROJECT NIRVANA | ONC2020 ✔️

Chapter 7.

My eyes widened at his words. "The real world?"

Avron nodded.

"What was it like?"

A distant expression formed on his face. "It was just like here. Only sadder, gloomier. But it also felt right. It felt real."

I shivered in my seat. If reality was dreary and sad, did I really want to see it? Wouldn't it be better to just stay in Nirvana? But was it morally right to continue living a lie? Was it the right thing to do?

The car rolled out of the front entrance before joining the road. And we sped into darkness.

The black sky was slowly melting into a dark pinkish-blue that resembled the sweet cotton candy that you'd find at a carnival. I could see the faint outline of the sun's rays, their beamish light trailing towards the wispy clouds as if fearful that they would disappear. The buildings were just nondescript blurs of gray and pale colors; no one occupied the usually busy streets.

"Where are we going?" I asked Avron.

My reluctance was growing larger by the second. It had been a bad idea to come out here, even though I had finally found Avron. I could have been lying in my bed, ready to start a new day and forgetting about the events of the past. But then I remembered the danger Natasha had spoken of.

"They said we'll be going to their headquarters," Avron replied. "And that we'd get all our answers there."

Tired, I rested my head on his shoulder and looked at the endless road before us. When the sun hing in the sky again and my brain was filled with newfound knowledge, would my world remain the same or would I be catapulted into the foreign arms of reality? Was I ready for the truth?

The vehicle stopped in front of a small house nestled in a quieter section of Nirvana. Tall trees hid the building, curling their branches around it in a crooked embrace.

A stone pathway led to the front door, an orderly trail among the scraggly, dying grass that was the lawn. A tiny lamp hung above the entrance, casting its yellow glow on the shadowed ground.

Avron and I stepped out of the car and followed Natasha inside. A thick carpet muffled the sound of our footsteps, thin walls cramping up the small space. The room felt warm and stuffy as if someone had set the heater to the highest setting.

A bearded man sat in front of a messy table scribbling on a notepad. He squinted at the paper in concentration, humming a tune as he worked. A nametag on his desk read Dr. Frazier.

The room smelled like dust and the musty pages of old books, the kind of scent you would find in an attic or abandoned bookstore. It was unlikely that this was the right place. Natasha must have gotten the address mixed up.

The man turned to the doorway and his eyes lit up when he spotted the three of us. He stood up from his chair and motioned for us to come inside.

"Sit down, sit down. Make yourselves at home."

He grabbed books from the threadbare couch and cleared the coffee table with his arm, haphazardly stacking them on an equally chaotic dining table.

Avron and I stepped into the room and sunk into the couch. We eyed the room, noticing the loose leaflets that littered every  dusty corner and the lack of structure. This wasn't the kind of place I'd imagined the N.I.A would be stationed. It looked more like the lair of a mad scientist than the headquarters of a credible organization.

My decision to believe Natasha was beginning to look stupider by the minute. This was probably all a scam.

Natasha disappeared into one of the rooms and returned with a leatherbound book which she handed to Dr. Frazier. He flipped through the pages before ripping one out and handing it to me. I accepted the sheet, trying to keep my hands from trembling. My eyes scanned the contents.

"What does it say?" Avron asked from beside me. Lines of worry formed on his face.

I took a deep breath. "The simulation will end soon. And when it does, all subjects will be terminated."

I wasn't sure how to make sense of this information. A dark feeling was beginning to settle in the pit of my stomach, and I could feel bile rising in my throat. Fears that I had struggled to suppress floated to the surface of my mind like insidious debris. There was no escape.

"Of course, this is only a theory," Dr. Frazier interjected.

"A theory?" I asked, swallowing my unease.

"It is a fact that this world is a simulation, however your impending death is only speculation."

"If it's only speculation," asked Avron. "Then why are you telling us about it?"

"Because if it's not," said Natasha. "You need to be prepared."

"What exactly do we need to prepare for?"

"They're beginning to find out that we know that this is a simulation," Natasha replied. "But it's supposed to be a secret. If subjects realize the nature of the operation, then the experiment becomes a failure."

I closed my eyes. This was becoming too much to process.

"Once the experiment fails," Natasha continued, "The subjects need to become disposed of, although we're not quite sure whether that disposal is ultimately death. It could be a number of things."

"But most likely death," Dr. Frazier asserted.