Lifeline

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” I said to the immaculate looking, but still human receptionist.

“We’re glad to hear that. I can assure you that 99% of the customers at Lifeline are satisfied and happily returning.”

I shook these marketing words off myself knowing that they say whatever number they want to. It didn’t really matter.

“Please, follow my colleague and have fun!” The receptionist bowed courteously with a beaming smile and another man, also in spotless uniform, took the lead. The young mestizo man greeted me and asked me to go with him and that in the meantime maybe I could tell him something about myself.

Bored and not too eager, I told him that there was nothing special about me, I was just curious about the service because I had already heard so much about it and how much it divided people’s opinions.

According to the name tag, Kolide must have noticed something because he tried to lift the mood after my answer was dragging it down. Of course, this is in Kolide’s job description, but I see the signs that are mostly the same with everyone who interacts with me.

“This way, please.” He pointed to the gleaming, rich but minimalist-looking high-tech hallway. “What category are you thinking about, if I may ask?” he asked while walking, trying to figure me out; if I would choose something normal or if I was a sick person. No. I don’t make this up. As I said, I see these clearly on faces and expressions.

“I’d be more interested in non-fiction,” I admitted somewhat humorously, glancing curiously at how he would react.

“Excellent choice. I like that,” he said chuckling. “Then I assume you heard that we call the database ‘the library’. I don’t understand why they didn’t name it that officially. Very clever.”

“Thank you. Yes, they missed out on a good opportunity there.”

“I’ll mention it to my manager, though, who knows? Maybe they’ll change it in the future.”

“Given that the company survives the divisions and protests.”

Kolide gave me a sly look but oddly didn’t say anything. Maybe it was prohibited for them to say anything about this.

“This way.” He extended his arm with a nod towards the lift. He used his card to open it. There were ten-odd buttons in the lift, and he pressed the seventh and had to write a code in. Silently, we started going up. The music in the lift wasn’t bad, but Kolide must have been trained to avoid awkward silences.

“So, is this your first time?” he asked.

“Yes, my girlfriend paid for a ride, but I wanted to try it out anyway.”

Kolide laughed again. “‘Ride’. Nice one. You’re a funny man,” he said. “Also, very kind of your girlfriend. Our gift package is indeed very popular.”

Small talk wasn’t one of his strengths, but I appreciated his attempt. I just wasn’t interested in chatting. The lift doors opened, and we exited.

The level was also silver-white-coloured, studded with ferns and other green plants grown indoors. Designed posters decorated the walls, promoting the available productions; like movie posters that I had to admit was smart and creative. The place looked more like a hall and not a corridor. There was enough light for the plants through the frameless windows that filled the entire wall. In some places, designer sofas and armchairs with coffee tables and magazines were placed.

“We'll have a stop here where you should go through a quick medical examination, as you may already know.”

“Yes, it was shown on the prospectus. Okay. What will they check anyway?”

“Oh, general things. Your mind’s and nervous system’s condition just so that it’s documented that you’re healthy enough to complete the ‘ride’.” he smiled as he quoted my words.

“Have you done it yet? It may be a stupid question,” I asked him.

“The check-up?”

“No, the ri–”

“Oh, the Lifeline? Of course, many times. Don’t tell anyone, but I think I’m addicted.” he giggled again, and I couldn’t decide if this was also something they had to say, or he meant it. If he did, I could’ve believed that easily which is worrying. Nobody wants to be addicted. I was surprised that he was not warned about it when he was trained that saying things like that could be a deterrent for sensitive guests. Maybe he’s just inexperienced. It may have been his first job.

“We get a discount, you know,” he added.

“And which category excites you?” I asked the same question he did.

“Oh, I like fictional characters, to quote you. God, why do they not call them this; it would work so much better!”

I didn’t want to embarrass him with the question if he agrees with the protesters not to touch non-fiction. He’s young, he must have grown up on videogames and superheroes. Of course it interests him better.

“Has there ever been an accident?” I asked instead, just raw and simple. He must have been prepared because he answered straight away with a simple ‘no’, and continued like this:

“Lifeline is proud of its 0% injury rate. We also prevent this with the medical test. According to the data we have so far, 1% of the population is not recommended to try it, but Lifeline is so generous that those customers–”

“–get a free ticket to Disney Land. Yes, I’ve heard the ad.”

“On top of a refund,” Kolide added smartly.

“I do hope I’m in the 99%.”

“We hope. I wish you the best of luck! Here we are, please go on in,” he motioned me into the doctor’s office with an excited smile.

“You did what!?” I asked, mad with surprise.

Bleau hugged me with one arm so that she could see as I looked at the certificate-looking ticket.

“Do you like it?” She asked in her sexy voice.

“This must have cost a fortune.” I looked at her seriously.

“Oh, stop it.” She dismissed it with a wave.

For the socially high-born Bleau, she never had and never will have a problem with money. Working for her was just to fulfill herself. I mean that she only did work she liked, and for however long she wanted to do it.

I’m not jealous of her ability anymore. Really not. Who would be envious of something like this? I, who’s stuck in an office where apart from the colleague’s silliness nothing brings joy? Madness. Being free, doing something that you want to do and however long you want to, not worrying about money? It’s terrible.

Of course I’d want that too, but life threw me a different start of which I only managed to crawl this far. At least I was lucky enough that we found each other with this beautiful, cool woman, and fell in love. It warms me inside whenever I think of this and of her. I’m lucky, even if my life is bland. She is the blooming flower, the centre point of my life. The person who brought spice, excitement and colour into my life.

Who now gifted me with yet another excitement with this ticket.

“Who will you choose?”

“Uhm, I don’t know.” I looked at her; her attractive face and full lips, as she was studying the ticket over my shoulder with her green eyes. Her Cappuccino colour and thick, afro hair impressed me. I should tell her that I can’t accept this. She bought it for my birthday, but I feel embarrassed by these expensive gifts, especially since I cannot give the same back.

“Baby, it’s a premium package,” I started my excuses, as many times before. She never accepted a refusal.

“It is, indeed. You chose whoever you want,” she said proudly and planted a kiss on my cheek. “You have time to decide.”

Even her breath was like honey. Her closeness and the way she treated me, the way she looked got me going. God, I’m so fortunate. I softly clasped her chin and thanked her gratefully, and with a gently-started thousand-watt kiss, I put her on the table.

“Aaand this was my round. Dumpling, you’re up,” said Ardil, who focused most on the board game and began to get frustrated that several members of the team were immersed in a conversation.

“Oh, okay. Where am I again?” Dumpling snapped back to the present who was drinking a black liquid which was half-alcoholic, half-fruit juice. The holographic-element-contained board game was blinking green in front of him, indicating that it was his turn.

“You could attack Lucy who’s winning so far, or you could build your own facility since you’re behind with that,” Ardil enlightened him without reminding him of the other two things he could do, therefore manipulating the weakest player among us.

“But, for real guys, would you let it?” asked someone from the group, not letting the topic go which grew Ardil’s frustration.

“I’d think about it,” I added to the conversation. “At least they’d see how many injustices I’d gone through.”

“But why do the filmstars agree with it? Are they not famous enough with their films? Do they not have enough money already?” Lucy, the only woman in the group, asked. “I think they just want to boost their ego. To show what kind of king life they lived.”

“Oh, my. Someone sounds salty,” Bruno interrupted her, whose turn it was after Dumpling’s facility-building move. Being a good player, and because he was annoyed by Ardil’s ‘tryhard’ efforts, he attacked him casually. “I think ... I don’t know ... I would try it out if I had the chance.”

Lucy looked at him like a traitor.

“What more, I started to save up for it.”

“No waaay!” came the objection and cheering from the others. It made Bruno smile. “Just a level 1 character from my favourite show,” he corrected to calm the bunch down. “Not even the actor, just the character.” He looked at the girl who liked this idea the least. “Just so I could try it out.”

“Ookay, that’s somewhat acceptable,” Lucy gave him her non-existent permission.

“Remember that this is an excellent passive income opportunity for many. Families of the deceased can be greatly helped by the acquisition.” said Kondo, the team's lawyer friend, as he sent a spy group to Bruno’s base during his turn.

“For me, it’s worse than prostitution,” Lucy said in disgust. “They give their all whereas for years they were whining about the undermining of private spheres.”

“Welcome to the age of post-Instagram.” Kondo retorted.

“Those bitches could still step it up more.” said the lady and attacked my base which surprised me.

Dumpling joined the conversation this time. “I think this is an opportunity to live a better life, to be more motivated to achieve more. I mean, that person with the Nobel-prize, who admitted that she got motivated by a Lifeline program about Nobel-prize.”

“Oh, please!” Lucy rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so naïve. Sure, there are one or two good examples, but the majority aren’t. The YouTube pranks started this way back then! They got rougher to fish for a bigger audience. This is exactly one of the biggest problems with Lifeline! They accept the criminals too, and the sheep people are more interested! What can be deduced from this? If they bring more views and money, what will it motivate the people, the growing generation, the current lives?”

“Some good points.” Kondo sipped as he examined the cards in his other hand.

“How was the game?” Bleau asked, wearing a purple top and black underwear while frying something and listening to French music.

“Completely turned into a Lifeline argument,” I said irritably.

“Oh?”

“What do you mean ‘oh’?”

“Well. A service that has been available for quite some time, why only now? Do I assume it right when I say the majority of the group is against it?”

“Wrong. Lucy was the only one, but that counts as five people. I wouldn’t be surprised if she joined the protesters tomorrow, she was so upset by the end. I don't know how it came up anyway. I don’t remember. How did the poetry go?”

“All right. I wrote three.”

“Oh, three? Well done! It seems your ‘me-time’ was to your benefit. Can I read them?”

“Of course, You know where to find my poem diary.”

“Yeah. Let me go to the loo first though.”

Our apartment was just the right size to make us feel good living in it. At first we just rented it, but after a while Bleau announced that she purchased it. I got a bit mad but she reassured me that she could sell it more expensive later anyway since the neighbourhood was still under development.

We weren’t too fussed about technological innovations or the all smart-home idea, so the only high-tech gadget in our apartment was definitely the toilet. The Japanese were always decades ahead of the West in that matter, and although there were more and more upgraded toilets in the world, they were still able to bring innovations out of them. We were blown away by them in our hotel during one of our vacations in Japan, largely sponsored by Bleau, so we decided to order one too. I insisted that I pay half of it.

Before I could reach the full-of-plants writing corner, she said, waggishly, “So, you’re in the pro team, huh?” I stopped because I didn’t even notice that I previously gave my answer away. I didn’t mind. I said I’m neutral, that I look at it objectively and that I’d be interested in trying it out to be honest. She just said another ‘oh’ but this time I didn’t ask for clarification.

“And you?”

“Ouw!” She accidentally touched the frying pan. “I would never ever ever. I think it’s wrong, and I wouldn’t support either side, but I also don’t condemn anyone.”

“Do you not agree that this is an extraordinary entertainment form, that it uniquely helps to understand people’s emotional and thought-world, the development of different life paths, that more people can accumulate more life experiences in a lifetime than ever before; that millions use it as a therapeutic form, that it satisfies such desires which they might not happen otherwise?”

“Hey, this sounded very ‘pro’, love.” She looked at me playfully like someone who didn’t care about all these reasons, and only I interested her. “I thought you’re objective.” She grinned.

She was right. I got myself riled up for no reason, even though it has its downsides, which we both knew well.

“Come, dinner’s ready,” she said, smiling.

“What’s up bud?” Badu turned to me on his swivel chair. We’ve been working together for 4 years with adjacent boxes. I always liked him. He wrote rap bases in his spare time which I was very happy to listen to and give feedback on at his request.

“I’m just gathering ideas.” I said, not taking my eyes off the monitor.

“Okay. For what?”

“For Lifeline Premium.”

“Huh?”

“I have a ticket.”

“Don’t shit me!” He squeezed my arm. “Premium?”

“Yep.”

“You were willing to give that much away without even knowing who to choose?”

“It was a gift.”

“Oh, you lucky bastard. “Go for Snoop Dogg. For me, it’d be him without a doubt in premium.”

“I didn’t know he was in the program too.”

“Oh, from the beginning to the end, baby. God rest him in peace. Apparently, half of the money spent on him goes to children’s charities, and the other half to weed farms.”

This made me laugh. “Same old Snoop. Even in death, he remains true to himself.”

“That’s right.” He nodded respectfully, then as if his eyes had become nostalgic. “I remember how sad I became when I heard the news when I was a kid.”

I glanced at him. “Yes, he was a legend, no doubt, but at least he lived a long and happy life. He did what he loved.”

“That’s right. You can’t go wrong with him. There was everything. But I see you don’t care so much. Then who?”

“Oh, even I don’t know, I’m just looking at the trailers.”

“Bill Gates?” He read it off the monitor.

“I said I was just looking but probably not. I was thinking something darker.”

“You mean skin colour? Snoop Dogg. There you go.”

“Oh, no, Badu.” I laughed. “Not skin colour.”

“I say it because Bill Gates was a veery white dude.”

“I mean like a way of life, morale, stuff like that. You know.”

“Oooh.” He realised, but I would not know what might have been going through his mind.

“Don’t think of anything bad, you know I mentioned how much I’m interested in psychology.”

“Man!” he started disappointedly. “You have a Premium package! You could be the coolest porn star ever! Or have you heard of Dan Bilzerian? Already in his life he was considered to live in a heaven! I would be damn curious! Please! Please! Don’t waste a Premium on some psychopath,” he told me dead seriously while he spun my chair towards him which made me smile again.

“I’ll check out his trailer. Thanks for the tip.”

“Ahhh, you’re not listening to me, man!” he said again in frustration seeing my reaction, and spun my chair. “I’m going to the vending machine; do you want a chocolate?”

“No, thanks.”

“Good, cause you don’t deserve it.”

I laughed again. I loved having such a colleague.

“Whatcha doin’?” Bleau asked after she finished her bedtime routine. She threw herself into bed next to me and looked at my laptop screen. “Oh, Mike Tyson?”

“I’m just looking. There are so many interesting lives.”

“For sure.” She leaned back and looked at the ceiling. “Hey, babe?”

“Hm?”

“Promise me you’ll never give yourself to them.”

It was as if the question slapped me across the face. I almost laughed at her absurdity but it was sweet at the same time. “Babe, no one would care about my life. You’re the most interesting thing in it so far.”

“Well, that’s what I’m afraid of. I’m terrified of the thought that strangers would make love to me.”

That thought slapped me again because I didn’t even think of it.

“I promise, darling. You don’t have to worry.”

“Why can’t they censor those things that the donor doesn’t want to share? In this world of technology, surely they could do it if they wanted to.”

“I couldn’t answer this in the morning, but I looked into it since.”

“Yeah?” She turned onto her belly, and while leaning on her elbows, she concentrated on me curiously which made me smile.

“So, the way our neurological system is connected to our memory – or at least something like this, they wrote something else too – they can only extract it as a whole.” Bleau looked down to giggle, probably about the dumb way I was trying to explain it, then she continued to watch me, smiling. “They compare lives to a plant. The stem, as time; the roots, the starting points and the genes’ effect on life. The leaves, as experiences, provide either development or they rot, and thus its flowers and fruits — that is, its actions and influences — come forth as a blessing or a curse. You take a leaf and the plant doesn’t get as much light anymore, therefore the whole thing won’t make sense in the end. You have to see, live and experience it all to understand. Everything affects everything.”

“Wow,” she said, but she seemed disappointed. “Just promise me you won’t sell yourself.”

“I already promised.” I put out my hand with a smile.

“Okay. I’m just so worried. It’s not fair that people can make these decisions without our consent.”

“I agree. Did you hear that the court can order an exploration?”

“Sure, but at least it’s applicable vice-versa too. The defendant can request it if they think they’re innocent.”

“The lie-detector has come a long way, hasn’t it?”

“And I heard it’s still used. Many people don’t want the exploration, understandably. Your whole life, your thoughts, your feelings, your dreams, your relationships, your secrets just to get an answer for one thing. What a massive horse shit.” She was examining her purple-painted nails. She looked sad.

“This wasn’t the case with Steven Avery. The program saved his last years. Scrubbed his name clean,” I reminded her.

“Yeah. Poor thing spent a lifetime in prison, waiting.”

“The many indignant people back then! They praise the opportunity of the program now.”

“There are no more innocent imprisonments. Maybe they should keep it for just that purpose.”

“So, you don’t even agree with the therapeutic side of it?”

“Your meaning?”

“The poor can taste the rich life, sick people their sick desires; whatever fantasy you’ve ever had, there is at least one life about it today. If they can live through it in the program, they don’t have to in real life. As a woman, would you want to try what it’s like to live as a man, and how we experience sex? You can do that too.”

“No. People were fine without it until now. On the other hand, I’ve heard stories that a person secretly lived through his sister’s boyfriend’s life just so that he can have sex with his sister. There are those who do this with their mother and father. Do you really want to defend such sick people with the word ‘therapy’?”

“Jesus! I haven’t heard of that. No. Not what I meant.”

“I think people should mind their own lives and improve it, enjoy it and build it. The whole ‘let’s live someone else’s life’ thing gives me the creeps. There should be some stronger sanction and permission for these things. Or get consent from the owners according to an agreement like if you’re giving your baby up for adoption, you’d want to know who’ll get it.

“I get the made-up characters that they could be interesting and entertaining. You watched a film or played a game and you liked any character in it? Bam, there is the brilliant Lifeline story and life which you can live through as if it was reality. But to allow people’s flesh-and-blood lives and relationships to be allowed to anyone just by ticking a big “yes”? No, no, no!”

“Think of it,” I interrupted, “like an autobiography. Many people publish those, and millions of people are interested. Books, documentaries, interviews – this is simply a new level. A legacy. And it brings a lot of money for both parties.”

“I get that, but then why can’t they edit it or cut those out – ah, you already explained it. I honestly feel bad for those couples who divorced or broke up because they had decided to live through each other’s life to get merged and understand each other more. What a stupid idea. Anyway, you’re never going to convince me of this, you pro.” She smiled almost aggressively.

“Oh,” I said, realising we had our first little argument about Lifeline and it indeed looked like I was really a pro. She must have noticed the realisation on my face as she chuckled with her head bowed again. “You’re cute,” I said. “There is nothing wrong with that. I agree with multiple points, and I respect your opinion.”

She had a surprised expression on for a second, maybe even she didn’t realise it, but then she crawled with her elbows closer to me so that we can exchange a kiss.

“Thank you,” she said. “You’re cute too, and I respect your opinion too.”

As I stepped in, a tall, middle-aged man greeted me by my name. He ordered me to stop, lift one of my legs and touch the tip of my nose. I did it and he laughingly told me that he does it with every new customer. In my nervousness I didn’t laugh, just smiled to show that I’m not completely sour. He asked me how I was, and I told him I was excited.

“That’s good! You should be,” he said.

He sat me down on an ergonomic-looking armchair that was set to 45 degrees with a footrest and various things were attached to the top. One looked like a sphere that would lower down onto my head.

He asked me if I have consumed any food and drink today or alcohol or drugs in the past three days. I told him I ate plenty as it was recommended and did not consume alcohol or drugs.

He looked into my eyes with a mini flashlight and took blood from my fingertip with a mini needle-prick, which I could barely feel. While analysing my blood data on a machine, he asked if I knew what ‘benchmark’ meant. Unsurely I asked if it was the test that they make for computer games.

He laughed and told me I nailed it. While he spoke, he attached a heart rate monitor to me. “It’s used in business, in architecture, but in our case, what you said is best suited.” So, as you know, the comparison analysis. We test how well your mind and your nervous system can carry the program. We have a baseline, in which you have to perform above, in order to go further. You’ll experience different places and situations from different people and characters as if you were really them. They’re less than one minute long, but as the situations and measurements progress, I’ll accelerate them. What will be one minute for me will be one millisecond for you by the end. You’ll notice nothing of this though. You won’t know that you’re sitting in a machine being tested, and you won’t even remember previous situations while the benchmark is going, but you’ll know right away the situation you’re in and who you are in that situation, and time goes by the same way for you. Just like in your chosen program. Except that in there the show will go from beginning to end with that benchmark speed we are now measuring and is healthy for yourself. Take it as a demo-version. Is everything clear?”

I just nodded.

“This is the reason why some people live through their chosen lives in two hours and some in eight, which is the longest, by the way. Oh, look at that, your pulse skyrocketed! Aren’t you excited?” He smiled.

“Yes! I find this exciting. Can’t wait to try it.”

“Excellent! Let’s start then. Well? Make yourself comfortable, this will only take five minutes.”

He directed the sphere onto my head which covered me up to my nose. It was perfectly comfortable and perfectly dark. Some things connected with my head inside the helmet. I felt slight stings in several parts of my skull, which was strangely pleasant. Like a head massage, but deeper. I immediately felt sleepy. It relaxed me, and my heart rate stabilized as well.

In the next moment, I was in a different world.

I woke up as Dracula rising from my coffin in my castle in the Middle Ages. I felt supernatural powers growing within me, ready to hunt, ready to kill. But yet I just felt sad, that it was always easy. I had no opponent in the world. I was simply overpowering over everyone and everything.

The next instant, I was a motocross stuntman as I was just performing the biggest backflips and boldest tricks of my life in front of hundreds and thousands of people who were all cheering for me. It was intoxicating.

Suddenly I was sitting by a beautiful tropical sunset on a blanket in the company of a beautiful woman. The romance between us was going on steadily for a while now. The attraction built for months but beautifully, and it seemed like this was the moment for her to give in. We sipped wine, and her smile was inviting me for a kiss which I started to lean in for. Before we touched each other the world changed again.

I was Superman as I fought my opponent through half the city, and now I was hovering over it triumphantly, feeling the swelling unearthly forces within me again.

I was in a delivery room, as a mother, holding my healthy and beautiful baby in my arms while the loving father was admiring us and caressing us by the bed. The feeling was indescribably happy.

I was a poor man who just found out that he won the jackpot in the lottery. And for a minute, the feeling was ecstatic again.

I was a woman activist, who just achieved for a big group of poachers in Rwanda to be caught, who were apparently the last ones in the country. I had a big part in it and put in a lot of work; and the feeling that hordes of elephants, whole families, gorillas and countless of other animals will be saved because of my job, resulted in a feeling of gratitude and fulfilment.

I was on a spacewalk. I admired our planet in front of me from the spacesuit and could have simply cried. It was so beautiful, but also because I was so grateful I managed to achieve this in my life.

About fifty other situations went down, but I didn’t know about all this since I didn’t remember the previous ones. Then everything disconnected. I was back in the black sphere. The pins from my head retracted then the whole thing lifted off my head. There stood the doc, staring at me, grinning.

Then suddenly I remembered them all, as if it was all a complex dream, all the details were there. Except that I knew this dream was real and it happened with me. I felt richer. Not financially, more like life-wise.

“Oh ... my ... frickin ... God!” I groaned in an otherworldly manner.

“I have good news,” the doctor said. “You completed the baseline successfully and easily.”

“It’s amazing,” I said, still dumbfounded. “How long was I in there?”

“Not more than four and a half minutes,” he said, taking the heart rate monitor off me.

“I'd say at least two hours.”

He smiled. “The healthy brain, in one second, processes 400 trillion tiny pieces of information; however, we’re only aware of 2,000. With the benchmark, we try to find out what the healthy tolerance is for a given person. The more neurons sparkle in your brain, the faster you finish with your chosen life in real time. However, the faster we set it to, the more tired you will feel after the program as your fast-working brain will eat all the energy up. That’s also why it’s important to find out what the healthy limit is to you. Well? We’re finished here. How are you feeling?”

“Amazed! But good.”

There it was again. My negative radiance. I felt that the doctor didn’t like it; as if he would’ve expected more, and I didn’t give it to him.

“Incredible situations were collaged together. I still can’t believe it,” I added as I stood from the chair.

“Eh, yes.” He waved it off. “Part of the advertising,” he whispered and quickly blurted that it’s the same as the trailers before movies, they’re trying to lure them in to try out more lives.

“I have to admit, they’re not doing it wrong! I would love to try it all!”

He just laughed again.

“The higher we aim and achieve a goal, the more euphoric the feeling. Just something we do well to remember. By the way, all are available in both versions. In free-running, as we call it, and in decided fate.”

“Really? I read something about it but didn’t look into it ...”

“Basically, you either live through the person’s complete life or the fictional characters’ countless story-variations, or you can choose to get the person’s or character’s starting point – as in genes, skillsets, motivations, etc. –, but you’ll have free will to shape it how you’d like. This version is getting more popular with us.”

“Oh, my days.”

“Hehe. Yes. Entire group of friends sometimes compete for how far they can get with a given character and what they can achieve. Of course, they know nothing about this while the program is running. For them, that life is equally long and serious as the real one. In the end, they’ll get statistics about everything they want.”

I shook my head about what kind of world we live in now.

“Well, yes. All this helped a lot to understand, for example, what’s the most optimal way to live a life, how different everyone’s inner world is, why some people are attracted to each other, how the serial killer could have avoided becoming one. To not to be afraid of death, and so on. There are a lot of fascinating research and experimentation going on at every moment. Tremendous amount of useful insights. ”

“Amazing! And yeah, so tell me; is death painful in the end?”

“Oh. A frequently asked question. It depends. You live through everything they dreamed, felt and thought of as if you were them, including death and the pain that comes with it if there was any. After their death, you finish the program. You remember everything, but you won’t be hurt. If you’ll excuse me, the next patient is coming.” He smiled politely and gave me a piece of paper.

“Of course,” I said and walked towards the door, where I came from. I thanked the doctor who bowed his head with a smile in return.

“How do you feel?” Kolide smiled and asked for the piece of paper that was supposed to prove the success of the test, with information on how fast they can put me.

“More and more excited,” I replied honestly, and the next female guest was ushered in by her own attendant. I still heard when the doctor immediately ordered her to stand on one foot.

“Excellent.” Kolide smiled freely at me, ignoring the environment. He took a look at the paper and we headed for the elevators.

The main program was reportedly in the basement for security reasons. When I asked what security reasons, he told me all of them.

“If the building were to be under attack or a natural disaster were to hit it, thieves may try to take the equipment. That sort of thing. Unfortunately, we have been under constant attack since the beginning of the company, so we are always improving our security. There have been many redesigns.”

“Right. This might have been in the FAQs, but what happens if the program is interrupted for some reason? Sorry, I could’ve read it more thoroughly.”

“No, no, no worries. Excellent question. If it suddenly stops, then you exit the program with 100% safety. Your position automatically saves, and you can resume from there as if nothing ever happened.”

We exited to the basement which didn’t seem like one at all. A pretty second reception was set up right next to the lift. Only the receptionist and an armed security guard were there. Kolide showed the receptionist my credentials. She thanked him with a smile, told him the corridor number and showed us the way. Kolide touched his access card to a circular device on the counter which beeped, and we could continue on.

Virtual windows in the long wide lobby gave enough light to the modern and positive interior. Only a few people were walking out with their escorts who seemingly very happily listened to the stunned customers’ stories.

We reached the corridor where we entered with the beep of his card, and which looked like a capsule hotel. There were cabins next to each other, decorated with slight mood-lighting.

No soul could be seen except another receptionist and her bodyguard. She allegedly handled the program. Kolide had to touch his card again on her tiny reception, so she could study the information on her screen. She asked us to follow her and she led us to my cabin. She opened it with her own card and the door opened.

A large enough, luxury room unfolded before me with a similar device as I had experienced with the doctor. Except that it was most definitely some exclusive version of it, from comfort to looks, in every way. There were other appliances and decorations in the room too, but I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It looked like something as a pinnacle of our species. As one of our greatest scientific achievements to date, and I was there on the threshold of trying it out. I felt honoured. I felt lucky and grateful. I owed it all to Bleau. How good she was to me. I was somewhat touched.

“How are you feeling?” asked Kolide.

“Like a child on Christmas day, times a hundred.” I grinned with teary eyes and everyone laughed.

“Please, sit.” He pointed with a smile, as if I had just received my brand-new Lamborghini. The scent of the interior of that car could be somewhat like that chair too.

I sat up and got comfortable. It was only then that I noticed that the guard was standing in the room next to the open door, but only looking straight ahead at the back of the room, like a soldier. I guessed it was probably because of me, not for me. They wouldn't know if I was one of those crazy protesters who try to get this far and damage company property, or harm the employee, like it happened before. Once they start the program they wouldn’t need to worry until I finished, at which point they’d be present again to detach me and escort me out.

The receptionist prepared the machine. She asked if I had any idea who or what I want to choose without telling her. I said I think so.

“That’s great. Then all you have to do is enter the name or select it from the library’s catalogue. The whole thing is interactive and very easy. You’ll see.”

“All right, thank you.”

“Excellent. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” I said, like a little kid who was let in for the scary roller coaster for the first time alone.

“Have fun,” they both said with a smile, and the sphere, yet again, connected to my head.

The massage threads penetrated my skull again. I didn’t know what to call them, but ashamed to admit I had an erection from it, it was so pleasant. After a few seconds, incredible sound effects and characters appeared around me. I flew through a tunnel of vibrant neon colours, and commercials. So fast that my mind had just enough time to process it all. One of the commercials showed that a new version of life is coming out soon, in which everything you desire in the depths of your heart happens in an interactive way. You’re supposed to just focus on that desire and the program will bring it to you.

Then it all cleared. It was like a street market, where the part of the street was filled with known and not-known people, celebrities, and fictional characters. All of them did their thing, some flew if they had a superpower. I saw Al Pacino talking on the terrace of a romantic cafe with someone I didn’t recognize. If I clicked on someone, a window popped up with who they are, a short biography, and I could watch a short trailer of them.

Everywhere I turned, there were different streets – from romantic Italian ones to New York’s Times Square – like a connected odd dream except that this was nothing less than real life. The catalogue and the search bar were still floating around me in case I wanted to activate someone right away.

I looked up and I could see the space station far away in the sky. A tutorial window popped up, telling me that I could zoom on it and point out astronauts I'd want, or I could teleport there, and anywhere else from there. It also said that I can hover and even fly if I just jumped. The whole world and everybody in it was available for me. That was the premium lobby.

If I wanted to, I could’ve spent hours in this vast, bustling lobby. It would most likely be a few seconds outside. I could’ve talked to anyone. This time I was myself, knowing what was happening, but as I would start the selected life, I would only be that person, without any other knowledge. I tried out both the teleporting and flying features. It was A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I was traveling this odd, half made-up world, and was fascinated by it. I was flying over streets, towns, skyscrapers and lands. I could see familiar faces in every corner of this world. I just realised I had never felt so free and happy at the same time in my life. I'm not ashamed to admit that I wiped off some tears of joy and happiness.

It took a while, but when I had enough, I was ready to choose the life I thought of. I chose someone that was recently added to the program. I came across it during my browsing the day before; otherwise, I would’ve skipped through it because I don’t follow the news. I read that this had an echo because it was a huge surprise back then that he decided to upload himself. Many people became interested.

However, fifty years had to go by before publishing it. Due to their high position in their lives, some people were given a seal of secrecy of varying lengths, like official government secrets. They allegedly tried to steal or hack this life several times, but somehow the company stood the test and strengthened its defence each time. All of this brought them even more publicity.

I pondered for a moment about how much had to happen during our species’ race to get this far. A real miracle. I felt like I’m going to learn a lot in the next couple of hours.

Excitedly, I wrote Vladimir Putin’s name in the search bar and selected him.