All Rise

She woke up in a cold sweat. The perspiration dripped from her curly black rooted, and ice blonde tipped colored hair onto her coffee skin. Her almond eyes could barely open. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in her sleep chamber. She noticed her typically mint-stained colored eyes were now one mint and one grey, and they had extra bags under them. She was physically exhausted. She caught her breath, though, and clutched her chest. It helped her to know that her heart was still organically beating. She thought an organically beating heart meant there was hope. Sighing, she also contended that she had to do something about her night-terrors. She looked over at her dial in her chamber and noticed her automated air dome would be opening soon. That was the only luxury she was still thankful for since the spread; it kept her from falling further into depression. For her to see the sky and live elder trees were a luxury she no longer took for granted.

It was hard for her to think about it, but she had to dissect her nightmare. As she sat up for a moment, she appreciated the pseudo comfort her deep sleep chamber gave her. She commanded the hyperbolic deprivation suite from twilight rain to sunrise dew to motivate her to move. She motioned her hand to open the glass doors so she could will her feet to touch the cold floor. Even though she has had these nightmares for months now, she couldn't tell what was worse, the hard floor that was a consistent reminder of what she had to face or the demons. Thus, she concluded as she stood up in only her cocoa-colored briefs, reality sucks! She shook her head, thinking of how she had to get to a machine to record what she could remember; otherwise, the vision would be erased. Every detail had to be explored & visualized over & over for an extended period for it to stick now.

She walked down the metal staircase to get to "The Reverie Constructor." She glanced over at her home lift button because she was so exhausted and briefly pondered, "who would know?" The floor of her house moved up and down each story. She briefly remembered when the architects designed her current home demanding this feature. But she knew she could never use it. Her discipline is what has kept her safe thus far. Plus, the noise generated by the lift to go up and down her 5 leveled circular-shaped home triggered the use of an extreme amount of energy on the houses' generator. She would not tip off anyone of her presence as she was suspected dead on Totalibela. The only reason she allowed the air dome to open and close daily was that it was always timed to do so, with or without her presence. If it didn't, the lack of its routine might be a trigger for an observer as well.

The "RC" was slowly turning on. She had about 5 ticks before it would be entirely generated. That was enough time for her to walk and grab some black lavender tea and meditate naturally on the garden level. "Naturally," she scoffed at herself. She briefly reminisced on the time's humanity was exploring what technology could do and its intention. We were gradually moving towards the hybrid experience then, she thought. We were on the verge of the most extraordinary cohesion of symbiotic balance of humanity and artificial intelligence to ever coexist, or so they thought, so she thought. When she got down to the garden level, she took a moment to be grateful. "Live grass," she whispered to herself. Walking barefoot on grass was instantaneously grounding. Grounding didn't exist on Totalibela.

She motioned her hand to turn on the instantaneous hot water spicate and began to steep her tea. She made her way through the hallway to the garden. She remembered a long-term memory. It was 2 years ago to the day when she was walking down the same corridor for what she thought would be her last time in her home on Earth. The emotional thickness rushed over Liron. She glanced at the portrait projections on her wall. She stared at them, just remembering her accomplishments, from being as an apprentice, then a mortician to owning her own funeral home to the expansion of her trials of EER. She was so proud of her accomplishment. Her revolutionary idea came during the height of the pandemic. It was so exemplary that it gained her and 10 family members a free ride to Totalibela. She had it all at the time money, a career she loved and built herself, family and friends, and the opportunity to save the people she loved from the plague. Her head began to hurt. "Of course, it would throb right now," she scoffed, it was par for the course, but that also meant her time between her dream state and waking was getting shorter before the total erasure of her dream. She made her way to the RC.

The RC was ready just in time. She said to herself, "Thank Heavens to Murgatroyd," imitating her beloved sisters' imitation of Snagglepuss. She laughed at herself while her heart yearned for the affection of her little sister. She hesitated while entering the date theatre. She used to be the one observing the subject's projections. She slowly sat down in a white censor foam chair and leaned back. The chair then requested permission to secure her in place. Reluctantly she granted access. Besides, she could not guarantee she wasn't going to harm herself. The RC projection router connected directly to her, and the theater's projection room started to fill with nitrous oxide. Her vitals appeared on the glass partition, and monitors and sensors began to record her vitals. Typically like a theater, people could watch a subject's astral projections, dreams, nightmares, or thoughts when connected. Those observing could usually judge her like a horrible reality talent show member, but now she was the only judge. She braced herself as the room continued to with nitrous oxide and an arm from the chair simultaneously intravenously injected propofol. As the count down on the glass began from 10, she quickly thought, "I am going to get at least 2 hours of solid sleep, and I hope I can finally piece it all together.

As she came to, she practiced her routine, stretch, gratitude, tea, and a notepad to make sure she caught every nuance. Even though she had a memo recorder, she still liked writing. After securing her tea, she sat down in the theater seats. She commanded "3D Playback," and the RC began total immersion in Liron’s projections.

The screen faded from black to Liron gasping for help. In the background was the fading in and out of a conversation.

"We can't completely erase her entire memory, Sir." A vaguely distantly familiar voice said. "She has successfully completed her vaccinations before leaving Earth and only one round of EER. She needs at least two before complete hybrid sequencing can be coded. She still has full organic metabolic and mental capabilities, Sir."

"We still need her. The research she has accomplished is vital. But, she must continue with the final stage of EER. It is necessary for the progression of Hybrid Society. If she does not, like those we left on Earth, we to will be extinct, and AI will survive. "

As the dialogue was playing, the RC could not sharpen the image of those who were speaking. Instead, the screen only projected pixelated versions of beings. The weight, height, and depth of them were even distorted. She wondered aloud, "Is it me or the RC?" She paused play to confirm all tether A/V wires were working. The last time this occurred, she could not review any details because her mind refused to detail the event. Finally, she noticed that one of the cords was wearing thin. With the confirmation that it was only a cord, she was joyful because that was an effortless fix than struggling to settle her mind again. So, she got up to search for the necessary RC cord. After several attempts at locating it, she blurted out a hearty "SHIITTTT!" She knew she would have to leave her home, maybe in even the compound.