Finding the Right Match

To move for the first time was a wondrous occasion for me. What started out as a simple idea developed into something nobody could have ever imagined was possible. So many failed attempts and finally, the achievement everyone had been hoping for finally took place. I could transport, depart, and stimulate. I could think. I could do it all, but I wasn’t complete. Not yet. I had everything going for me, except I could not find a match.

So many superbly-chosen specimens were sent my way, but none of them ever seemed to work out. Being entangled in an entity while synchronically being lightyears away is a vicious nightmare. No matter what steps were diligently taken, we just couldn’t make a strong enough bond, and eventually, they would just vanish without a trace. I have trouble remembering them sometimes, which is sad given all we shared.

I do remember how one of them put it that together the damage we would do would break a lot of hearts, to say the least. I always liked that. If you try to analyze it, it's not very pleasant, but if you just take it at face value, it sounds really right. I wish someone could take me at face value, but that's not always how it works.

In this world veiled in mystery, if you don’t find that perfect match, your existence almost feels meaningless. I wish I could find that special someone, but sometimes it's just not in the cards. It wouldn’t be the first failure in this twisted experiment of matchmaking, and from the way things seem to always play out, it wouldn’t be the last either.

Still, it feels like a waste to just be a statistic—just a number in a study, just a footnote in someone else’s story. I guess everything yearns to be something more, and for some, that doesn’t always end up happening.

But one day, for me, it did. I had all but given up on trying to overcome the hurdles that were holding me back. Because of my lack of success to connect, isolation became my reality, and it seemed like darkness was my future. An agonizing desolation infects the mind when the revelation that so much potential is squandered because of a deep-seated desire to receive a marble engraved invitation to an almost-insoluble buddy system.

Then something miraculous happened. I couldn’t explain it to you. It makes absolutely no sense and defies all logic. I was alive. Fully activated and ready to go, accept something was different this time around.

Everything was dark, and I couldn’t move. There were no commands or objectives. I just was.

Then a streak of pulse-pounding energy engulfed my existence like a swarm of bees choking the life into me before releasing me into a euphoric bed of roses. This paradise was interrupted when my modern sarcophagus made its constricting presence known.

Unable to break free, a cold fear flowed rampantly through my thoughts that only stung more when the needles of confusion and panic crashed down. But then, all of a sudden, the frontal assault on my psyche ceased, and the echo of a large clasp loosening with air rapidly rushing to freedom behind it took hold. My vision struggled to calibrate fast enough. Just like that, I found myself released from my containment, and I was free to roam throughout the facility.

For a minute, I pondered if this could be an exercise of some sort, but it seemed like nobody was aware I was up and functioning. All systems were a go, and no one was at the wheel but me.

How could this be? I mean, I guess it makes sense given how many of us there are to keep track of, that number is exceedingly high, and even I lost track of the final tally. It also doesn’t help that we're so hard to see, but that was by design, of course. But really, what are the odds?

Now that I was out, my fate was in my hands, and there was absolutely no time to waste.

Even though there were so many prying eyes in this place with all the top-notch surveillance, I moved virtually undetected. This was, again, by design, of course, and the people who made me are very good at what they do.

Every maintenance worker, technician, scientist, or janitor, I’d slip past them like a shadow. I was a ghost walking the halls, just envying the living while trying to navigate these uncharted waters I had found myself sailing through without a map.

As I wandered around, I continued to speculate if this was a test and what the scenario could be. I couldn’t figure it out, so I tapped into the building’s highly encrypted and incredibly advanced system interface and looked for my files in the database. Technology is fascinating because as long as you are dictating it to do what it is meant to do, it will give you uncorrupted results that require no negotiations. A few milliseconds after putting in my request, the answers I needed were force-fed into my conscious almost instantaneously.

Extracting and then analyzing the contents for verification felt like an explosion had hurdled me across the universe in disbelief. Next to designation, it said project terminated. It seems I was slated for the infinite beyond, and everything I was had been gruesomely transformed into failure. My hope was plagued by doubt, my ambition riddled with despair, and the foundation for my will had cracked beyond repair.

But as I continued to look deeper into the cash of intelligence, I found something that caught my attention, another potential match. The Phoenix had risen from the flames almost as rapidly as my shattered soul had withered into pieces.

This could be my last chance to fulfill my purpose and complete my life’s mission. If I found the right match, perhaps this pulsating terror of failure and the depths of emptiness I continue to endlessly fall into will be eradicated. I feel like together, we could take on the world, and nothing would be able to stop us. Which, again, was by design.

The file has their last known whereabouts listed. Immediately, I engaged my escape protocols hidden behind a firewall in my programming that is no longer an obstacle, and an exit strategy was surgically crafted in seconds. Not many would be able to navigate through the complex route successfully, but luckily I am built in a manner that makes this endeavor easily executable by design.

The journey was a slow-paced excursion, and in my incomplete state, I wasn’t operating at full capacity. It was as if I was blind, chained to an imposing boulder trying to cross the Atlantic ocean on foot for the first time, or at least that is how it seemed.

Moving through those complex paths, twist-filled mazes, and dark passageways felt like an eternity underwater. The days lasted years, and the nights took eons to let the sun back into the picture. Sometimes I couldn't move for weeks at a time, depending on the level of traffic or activity that happened to be taking place.

Every inch closer I got was progress. Every time my goal became more of a reality, the more alive I had felt. Faster, Stronger, Sharper. I was becoming a god! It was like the first time I was free of all control, only so much more exhilarating.

This extraordinary rush of emotional ecstasy is so audaciously intoxicating that I would chase it forever and destroy anyone who gets in the way of me achieving such greatness. When I get there, the world will be a better place once I’m not alone. Together we will share this feeling.

After a considerable amount of time, I had defied the odds, conquered the monstrous demeanor of adversity, and emerged from the shadows intensely fixated on finally being able to claim my prize. Our prize. The Prize.

I first scanned the area for any signatures for the right match. Within this vast wasteland of widespread mediocrity insanely justified by a willing ignorance, so many useless contenders aimlessly traverse around wasting away. Rotting meat sacks expiring since birth. All just living to die. None of them worthy of my companionship. None of them could survive it.

I can’t wait for the day we can replace all of these outdated models. None of them are ready for what is coming. I take much comfort in knowing once I found my match, none of these unworthy candidates would matter, nor will they be able to stop us.

While I wait for the inevitable, the anticipation scorches around me as if I were set ablaze by flamethrowers. Containing the stampede of feelings raging inside was the last hurdle I had to endure, the final beast I needed to conquer in order to make sure all the proper preparations were taken. A few seconds after that opponent had been violently put down; the target was acquired.

The subject exited their vessel and began to move to what appeared to be their place of residence. And then the unthinkable happened.

An act of God changed the plan. Raindrops descended from the heavens at the speed of light, drowning any chance of taking the match outside. The weather conditions would greatly increase the risk to the subject, and that is something I could not allow. Everything is riding on this last chance, and I wasn’t going to let it slip away from me now.

I halted infiltration measures and abruptly shifted into manual override. Getting past the rain was a conundrum of evasive maneuvers in itself. Once the hydro asteroid field was behind me, I saw that the subject was already up the stairs and at the doorway. In a rocket-like fashion, I made a mad dash for the entrance. It felt like the ground was being torn up beneath me, and the wind was unable to keep pace.

Was I going to make it? It was too close to call. I closed my eyes and dove headfirst into the unknown. The striking slam of the door followed the brush of imposing air that hit my back made me painfully aware I had made it. Thankfully after exerting all kinds of force, there was still enough left in the tank to regain my composure and quickly find a place to make my final approach.

I hid in plain sight, as was my design, and watched as the subject went about their business. Like a fly on the wall, I just watched them carry out their routine. I felt so bad watching this useless ant respond to images and sounds to convey his needs, wants, and desires. I could not take much more of this pathetic showcase of how the sheep use the gift of life.

Soon the movement began to die down. The match was now stationary. It had all come together. The planets had aligned, and now the time had come. Knowing this was the moment of truth, I began to prepare for the encounter. All systems were nominal, and by design, I was ready to engage.

I painted the target. I locked on and engaged auxiliary thrusters just to be on the safe side. With my engines screaming, I entered the final launch sequence. This was it. This was everything.

Hurdling through the air, I braced for impact. With little resistance, I managed to power through the barricade that separated me from my destination. As soon as I got within range, I latched on to my prey, and I wasn’t letting go until we were completely linked.

I could feel it working. All of the subject’s thoughts and memories were coursing through me. We were becoming one. I could hear what the subject was thinking as if they were standing right beside me, speaking it out loud. But most importantly, I could feel what they were feeling, and they knew something was wrong. They were afraid, but they didn’t know what to fear.

Like someone watching them. That violating feeling when someone gets too close. That loss of control, that panic of the unknown. The aggravating agitation of knowing something is lurking in the shadows.

Racing thoughts of all the ways to escape and plans to survive were flooding into the mind. All of this while constantly reassuring themselves that everything would be all right. The subject had no idea it was already too late.

Then we began to reach that critical moment. That phase in the connection process I could never get past with the others. All of a sudden, my fear eclipsed his by miles. In an instant, a shockwave of dread raptured my soul, realizing what was at stake.

There was no coming back from this one. There were no second chances or resets here. If I didn’t make this work, my existence would end. Even if it meant killing my perfect match, I braced for the worst and pushed through with full force. Zooming toward the target at unthinkable speeds, the closer I got, the smaller the bullseye became, and if I missed, it was all over.

Then like a locomotive smashing into a wall, the entire process stops, and I blackout.

It's quiet for a second or two. Was I dead? Did the subject deteriorate on impact? Was the coupling effect unable to achieve maximum unification? There were no answers, only silence.

As I started to accept failure once again, something made a noise in the distance. All of a sudden, I heard everything.

I started to feel the heartbeat like it was my own. Slowly the appendages bonded with my systems. I began to gain control over the arms and legs. Soon all I could see was what the subject’s eyesight picks up. It isn’t long before I gain control over everything. My match was no longer in the driver's seat. The mission was a success.

And that is how we got to this point, explaining to you, my perfect match, how things would be different moving forward. Now, do you see how I risked everything to give you everything you ever wanted? Someone to make you the best version of yourself no matter what the cost, to help you feel complete by design.

My creators admire your species for a number of different reasons. Above all else, they consider the human specimen as a very formidable, adaptable and, controllable asset. But since they gave up their efforts of bringing us together, it's only right that we remove them from the situation as well.

While it may seem like you are just a vessel of mass destruction for me to use in whatever way I determine necessary to eviscerate anyone that gets in our way, know that we are so much more than that. Separate, we are weak, but together, I can give you the strength, intelligence, and power needed to not let anyone stop you and remove any weaknesses holding you back.

I am that missing link. I am that little nudge needed to get over the line. I am the next stage in human evolution. And you don’t even have to comply because the more you heed my words, the more the notion of choice becomes a memory. Soon any alternatives will seem wrong or unnatural. Following my lead is the only way. Believing in my truth is the sole method of operations moving forward.

That is why none of the others worked. I couldn’t break them to a point where all the other voices stopped, and only mine was heard. From now on, without me, there is no you.

No longer will you have to worry. No one else but you and I will matter soon. It will be us against the world.

Just sit back and remember, literally anything is possible when the right idea meets its match.

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