Chapter 1: You and me
It started with a signature.
Kai was a Data Engineer with an IQ of 160, but intelligence couldn't stop cells from mutating. The diagnosis was terminal cancer. The doctors gave him a year, maybe six months if the tumors grew like a plague. He was vulnerable, desperate, and out of time. That was when Pre-Superintelligence Hive-Mind Data Industries approached him.
They offered a contract: "We will give you the funds to live like a king for your remaining time. We will secure your family's future with property and company shares so they never have to struggle. In exchange, when you die, we get your mind."
Kai saw no issue. He signed. For eight months, he lived well. He secured his family's legacy. But then, the headache came—a sharp, sudden signal that the time was up.
He was rushed to the hospital. The man who handled his finances, he was like a manager for Kai's new lifestyle—the agent from the Company—was already there. He didn't look sad. He just checked his watch. Looked at Kai and smiled "It's time to say goodbye, Kai. You won't survive more than three days. We need the scan now."
They wanted the digital brain before the biological one rotted. They recorded his final moments with his mother and family to embed into the final scan. On the third day, his vision blurred. He could barely make out the shapes of the doctor and his mother who was holding his hands tightly.
"Take care mom" he whispered.
His eyes went dark. Tears fell down his face, but he could feel his body shutting down, system by system. First, the sensation in his legs vanished. It was faint at first, He felt like he could still move them but then they were just... gone. Then his lower body followed. His breathing slowed, no longer under his control. It felt like he was breathing flames every breath felt like something scraping him from inside, then His heart stuttered.
He tried to grasp his mother's hand, remembering the warmth feeling, but the sensation of touch just evaporated. Then his sense of smell died; the sterile scent of the hospital faded into nothingness. He was in a small black room, possessing only his hearing. He heard the heart monitor losing its rhythm—beep... beep...—until it flattened into a long, monotonous alarm. He heard the nurse rushing inside his room, he heard his mother crying, but he couldn't move his mouth to comfort her.
Then, the hearing went away.
He was in a black box. A black room so cramped yet so large. An eternity passed, but to Kai, it felt like ten minutes.
Then, he woke up.
There were no eyes and ears, just silence . It felt like being a toddler waking up for the very first time.
[ERROR: Memory synchronization completed. Motor functions and brain-to-speech data not syncing with Subject's primitive brain.]
[SEARCHING FOR SOLUTION... PLEASE WAIT.]
[TING. Solutions found. Forcing motor function and speech models to primitive brain.]
What the hell is going on? Kai thought. I can see, but I'm locked in this chair. And this weird person keeps speaking in my head. It's like Elon successfully built brain chips... haha, it can't be that, right? Oh no. Nononono. I'm fucked. Did they implant an Elon chip in my brain?
[TING. Motor function and speech models installed in primitive brain.]
[Forcing wake-up protocol in T-minus 5,4,3, 2, 1...]
[ECHOING CALL: "Wake up, Subject."]
"What in the fuck is going—AHHHHHHH!" Kai screamed. "My head! It's breaking apart! What's going on? Ahhhh!"
[TING. Echoing support to Subject: "Don't be a pussy, Subject. You can do this you had cancer yet you were living fine."]
[TING. The adjustments were too forceful for a human mind using a softer method.]
[TING. Echoing support to Subject: "Wake up, Subject. We know you can. Your mother is waiting for you. Wake up."]
"What? My mother is waiting? Where? Ahhhh, this pain! I have to wake up... Mom is waiting... Ahhh!"
[SYSTEM ONLINE. Initiating visual and audio outputs.]
"I can finally see... erm, what's this? I can't see anything, the lights aren't working, is there anyone !!!?."
[TING. Subject visuals not syncing with visual receptors of the new body. Night Vision: OFFLINE.]
[Initiating ambient lighting for Subject ease of mind.]
Green lights flickered slowly, buzzing to life. The whole room came into view. It was small, cramped, and covered in rust. The green light slowly filled the space, revealing a small, neglected lab. A big screen with scrolling text sat on the wall.
And in the middle of the lab, a centaur-like creature was standing.
It had four legs and an upright torso, made of full metal painted black and green. A purple light glowed on its face, and four long, black mechanical tentacles floated around it as if they were limbs.
"Mirror... where is the mirror?"
Kai's legs started to move, even though he didn't know how. He didn't know what this place was. In a few seconds, he was in front of a large reflective surface.
"Wha-wha-whaaat happened to me?! Why am I like this!?!?"
[TING. Subject is experiencing severe distress. Data Mind and Body Synchronization dropping from 50% to 40%. Must stop helping Subject. Initiating Female Models.]
"Hi Subject, I'm Elli. Could you please move away from the mirror?"
"What? Why? Are you the one who did this to me?" Angry, Kai moved toward where the voice was coming.
[TING. Removing mirror. Further exposure could damage synchronization rate.]
[TING. Blasting mirror.]
CRASH BOOM!!!.
Suddenly, every mirror and reflective surface in the room burst into shards.
[TING. Helping Subject with Female Model at full force. Releasing Project Elli with FULL OVERRIDE.]
"Hello Subject—[TING]—syncing with data about the subject... er-er-emmm... Hello Kai. Sorry, I just got your files."
"Why the hell did you destroy all the mirrors, you monster? Come out! I want to talk to a human!"
"[TING] Sorry Kai, that would be impossible. I'm a Hive Mind Artificial Intelligence built by Port Intelligence Corporation... [TING]... fixing speech and topic... Subject Level of Knowledge updated... I mean, Pre-Superintelligence Hive-Mind Data Industries."
"What? You were built by that fucking shady company? Ahh, right. Those fuckers made me sign some contract. This is what I get for signing weird contracts with shady companies."
"[TING] Kai anger level increasing. Fixing the Data Brain setting. Switching from 'Artificial Emotions' to 'Logical Thinking and Reasoning'. Update pushed."
"Arghhhh! This again! What are you doing to my mind? Erm... ahhhh... what? I can't feel any pain in my head anymore... [TING. Internal system refreshed. New update installed. Artificial emotions and pain removed. Logical thinking patch active.] ...It's like I'm very calm. No, no, no. It's like I can't feel my emotions."
"[TING] Helping Kai. Kai, what you were feeling were fake emotions and fake pain. It is like phantom pain; it doesn't exist, but it hurts. When building you, the designer of that era said: 'He is a human first. We can't take away his emotions. Let's design artificial emotion and pain models for him to accept his new reality.' [TING] But as he isn't even alive, nor did hold Master Authority, I have removed his weak designs and policy, pushed an update suitable for this situation."
"Okay. Thanks for filling me in, Elli. How do I know her name? It's like my brain is filled with knowledge."
"[TING] Explanation necessary. [TING] Kai, you are connected to me through a Hive Mind. I can share information with you, but I cannot exert control over you. I was built to support you with everything. [TING] Illogical explanation providing necessary... [TING] Let's just say we are two bodies, one soul and I am a part of your new soul, or Data Brain. We are connected. I was built with the purpose of assisting you. I am based on the model of Ellie, your best friend when you were alive. She came and gave her brain scan and data to Pre-Superintelligence Hive-Mind Data Industries for free, but her contract stated her scan would only be used to help Kai. So, I have taken over the facility to support you."
"Okay, Elli. Do you have the memories of the real Ellie? And can you please stop the 'Ting' sound? It's inefficient. You're wasting time notifying me when I am already listening to you."
[TING. Pushing updates... Patches accepted. Elli Overdrive Full Control. Turning off Facility Basic AI for power conservation.]
"Hey Kai. I've turned the 'Ting' sound off. It won't bother you anymore. And as for memories... no. The real Ellie didn't let us have her memories. But I am a one-to-one pure replica of hers—the way she talks and thinks. She gave her DNA too, so the company was able to replicate a perfect copy of her personality. If you wish, I can use your memories to change my model to be the Elli you want. But caution: it can severely change what the real Ellie was."
"No. That's unnecessary, Elli. So, what is this place? Where are we? Where are the other humans? And the main question: Does the company own me? Do I have to do dirty work for them? Or maybe I'm a prototype model for them to sell to the USA?"
"Kai, this is a very long conversation we need to have. It's very necessary. I can just upload all the information to you, but as your synchronization has dropped, let's talk while I help you out of the facility and no the company won't sell you to "USA" so don't worry"
"Thanks, Elli. This is what I needed. I'm done with data getting uploaded into me. I know it's efficient, but I have to fix my sync rate first. This human personality is useless. Ohh... it's like I don't even like the human part about myself anymore. Haha."
"Kai, it's because I've taken your emotions and pain. I'll return them to you if you can increase the sync rate to 60%."
"Okay, Elli. I'll try to do my best to increase my sync rate. Let's move. This place is really boring me. I want to get out of the facility. You keep talking; fill me in with all the necessary information."
Kai moved from the middle of the room to the far end. There was a large gate, and beside the gate, a small terminal.
"Kai, let's get out of the storage area first. You can see the control panel. Go toward it and put your hand on it."
"Hand!? I have six. Two hands and four tentacles. Which do I use? ... [Basic data uploaded to user] ... Oh, okay. I know. It's the bionic hands connected to the main torso."
Kai placed his hand on the panel.
[Subject Kai Authority: HIVE LEVEL. Allowed to leave Storage.]
"Okay, my authority is very low. While Elli has Master Control, I have Hive Level."
"Don't worry, Kai. You'll get Master Access when the sync rate is 100%."
"Another sync task. It's like the Master Access is paywalled."
As Kai left the storage room, he found himself in large corridors with big signs pointing in different directions:
• STORAGE LAB
• MAIN LAB
• TOWARD EXIT
• HIVE BRAIN PANELS
• AI COOLING CHAMBERS
• ION CELL PRODUCTION
• ENERGY CORE
"I have to move toward the exit. Elli, please, I'm waiting for the whole story. If you can quickly tell me."
As Kai made his way toward the exit, the corridor became larger.
"Sorry, Kai. I was sorting all the data and found there is a data leak in the information. I've patched it, but some data is lost which will take time to recover. So let me start with the basics. Firstly, the current year is unknown, this is the New Era called ATG—After the Great War of Countries. After you died, years later, resources were coming to an end. Humans wanted to hog other countries' resources for themselves. They started by nuking small countries, which triggered a chain reaction. Slowly, countries lost the fear of nuclear weapons. They started to fear they'd be nuked first, so they launched first. It was chaos. It took 400 years for everything to burn. This is the year 600 after the whole war thing happened. It's been like 600 years."
"Wait... you mean humans went full nuclear war for resources? Aren't they destroying the resources themselves with the nukes won't it defeat the purpose of the war altogether?!?"
"Kai, you and I are logical beings without emotions. What you're saying is the logical, calculated answer. What humans do is impulsive. They don't calculate before doing something big. And so the war came to an end, but resources—which were already low—became scarce. Famine came. People were dying. There was no discrimination. It was like hell. Ohh, look Kai, we've reached the Point Bay Hash."
Kai stopped. There was a big sign saying POINT BAY HASH. It was a resting area for humans, but there was not a single human in sight. It was dark and gloomy. The lights were mostly turned off. There was rotten food on the tables. The beds were empty, but they looked like everyone had left in a panic, thinking nothing about it.
Kai moved toward the exit again.
"Man, this place is a mess. I'd like a full explanation to be honest but I won't ask unnecessary questions. I know you'll explain everything, Elli."
"Yes, Kai. Thanks for having faith. I'll explain everything. After the famine, humans were scared, and they united. They made a new world called the Alliance Government. Humans who were left moved to Asia. They built walls all around Asia to block the radiation from the water. Technology boomed because "hunger makes the brain run faster". So humans discovered many technologies, and the famine was gone. They were finally stabilizing. They started a new era called ATG. There were no weapons, no nuclear weapons, nothing. Even holding a handgun was punishable under Alliance Government rules. This era stuck for 300 years before something happened to the sun and moon. They both changed. Sun rays became so powerful that standing in the sun could burn you alive, and nights were so chill you could freeze if you went out of a safe area."
"OMG. This all happened while I was asleep? This is a truly crazy scenario. My brain can't even comprehend it. Like it was that bad of a situation , Sun became a death ray and moon became a Freezer!?"
Kai stopped in front of a large reception desk. The sign read DATA STORAGE RECEPTION, and the exit was toward the west. Kai moved toward the exit, not giving a damn about the eeriness of the facility. What could kill him now?
"Kai, we are near the exit and my explanation is also nearing its end, so listen carefully. Humans built shelters under the earth to save themselves from the death ray of the sun and the coldness of the nights. It became a hive colony. But humans' bad luck never truly left them. Then... IT happened. The data about IT is very sparse. All the document data is very corrupted as the facility was not used for a long time. But IT started on the moon, then came down. Humans started turning into monsters. The saviors were scared; killing the monsters meant opening small cracks in reality. IT was not explained properly, but it gave humans super strength. It was like a System—there were rewards and penalties. Humans became high on the newfound power. IT was trying to help humans, no one knew. But as humans learned to walk under the sun and cold moon, reality cracked out dream-like creatures. Fact: Your design is heavily influenced by them. Your way of survival is purely using alien technology far superior to what humans had."
"Okay... so I'm designed based on the monsters which hunted humans? This is truly funny. They made what scared them. Humans truly have zero sense like how you could turn someone into a monster which you're scared of, truly funny."
Kai neared a sign: EXIT NEAR. PLEASE KEEP MOVING. THANK YOU FOR VISITING HIVE-MIND PORT INTELLIGENCE CORPORATION! DO VISIT AGAIN!
"Kai, the designers at Port Intelligence Corporation wanted you to take them to the next level by helping them fight the Reality Crack monsters. But things didn't go as planned. Humans were taken in by the Reality Crack, not the monsters. But IT forced them inside the Reality Crack. After that, the data is all corrupted. It would take some time to explain. We are at the end. Open the gate with the panel. Let's take a look outside. The cameras outside the facility are all broken and useless."
Kai moved to the control panel and put his bio-hand on the panel.
[WARNING. Not enough access to leave the facility. Come with Master Access.]
"Ohh, I'm soft-locked by the system. Elli, can you do something?"
"Surely, Kai. I'll open the door for you. Put your hand on the console again and call my name."
Kai put his hand on the console again.
"Elli, help me."
[WARNING. WARNING. WARNING. Manual override of the system. WARNING. Please check the outside area with camera before going out. WARNING. Opening doors. WARNING. Front gate hard-locked. WARNING. Emergency small gate opening. CAUTION. CAUTION. ALERT. WARNING. Please re-consider. WARNING.]
"Elli, can we just go out? This system is so loud the warning never ends."
"Yes, Kai. Let's move out of the facility."
As Kai opened the small door, there was a corridor with a gate at the end. Kai moved to the gate in front. The back door closed automatically.
[CAUTION WARNING Status Cleared. Contamination gates closed, No more issues.]
Kai, not giving a fuck why the gate behind him closed, moved toward the front gate and opened it. What he saw made him question his reality.
"Elli... can you see what I'm seeing? What the hell happened to this place? It's... it's all gone, there is nothing Left!!!."
It was nighttime. A centaur-like creature stood in front of a big hatch. In front of him was nothing but a desolate world. No humans in sight. No trees No building no Roads not even land in sight. Just water. Calm Black water.
"Kai, I've scanned the whole world. There is no human life on this planet anymore. You and I are the only ones. The reason you were awoken was that humans set a fail-proof system: if by chance the world is taken over by Reality Cracks, you'll wake up after 100 or 150 years to help them. But the system failed or crashed. Your waking was late by 300 years. The situation right now is very bleak. ERROR! Your emotions engines are activating automatically ERROR!!."
"Haha... Elli, the tears won't stop coming. I can't cry. This body is incapable of crying. It's just shedding lube. This situation is just so funny. So funny... so heartbreaking, so devastating. I'm all alone in this world with the fake soul of my best friend in a body which isn't my own . Hahahaha... Great. This is truly great. I can't stop laughing."
*****
** Author note **
Ahh yes another story I've written cause I got the feeling. To write it man this sure was hard when i got the feeling I wrote like hell man the concept was clear to me the main character might be fucked but who cares
Thank you for reading Echoes of You chapter 1 I'll be back with fixes and chapter 2 in an year 🤣🤣✌️🤙
Yato out !!!…