"A True Utopia."

“And with that…” a smooth tone spoke, “concludes the first episode of my… uh…”, a few moments passed, the word just within my grasp… “Do you mean, video log?” a robotic voice queried. “Oh, yes. Video log.” *click*. A swift sigh escaped my lips in an exuberated manner. I briefly interacted with the hologram in front of me, dragging files and folders across the hovering screen and dusted off my two palms together in an accomplished effort. Rays of light intruding into my lab from a ceiling window spotlighted floating specs of dust throughout the tidy, organized space. White metallic floors shined ethereally, lined with faint glowing LEDs that shone a cyan backlight towards anything nearby. Towards the round corner, neatly packed boxes stuffed to the brim with folders sat upon a chair near my desk, which made home to a series of randomly placed holo-notes and what seemed to be a brand-new setup. And within the center of the small room, an omnidirectional treadmill was installed, designed for the usage of the user’s hologram. Essentially, this device allowed users to project themselves upon the world and transport themselves places without needing their physical bodies being there, an invention founded mid-way in the 3rd millennium. I lifted myself off the chair, and headed towards my destination.

My eyes darted from one side of the room to the next, lenses locking target to the main laboratory. I waltzed passed the ever-extending tunnels lined with windows with views of a lush, abundant city, greeting busy co-workers along the way. All of the scientists and entrepreneurs on this site were actively working to solve some kind of puzzle, or uncover one we didn’t even know existed. I stepped into the room decorated from head-to-toe in chemistry equipment and containers stacked to the roof with important information. Researchers walked around the room paired with floating holograms, but one amongst the crowd, was awkwardly hauling a mess of deconstructed mechanical parts… oddly enough, I’m not surprised. I stood there, glaring towards the havoc mass of inept. My client had paired us two, specifically, to work together on my project. I grounded my teeth in impatience and hesitantly stepped towards the amateurish figure brawling against gravity. “Hey, what-” CRASH! Trinkets and metallic parts crashed to the floor, Korr along with it. A faint groan came from the pile in front. My face curled to an expression of disappointment, followed by a brief robotic voice, “Health Appointment Scheduled, Today, 6:30 pm”. Korr groaned “Argh… were you planning on helping me any time soon?” a sarcastic tone added-

“Or were you just going to stand there drooling like an idiot?”

“What do you think, idiot? Oh wait! You can’t!”

I extended my hand out to help him, gripping tightly. Korr wiped at his coat, eyes slim and dark. He should be sleeping more often, but I don’t need to remind him. After all, we have our AI assistants constantly monitoring basically everything, 24/7. I can’t even cry without an AI therapist scheduling a wellness intervention. It does make me ponder, I have no secrets or privacy, but tells me I’m “free” and “safe”. Korr must think it’s annoying too, a hypothesis I conjured up after noticing him deactivating his health monitoring every now and then. “Cancel appointment.” He blurted. “So, just what exactly were you doing?” I asked. He looked at me funny, I looked back concerned. “I uh, you know…” he babbled. “Well… didn’t you ask me to experiment with the chamber?” Korr asked wearily, as a few moments passed. I understand that everyone has some sense of pride and confidence with themselves, but this? He pointed towards the parts of dented, broken materials on the table with a sheepish grin. Unfathomable. Questioning how its possible to damage a robot that’s supposed to be one of the most durable is beyond me. I sighed, pinching my temples. “We have an interview soon… the pile of scraps can wait”.

I glanced towards the gleaming pile of, well, everything I didn’t want to deal with, and walked out towards the entrance of the building, Korr following behind with papers in hand. I made my way through the city streets. Holograms and people of various natures, transhumanism and all passed by me alongside a road, cars soaring past. Holographic flyers appeared suddenly on almost every visible surface. At first, I thought it was just some sort of junk, but this caught my attention. I mean, we have some time until the interview so having a mere look shouldn’t hurt, right? I gestured towards Korr to have a look at the posters in a restaurant. Approaching, it read, “Gang of Cultists Break into Cryochamber Centre!”. My heart dropped. Someone broke into the cryochambers? Cultists? I turned to Korr sharing a deeply worried expression. Everybody is equal-unless you opt out. They’re ones who rejected technology, the ones we consider outsiders. In today’s world, almost everybody depends on AI, and the ones who choose not to had created a sort of quiet underclass, a cultural divide. It seems not only do they despise modern-day life, but also the concept of cryosleep. We approached the head building of ECHO news outlet and advanced towards the counter.

After a brief confirmation, the robot at the desk assisted us up the elevator a few floors and into the main newsroom, looking directly into the city of Hilthorios through a massive window that covered the entire wall. “Action in 5 minutes!” one of the robots called out to the cast. “So! Gentlemen, care to introduce yourselves? Not that we don’t know, ha-ha” the robotic reporter chuckled. “Oh, yes. My name is Zariel Threxon, and my partner here is Korr Von.” I added. “A strange name at that, yes. How about your research? I hear you and your co-worker here have made some pretty big discoveries, haven’t we, Laurie?” I considered for a moment. Is it really a good idea to announce to the whole world our progress? We’ve come so far after all, perhaps its right that the public know. “Well, our progress has come so far, that I’m confident in a few weeks’ time I should have the answer to thawing the human body without damaging their cells”. The reporters face twisted, her eyes turning from jolly to bothered, while keeping up the million-dollar smile.

I stepped out unto the city once more. I found myself facing towards the tower of Ionmore and all it’s fascinating presence. This tower, marking the capital trade center of Hilthorios reaches all the way to just a tad beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, mainly used to trade back and forth between Mars. I nodded to Korr as we set our separate paths and headed back to our homes. My heart sank, a bad feeling bubbling up inside my gut. I approached the corner that led to my apartment complex and walked up to the door. Was someone following me? I swear I heard something... Perhaps I need to see a therapist after all. Entering the building was almost like entering a maze of sorts. Doors leading to all sorts of rooms. My room was located a floor below the more expensive ones, towards the end of the hall in a small, secluded corner. I faced my door, “Room 174” it read, the digital sign greeting me with a small robotic welcome. I dug inside my pocket for my ID, only to find a sack over my head and a dart trying to inject into my prosthetic. I leaped backwards in shock; someone was following me! The cultists? Thank God I lost my arm! And then, a smack to the forehead.

My eyes slim and drowsy, awoke to black. Or maybe I’ve turned blind? I have no idea where I am, even less of the perpetrators. I felt my hands bound, my ankles too. It wasn’t cold or hot, still developing goosebumps. Footsteps appeared, hearing them walk around me made my head spin. I squinted my eyes as the bag wrapped around my head was ripped off, exposing my silver hair to the dim lights. I had been tied to the pillar in the center of the round, concrete room. “Dr. Threxon, is it?” the figure in front asked. I drifted my gaze to where the voice was coming from. A woman dressed in an intimidating dark robe, the cloak long enough to cast a mysterious shadow over her facial features. “Cultists”, I muttered under my breath. “I want the answer” She demanded. The answer… to cryosleep? I couldn’t imagine any other reason why a cultist would kidnap me, of all people. But why? I don’t have the answer yet. That’s why I’ve dedicated my life to this research. “I can’t give it to you, not even if I wanted to”, “You misunderstand. You will find the answer, you’re not leaving until you do’, “And just what do you expect me to do? Contact God using my superpowers? You’ve chosen the wrong madman, cultist”. Her emotionless expression shifted into somewhat of a smug grin.

“One of two madmen, I might add”. I turned my head, only to be met with a familiar, coarse pair of hands chained to a few metal hooks. “Tough one, that”, the lady mentioned. I’d expect as much. She reached her hands back and pulled away her hood, revealing a hidden, simple appearance. Short, un-even brown hair was revealed, along with a pretty set of shining, hazel eyes. Wait, pretty… I didn’t mean it like that. Did I? My chain of irresponsible thoughts hazed, as she bent down to release my ties. The girl displayed a range of equipment to use. I trotted around the room, inspecting every bit of my belongings. It did seem like everything I need is here. But why… what are they planning? I questioned the cultist, but she only ended up walking away, fiddling around with some documents that I’ve never seen before. “Read this”. I took the papers from her cold hands, the contents hand-written. I stood there, petrified. The papers almost slipping from my loosened grip. This can’t be true. It… right? My lips separated; a pit fire began to burn inside me, forcing up a bulge in my throat. AI decides when I work, have lunch… but it seems, they had also decided when I die. I don’t want to believe it. But if I’m wrong, the consequences will be fatal. After a brief exchange of nods, I peered towards the dark room.

Korr entered the room a little after, looking devastated after reading the information those papers held. His death was also scheduled, but I don’t think he really understood. Korr… is a little slow. To be completely honest, watching him form a thought is kind of magical, but very risky. It’s like trying to run anything on a MacBook laptop from a thousand years ago, it might explode. Dalphine had told us her name around a week later from our kidnapping, along with the reason why she did so. They admitted that the robbing of a cryochamber was indeed, their doing. I racked my brain day and night. A design I had been developing, nanobots, are capable of entering cells and repairing damage from ice crystal formation. A few weeks later like I had expected, we finished the construction. I informed Dalphine on the breakthrough, “Brilliant!” she exclaimed, followed by a meek mental preparation. “You wanted to know why I needed this? Follow me”. Korr and I exchanged worried glances, whatever it is, it’s nothing good.

The woman led us down a few tunnels underground, passing manholes leading to the city above. A cryochamber, home to an old man. “Do it”. I held my hand steady, holding a capsule filled with hundreds of millions of nano-bots. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. I placed the capsule inside a small, open compartment on the cryochamber. A small needle injecting thousands of nano-bots into the recipients’ body every second. Soon enough, it had finished. The chamber’s lid slowly opened, exposing his body. This man would have been murdered if it weren’t for the robbery. The type of information this man beheld would have ruptured the very fabric of our “utopia”, or so thinks Dalphine. She turned away and waited. “Well?”. This is because when someone goes into cryosleep, they need to do so, uhm, naked. If you wore clothes, they would have merged with your skin, and let me tell you now, you really don’t want that. The man awoke, with a big, obnoxious cough. The man, now dressed, looked as if he was in a daze. “Who are you people? Where… when am I?”, “The year 3013. Korr and I answered questions, while Dalphine asked them. This man seemed to be in a near-death state, and only 70 years old. I presume because of our improved vaccines and medicines, lifetimes were extended, teenage-hood ending at around 30 years of age. The raspy voice proceeded to ramble on about how he once designed for the AI’s foundational code. He became horrified by what it became, and before his cryosleep, he encoded a backdoor. A final command that could shut it all down and restore human autonomy, but at what cost? I’ve spent my whole life in this world run by AI, but all I see now is doom. The backdoor- “*cough*” code, all I need is to get to a core.” Cores are what the AI depend on for their generation of power. If what he’s saying is true, then all we need to do is input this. The four of us emerged from the sewers in the dead of night. We snuck through the Hilhorio streets, careful not to make attract unwanted attention.

We arrived at the laboratory, a large luminescent orb, levitating in the center of the cool room. The old man trekked towards the frontal desk and began tapping the screen, an automated voice lurked. They were ready. “Dr. Threxon. Are you sure you want to do this?” it asked us, as expected. “Upload your minds, preserve them. Become part of the glorious, Next Humanity. A True Utopia. True, perfection”. My mind went blank. Billions could end up dead, even more... I’ve come to my conclusion. A sad smile surfaced, “I’m sure. Perfection, is all but false”. The old man refused as well. I want to die human, he said, fidgeting with the computer’s screen once more. “One more click, and it’s gone for good!”, a relieved voice exclaimed, but was broken by the loud, heavy footsteps. An army of robots behind them collapsed to the ground, arriving too late for their enforcement. But just as the robots did, the old man fell too, finding his final peace. The core dimmed, falling into darkness, as the lights in the city flickered. Systems began to fail, as I gazed into the future. Freedom isn't safe. But at last, it's ours again.