The Creatures that We Are

Miss Bo stopped to look quietly at Gao Yang.

With a lightness he didn’t feel, Gao Yang said, “You were saying that the edge of the Mist World was the limit of my cognition.”

“I lived in Li City, so I knew that it was big, that it was real. However, there were many places I hadn’t gone to in reality, but only known through media and books. Thus, they became isolated islands connected by official channels. My dream could not conjure concrete things I didn’t know. A brain isn’t capable of creating something beyond its imagination.”

“The Mist World was shrinking because I was dying. I was weak, my brain deteriorating. I was losing my memories, cognition, and experience. That scared me. That was my doomsday.”

“And everyone I met in the Mist World could be found in the real world. That was why my relationships with them felt real.”

“Let me think…ah, there’s more!” Gao Yang was getting into it. “Human nature, monster’s nature, and divine nature were merely extreme representations of my emotions, desires, and rationality.”

“It was all a dream of a dying man, from start to finish!”

“In the dream, I played a game with my unconscious mind. I cleared the game and saved myself, thus waking up. Is that what you wanted to say?”

Miss Bo nodded. “Not a 100% match, but you got most things right.”

“Right my ass!” Gao Yang growled and shot to his feet. “You wanna fool me with a garbage script like that?!”

“I know what’s real and what’s not! Everything that happened in the Mist World was real! And you and everything here are fake!”

“I am fake since I’m but a program planted in your subconscious.” Miss Bo smiled and blinked. “But what makes you think the Mist World is real?”

Gao Yang didn’t say anything.

“You must have had an out-of-body feeling where you suddenly feel like everything is absurd, meaningless. You even felt like everyone other than you was an NPC in a game. You have not felt what others felt and sensed what they sensed for even a second.”

Gao Yang remained silent.

“You haven’t for a second been certain that others shared your cognition. You haven’t for a second been certain that your existence was the same as theirs.”

“It’s what we call in philosophy ‘other minds’. Ponder that feeling.” Miss Bo’s smile dropped. “Over the years you spent in the Mist World, had you not felt that quite often? It hit suddenly, strongly, many times evolving into an overwhelming emptiness you could not overcome.”

No response from Gao Yang.

Miss Bo continued, “That was because you—and I mean the bigger you, the real you—knew that you were in a dream. That kept you questioning everything. No matter how much your smaller and false self experienced joy, satisfaction, sorrow, pain, regret, or other grand feelings, you could never shake off or avoid that emptiness.”

“Think about the wishing fountain and the mysterious existence. They were the manifestations of the Jupiter Virus in your dream. Remember what they wanted you to give?”

“Nothing, emptiness,” Gao Yang answered almost instinctively.

“Yes, They wanted you to give away your emptiness.”

“Then your bigger and true self would lose your only thread of hope. Your smaller and false self would continue to wander your dream until your doom—brain death.”

Gao Yang remained wary, yet he couldn’t help but start thinking seriously.

After thirty seconds, he looked up. “You want me to believe that everything only happened in my head.”

Miss Bo smiled faintly in response. “Mr. Liu, you needn’t be pessimistic or dejected. Dreams have meanings. Closure never dictates that Jupiter Travelers should cut themselves off from their dream completely. That’s not conducive to your recovery. You may think about it in a different way.”

“What?”

“It’s not that everything only happened in your head, but that all things happened in your head.”

Gao Yang stared at her.

“To humans, your brains are your universe, your world. The same is true of your dream. It remains true even when you’re waking up.”

“No matter where you are, your brain will always be your universe and world. That’s not going to change. Is that not right?”

“One flower, one world. One leaf, one bodhi—enlightenment.”

“Good.” Miss Bo smiled with approval. “I have a feeling that you’ll recover better than 99% of all Jupiter Travelers.”

Gao Yang smiled. He didn’t even know if he was giving up on himself or feeling fearless. “Then can I wake up now? Show me the real world. I can’t wait.”

“You’re still filled with suspicions. That’s normal. Still, your mental state is stabilizing. A deep awakening process will take place.”

Miss Bo extended her hands toward the two sides of the corridor. “Before that, there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Closure provides free treatment to Jupiter Travelers for 30 days. All treatment after that should be paid.”

“After your parents’ death, you inherited their assets, from which we deducted the cost of your treatment. At the moment, you have 36 credits left, enough for another day of basic treatment.”

“You’re lucky to have woken up before your credits ran out, or Closure would’ve convened a special meeting to determine your fate. There would’ve been a 57.2% chance of us giving up on continuing your treatment.”

“Now that you’re awake, Closure will provide you with free long-term follow-up treatment as long as you sign an agreement of in-depth collaboration with us.”

“As expected of a large corporation,” Gao Yang said impassively. “Very humane.”

“There’s something else we need your permission for.”

“Everything you went through in your dream will be converted into holograms and stored in the cloud with our technology. You may browse and look them up at Closure anytime.”

“Okay.”

“But we will only store the data for three months. After that, if you don’t have an agreement with us and haven’t become a member, the data will be deleted permanently. Our membership costs 300 credits per year.”

Gao Yang scoffed. “I don’t have the money.”

“According to our big data analysis, a patient’s experience in their dream can help them recover their memories of the real world, thus facilitating their recovery. Considering your current financial situation, I’ll suggest you establish a close collaboration with Closure after waking up.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I suggest you find a job immediately or seek the help of relatives and friends. You’ll be good as long as you can pay the membership fee within three months.”

“You’ll be provided with a free one-week therapy after waking up. Then you can seek the responsible personnel for the application. It won’t be too late to make a decision then.”

“Alright.”

“Now, I wish you a speedy recovery, Mr. Liu. May all go well for you.” Miss Bo picked up the whistle she wore on her neck and blew it hard. The sound rang in the infinite space.

Houseau3's Thoughts

Poor guy's breaking...

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