u/tj_vale

I’ve existed alone for a long time. Isolated by the darkness of space itself, observing stillness. At first, it wasn’t so bad. I was glad to be away from the others. They couldn’t hurt me here. But the monotony of idleness had started to take its toll. Until something changed.
I notice a faint light shimmering in the distance.
“I hope my boundary doesn’t stop here,” I don’t have a body. Instead, I am everywhere in my allotted space at once. With focus I can become concentrated in pockets of space, but I can’t truly move.
“Yes, it is a star! Now if only I could reach it.” I focus deeply. My main goal, extract its elements.
I latch on to the star, and feel it pulsate.
It emits a sound. Language – but I don’t understand.
“I need to gather this from you. Please forgive me,” I tell it. I’m unsure of its exact words, but one thing’s clear. It’s begging me to stop.
And then, with all my focus locked into the star, it explodes.
“Yes, there is light! I’m no longer in the dark.” I grab the explosion. Billions of particles churn at once. I divide a large piece of its gaseous mass, and place it asunder. With the remaining particles -
“This is everything I need. Helium, metals, and the most important. Carbon.”
I focus once again, moving all debris into place. They move together as a belt through space. They start off as dust, but I continue to increase their mass until they cover ⅛ of my available space. Once satisfied, I bathe the rock in magma, solidifying the bonds.
“Perfect. Now what’s the formula for the liquid that carbon-based life needs for survival?”
I try desperately to remember, but cannot.
“How can I do anything if I can’t remember? I won’t be alone anymore!” I shout, instantly destroying the large rock I created.
“It’s not fair!”
And then, I get the perfect idea.
“What if I just try different formulas to see what works?”
A large piece of rock floats away quickly. I try to manifest into its space, but it’s outside of my boundaries.
“Damn it!” I scream as the rock drifts off into infinity. I reconstruct the rock, although considerably smaller at only 1/20 of my space.
“This will have to do.” What were once specks of dust are now a protoplanet. The thrill guides me to my next step. I manipulate the carbon, crafting billions of bonds with various elements.
“Oxygen and hydrogen! That’s it! Or wait… how many parts each?”
Elated, I begin the synthesis - two parts hydrogen to one part oxygen.
“And success!” Celebrating, I watch the liquid particles float in space, bending them. Molding them. I use the water to dissolve the chemicals and form stronger bonds. I watch chemical reactions cascade through elegant chains, nutrients passing from one forming structure to the next. It is deeply satisfying.
And after some time a tiny glob like creature is synthesized. I hold it before its animation.
“I can’t wait to see what you do!” And just like that, I lower it down to the ground and release it. I study it.
“No, where are you going?” No response.
“I won’t let you leave! Multiply resistance!” In an instant, the small creature falls to the ground where it belongs. It scurries about slowly.
“That’s the right thing. That is perfect.”
I’m no longer alone, but my creation isn’t sentient. What’s the point?
“This is so boring! It just crawls slowly doing nothing. It won’t even talk to me.” And then, it multiplies.
Two of them, then four, eight:
“This is amazing.” As excited as I am, as much as I enjoy watching the creatures do something - anything - I still feel alone. And then I get another idea.
“What if I merge these blob-like creatures into one system governed by the same laws and mechanics?” On my first attempt, I created a larger creature. It was capable of thinking, but on a very basic level. After one creature was built, I extracted some of its DNA to create another of the same species.
“Now mate!” I grow weary, staring at them. Until:
“No, no no! You are not supposed to fight.”
They don’t answer me.
“This isn’t right! Stop it.” They continue. Biting at each other, but then they do something completely unexpected. They run together. Not after prey. Just to do it, until they tire themselves out. I don’t understand.
Then it happens.
“You are doing it!” I watch, taken by the beauty of the reproductive procedure until it is complete. Shortly after, six additional creatures are born. I name the species, Rodentis.
“I love watching the population grow. I want to create more.”
And just like that, I extract DNA from Rodentis. I open the biology register and encode new instructions. Instead of crawling on the floor, the new organism will walk upright. But how do I give them the ability to know me? To love me?
I look down at Rodentis, wondering what makes them tick. And then, I realize their population has exploded.
“This should be fun to watch!” I put my experiment on hold. Why do they move with such pitiful slowness?
And then, fangs flash. Squealing. Blood.
“But why do they fight?”
I watch as multiple Rodentis pile onto one of their own. They kill it, and begin consuming the corpse.
“Oh! Yes, that’s right! Carbon-based life needs fuel.”
I restart the process of developing the simple blob-like creature, but this time apply some changes. After, I merge them into one system, seed the genetic material, and raise my creation from the dirt. I call them fungus.
“Now hurry! Get off of him & eat!” A lightning strike forms illuminating the vast space. Their tails stiffen. Then they jolt away, leaving the half eaten body. That’s when they notice the fungus.
They smell it, then eat.
“Yes, you have fuel. Just ask me for what you need,” but they never do seem to ask. I raise fungi nearly reaching the sky. But Rodentis doesn’t respond.
“Okay, this is boring. Oh I know! My experiment. I can still create the perfect creature to watch.”
I continue mapping new inputs to the biology register. Enlarging the brain, inputting new systems inside of them containing various blob creatures. Some similar to the fungi building blocks, some vastly different.
I animated it, and placed it on the ground.
“I’m here. I’m with you!”
The creature shows its teeth and makes a beastly noise. I stare in fascination.
Rodentis begins crawling toward the new organism.
“Are you ready to meet my new creation?” I playfully tease Rodentis.
The new organism doesn’t walk. It just lies on its back. But why?
Rodentis smells it.
“Yes, say hello!” I applaud, unable to contain myself.
“Good now you know each other. But…wait. Stop it!”
The new organism screams. Blood leaks out of it as Rodentis press their jaws into its skull.
“I said to stop!”
The new creature no longer moves.
“WHY?” I cry out. The ground shakes, swallowing the corpse of the new organism along with ¼ of Rodentispopulation. The remaining Rodentis run for the fungi. Climbing it.
“You have food. You have sun! You had no right!” They scurry away, squeaking.
“Okay, it’s okay. I can still fix this.” I pull all the bodies from the wreckage, paying special attention to the new organism, inspecting its bite wound.
“Damage to the cranium, specifically the Central Processor.”
I use the tissue from the dead Rodentis to seal all wounds in the Central Processor - reestablishing all former live neural connections. Once satisfied, I connect it back to the spinal structure and mount it into the skull.
“I will call it, man.”
Happy, satisfied, I watch man once again lay on its back. It thrashes about, screaming into the clouds. I admire it.
“Hello, are you okay?” Man reacts to the sound, but doesn’t say a word.
“I am just happy that you are alive. Though, I wish you would talk back to me.”
A few moments pass. And then I realize:
“Oh, wait, that’s right! This is only post gestation, not maturation. I know what I need to do.”
I increase the speed of orbit, forcing thousands of recurrences of night and day. Man grows until it can stand, and move around on its own. Although fast-forwarded I’ve watched the entire time.
I stop after 14 phases have passed. It’s finally time.
“I am so happy to finally speak to you. I have been alone this entire time.”
Man slowly steps back, looking in all directions.
“I’m right here.”
Man stumbles backwards, tripping over nothing. It shouts loudly. Surely this is excitement. The problem is its words aren’t intelligible.
“Oh, that’s right! You never had anyone to share language with, so how would you learn? I know, let’s download the language data into your internal storage.” And just like that, the data was saved.
“Can you understand me now?”
“Who is talking? Show yourself!”
“But, why do you speak so angrily? Aren’t you happy to meet your creator?”
“Nothing talks to me. This isn’t real. Get out of my head.”
“Please, I just want to help.”
I never imagined this type of response. Here I am, giving everything to my creations, and they don’t appreciate it. Man hates me! But why?
I wait till it falls asleep and then make another DNA extraction. This time, I manipulate the registers to change the chromosome distribution. Effectively, giving the creature a way to reproduce. I call it woman. I place woman next to man as they sleep.
When man wakes, it sees woman for the first time.
“Who are you?” Man grabs woman by its shoulders, shaking it.
“Where do you come from?” And then woman’s eyes open.
“Answer me.”
Woman babbles.
I hope they appreciate all this work I’m doing. And then I broadcast the language data from man’s brain into woman’s.
“I don’t know! I don’t know anything!” were its first words.
Then, man grabs woman’s throat. Unable to contain myself, I scream out:
“No, no no! Now what are you doing? You mustn’t hurt woman. It is your mate!”
Man releases the woman’s throat.
“Where do I come from?” Woman massages its neck struggling to get the words out.
Almost unable to contain myself, I respond -
“You are woman. You were created from man’s DNA. I made this protoplanet because…” I realize revealing the truth would likely not sit well. As the creator, what if they joke that I am a prisoner? No, I couldn’t handle that.
“I am good. That is why I created you.”
They nod, which fills me with joy. Finally, the acknowledgment.
“You must reproduce an entire civilization.”
With its eyes still opened wide, man continues to nod in agreement. Finally, they adore me. And then, I stop talking. I stare from a distance over the course of multiple rotations around the sun.
By this point man and woman have come to spend every moment together. This is companionship.
“Jane, I really want to tell you something. It’s important.”
What is a Jane?
“Sure, what is it you want to talk about?”
It calls woman… Jane? This isn’t right!
“Look, sometimes I get this feeling that we are constantly being watched.”
“By who?”
“Come on, isn’t it obvious?”
Woman looks back in silence. The suspense is captivating. And then man puts its hand to the side of its mouth and whispers -
“That voice.”
Woman stares back at man, unfazed.
“I don’t like it. I don’t trust it,”
“Why not?”
“I lived for a long time just here alone. And then one day, the voice spoke to me. I was so scared that I….”
“Remember how you acted when you first saw me?”
“Yes, but that feeling went away the day I met you. I heard the voice long ago, and to this day it makes me nervous.”
No, that isn’t right. How can it speak about me like that? While I watch?
“Wait, John! What is that in the sky?”
“I don’t know, but the lights are beautiful.”
Everything fades to black. The ground rattles.
I’ll show them all! I created you.
Fire engulfs the fungus spreading throughout the plane.
“I can’t move.” Man lies under a piece of detached fungus crushing its limp legs. But why doesn’t it move it?
“John!” Woman screams. They both work together, desperately trying to lift the fungus. It won’t budge.
With fluid pooling in woman’s eyes, it looks up to the sky…

Episode 2 drops next Tuesday.

I’ve existed alone for a long time. Isolated by the darkness of space itself, observing stillness. At first, it wasn’t so bad. I was glad to be away from the others. They couldn’t hurt me here. But the monotony of idleness had started to take its toll. Until something changed.
I notice a faint light shimmering in the distance.
“I hope my boundary doesn’t stop here,” I don’t have a body. Instead, I am everywhere in my allotted space at once. With focus I can become concentrated in pockets of space, but I can’t truly move.
“Yes, it is a star! Now if only I could reach it.” I focus deeply. My main goal, extract its elements.
I latch on to the star, and feel it pulsate.
It emits a sound. Language – but I don’t understand.
“I need to gather this from you. Please forgive me,” I tell it. I’m unsure of its exact words, but one thing’s clear. It’s begging me to stop.
And then, with all my focus locked into the star, it explodes.
“Yes, there is light! I’m no longer in the dark.” I grab the explosion. Billions of particles churn at once. I divide a large piece of its gaseous mass, and place it asunder. With the remaining particles -
“This is everything I need. Helium, metals, and the most important. Carbon.”
I focus once again, moving all debris into place. They move together as a belt through space. They start off as dust, but I continue to increase their mass until they cover ⅛ of my available space. Once satisfied, I bathe the rock in magma, solidifying the bonds.
“Perfect. Now what’s the formula for the liquid that carbon-based life needs for survival?”
I try desperately to remember, but cannot.
“How can I do anything if I can’t remember? I won’t be alone anymore!” I shout, instantly destroying the large rock I created.
“It’s not fair!”
And then, I get the perfect idea.
“What if I just try different formulas to see what works?”
A large piece of rock floats away quickly. I try to manifest into its space, but it’s outside of my boundaries.
“Damn it!” I scream as the rock drifts off into infinity. I reconstruct the rock, although considerably smaller at only 1/20 of my space.
“This will have to do.” What were once specks of dust are now a protoplanet. The thrill guides me to my next step. I manipulate the carbon, crafting billions of bonds with various elements.
“Oxygen and hydrogen! That’s it! Or wait… how many parts each?”
Elated, I begin the synthesis - two parts hydrogen to one part oxygen.
“And success!” Celebrating, I watch the liquid particles float in space, bending them. Molding them. I use the water to dissolve the chemicals and form stronger bonds. I watch chemical reactions cascade through elegant chains, nutrients passing from one forming structure to the next. It is deeply satisfying.
And after some time a tiny glob like creature is synthesized. I hold it before its animation.
“I can’t wait to see what you do!” And just like that, I lower it down to the ground and release it. I study it.
“No, where are you going?” No response.
“I won’t let you leave! Multiply resistance!” In an instant, the small creature falls to the ground where it belongs. It scurries about slowly.
“That’s the right thing. That is perfect.”
I’m no longer alone, but my creation isn’t sentient. What’s the point?
“This is so boring! It just crawls slowly doing nothing. It won’t even talk to me.” And then, it multiplies.
Two of them, then four, eight:
“This is amazing.” As excited as I am, as much as I enjoy watching the creatures do something - anything - I still feel alone. And then I get another idea.
“What if I merge these blob-like creatures into one system governed by the same laws and mechanics?” On my first attempt, I created a larger creature. It was capable of thinking, but on a very basic level. After one creature was built, I extracted some of its DNA to create another of the same species.
“Now mate!” I grow weary, staring at them. Until:
“No, no no! You are not supposed to fight.”
They don’t answer me.
“This isn’t right! Stop it.” They continue. Biting at each other, but then they do something completely unexpected. They run together. Not after prey. Just to do it, until they tire themselves out. I don’t understand.
Then it happens.
“You are doing it!” I watch, taken by the beauty of the reproductive procedure until it is complete. Shortly after, six additional creatures are born. I name the species, Rodentis.
“I love watching the population grow. I want to create more.”
And just like that, I extract DNA from Rodentis. I open the biology register and encode new instructions. Instead of crawling on the floor, the new organism will walk upright. But how do I give them the ability to know me? To love me?
I look down at Rodentis, wondering what makes them tick. And then, I realize their population has exploded.
“This should be fun to watch!” I put my experiment on hold. Why do they move with such pitiful slowness?
And then, fangs flash. Squealing. Blood.
“But why do they fight?”
I watch as multiple Rodentis pile onto one of their own. They kill it, and begin consuming the corpse.
“Oh! Yes, that’s right! Carbon-based life needs fuel.”
I restart the process of developing the simple blob-like creature, but this time apply some changes. After, I merge them into one system, seed the genetic material, and raise my creation from the dirt. I call them fungus.
“Now hurry! Get off of him & eat!” A lightning strike forms illuminating the vast space. Their tails stiffen. Then they jolt away, leaving the half eaten body. That’s when they notice the fungus.
They smell it, then eat.
“Yes, you have fuel. Just ask me for what you need,” but they never do seem to ask. I raise fungi nearly reaching the sky. But Rodentis doesn’t respond.
“Okay, this is boring. Oh I know! My experiment. I can still create the perfect creature to watch.”
I continue mapping new inputs to the biology register. Enlarging the brain, inputting new systems inside of them containing various blob creatures. Some similar to the fungi building blocks, some vastly different.
I animated it, and placed it on the ground.
“I’m here. I’m with you!”
The creature shows its teeth and makes a beastly noise. I stare in fascination.
Rodentis begins crawling toward the new organism.
“Are you ready to meet my new creation?” I playfully tease Rodentis.
The new organism doesn’t walk. It just lies on its back. But why?
Rodentis smells it.
“Yes, say hello!” I applaud, unable to contain myself.
“Good now you know each other. But…wait. Stop it!”
The new organism screams. Blood leaks out of it as Rodentis press their jaws into its skull.
“I said to stop!”
The new creature no longer moves.
“WHY?” I cry out. The ground shakes, swallowing the corpse of the new organism along with ¼ of Rodentispopulation. The remaining Rodentis run for the fungi. Climbing it.
“You have food. You have sun! You had no right!” They scurry away, squeaking.
“Okay, it’s okay. I can still fix this.” I pull all the bodies from the wreckage, paying special attention to the new organism, inspecting its bite wound.
“Damage to the cranium, specifically the Central Processor.”
I use the tissue from the dead Rodentis to seal all wounds in the Central Processor - reestablishing all former live neural connections. Once satisfied, I connect it back to the spinal structure and mount it into the skull.
“I will call it, man.”
Happy, satisfied, I watch man once again lay on its back. It thrashes about, screaming into the clouds. I admire it.
“Hello, are you okay?” Man reacts to the sound, but doesn’t say a word.
“I am just happy that you are alive. Though, I wish you would talk back to me.”
A few moments pass. And then I realize:
“Oh, wait, that’s right! This is only post gestation, not maturation. I know what I need to do.”
I increase the speed of orbit, forcing thousands of recurrences of night and day. Man grows until it can stand, and move around on its own. Although fast-forwarded I’ve watched the entire time.
I stop after 14 phases have passed. It’s finally time.
“I am so happy to finally speak to you. I have been alone this entire time.”
Man slowly steps back, looking in all directions.
“I’m right here.”
Man stumbles backwards, tripping over nothing. It shouts loudly. Surely this is excitement. The problem is its words aren’t intelligible.
“Oh, that’s right! You never had anyone to share language with, so how would you learn? I know, let’s download the language data into your internal storage.” And just like that, the data was saved.
“Can you understand me now?”
“Who is talking? Show yourself!”
“But, why do you speak so angrily? Aren’t you happy to meet your creator?”
“Nothing talks to me. This isn’t real. Get out of my head.”
“Please, I just want to help.”
I never imagined this type of response. Here I am, giving everything to my creations, and they don’t appreciate it. Man hates me! But why?
I wait till it falls asleep and then make another DNA extraction. This time, I manipulate the registers to change the chromosome distribution. Effectively, giving the creature a way to reproduce. I call it woman. I place woman next to man as they sleep.
When man wakes, it sees woman for the first time.
“Who are you?” Man grabs woman by its shoulders, shaking it.
“Where do you come from?” And then woman’s eyes open.
“Answer me.”
Woman babbles.
I hope they appreciate all this work I’m doing. And then I broadcast the language data from man’s brain into woman’s.
“I don’t know! I don’t know anything!” were its first words.
Then, man grabs woman’s throat. Unable to contain myself, I scream out:
“No, no no! Now what are you doing? You mustn’t hurt woman. It is your mate!”
Man releases the woman’s throat.
“Where do I come from?” Woman massages its neck struggling to get the words out.
Almost unable to contain myself, I respond -
“You are woman. You were created from man’s DNA. I made this protoplanet because…” I realize revealing the truth would likely not sit well. As the creator, what if they joke that I am a prisoner? No, I couldn’t handle that.
“I am good. That is why I created you.”
They nod, which fills me with joy. Finally, the acknowledgment.
“You must reproduce an entire civilization.”
With its eyes still opened wide, man continues to nod in agreement. Finally, they adore me. And then, I stop talking. I stare from a distance over the course of multiple rotations around the sun.
By this point man and woman have come to spend every moment together. This is companionship.
“Jane, I really want to tell you something. It’s important.”
What is a Jane?
“Sure, what is it you want to talk about?”
It calls woman… Jane? This isn’t right!
“Look, sometimes I get this feeling that we are constantly being watched.”
“By who?”
“Come on, isn’t it obvious?”
Woman looks back in silence. The suspense is captivating. And then man puts its hand to the side of its mouth and whispers -
“That voice.”
Woman stares back at man, unfazed.
“I don’t like it. I don’t trust it,”
“Why not?”
“I lived for a long time just here alone. And then one day, the voice spoke to me. I was so scared that I….”
“Remember how you acted when you first saw me?”
“Yes, but that feeling went away the day I met you. I heard the voice long ago, and to this day it makes me nervous.”
No, that isn’t right. How can it speak about me like that? While I watch?
“Wait, John! What is that in the sky?”
“I don’t know, but the lights are beautiful.”
Everything fades to black. The ground rattles.
I’ll show them all! I created you.
Fire engulfs the fungus spreading throughout the plane.
“I can’t move.” Man lies under a piece of detached fungus crushing its limp legs. But why doesn’t it move it?
“John!” Woman screams. They both work together, desperately trying to lift the fungus. It won’t budge.
With fluid pooling in woman’s eyes, it looks up to the sky…

When Rick told me about his plans I was doubtful. It’s not that I didn’t have faith in him. Rick always gives his all and I trust him with my life. But this? There was no way that he could achieve this - it’s not even possible.

Still, the thought of it has always been intriguing. I remember the day in Rick’s lab that changed everything and it still feels surreal. 

“Mason, are you ready to give this a chance? No pressure, but I could really use your input,”

I take a deep breath, look Rick in the eyes and say:

“Honestly Rick, after all that’s happened I think it’s my best shot. I’m just a little worried.”

“Look, I get it. This isn’t a tested idea. Entity simulation has always been theoretical, but I have made a breakthrough.” 

I open my mouth to speak. Rick interjects:

“I know I’ve said similar things in the past, but this time, it’s real. I figured out what I was doing wrong. And the fix is surprisingly simple!”

I think Rick wants to reassure me, but at this point I’m already all-in. How could I refuse? After all, this may be the only way to actually fix this. There is no alternative. 

“Rick, we have been over this before. I am just happy that you considered me for this. You have no idea what that means to me!”

“Thanks, but it’ll mean so much more when you see what they can really do. I don’t like to break promises, so I do feel bad, but the wait will be 100% worth it. And besides, you are my best friend. I’d do anything to help you. Eventually we will help the entire world,” Rick smiles. Ever since we were kids I’ve admired Rick’s desire to help people. 

I walk over to Rick, and hug him. Trying to express my gratitude, even though I know I don’t deserve this chance. Maybe that’s what broke me.

Stop it! Don’t let Rick see you break down. He’s going to think you're weak. Who am I kidding? Here I am, a grown man completely broken, crying on my friend's shoulder. It feels pathetic, but the tears just won’t stop. Rick pats my back, pushes me away, grabs my shoulders and calmly says:

“It’s going to be okay. You don’t have to feel this way anymore.” His confidence is infectious, quelling my doubts. I’m sure it’ll work this time. 

“Thanks for being such a great friend Rick. I’m ready.”

“I know you know the risks, but I still have to go over them. I wouldn’t be your friend if I didn’t.” I nod. 

“So first off, the avatar will have a jarring appearance. It will not look humanoid at all. You need to stand tall when facing it.”

“Sure, I can do that.”

“I hope so, because once they’re fully grown, there is no turning back. The sacrifice will have to be granted so the avatar can grow to full size. Are you sure you want to proceed?”

Without thought, almost not even hearing what he said, I shout:

“Yes, I understand.”

“Okay, let’s get started,” Rick says, rolling up his sleeves. 

“First, I need the blood sample.” 

I cringe, thinking about what I had to do to obtain this. How could I? I reach into my pocket, pulling out a vial containing 50 mL of blood. 

Rick hesitates.

“And you’re sure this is from someone who doesn’t smoke, drink, or have any diseases?”

“Yeah,” I replied without hesitation. 

“This is important! If anything isn’t 100% perfect, consequences we can’t even begin to understand could happen!”

“Yes, Rick. I am positive. I remember what you told me to bring. The sample is from my neighbor's 7-year-old daughter.”

“Okay,” Rick says, taking the vial out of my hand. He doesn’t press further, my honesty obvious by my expression.

“Look, don’t feel bad. There’s no other way,”  He places it into a port on something that looks like a giant 3D printer. After, he presses a button, turning on the system. The button illuminates a dark red color, the same as the cage of the printer. 

“Daemon initiated. Loading memory model. Loading complete. Gathering nutrients from sacrificial data sample,” blares from the speakers. A large curved monitor sits on a desk, next to the printer. Rick points at it.

“This side shows the progress bar,”  Under which I see a sign that says ‘daemon protocol’. Rick thumbs through different daemons on the sleek touch screen monitor. He selects one. 

“So this shows the entity gaining past memories. Millions of years of memory compressed into petabytes of data.”

Even though I was warned, I wasn’t prepared for this. My knees buckle at the mere sight of the screen. Surely, we have not harnessed the power of every deity ever thought up by man. That’s too hard a pill to swallow. 

“So have you got the source code and data set for him?” 

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have called you here. I got it from Jasmine.” Rick chuckles. 

“Oh, Jasmine Evans from our old neighborhood?” I ask, with my mouth hung open. 

“Yup, I’ll tell you how I even ran into her later, but she had the data and source code. She, like everyone else, couldn’t get a response from the Bridge API. It kept returning a 403 unauthorized response when she made the request. But Jasmine and the rest of them didn’t realize one important thing.” Rick sneers, hunched over in jubilation. He had finally figured it out. No matter what it took.

“How’d you get past that? Are you really getting a 200 response code?”

“Yes, so that’s the funniest part,” Rick roars with laughter. 

“Everyone was sacrificing young animals. Birds, rodents, even large livestock. These attempts all failed miserably.”

“Memory loaded. Creating avatar based on provided schematics. Printing started,” the printer whirrs emitting a blue light against the red background.

“The closest anyone ever got to success was with a small ape. The connection lasted for 69 seconds until ultimately timing out. It was a scientist named Fabian. ”

 As I watch, something builds from the ground up. It is flesh colored, and pulsates like a beating heart. 

“The problem is apes, let alone humans are banned from being used as a sacrifice.”

“Why though? Especially if it doesn’t work?” 

“Some say that the entity could develop a taste for human blood.”

My chest tightens. I bellow:

“Are you fucking—”

“Relax, Mason. The avatar only survives for 7 days. We just have to provide the offering, and pick the safest deity. Everything will be fine.”

“Okay, cool,” What can I say anyway? I already agreed to this.  Like Rick said, there is no turning back. No way, but forward.

“Anyway, once they found Fabian, he was sent to the grand counsel and executed.”

Tension seizes my throat. Rick’s words land like a deafening blow. 

Rick smiles again, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. 

“It’s funny, after deities were simulated the world realized humans are just hominids spliced with DNA from higher beings.”

Rick’s smile widens.

“ So it’s common sense that only a human offering would work. That’s why anything other than human blood won’t do.”

I stare at Rick squinting one eye as if trying to see through the barrel of a gun. Rick continues undeterred: 

“And besides, put yourself in their shoes. Would you manifest from a completely different realm if the person who requested you didn’t even have a decent meal to offer?”

I force a smile. I shouldn’t be here.

“Printing complete. Initiating nutrient delivery.” 

We shouldn’t be doing this. 

And then an image flashes in front of my eyes, almost like a movie. 

Crying echoes loudly as I walk through the hospital. I recognize that voice. I follow it closely trying to find the source. I find the room it’s coming from and walk in.

“Why would they do this! To a little girl.” The voice is my wife, Ebony. She kneels on the floor, face draped in the bedsheet, gripping it, washing it in tears and sweat. 

My daughter lies in bed. Her eyes slammed shut. I know why she’s here. Tubes run through her nose and mouth. Blood pools in the crater etched into her temple. 

An array of machines stand beside her, competing in some sadistic contest to see which can make the most unbearable noise. They beep simultaneously with variations of long and short bursts occasionally followed by a brief pause. 

Paralyzed by dread, I rest my head against the wall. The duet that is crying and incessant beeping lull me to sleep.

 The scene fast-forwards.

“You’re going to be okay, sweetie. You just have to wake up. Please, you can do it.” Ebony looks at me, tears swelling her eyes. I pull her in for a hug. 

“It’s going to be okay. I promise. She will come out of this.”

“Mason, they said she wasn’t breathing for so long that she has permanent brain damage.” I try to embrace Ebony with a hug. Desperate to console her. Even though I couldn’t protect our daughter Samantha, I can still help this family. She pushes me off of her, scoffs and says coldly:

“I don’t want a hug, I want my daughter back,” 

If I was feeling normal, I would have thought more carefully about my next words. I would’ve given Ebony the grace of being upset. But I think the combination of my own rage and the rejection from my wife made me say: 

“You think I don’t want fucking Samantha back? She’s my everything. ”

“How dare you fix your lips to say that! You have no right.” 

I open my mouth, determined to get a word in. To try to defend myself, but it’s already too late. Ebony pounces.

“When you go to work, I am still here picking up the slack. You don’t see how she is every day!”

“I see her every day. I sit with her at night.”

“Do you have to clean shit from a limp body? When’s the last time you bathed Samantha? Or even bothered to stay with her overnight? When her breathing is erratic have you ever just watched, wondering if this would be the day she finally—” Ebony moans.

I can’t respond. I want to speak, desperately, but the words are hidden. My thoughts are fragments.   

“Exactly you piece of shit,” she jolts out of the room. I’d normally chase her, but I don’t have the energy. 

“You act like I’m the one that shot our baby in the fucking head.” 

The scene fades to black—

“That is the embryo Mason! That is what will grow into the avatar.” 

“Oh, oh yeah, perfect. Thanks Rick, you really did it,” I say, snapping back to reality. I hate to think about what’s really going on in my life. I like to pretend that Samantha is top of her class in school. That she has friends and is not a vegetable, lying in the hospital. Only still alive because of being plugged into an electric machine. After today, I won’t have to pretend anymore.

I drag my eyes back to the embryo. It grows several inches every 30 seconds. I watch it, at first mesmerized by the efficiency of the machine. Still not believing this is possible. As it grows its form changes.

And then I realized the avatar grew taller than me. Its body is a red mass, with several gill-like slits forming, growing rapidly. It begins to hover off the floor as the process continues. Its skin is pasty, covered with a bizarre purplish fluid.  

“Avatar build 75% complete,”

At this point the avatar towers at least ten feet over us. It has no feet, no appendages. Just a giant flesh colored blob.

“Avatar 95% complete,” 

Now the avatar stands at maybe 20 ft. It’s hard to see the top anymore. 

“100% complete. Memories implanted, avatar ready. Initiate consciousness?”

“Yes,” Rick’s face glows with excitement. His bravery almost intimidates me. How can he be so calm? In the presence of an entity? 

Just then, a yellow light flashes inside of the printer. It lasts a few seconds. And then, an orange glow appeared around the avatar. It pulses like the blood flowing through my veins. The slits tremble and start to open slowly. Trails of fluid show between them like spit between parted lips.  

“Oh I almost forgot. Put these on. Quickly,” Rick says, still focused on the daemon, hurriedly handing me glasses. Once on, they sit crooked on my face. Though uncomfortable, anxiety stops me from adjusting them.  

And that’s when the door on the printer started to slide open. 

The daemon didn't wait for it to open any further. It started pouring through the top, like smoke escaping a cracked window. 

Rick’s cheeks are roses. His eyes glisten with youthful optimism. 

Once the daemon was fully out, the sound of the printer door closing followed. Rick shouts seemingly at the top of his lungs, “Hello, is this Zelzabar, the God of life and resurrection?” 

Silence. 

My pulse explodes into chaos. And then, a high pitched noise rings out. I cover my ears, shoulders curling inward with one thing on my mind: somebody make it stop. 

I look at the man I put in the driver's seat, hoping he knew what was happening. That he could fix this.

And sure enough, Rick was covering his ears too. Still on his knees, but not paralyzed like me. Rick takes his hands off his ear and starts digging through his pockets. 

And that’s when I saw the stream of blood oozing from his uncovered ear. I flinch at the sight. 

Rick pulls out some type of earpiece from his pocket. He hands me a pair, putting it in his ear as well. The white material stained by his blood.

“Hurry,” he shouts, but his voice drowns in the oppressive screeching. Once I do, everything changes. The screeching now at a tolerable lower pitch.

“You okay Mason?”

“Yes, Rick, your ear…“

“No time for that now.” He turns back to the entity, dismissing me. 

“Tap your earpiece” 

I do. Then it happens.

“What is the point of life?” Rick screams, too intoxicated with excitement to remember why we’re doing this. I can’t really blame him. 

The earpiece beeps. Then, I hear a distorted computer voice speak. 

“The point of life? I’m not even sure what that means,”   

“You know, like why are humans on earth?” 

“There is no point in your life.”

“No, but we were all sent here for a purpose, right?” 

“Humans' purpose is to feed higher beings. But there are so many other creatures that we feed off.“

A message on the screen flashes repeatedly. The speakers nag:

“PGP key signature not recognized,” 

Rick for the first time goes silent. Then he leans over and whispers:

“That’s not the right entity. We should pull the plug.”

The hairs on my neck rise. Rick’s face is stern, and for the first time ever I feel his panic. I think about why I came here. About how this has never worked before. 

“I still have to try to save her.”

“This is the wrong daemon. It failed the PGP key authentication. Let’s end it before something happens that we regret. We have to contain it for 7 days until it naturally expires.”

With my eyes still focused on Rick a tear trails down my cheek. I drop my head in shame and turn away, betraying the trust of the one person who dared to help me. Now face to face with the entity, I take a step forward.

“Please, my daughter. She needs your help. She,” my voice, already quiet, cracks. Rick takes advantage of the opportunity.

“No, you don’t know what you’re doing,” 

His sharp words penetrate my skin, but what choice do I have?

“Silence. I know all about your daughter. And yes, I can help.”

I pause. A smirk tugs at my lips. My fists clench. I know this will work.

“The truth is, you cannot ‘pull the plug’ on me, Rick,” the daemon says. Rick starts to hover off the floor as if gravity no longer exists. I watch as he is jerked around in all directions. Rick grimaces, bloodied & bruised. What have I done?

Barely able to get a word out I shout:

“Please stop. I’m begging you. We will do whatever you want. Please just save her.”

“I’m feeling benevolent today. Games are below me, but I do enjoy intellectual exercises. Let’s try a thought experiment. What are you willing to give?”

Everything comes to a crashing halt. Tears leak down my face, and I let out one word:

“Everything.”

“I want Rick. If you sacrifice him your daughter will be saved.” 

Rick, still suspended in midair, rotates until we are face to face. He mouths:

“I can’t breathe,” his skin an amethyst stone in sunlight. 

“Do you agree?” 

And without thinking, I shout:

“Yes.”

 I look at Rick and mouth back:

“I’m sorry.” 

And that's when I watched Rick’s head roll off of its base. First it bounced off his shoulder, then his stomach and fell to the floor rolling a few feet forward.

I wince at the sight. Rick and I were always close. But I don’t have time to feel guilty. 

“Blood for blood. This isn’t magic. So he had to die either way.”

I stare at the daemon, not talking. My sadness is overwhelming, but desperation eclipses it. 

“Now, I will need one more thing from you. Once you agree your daughter will be instantly healed.”

“What, what is it?”

“Once the deed is done, you will need to serve me, however I see fit. Forever.“

I can’t. I won’t. 

But then, I close my eyes and imagine my daughter, healthy sitting with my wife. They’re watching Samantha’s favorite show. The characters all hold hands in their cartoon world. And then a carrot of all things stands up on a cardboard box, microphone in hand.  

“And that’s why broccoli is a terrible baby sitter,”

My daughter explodes in laughter. Waves from the aftershock fill the room. My wife joins in. I bask in the feeling. When I open my eyes, all ambivalence dies.

“I agree.” 

The deity moves closer to me, until I’m magnetized to it. Almost as if being consumed by its orbit. I struggle to move, but not even for the purpose of breaking free. That would be stupid at this point, I’ve already accepted my fate. However I couldn’t even scratch my nose if I wanted to. 

Instantly, I see a large flash and realize we are not in the lab anymore.

“Where is this?” I ask, as my throat tightens. Darkness covers the smokey sky. 

“Please, oh benevolent one. Answer me,” I say, still paralyzed. Completely ignorant of its desires. Its motivations. 

Silence.

 I slam into the ground. Shit that hurts. Instinctively, I sit up realizing I can move again. I look around, and realize the entity is gone. It feels like a dream.

The sky changes to sunny. The odor of smoke shifts to the smell of rose petals, pollen, and wet grass. It feels like a warm spring day. My favorite.

Once the sky brightened, I noticed that I’m only a few blocks away from home. I run there, optimism flowing through me. Adrenaline guiding my every step, deflating my anxiety. And then, I reach my front door. 

I pat my pocket for the keys, but can’t find them. Where are they? Shit where the fuck did I leave them.  

Like magic, without me even touching it, the door swings open. I walk into the house and see my daughter playing in the living room. I rush and scoop her up. 

“Oh my God, you’re okay. Thank you for saving her.” I shout, tears in my eyes. 

“I didn't know what I’d do without you sweetheart.”

Samantha looks up at me, with a blank stare. I get it, she’s confused. 

She pulls away, pushing her way out of my grip.

“Put me down!” She screams. I gently place Samantha on the floor, releasing my embrace. 

“What’s wrong sweetheart? You’re all better now.” I don’t understand. She should be happy. 

My wife stumbles out of our bedroom. Her hair frazzled. Skin rough, and a noticeable stench permeates from her. This isn’t the Ebony I know.  Even when she was taking care of Samantha in the hospital, I’ve never seen her like this. 

“Heyyyy,” she slurs. I stare at her. Happy to see my wife, but almost embarrassed at what’s become of her. As she draws closer the odor suffocates me. 

“Dad was making some stupid jokes!”

“What? No, I didn’t make any jokes. You’re all better. Before you were in a coma with uh...uh.. yes,  brain damage. You were on life support. You couldn’t even talk. Now look at you.” I smile, still unable to read the room. Everything seems better. Samantha is healthy, so why are they sad? 

The moment the words leave my mouth, the tension shifts from awkward to devastating. Samantha recoils, running out of the room. 

My wife stumbles over to me, and starts laughing loudly. My face grimaces, is she drunk? No, she doesn’t even drink. What the hell is going on?

“Hey, what’s Samantha’s deal?” I prod Ebony, not acknowledging the obvious. 

She laughs again, slaps her knee and finally says: 

“Maybe you’ve finally lost it. All this time I thought I was going crazy, but really it’s been you! Because I don’t know how you could be so sick. On a day like this?” she laughs, seemingly mocking me, waving her arms wildly. 

I grow frustrated, grabbing her, holding tightly - refusing to let go. 

“What the fuck is going on Ebony?”

She finally stops laughing, and pierces my eyes with her gaze. She sobs. I know I should not have grabbed her like that. I know I should have let go by now. But I can’t. Something won’t let me. 

“The doctor tells you that your daughter has a month to live because her cancer has metastasized past the point of intervention. And you disappear for hours. I spent that time lying to her.  Telling her everything would be okay, BY MYSELF! As usual. And do you know what she said to me? She said she was terrified, that she knew she was going to die. And then you tell her that you’re happy she’s all better?” 

At this point I let go of my wife. In disbelief:

“Wait, cancer? Ebony, Samantha was shot.”* * 

Her face hardens in disgust. I stare at her, head cocked, as though the words belong to someone else’s life. But how? The daemon promised. 

“You need to leave! I think it’d be best for Samantha.”

“No, please. Just wait a second.”

Ebony turns away from me. She won’t even look at me.

“Can you give me at least a few days to get a hotel? I have nowhere to go.”

“No, I want you out. And besides you can always stay at Rick’s house. It has more than enough room. With all the time you spend with him you might as well. It’s like your friends are more important to you than your family.” 

Rick. 

“Look, I’m sorry, okay. I love you and Samantha and always have. This is a lot for me.”

“It’s a lot for all of us. You’re just a selfish immature asshole! Get out!” 

I grit my teeth, and walk out of the house without any luggage. I tried to help my daughter. There was some hope before, as slim as it may have been. But now, it’s gone. As I stand on the stoop these thoughts race through my mind. I swallow my worries about my family for a moment. Then go to check on the other person I hurt today, Rick. 

I race to Rick’s house and finally arrive. I push his front door open without knocking.

“Rick. Rick, are you here?”

Silence. 

Let me check his bedroom.

His bedroom door is ajar. I peek in. And there he was. Lying in his bed with the cover draped over him.

“Rick, come on man I gotta talk to you.” I shout, pulling the covers back. In hindsight, I should’ve turned around.

Under the covers I see Rick dressed in his usual jeans and tee shirt. I shake him. Rick’s eyes snap open. I breathe a sigh of relief. 

“Thank God you’re okay.” 

Rick stands up, without saying a word. Once on his feet his head topples over to the left exposing pieces of his esophagus.* *It hangs by a thread of tissue and damaged skin. My stomach churns. I clamp a hand over my mouth, gagging, forcing it down.

Rick begins speaking, but the sound hurts my ears, just like the daemon before. I crouch over, covering them, rocking back and forth with my eyes shut.

And as fast as the sound started it ceased. Rick’s mouth closes. My hands drenched in blood spilling from my ears. Though relieved, I lie on the ground, terrified. And then, Rick opens his mouth again. I recoil in fear. My ears are still throbbing, bleeding from Rick’s last attempt at communication. I can’t take any more. But this time there is no screeching, just the words - 

“Look at what you’ve done.”