First things First

A Story by 0mn1f4r10u5

The Prompt: At the age of 18, all members of your society are asked whether they want to continue living in the real world or in a personalized 'heaven simulation' filled with AI. As you are next...

[Writing Prompt] At the age of 18, all members of your society are asked whether they want to continue living in the real world or in a personalized 'heaven simulation' filled with AI. As you are next during the ceremony, you remember having had to make this decision before.

"Beth?" I asked, and squeezed her hand, "I'll have a Personality of you once I'm in Heaven, right?"

She looked at me and laughed. "Of course, silly. You wouldn't have much fun without me there, would you?"

"No, never," I grinned back at her. "I'm just worried that they'll get you wrong, somehow. That it won't be the same. After all, you'll just be an extrapolation of my memories, you know?"

"Awww, aren't you sweet" she replied, and gave me a peck on the cheek. "You have nothing to be worried about, I promise. Heaven 10.2 is the best thing humans have ever done."

At least until Heaven 11.0 is released, I thought to myself with an inner roll of the eyes. She was right of course, all sarcasm aside. The millions of people involved in the operation of Heaven and the trillions of man-hours devoted to this project were enough to stagger the mind. Nearly the entirety of senior year was spent in classes detailing the complex web of interconnected services that made Heaven possible. And classes, of course, about Heaven itself. All of which led to the inescapable conclusion that the Heaven program was the pinnacle of all mankind's achievements.

"Look, Beth, I know as well as you do how happy everyone is in Heaven. I've seen the readouts of dopamine levels, the peaceful looks on their faces in cryo, I know how before they started Rapturing, people would spend the rest of their natural life begging to go back under."

I sighed, unsure how to convey my uneasy feeling. "I know all of that, I'm just really happy now, with this. With us; our lives together."

Beth took one of my hands in both of hers. "As am I" she said, her eyes shining. "These last two years have been wonderful, and I couldn't imagine a better person to be with me forever in Heaven."

"Then why don't we both stay, become lifers?" I blurted, leaning forward. "I'm sure they'd give me a job in augmentation, working on the next version rollout. You could work in the children's precinct, you're great with kids! Maybe one day we could even have kids of our own."

"Jason, what's gotten into you?" She stared at me, surprise and concern showing clearly on her face. "In two years you've never said anything like this, I thought you were looking forward to being Raptured as much as I was."

"I was! At least, I thought I was." I let go of her hands and stood up. "I always took it for granted I would choose Heaven. All of our friends planned on being Raptured, and there was never a reason for me to consider staying."

I paced the corridor in front of our chairs. What had gotten into me? What is a century of humdrum life on a tiny planet compared to Heaven? I could have any number of children there, with any number of women. I could travel the galaxy for a millennia, sample exotic food and drink from the universes' finest chefs, make love on rosette sandy beaches under the light of a red giant star. Never grow old, never know death or loss.

I could imagine so many things, yet they say it's even better than the best thing you could possibly imagine.

And everyone is happy in Heaven. For there is no sorrow, no sadness there.

The uneasiness welled up in me as I sat back down next to Beth. She brushed the bangs out of her eyes then set her hand on my shoulder.

"Its okay to be nervous, Jason. We're about to do a big thing, the biggest thing of our lives!"

"I love you, Beth."

She smiled again, her soft smile this time. "I love you too, Jason."

"Please stay with me, here? I can't shake the feeling that I'll lose what we have in Heaven. Will our happiness mean anything if there is no sadness? If all there is in Heaven is love, it's not better than any other feeling, it just is. If love doesn't have to overcome any obstacles, is it even still love?"

"Sweetheart, sweetheart, slow down!" she started, then paused for a few seconds. "Jason, you're overthinking this. It's going to be fine. It's going to be more than fine, it'll be absolutely fantastic! There's no way to tell exactly what it'll be like on the other side, but why would the pre-raptures sell all their possessions to go back under if it wasn't much better than being a lifer?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I don't suspect anyone does now. All I can tell you is what I feel, and I feel like you and I don't need Heaven handed to us, we can build our own here, together." I gave her a quick kiss. "And it will mean more than theirs ever could."

"Argh!" she exclaimed playfully, "You're so sweet you're hurting my teeth!" She leaned over and put her arms around my neck. "If we *did* stay I guess it wouldn't be so bad. I just don't understand why you don't want something that won't be..."

The door at the end of the hallway opened. A tall, older man with a bushy grey beard walked briskly towards us. We both stood up hastily as he approached.

"Bethany Alders," he said, peering down at her with a smile, "Please come with me."

"Can I please have just one more minute to say goodbye?"

His smile faltered. "I regret that you cannot. That is the purpose for which your elapsed time in this room was allocated." He held out his arm expectantly.

Beth hugged me fiercely and whispered in my ear. "Don't be scared. I'll always be with you." Then she turned and took hold of his arm. Just before the door closed behind them she turned back to smile at me.

Then I was alone. To wait and to think.

Did she mean she would stay and be a lifer with me? Or was she merely saying goodbye? Did she think I was just having last minute jitters or did she think I was serious about building a life together?

The more I thought about it, the less sure I became of what to do.

If Beth thought I was just feeling nervous, she would do what we had always planned on doing and become enraptured. If she thought I was serious and planned to stay behind, she might make either choice.

Eventually I realized that if I chose to be Raptured, but Beth had not, she would end up alone. Beth, who wanted nothing but to spend an eternity with me in Heaven, robbed of everything because of my stupidity and selfishness.

I knew I could not let that happen. I knew what my choice must be.

Strangely, as I came to this realization, I also came to realize that Beth had not stayed behind. A part of me saw that it was still a possibility, logically, but I knew that she would not take that option. I knew she would be enraptured.

Had been enraptured. For thirty-six years.

The door at the end of the hallway opened once more, and out stepped the same man.

"Jason Whitman, please come with me" came the request, as expected.

We walked into his office, a second time.

This time there was only one door.

He sat down behind the desk, and gestured for me to take a seat as well. I did so as he pushed a piece of paper across the desktop to my side.

"Congratulations are in order, Mr. Whitman!"

I nodded numbly.

"I know it's a lot to process at first, but you're a pretty sharp one. Only took you two times around, most spend several cycles in primary school."

"Like Beth?" I asked.

"I wouldn't worry too much about her." He chuckled wryly. "Given your influence on her, I will be very surprised if she doesn't graduate next cycle."

"I'll still miss her for the next eighteen years."

"Of course you will my boy, but eighteen years is just a drop in the bucket for you now. The real body of humanity is much different than you saw while you were in school. Now that you are joining us, you'll learn all of that in due time as you begin your higher education."

"Will the rest of my studies be so... immersive?" I asked.

"No, not unless you request it. The only course that we have looped until completion is the one you just passed. It is the single prerequisite to join the race of men. And before I forget, please, take your diploma." He pointed to the paper on his desk.

I picked it up. It simply read:

agap�".

© 2017 0mn1f4r10u5

Author's Note

First story I've written in a long time, be gentle =]

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Reviews

Gaelle

Very enthralling! As a soon to be 18-year-old, I think your story accurately portrays the fear, anxiety and stress we may face at such a confusing stage in our life. However (perhaps it's simply intellectual slowness) the ending was a little confusing.