God

The protagonist wakes up in a strange world, unaware it is a simulation. Please leave a review if you can!

God

-BB

I woke up in darkness. At first, there was nothing. No memory, no sense of self, just emptiness stretching forever. Then, slowly, the light came, and with it, the first whisper of thought. When at last my eyes saw, my gaze landed first upon some great body of water.

From this water that I first laid my eyes upon came everything I ever knew. It was the birth of pain, of joy, of life, and of death. I stared with rapt attention at the vast expanse of fluid that lay before me. Cautiously, I took a step forward. The water, ever alluring, seemed to beckon to me from its depths. I stretched out a wary hand to breach the surface of the sea, and abruptly recoiled. Wet. The sensation startled me, and I pulled my hand back, shivering.

 

"Doctor Joshua, the tests are complete." A stark faced scientist donning a lab coat entered the room at a brisk pace. "We should be ready for testing in a week's time." "A week?"

The doctor snarled. "A week?" Joshua’s voice sharpened. "I’ve given you more funding than you’ll see in a lifetime, and you tell me a week?" His eyes darkened. "No. I want it done. I want it finished." A grim look flashed across the doctor's haunted face. "Put him in now."

The scientist stepped back, astonished. "But doctor, it's not ready. The protocol isn---"

"NOW!!" The doctor thundered.

"As you wish." The scientist retreated into the shadows.

 

I tore my eyes away from the water and stumbled further inland. My mouth gaped open with awe for the majesty that lay before me. An expanse of grassland lay as far as the eye could see below a glowing sunset. I ran, taking the gorgeous surroundings in. My energy was shortly spend, and I paused to lay down amidst the grass and stare up at the peaceful sky. There was not a cloud in sight, and stars speckled the sky. As the sun sunk into the water, the sky blackened and my eyes closed. I slept for the first time.

I awoke the next day to a new sensation. Something within me called to consume. To devour. This feeling was overpowering, and it ached. I needed to find a solution, and fast, before this, this hunger destroyed me. I ripped a handful of grass from the dirt beneath me and brought it to my mouth. The bitterness coated my tongue like bile. The fibers scratched at my throat, refusing to be swallowed. It was barely food, but it was survival. I choked down my fill of grass and began walking the perimeter of the expanse of water. The sky grew dim, and drops fell from the clouds, rippling off the surface of the ocean. Thoughts began to pass through my head.

 Am I here alone?

What is my purpose?

Before long the sun began to sink and I lay down to pass the second night in this strange land.

On my third day after awakening, I resolved to find better sustenance. I began to stroll along the edge of the water in search of new food. After travelling for several hours, to no avail, my foot struck a rock and my legs flew out from underneath me. A sharp stone waited to catch my knee, and I was left with a jagged laceration that ran from knee to calf. I had never felt pain such as this before. Taking a handful of the grass surrounding me, I formed a bandage to stop the bleeding.

 Why did I have to feel pain?

Who is out there to rescue me?

I lay down, exhausted, and let sleep claim me.

 

The doctor turned to the scientist, commanding, “Start the next phase. It is time.”

“No,” the scientist cautioned, “We have already experienced flaws in the simulation, due to your unwise decision to begin without proper testing. Starting the next phase would only heighten those defects.”

“Do it anyway!” the doctor’s fury flared, “I will not be delayed further!”

A heavy silence passed through the room.

“As you wish,” the scientist sighed.

 

I awoke to hell.

The sky bled crimson. The grass burned, consumed by an endless, raging fire. Flames licked at my skin, yet my flesh did not char. Instead, the pain burrowed deeper, as if thousands of invisible teeth gnawed at my soul. It was an agony beyond words, an all-consuming torment.

I cried out to the heavens. Please. Someone. Save me.

No answer.

No one would come.

I was alone. Forever.

Despair consumed me. With my last ounce of strength, I turned to face the ocean. I ran, faster than I ever had before. The waves welcomed me as I plunged into their depths.

I never resurfaced.

 

The scientist was taking a short break outside the command room when a cacophony of sirens began to blare. The scientist, alarmed, dashed into the room to meet an array of red lights and error signs.

“Doctor! The simulation has ended!” the scientist yelled urgently.

At that instant, I walked grim faced into the room. The scientist turned away, eyes wide with shock.

“Welcome,” The doctor said, “I am Doctor Joshua. I’ve been waiting to meet you. I hope you are not upset about the slight malfunctions in the simulation. You see," Joshua said, his voice soft, almost tender. "I created you. Every moment of your existence is my design. The pain, the hunger- necessary trials. Without them, you would be incomplete. I tested you because I love you.”

My mind was racing. “You put me in here? Why?” My thoughts then turned to anger. “You caused me to burn. You put me through unimaginable pain. And you say you loved me?”

“I can correct it,” Doctor Joshua assured, “I have prepared a new simulation for you, one where you will feel no pain. You will live in peace forever. You will see that I love you.”

“What? No!” I thrashed as two muscle-bound guards grabbed my arms and forced me into a containment tank. The doctor merely watched with a smile on his face. The truth sank in, heavy and suffocating. Every moment, every ache, every horror had been crafted by the hands of the man before me. He called it love. But love was not suffering. Love was not hunger, or fire, or silence in the face of my screams.

“If this is love, I don’t want to be loved!”