An outpouring of trees rain from the sky to fall into place on terra firma, roots elongating and digging in as they settle. The smaller details that round them out sprinkle down after, bringing NaturTech's dreamscape into focus for the first time. Foliage reaches its hopeful fingers up, spreading out until it feels at home. A smattering of deer load from the hooves up, animated and curious. One is spawned already munching leaves, zoned out.
Lendara is sixteen and has never set eyes on trees of such magnificent stature, she's never even been outside. Suddenly in the shade of giants, her dark eyes stare up for what feels like eternity. The birds come online and they begin to sing, as the wind awakens to rustle the vibrant greenery that surrounds her. A waterfall starts a lifelong endeavor to motivate the waters that rush through it, a mysterious sound to the girl. Ben's dorky voice interrupts the magic through her headset, bringing Lendara back from the grips of wonder.
"So, what do you see? Is it cool- how are the trees?! Are they right? Whats-" Lendara yanked the set from her head, shaking out long black hair, his excitement was killing hers. A most beautiful smell meets her senses, evoking peace deep within her. The temperature drops as the scent sharpens, a lovely breeze stirring like silk against her skin. Actual air, magnificent. Wet air? Droplets fall slowly at first, but rapidly pick up in speed. Dumbfounded, Lendara snatches the headset from the dirt, running for cover as the heavens unleash.
Aurelius Katz sneered as he shook Jakob's hand, his cordial manner mismatched the foul glint in his beady eyes. The generous window behind him showcased a prized aerial view of the colonies, nothingness was still such from above. "The contract to sign guardianship of Lendara over to us is here, as well as your payment." he said, gesturing to the documents on his desk. Beside them sat a thick wad of cash. Jakob licked his cracked lips, sweating as he laid his signature onto the papers.
Earlier that day, Lendara had been unimpressed with the reality of her life being signed away. Afterall, it was a certainty if her father continued along as he had; massive debts cast a sinister shadow over them, promising grief. Instead of some trafficker or laborer, she would be the ward of a tech company. Jakob cried in apology, his words hitting walls Lendara had built long ago. This was probably a best-case scenario, and she refused to comfort the man who made it inevitable.
A week or five later
Weightlessly swinging from branch to branch, Lendara surfs the forest in a green cascade that leads to the lake. A thousand reflections meet her there. The faces of her colony peer from the glossy surface, in all their dusty splendor. Kneeling in the sand she counts the familiar ones, desperately missing the friends among them. It had been a lonely journey in the development of this world, hadn't her entry already proven it was safe? Forsaken, she wondered where everyone was. Queen of an empty dreamworld, she could create anything but company. Her thoughts drifted to Ben, even his nerdy ramblings would be welcome. With a sigh she skipped a stone, which amplified her yearning.
Deadly in his rage, Katz slams his fists against the chest of Aiden Lee, lead scientist on the NaturTech project. "Incompetent! There's no way some snot nosed slum kid bested an actual scientist! You're a mockery, disgrace to this institution! You'd do better in testing... why, that's your new role!" Katz has eyes of fire. Aiden gulps down his anger, he can't afford to be jobless... he no longer pretends to know where the testers go, but he knew their families were paid. Thinking of his wife and three daughters, he keeps his cool as Aurelius Katz runs his name through the mud.
On launch day weeks ago, they had been able to see the dreamscape load up for a few glorious moments through Lendara's eye implant, before the connection was severed. Her headset went dead as well, and all efforts to restore either seemed futile. Katz wouldn't accept failure on a trillion-dollar project however, so day and night he worked his team to re-establish the connection mercilessly. Equally savage, the solution solidly eluded them.
This morning as subjects slumbered in queue, the project found itself at a standstill. Aiden Lee sipped his morning coffee, staring out of a pointless window into the emptiness of space. Without a successful upload of the easily bought testers, there was no one to populate the servants' quarters of the dreamscape; the company vision was lost. Many studies had shown that uploading an actual human was much cheaper than creating an AI to serve the same purpose.... but subject 1 Lendara had dodged the coding meant to enslave her.
It was the mission of Lee's team to create a world you could teleport consciousness into, enabling wealthy patrons to revel in the Earth that was. Those who lacked an invite to an exclusive terraforming project could turn to NaturTech. A survival dock would supply the physical needs of the body, so the mind might thrive. Well, now only Lendara seemed able to access the dreamscape, as Katz offered the tester bay or unemployment to lackluster staff.
Ben dreams in grey, the dominant color of the pod he spends his days in. He watches the runny gruel of the cafeteria pour endlessly into bowls, tired faces always coming from, or going to work. He wanders down the hall, it is the wrong way, but it does not matter. The automatic door to the greenhouse pod grinds open with a racket that hurts his teeth. He blinks in the illusion of many mirrors that face one another perpetually, multiplying the trees in front of him.
The wind kisses his face for the first time, shattering his perception. There is no door behind him, he is not in the colony. A massive body of water stands before him, and also... Lendara? She turns to him and smiles, feet sending arcs of sand into the air as she rushes to him. "Ben! I was thinking about you... now here you are!" she pauses, blushing. "Let me show you the mountains." she starts again, grabbing his hand as they drift up. "I'll teach you how to fly" she smiles.
The rush of Ben's first flight was stifled by his apprehension. In theory, the only force that should've been able to shape this world was NaturTech. He had been part of the team that set templates for what this space could be, who coded the monetary parameters needed to influence it. He followed the direction of some of the greatest minds in the galaxy, who did not anticipate this at all. For a time he let go of analytical thinking, and tried to enjoy the dream of Lendara. As breathtaking mountains came into focus, bliss possessed his mind, utterly absorbing him.
As they approach the ground, Lendara gazes into Ben's eyes and an exchange takes place. She nods her understanding, and it feels like a tangible comfort to him. Separating herself, she waves a hand, opulent. A woven basket appears in its graceful grip. She strolls about gathering rocks, confusing Ben at first. "I skipped a stone, and it rebounded with you in tow." her dark eyes are somber. "Your mind tells a tale of being trapped, along with many others. Let us free them" she lights up, optimistic in her plan. "I know just the place to bring them in!" she chirps.
"Well pull the damn plug and start over then!" Katz spits, his red face all but bursting in fury. Aiden Lee chooses his next words very carefully. Trying to reduce their effect, he speaks through pursed lips. "Now that they are uploaded, to pull the plug would be murder, sir... by law we cannot." before Aurelius even moves to respond, Lee is already grimacing. A verbal massacre rings out at NatruTech HQ for hours, as Aurelius Katz eats the financial hit of having to host a bunch of slummers for life.
Sapped souls, destitute in the constant wheel of poverty, unexpectedly find themselves in the warmth of the sun. A radiant goddess reaches out to them, beckoning towards her domain. Memories of cold hallways and relentless work dissolve into the unknown of nature. The scum of space stand in awe of a previously unobtainable privilege, a home. Lendara's dream is a place of deliverance. Joy spreads as familiar faces reunite in its endless possibilities, and unimaginable freedom. Lendora pauses, in her core she feels the job is done. Stitching up the entrance to Utopia, she laughs triumphantly. Capacity has been reached in the realm of the relinquished.
This is my submission for the monthly contest hosted by the Scholar and Scribe community. The genre this month is science fiction, and the thematic prompt is Dreamland/Dreamscape. I hope you've enjoyed my story :)! If you would like to join in on the fun, all the info is here
Wow... Such a beautiful and creative story.
You have such an impeccable and unique writing style. It's quite envious to say the least😏...
What an interesting Sci-fi and with that whole concept about cosmic consciousness travel, I got vibes of AVATAR(Blue) a little bit lol.
A good enough plot to be adapted into a movie. Hmm...Maybe I outta pitch this one to Spielberg:)
Gosh you’ve made me blush @zeraton! I’m so utterly flattered by this comment, thank you very much!! To be compared to Avatar… wowza ❤️ I feel so cool right now hehe
This is so well done, I love the idea of an AI world being created using hesdsets. I thought it was going to go pretty dark there, the idea of it being easier to populate the world with real people, rather than creating AI. Once I started reading it I couldn't stop, great work!
I'm glad Lendora had a happy ending!
!PIZZA
It's always exciting to hear that you've roped another writer into your story @killerwot, thank you for this fabulous comment and the reblog :)
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Now that’s what I call a clever escape. Fabulously done, this is a real gem. Your imagination basks in the glow of your beautiful writing, it’s hard to bring fantasy of this nature to life, but you do it amazingly well. Great story, I loved every minute of it. 🤗❤️💕
This comment made my heart sing and flutter about, there might not be anything better than a compliment from someone you admire :)! And what a compliment! Wowza, thank yoooooou @itsostylish ❤️🤗
Brilliant! Just Brilliant!
Keep doing you!
Thank you @snook!! ❤️
It's exciting that my formatting no longer stops you from reading my stories 🤣
Yay! 🤗
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I love your descriptive nature. I could see the trees, feel the rain, and smell the odors. Nice story involving the headsets.
Thanks for sharing. Take care.
!LUV
!LADY
Getting caught up on comments, sorry it took me so long to respond! Thank you so much, it makes me happy that I could bring you into my story 😁
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This is pretty awesome! You've definitely given me some ideas for a story I'm writing about a dystopian future with similar themes. Thanks for the inspiration!
Yay! I love sharing inspiration on Hive, this is such a wonderful home for writers! When you finish your story, if you post it here, I’d love a tag to call me over so I can read it!!
It's a work in progress that I've already been posting for a while now. I haven't gotten to the AI parts yet, but soon!
https://ecency.com/hive-199275/@driptorchpress/document-13-a-dystopian-tale-3b2e960f8ce49
I just keep on being captivated by your work. It is awesome writing you do
Thank you :) I really appreciate that @diziette!
It's such a wonderful story,I love how you described things In it. Kudos
Came via #dreemport
Thank you @treasuree :D!
you are welcome😍
Beautiful story. I could see the elements and landscapes, like a dream. Your writing is magical!!
Thanks for sharing this in DreemPort. 🤗
Shucks @palomap3 :) I really appreciate that!
Another incredible writing from @grindan!!! You are just so damn creative with your mind, you bring everything to live through your writing and it's just so overwhelming.
Nice story, you made nature look really beautiful all the more in my mind.
Thank you so much @hopestylist ❤️ That's such a wonderful compliment!
You're welcome @grindan, it's my pleasure ❤️.