Human Again: A Dystopian Sci-Fi Novel (Cryonemesis Book 1) by Moran Chaim Page A

we were on a giant sand castle.
    “Did you build this?”
    She nodded her head and smiled.
    “This is awesome.”
    “You want awesome? Wait till you see this.”
    A blink after and we were standing on a top of an Orca whale, riding on its back while it was swimming against the waves. Shanta was holding onto a leash that was connected to its head. I held her waist. I felt the rubbery whale's skin under my feet. Salt water splashed in my eyes each time the whale leaped over another wave. I felt Shanta's waist bones and the soft skin around them. She looked back at me and smiled. The sun lit up her eyes and a wet lock of hair rested on her face.
    “This is what you do every day?” I shouted.
    “Sometimes,” She smiled. “Sometimes I do this—”
    She pointed upwards.
    I heard a screech in the sky. I tried to see where it came from but the sun was in my eyes. Out of nowhere a figure blocked the sun, becoming bigger until I could see it. It was a dragon. It reached down with both its legs and caught us. I was scared even though I knew everything I experienced was part of the simulation. The dragon held us gently and flew away. I saw the Orca diving in the sea beneath us as we rose higher and further away. The wind was blowing in my face. I looked at her, smiling.
    “This is so fun,” I shouted.
    “Yes, but don't you notice something?”
    “Like what?” Everything was perfect.
    The dragon started to descend quickly into what seemed like a jungle. My stomach was in my throat, though I knew I was physically in my bed. It felt so real and so scary.
    “Can you slow down?” I asked.
    “Too fast for you?”
    The dragon started to swirl in the air like a corkscrew, descending even faster. I started to get dizzy. I closed my eyes and told myself it wasn’t real, yet I could still feel the pull of gravity and the wind in my face.
    “Don’t wake up, you sissy.” She held onto me.
    “Just stop it. It’s not fun anymore.”
    In a second, the dragon had let go and dropped us from the sky.
    “You asked for it,” she shouted during the free fall.
    I screamed. I'm not ashamed to say it but I screamed like a little girl. Even though I knew it wasn’t real, when a dragon drops you over a jungle you are allowed to shit your pants. We landed inside a big blue lake surrounded by the jungle. The water was so clear. I opened my eyes to see Shanta swimming up with me. We both reached the surface of the water at the same time, breathing and smiling.
    “We couldn't actually drown if I stayed under, right?”
    “Of course not, it’s a simulation, dummy.”
    “I know, I know, just thinking aloud.”
    “So you don't notice anything weird?”
    We started swimming back to shore.
    “Like riding on a whale and flying with a dragon?”
    “No, I mean that there's no one here but us.”
    “Oh. What so weird about it? It's your world.”
    We sat on the sand, by the water. I decided I didn't want my clothes to feel wet so I turned them dry in my mind.
    “It can get lonely here sometimes.”
    “But you can invite other people to share your simulation, can't you? Like you just did with me.”
    “Yes, but people are not like that. Everyone has their own little fantasy world, which is perfect for their taste. They set the rules and the atmosphere. Now, why would you let anyone else decide how your simulation looks like if you can control it by yourself? You can always get what you want. The constant pleasure directly to your brain is addictive. You don't know fear, loss, or anxiety. Everything is open and bright, not like Knaan's concrete walls. You might think it gets boring after awhile but it actually gets more and more fun. As long as you immerse yourself and forget about the physical world, you reach new extremes. You get addicted to them, despite never being able to truly share the same experience with another person.”
    “What if people do get lonely?”
    “They create companions, like I have a whale and a dragon. Doesn’t