As I was being swallowed by this endlessness and my consciousness was fading away, I remembered my father's last words: "You have to escape from this place; everything is constantly being controlled by 'them,' and you must grasp your own freedom and truly become 'free.'"
But as he was telling me those words, he fell down straight on his nose. At that time, I was only 10 years old and couldn't understand his words, but his words lingered in my head like a nightmare, and slowly the memory got blurred with time. But near a life-and-death moment, I am remembering such a moment; even tears don't fall down my cheeks as falling into the unknown — it felt like being unmade. My breath scattered like dust, my body forgot its shape, and my father's broken words echoed louder than my heartbeat.
But as I was descending, a hand came to rescue me towards my unknown "new" reborn life.
As I regained my consciousness, I felt something "different" about "myself," like my body is not my own. I slowly tried to open my eyes, but I was unable to do it. "Heart rate level increasing, controlling brain activity for emergency and contacting nearby safety agency." As I was processing what exactly was happening with me, a voice rang inside my head, but I was amazed because it didn't feel like I "heard" that voice, but it was another "me" speaking in my own head.
The sound of footsteps echoed in my ears, and instinctively I tried to move and see who it was and where exactly I am. But I was unable; this left me feeling powerless in my current circumstances. He immediately injected something into my nerves, but strangely enough, it didn't hurt, but instead a satisfactory sensation flowed throughout my body, and I fell unconscious without even realizing it after hearing that mysterious "voice" in my head. "Patient is going unconscious for further treatment and inquiry."
As I woke up, the voice in my head instantly told me, "User has lost the majority of his memories, and some blurred 'foreign' memory detected." I was completely confused and slightly scared of this voice because, from my perspective, this was like a "parasite" living in my own head, which could eat me when it had no use for me, and I also can't deny the possibility of being delusional to the point that I am not even awake but dreaming.
"User can directly talk to the 'AI' in his own mind for further inquiry about his situation." Intrigued, I thought to test it. "What are you?" It answered, "I am an inbuilt AI neuro chip manufactured by 'International Neuro Development.'" Then I asked, "Where am I? And why can't I move?" It answered, "You are at the 'Aegis Life Centre' in 'Austria' city in the 'Antarctic' continent, and you can't move due to your condition known as 'Locked-In Syndrome (LIS),' where you can feel pain, hear, and have a sense of feeling but can't move from your place, being trapped in your own body."
Being amazed by those facts and not properly understanding my predicament, I asked, "Is this really my body?" Then it answered, "Yes, the host is recommended not to ask questions that could risk your mental state, which could result in a possible heart attack."
I was flabbergasted by my current standing and currently in denial of my circumstances, but remembering that a "parasite" is present in my head and could potentially kill and hear things, I calmed myself down to not show weakness, and I concluded I might be in a dream and am currently in another body and will wake up after some time.
Then I thought, "How can I cure myself?" Then it answered, "There is no 100% cure for it, and even after advancements in technology, some patients never recover in their whole life and get trapped in their body awaiting their end, but you could just ask for formal permission for your suicide, where you will be painlessly killed instead of being trapped and hoping to recover sometime, but you could rely on therapies which have a low chance but still have a chance for recovering."
I felt despair and helplessness creeping up my neck and trapping my consciousness in my own body with this unknown voice in my head in an unknown place, and I also wondered about the "suicide" option but dismissed that option without giving it a last struggle.
I asked, "Are there any other alternative solutions to my situation?" It answered, "Yes, with the advance of technology, now people can stay connected with each other just by their mind and can chat with each other and can gain immersion in one's own mind like a virtual reality set in everyone's own mind and even play different games just by mind and even move your virtual body in your own mind and can stay updated with the real-world situation."
I virtually sighed with relief after hearing that there indeed was a solution, though I was unaware of what exactly that solution is.
But I got overwhelmed with this information to the point that even my own mind was frying up like a literal frying pan. At last, I thought to throw these things to the back of my head and rest a little and slowly observe this world.
Some footsteps echoed in my ears with clarity due to the silence in the environment; then I assumed it may be the same person that injected me, but I was proven wrong because I felt someone's hand grazing my arm and clutching me tightly, as if the person was afraid I would run away even after being trapped in my own body. The soft touch left me thinking that it was a "female." My body unconsciously tried to react to the touch but was unable to do so. Then that assumed "female" spoke, "Gabriel, when will you wake up and see how your little sister has grown up into being an independent woman," in a calm but tense and emotional tone.
From her words, I had a slightly better understanding of my predicament, but a question arose: if in this world technology has advanced so much, then why can't she communicate telepathically with inbuilt chips?
I was confused. Then the voice in my head responded, "Because you were in a coma for a long period of time and have woken up but are trapped in your own body, and she knows she can't communicate with an unconscious coma patient through his head."