Waiting.
He had no sense of time here. No heartbeat to count off the seconds. But he waited. What else could he do?
And then the screen went away.
Everything got consumed by the nothingness. Total darkness. Total quiet.
I told you so. I told you it was too good to—
The screen reappeared. It was different. It looked fuller. It looked brighter.
Some sort of energy wrapped itself around his consciousness. It was not physical. Because he did not have a body. But it was undeniable. Like putting a blanket around him, only the blanket was made of electricity and purpose.
[The user's wants and desires have been found...]
Darius's thoughts ran wild. It worked. It really worked.
[The user wants to run. Wants to compete. Wants to test how far the limits of human performance are.]
Yes. Exactly yes.
[The user wants to experience things they can never experience in life.]
Every race he had ever seen. Every split he had ever memorized. Every method he had ever studied, but never attempted. All of that had been training for something he thought he would never get to do.
Maybe that was the wrong way to look at it. Maybe that had all been training for this.
[Analyzing user data...]
[Designing the most effective route forward...]
[The solution is determined.]
[The user will receive a second chance at life.]
Darius's consciousness swelled. If he had a heart it would have been pounding. If he had lungs he would have been panting.
Second chance. For real?
[The user will have a perfect body, designed to optimize athletic performance.]
Perfect. Not damaged. Not dying. Perfect.
[The user will have tools to allow them to achieve their greatest dreams.]
[Loading...]
The dots appeared once again. Darius watched them, terrified they would once again end at 99%.
[Loading...]
[Loading...]
It felt like forever. But Darius had spent 22 years waiting. He could wait a bit longer.
After all, he thought, the greatest things in life require patience.
The words felt right. Like something worthy of trust.
[Loading...100%]
Light exploded from the screen. Not harsh. Not painful. Just bright. Overwhelming. Beautiful.
[The Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) System has been created.]
Darius read the words three times. Four times. To make sure they were real. To make sure he understood.
GOAT. Greatest Of All Time.
Oh.
This wasn't just a second chance. This was a chance to become a legend.
The screen changed. New text appeared.
[Welcome, User.]
[You have died.]
Yeah, I noticed.
[You have been chosen to be reincarnated.]
[Your passions have been evaluated. Your enthusiasm has been measured. Your commitment has been recognized.]
[You spent your whole life studying and researching athletic excellence even though you were unable to participate in athletics yourself.]
[That will not go to waste.]
Something inside Darius's consciousness tightened. Acknowledgment. Validation. Someone, or something, understood. All that time. All that watching. All that memorization. Had meant something.
[The GOAT System will help you realize what you could never realize in your former life.]
[However, you must select which path you wish to pursue.]
The screen disappeared. Another interface appeared. Clean. Easy to understand. Categories in white writing on a blue background.
[Choose your sport category.]
- Motorsports
- Team sports
- Individual sports
- Combat sports
- Water sports
- Winter sports
- Mind sports
- Extreme sports
- [...]
It seemed to continue indefinitely. Dozens of categories. Possibly hundreds.
But Darius hesitated for no reason.
Individual sports.
His consciousness reached for it. The selection glowed.
[Individual sports selected.]
[Choose your discipline.]
Another list appeared. Even larger than the previous one.
- Track and field
- Swimming
- Gymnastics
- Tennis
- Golf
- Cycling
- Triathlons
- Wrestling
- Boxing -
Once again, Darius did not pause. He had known the answer to this question since he was eight years old and watching Maurice Greene dominate the field at the Sydney Olympics.
Track and field.
The words lit up.
[Track and field selected.]
A new prompt appeared. Unlike the others. More important in some way.
[USER HAS SELECTED TRACK AND FIELD]
['CONFIRM' 'CANCEL']
(Note: The decision is irreversible once confirmed.)
Darius's consciousness lingered above the two choices. This was it. The point of no return. Whatever came next would be permanent.
He thought about Quincy Hall crossing that finish line. About Hall collapsing on the track, rolling around in pure happiness. About twenty-two years of watching instead of running. About each morning he woke up unable to walk, each night he went to bed knowing tomorrow would be the same.
About what it would be like to run.
Confirm.
[CHOICE CONFIRMED]
[TRACK AND FIELD SPECIALIZATION LOCKED]
[Preparing user initialization...]
The screen flashed. The blue darkened slightly. Became deeper, richer. More real.
[Loading...100%]
[Building abilities...100%]
[Creating the perfect body...100%]
Bars filling up one after the other. Each bar completed faster than the last. The system was creating something. Creating him.
[Assimilation starting...]
The void surrounding Darius began to change. To form. He could feel it now, the outlines of something taking shape. Not quite physical yet. But getting closer.
This is happening.
I'm getting a second chance.
I am going to run.
[Assimilation starting...]
The void changed.
Darius sensed it before he could see it. The void surrounding his consciousness began to take shape, acquire texture and mass. Not physical yet. But getting there.
The bars continued their climb to completion.
[Calculating optimal ability distribution...100%]
[Synchronizing user consciousness with system framework...100%]
[Establishing neural connections for ability assimilation...100%]
[Adjusting performance characteristics...100%]
[Finalizing user profile...100%]
Each completion sent a surge through Darius's consciousness. Like waves in water. Except he was the water and the waves were changing the basic nature of himself.
[System assimilation complete.]
[All pre-programmed operations have concluded.]
[Activating ability transfer protocol...]
The completed system interface collapsed. All those bars. All that scattered data. Compressed into a single shining blue light. It floated in the void in front of him. Or what would pass for "in front" when you have no eyes. No body. No perception of space.
The light shot forward.
Right into his consciousness.
Darius would have gasped if he had lungs. Would have recoiled if he had a body.
Data flooded into his consciousness. Thousands of individual data points. Millions. More than he could consciously interpret. Details of equipment design. Performance metrics. Principles of biomechanics. Methods of training. Strategies for racing.
Knowledge he'd never acquired was now present within his mind, just beyond reach. Like recalling a dream upon waking. He knew it was there. Could almost touch it. But couldn't quite grasp it completely.
Too much. This is too much.
But as soon as the idea took hold, the flow began to slow down. The data no longer felt like a wave crashing over him. Felt like...potential. Like muscle memory for a body he hadn't yet developed. Like instincts waiting to be triggered.
[Successful Assimilation. Complete data assimilation.]
The sensation dissipated. Darius's consciousness steadied. He could still feel the knowledge in his consciousness. Integrated into him in some manner. But it wasn't overwhelming. It was just...part of him now.
Okay. That was a lot.
[User initialization successfully completed.]
[Welcome to the Track and Field GOAT System.]