Eden Virus
Chapter 15

Copyright© 2020 by JTaKeo

“The name of this world is “Artificial”. The name, it means something not naturally made or a copy. Fitting cause that’s exactly what it is; nothing more than a fake world imitating ours.”

“Wait, wait, wait! F-fake world?! Made? What!?” I cried out in shock.

“Tch. Are you going to let me explain or are you just going to keep interrupting?” He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“S-sorry...” I quietly backed down and continued to listen carefully.

“We call it a world but, more accurately, it is just a singular land mass in the shape of a giant city spreading a total of 12,742 kilometers from one end to the other. Here, I’ll show you a picture.”

Through his phone, he brought up a strange picture of an island encased in what looks to be a ball.

“This is...”

“What you see here is our estimated concept of Artificial from what we know. The bubble surrounding it, is the invisible barrier that blocks all entrance and exit from this world. Artificial is completely closed off. If you travel to the very edge, you will only run into dead ends. Travel by air or even underground will be the same. There is no way in or out of this world ... well, there is one, but we’ll put that aside for now.” He chuckled. “Scientifically speaking, it makes no sense. The only way I can explain how any of this is possible, is only by supernatural means.”

“Supernatural?”

“Well, it sure as heck isn’t something that could be explain by any known human logic. This world defies all known logic.” Senpai sighed as he crossed his arm. “It is an absolute impossibility. Something that could not and should not exist, yet it does.”

I struggle to keep up with what he is saying. It was all so confusing and the more I try to understand, the more lost I am. “I ... how ... I don’t understand any of...”

“Ah. How to explain it in a more simple way... , “ He mumbled as he scratched his head.

“No, I get what this world is ... or at least, I can grasp the concept. But what I don’t understand is; why does this world exist? And why are we here?”

“Oh ho! Asking the real questions now, aren’t we?” He mused.

I furrowed my brows as I listened to him laugh. Is he mocking me?

“Why this world exist and why we’re here? Well, the best way to explain that would be because;”

“Artificial is a paradise.” The president suddenly interjected.

“WHAT?!” I turned my gaze towards him and met with his glaring eyes but immediately broke contact when I felt a chill down my spine. I heard as him let out a weary sigh.

“Oh come on, Kenjirou! I was just about to reveal that.” Senpai whined.

“Quit beating around the bush and tell her.”

“Yeah, it is just as he said. That is the simplest description of this world.” He turned back to me. “Artificial is a paradise and the people here, are all real people. All 7.6 billion people, plus other living creatures.”

My jaw dropped as I quickly covered my mouth in shock. Senpai only grinned at me, as if he already foreseen my bewilderment. 7.6 billion people? In such a small place?! How could that even... ?

“It is amazing isn’t it? As if they were just all scooped up out of the real world and brought here, to live out the same day every day.” He snickered. “Here, there isn’t a real progression of time either. Nobody ages, nothing changes. There is no death. No diseases. In Artificial, every basic need is fulfilled for every person living here... , if you could still call them living.” He suddenly mumbled underneath his breath. “Truly a paradise...”

He was smiling, yet the tone of his voice was dismay.

“No progression of time? Same day... , wait! Then does that mean ... how long has this been going on?! How long has this world existed?”

“We don’t know. Even after we had broken free from Artificial’s control, we found that we’d already been here for a while. Isn’t that right Kenjirou?”

“Hmph...” The president grunted in response.

“Broken free? You keep saying that. What does that mean?”

“Artificial, this world, can manipulate the minds and memories of the people. All those that live here are subjected to its control. They all relive through the illusion of the same days, and anything that differs from what they are supposed to see, is filtered out. As if unable to see or notice anything out of the norm.” The president replied gruffly.

“That’s-...”

“In other words, you can go outside and blow up a whole building and no one will even notice. It was why when Kenjirou and Takuya first met you, they were surprised you could see them and why your other friend was not able to see either one of them.”

“Manipulating memories ... is that why I couldn’t remember anything? My year of birth, my parents?!” I asked nervously.

“Yes. It seems that any memories of the real world that conflicts with Artificial’s is promptly erased. Year of birth and parental information are our most affected.”

“My parents...” My heart felt heavy as he told me that. Unable to even remember their faces at all, not a single memory.

“Ah, but I’m sure your parents are here as well. Just that to find them might be a bit ... err ... difficult.” He quickly reassured me, although that only made me feel even more distressed.

“You still haven’t explained to me what this “broken free” mean. I want to know, why do you keep saying that.” I asked impatiently.

Everyone was quiet. They looked at each other hesitantly, as if conflicted to what they should say.

“On a rare occasion, a person might become aware of all this.” The president finally spoke. “Their memories become contradictory and they start to see beyond what Artificial tries to manipulate them to. They will no longer be under Artificial’s control and see the world for what it really is; a fake. That is what we mean by “broken free”. All of us here, you included, are freed from Artificial and know the truth of this world.”

My eyes widen. I looked around to see each of the boys looking down.

“So, all the people in this world ... everybody ... but why?”

“Huh?”

“Why did this happen? Why were we able to break free?”

“We weren’t the only ones to have broken free.” Hideyoshi suddenly spoke, his voice low and ominous.

 
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