Chapter Eight: A World Beneath

Chapter Eight: A World Beneath

I woke up gasping for air, my heart racing as my eyes darted around the dimly lit room. For a moment, I couldn’t place where I was. The walls were smooth and metallic, the lighting soft and warm but unfamiliar. Memories of the countdown, the strange watch, and the unsettling dream clawed at my mind, each one more vivid than the last.

“Hey, hey… it’s okay.” A soft, melodic voice cut through my panic, anchoring me to the present.

I turned quickly, my chest still heaving. A girl stood beside the bed, her figure bathed in the warm glow of a light strip running along the ceiling. She was young, maybe a few years older than me, with striking green eyes and long, dark hair tied back in a loose braid. Her expression was calm and soothing, a faint smile playing on her lips.

“You’re safe,” she said. “Take a deep breath.”

I tried to follow her advice, inhaling shakily. It helped, a little. The room’s warmth and the girl’s steady tone dulled the sharp edges of my fear.

“Where am I?” I managed to ask, my voice trembling.

The girl didn’t answer right away. Instead, she leaned forward, adjusting the blanket over me. “I’ll explain later,” she said softly. “Just rest for now. You need it.”

Before I could protest, she turned and headed for the door. “Stay put,” she said over her shoulder, her tone playful but firm. “I’ll be back soon.”

The door slid shut behind her with a soft hiss, leaving me alone. My heart was still racing, but the room’s quiet warmth helped ease the edge of my panic. For the first time, I noticed the subtle details around me. The walls were lined with shelves holding books, small trinkets, and framed pictures. A faint hum came from somewhere overhead, and the air smelled faintly of earth and something sweet. There was a comfort to the room—an odd mix of homeliness and mystery.

Curiosity tugged at me. Ignoring the girl’s instructions, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. My legs wobbled, but I steadied myself against the edge of a nearby desk. The room felt lived-in, cozy. It didn’t match the sterile, clinical places I’d been in before. The warmth and clutter seemed almost intentional, like it was designed to make me feel welcome.

My gaze landed on the pictures scattered across the shelves and desk. Each one showed a different moment: smiling faces, groups of people, celebrations. One picture caught my attention. A young boy, maybe my age, was laughing with the girl who had just left the room. They looked so happy, so real. Was that boy me? Or… someone else?

I picked up the frame, staring at it closely. The smile on the boy’s face stirred something deep within me—a faint, ghostly feeling that wasn’t mine but felt like it could have been. Before I could make sense of it, a sudden sound startled me.

A throat cleared behind me.

I spun around, the picture frame clutched tightly in my hands. The girl was back, leaning casually against the doorframe. She raised an eyebrow, her lips quirking into a smirk. “I thought I told you to stay put,” she said.

“I… I was just looking,” I stammered, setting the picture back on the shelf.

Her smirk softened into a smile. “Come on,” she said, motioning for me to follow. “I’ll show you around.”

I hesitated but eventually followed her out of the room. The hallway beyond was vast and curving, lit by the same soft, warm light. The walls shimmered faintly, their texture almost like polished stone. She led me through a series of doors, each one opening into a new and incredible sight. The first door revealed a massive underground farm, rows of crops stretching as far as I could see. Artificial sunlight bathed the plants, and the air was rich with the scent of greenery.

“This is one of the farms,” the girl explained. “We grow everything we need down here. It’s all self-sustaining.”

I stepped closer, marveling at the neat rows of vegetables, the gentle hum of machines tending to them. The light overhead was so bright, so warm, it felt like standing under the real sun. I could almost forget we were underground.

The next room was even more stunning. It was a massive cavern transformed into a neighborhood. Houses of all shapes and sizes lined the space, with cobblestone streets winding between them. Above us, the ceiling projected a perfect simulation of a blue sky, complete with drifting clouds and soft breezes.

“Each family gets their own space,” the girl said. “They can design it however they want. The sky… well, that’s up to them too. Some people like sunsets; others like stars. It helps people feel at home.”

“It’s amazing,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

She smiled. “Come on, there’s more.”

We passed through more rooms, each one unique. Some held workshops buzzing with activity, while others were quiet spaces for art and music. Everywhere I looked, people were working, talking, living. It was a world I hadn’t known could exist.

Eventually, we stopped in a smaller, quieter room. The walls were covered in screens displaying charts and diagrams. The girl turned to face me, her expression serious for the first time.

“You’re probably wondering why you’re here,” she said.

I nodded, unable to find words.

She took a deep breath. “A long time ago, a drug was introduced to help people live longer. Hundreds of years, even. But it came with a cost. It made everyone sterile. Humans stopped being able to have kids. Even those who were genetically altered couldn’t do it. Their bodies were always in survival mode, fighting to stay alive.”

Her words sent a chill through me. “Then… how…”

“How are you here?” she finished. “That’s where you come in. The only way to fix what the drug did was to create someone who could fight it from the inside. Someone with an AI inside their body, capable of managing the damage and making life possible again. That’s you.”

I stared at her, my mind spinning. The pieces were starting to fit together, but the picture they formed was almost too big to comprehend. Every word she said carried weight, and the reality of it pressed down on me.

“So… I’m supposed to… fix this?” I asked, my voice barely audible.

She nodded. “That’s the plan.”

For the first time, I felt the enormity of what I was. Not just who, but what. And it terrified me.