Clyde and Mary walked into the city. Once inside, Clyde could see that it was actually very simple; almost all the buildings functioned as apartments, with the ground floors serving as shops selling organic produce. Apart from those, every shop sold weapons, whether firearms, melee weapons, or magic items like grimoires and staves, along with mech parts and neural implant chips installed at the base of the skull for communication. There were also vendors offering military-grade smartphones with secretly encrypted numbers, as well as tablets used for everything from writing and communication to mapmaking and entertainment.
Every shop and building had a neon sign attached to it as an identifier, making them easy to spot despite being packed tightly together. Clyde walked along while constantly glancing around; the city was crammed with people dressed in all sorts of attire, and the street was choked like a bustling market or festival where it would be easy to get separated and lost.
"Watch out,"
Mary suddenly yanked Clyde to the curb, "boom... boom," as several Gemas marched past them. Judging by the casual clothes worn by the male and female pilots, they were off-duty soldiers, or at least civilians who had joined the military effort. Everyone stepped aside as the Gemas passed by.
"That was close. Don’t let your eyes wander, come on, I’ll take you to the rehabilitation building," Mary urged.
"Oh... okay," Clyde replied, watching the Gemas move off.
Clyde kept behind Mary, trying his best not to lose her in the heavy crowd that slowed traffic down to a crawl.
I wonder how many people actually live in this city? Clyde thought to himself, keeping his eyes glued to Mary ahead of him.
As they walked, many people called out greetings to Mary and occasionally exchanged high-fives with her. Clyde remained silent, watching Mary from behind, while many eyes cast pitying glances his way, he was wearing nothing but a dusty, clearly outdated military trench coat. Seeing Clyde lagging behind, Mary stopped and turned around; she grabbed his hand and led him through the throng.
A look of surprise crossed Clyde’s face. He looked down at their joined hands, then up at the back of Mary’s head; he didn’t feel anything romantic, but it was the first time anyone had ever taken his hand like this, and it felt warm. Finally, they reached the end of the street, arriving directly at a T-junction where a boxy building stood, its doorway guarded by two soldiers, topped with a neon sign reading "Rehabilitation Center."
"Hey... I’m back," Mary greeted the two guards.
"Oh, Mary... and who’s this?" one of the guards asked, motioning toward Clyde with his chin.
"He’s a fresh wake-up," Mary answered.
"Ah... I see. All right, go on in," the guard replied.
"Thanks," Mary said, offering a casual salute with a wink.
Mary pulled the downcast Clyde inside, trailing the gazes of the two guards, who actually turned around to watch them enter.
"Another young one," the first guard remarked.
"Yeah... but it’s good they’re free. There was one a month ago too, right? A girl?" the second guard asked.
"Yeah, that’s right. Who knows where she is now," the first guard replied.
Inside, Mary led Clyde over to a reception desk. The female receptionist stood up to greet Mary, and the two shared a quick hug. Upon releasing each other,
"Thank goodness you’re all right, Mary. I heard Commander Locke’s unit lost comms," the receptionist said.
"Yeah, Julia... a lot happened... they’re... gone. I’m the only survivor," Mary replied, lowering her head.
Julia hugged Mary once more, and Mary embraced her back; Clyde stood by silently, not daring to interrupt them. Then Julia looked past Mary, spotting Clyde.
"And him?" Julia asked Mary.
"He... just broke free from a farm. I happened to run into him after hearing a noise on the roof," Mary answered.
"Ah... I see," Julia replied, studying Clyde.
Mary then pulled Clyde forward to stand directly in front of Julia. Without delay, Julia looked him up and down from head to toe, then brought her eyes back up to meet Clyde’s face.
"How did you regain consciousness? Could you answer that for me? Sorry, it’s standard procedure," Julia asked gently.
"I received a message on my smartphone... a song I knew very well," Clyde answered.
At Clyde’s words, the expressions on both Mary and Julia’s faces turned dead serious, and they exchanged a sharp glance.
"Just like her, huh?" Mary asked, looking at Julia, clearly referring to someone they both knew.
"Looks like it," Julia answered Mary.
"Huh... who?" Clyde asked, bewildered.
"Ah... sorry, no one. So here’s the deal, the usual way we wake people trapped on the farms is by killing them inside the simulation, so your case is a little different," Julia explained.
"Huh... really? Then can I go back there? I’m sure my parents and Monica are worried sick that I haven’t come home," Clyde replied.
Hearing Clyde’s words, Julia and Mary fell completely silent, the room suddenly turning dead quiet. Clyde, having posed the question, looked at Mary and Julia’s pitying expressions.
"Um... what’s wrong?" Clyde asked.
"I’m sorry... but what you experienced in the simulation... wasn’t real. It was all just an illusion. You... don’t have a family... or a Monica... Again, I’m so sorry, but this is the real world, and unfortunately... this is what our reality looks like now," Julia explained, placing a hand on Clyde’s shoulder with a sad smile.
Clyde went still. Deep down, he had already realized that returning to his old life was impossible, but a lingering conflict remained because he had held onto a shred of hope. Now that he had a definitive answer, his heart sank completely; the life he had lived all this time was nothing more than a lie.
"So... I can’t go back... but I had a life there... I was happy... and I was whole," Clyde said, his voice trembling.
"I know you’re confused. Everyone who just woke up says the exact same thing, and they all want to go back... it’s natural. You were in there for a long time. But trust me, it was all just a simulation, not reality," Julia gently countered.
"But... I still remember... I was raised by my dad and mom... I’ve been with Monica since we were kids... our families were so close..."
"And you grew up together through high school, and in the future you were going to get married and have twin kids until death parted you; you loved horror movies and your childhood friend hated them, so you fought about it all the time... you also had close friends at school and did everything together... I’m sorry, but all of that was a script, not a real life... I hate to crush your hope, but I have to lay it out for you," Julia interrupted.
"That’s enough, Julia. Go easy on him, he’s still trying to make sense of all this," Mary interjected.
"It’s procedure, Mary. You understand that," Julia shot back.
"Sigh... I know. Fine... have it your way," Mary said, stepping back.
Clyde stood frozen, his hands clenched into fists on the counter, his head hanging low. Julia went silent, simply staring at the scruffy yet handsome young man with messy short black hair standing before her, while Mary looked away, unable to bear watching the harsh truth break him. Clyde truly felt the weight of the moment; for some strange reason, a new sensation settled over him, bringing a quiet certainty even as he grieved for a life that was apparently just a scripted program. After a moment, once Clyde appeared to have regained his composure,
"Can you tell me the truth?" Clyde asked softly.
"Oh... all right. Usually, newcomers push back hard, so we have to force them to look at the cold hard proof... but you seem to understand... I’m sorry about all this, but it really is standard procedure," Julia answered warmly.
From there, Julia began taking down Clyde’s information and asking a series of questions; Clyde simply answered as best he could, knowing virtually nothing about this world. Mary occasionally chimed in to help him out. Once they finished, Julia escorted Clyde to his room, standard protocol at the rehabilitation center was to provide new wake-ups with living quarters so they wouldn’t wander off confused, allowing them to receive direct re-education over the course of a month about what was, to them, an entirely new world.