After delivering the last order and enduring a long night shift that dragged on longer than she had expected, Julia pedaled her bicycle homeward. Her eyes were half-open from exhaustion, and her legs struggled to keep turning the pedals. She could barely muster the energy to think about the strange device strapped to her hand; all she wanted was to collapse onto her warm, soft bed.
When she reached her small, familiar apartment, she dropped her bicycle bag on the floor and tossed her shoes haphazardly into a corner. The room, as always, was a mess: clothes draped over a chair, half-read books scattered on the table, and an empty coffee mug still occupying a space in the sink, waiting to be washed. Once again, she felt like her life had fallen into a chaotic cycle.
Julia had neither the energy to clean up nor the will to change her clothes. As she was, she dragged herself to the bed and, with a weary voice, muttered, "Tomorrow... I'll fix it all tomorrow."
As soon as she flopped onto the bed, her eyelids grew heavy, and she slipped into a deep sleep. However, just as this profound sleep enveloped her, the device on her hand suddenly began to glow. A faint, mechanical sound emitted from within the device, as if something—or someone—was trying to catch her attention. But Julia was so exhausted that even this noise failed to wake her.
In the dark room, the light from the device continued to shine, calm and silent. It appeared that Julia was in deep slumber; her breaths were smooth and regular, as though all her fatigue had vanished in that moment. Suddenly, the device on her hand intensified its glow, and a magnificent hologram slowly emerged.
The hologram took the form of a tall old man dressed like an ancient scientist. His eyes gleamed with a blue light, and he cast a deep, inquisitive gaze upon Julia, as if evaluating her. He took a slow step toward her, his face filled with confusion and curiosity. He moved his lips and spoke softly, “How did this mistake occur? This human, she... is not qualified.”
The hologram circled around Julia, as if examining her in detail. Images of data from the device projected around her: complex graphs, diverse codes, and geometric shapes that shifted rapidly. After a moment of contemplation, he shook his head sharply and murmured, “Unfortunately, it’s too late. The connection has been established, and it cannot be reversed.”
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He gazed at Julia’s tired face, still lost in deep sleep. With a gentler tone, he said, “The device is now synchronized with her. From now on, her commands will take precedence... even if they are unconscious.”
The old man paused for a moment, then took a deep breath, as if lost in thought. “We must see where this mistake will lead. Perhaps... perhaps this was the destiny that was meant to unfold.”
The hologram glimmered softly before dissolving into the device, but a gentle light remained in the room. Julia was oblivious to these events, continuing her deep sleep without a care in the world. Yet, her future would no longer be untouched by this mistake. In the heart of the night, her destiny was quietly taking shape, and in the mysterious world she was about to enter, many expectations awaited her...
On the morning of the exam, Julia woke up to the sound of her alarm clock, but the fatigue from the previous night's sleep still overwhelmed her. She struggled to get out of bed, pondering how she could feel this sleepy every morning. When she arrived at class, during the last bell, she was, as always, dozing off, while her classmates teased her with jokes and playful remarks.
"Julia! Wake up! The exam is starting!" one of her friends exclaimed, and the others joined in with laughter.
At that moment, the teacher entered the classroom, and all conversations and laughter turned to silence. Julia suddenly jolted awake and realized that it was time for the exam. She quickly tried to open her notes, but upon seeing the exam paper in front of her, she felt a shock.
The exam began, and Julia tried to focus, but her drowsiness didn’t subside. As worries about her low grades swirled in her mind, her hand accidentally touched a strange device she was connected to, and it began to glow. Julia instinctively started writing down answers while being in a state that merged sleep and wakefulness.
She was completely unaware that the device was using her information to generate answers and guiding her through the exam. Her classmates watched Julia, who was writing while seemingly lost in a dream, gazing at her in bewilderment; yet, due to the class's silence, nobody dared to say anything.
Julia occasionally looked up at the questions but would fall back into a doze with every glance.
When the exam time ended, the bell rang. Julia, due to her part-time job as a food courier, handed her answer sheet to the teacher in a daze and quickly left the classroom. She headed for her bicycle to start her shift without realizing that she had written the correct answers.
She hopped on her bike and, with scattered thoughts, rode toward her workplace. Unbeknownst to her, this time, something astonishing might happen, and her grades could be very different from usual.