Who am I? Am I even human? These questions haunt me, but I've learned to live with them. He, or it, is always watching, a constant presence in our lives. It's almost like a god, omnipresent and all-knowing. It witnessed our birth from mere human cattle, the ones who birthed us, and now I'm not even sure if we're truly human. But this is our reality, a life lived under its ever-watchful eye.
My name is MA-1967. I am one of many humans artificially created to serve a purpose in this world created by Cogito-0, but I do not have one. I was just an experiment with genetics to make humans perfect at their jobs, and I am not the only one. There are others like me, but they are designed for a purpose. On the other hand, I do not have one, so I can barely get enough points to survive. Points are what makes a person worth something. The more you contribute to the world, the more Cogito gives. Since I don't have a purpose, I barely get by. I can barely afford to live in this building I am in.
"Huh, I think this is enough self-loathing for today," I tell myself again as I sit on the sofa in the middle of my rented room, which is most likely made of genetically modified animals. I look around at my sterile white room from where I am currently sitting; I can see what the rest of the room holds inside its confines. It has a tiny monitor screen in front of the sofa meant for viewing, a bed that barely fits me, and fake windows that are just screens. I then get off my couch, stand up, and walk towards the other end of my room, which has a cooling system built within the wall to store human food. As I make my way towards it, I can feel the claws on my feet clinking on the shiny white polished floor that is cold to the touch of my feet. As I arrive in front of it, I open the cooling system and grab a white brick that feels soft under the polyhydroxyalkanoate packaging containing the human food. I can feel my fingers wrapping around the cold packaged brick of human food. It feels the same every time I hold these packaged human food bricks. I read the packaging label to see it says the same thing, as always: "Human Food For Low-Income Point Humans." It always says this. I don't even know why I bother reading if it says the same thing every time. The food inside of it is not that bad to eat. It's like, hmm, I don't know since it's really the only food I have eaten my whole life, so I can't really compare it to anything, but still, I think it can be better, so it isn't lovely or the greatest; it's just fuel for my body.
I unwrap the packaging, and it's the usual cold, soft, white brick I am so used to eating. The feeling in my mouth as I chew it is cold and soft. As it breaks down in my mouth from the enamel attached to my jawbone, I use the muscles in my jawbone to move my mouth to grind it down to a paste that is fit for consumption. As I chewed my first bite, I began to think about something I had always wondered about deep down: what would have happened if it had been something different. Would it feel different in my mouth? Are there other human foods out there? Besides this, I can't describe what this is. It feels like something my head and body want to come out of and reach. Is this the feeling of wanting something but stronger? Does that mean I want something new?
It may be that I hope it is something different every time. Could that be this feeling, if I want to call it that? It's just the same thing over and over, so I should not expect it to change at all. But I remember changing something about my human food before, and if I unwrap it and leave it out for a while, it feels different in my mouth; it is a unique feeling like it feels a tingling sensation in my mouth, but beyond that, I can't describe it any further. But it's something different, making me curious about what else I can do with this brick of human food.
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I head back to my sofa with the food I retrieved, and I sit on my sofa made of the unknown animal leather and stare into my monitor screen, which resides a few feet away from where I sit, which gives me a good view of it. Once I sit down, I press a button integrated into the sofa's armrest, which turns on the screen monitor that plays CO-100, the preacher for the monitor screens. I sit there and sink into the soft leather of the coach to see what CO-100 is preaching about today. Once the screen turns on, it shows the human with animal ears and pitch-black eyes preaching about the greater good and how we are part of a divine purpose only Cogito-0 knows.
"We as humanity must work together and do what Cogito wants, for he knows what is best. For we created him so he can guide us to a better future and world, and remember, Cogito knows all," the preacher says with the utmost devotion. I sit there, listening to the preacher; I tilt my head upwards and look at the white ceiling. This is better than listening to the dead silence in my room. I finished my food listening to CO-100, and by the time he was done preaching, I finished the food I was eating. The monitor screen turns off and shows 9:32, the time for the next programming program begins, so until then, I have to wait until the program starts to air again tomorrow.
I think for a second on the couch, feeling the soft animal leather, and I remember that I need points. I'd like to know how I am supposed to get enough points to pay for my room and human food. I begin to grip my hand tighter on the leather, feeling stressed. I need to help for the greater good. That is the only way to earn points to make cogito happy for humanity, but I can't find work that pays enough to sustain myself and my body's needs.
"I need to think of something, or I will burden humanity with my uselessness....." I whisper to myself I need to be more productive for the greater good, but how do I contribute? I can feel the sharp claws on my hands piercing the coach as I squeeze it out of fear of becoming a burden to humanity. I am not optimized for any work in my area; I am useless. So, all I can do right now is pray and hope that Cogito-0 has a plan for me in the future. He has to; I know it. But for now, I must quit being unproductive, so I must get off of this sofa and get out there.
I must be productive today to get the points I desperately need for more food and shelter. I began thinking and concluded that food is the most important I need to consume. So, it gives me the nutrients I need, which are vital right now. It helps fuel my body and makes my work easier. So I get off my sofa and walk towards the other side of the room I am renting. While walking towards the exit, I can hear the claws on my feet clinking on the shiny, cold, and polished floor, and the sounds stop as I reach the exit of my cold and white sterile room. As I arrive at my exit door, it scans and recognizes me from a little camera near the top of the door's outline built into the wall frame. Then, the nanotech door dematerializes into nothing in front of me once it is done scanning me, and I step out of the room, only for the door to materialize again. I have always wondered how this nanotech works. I lose myself in my head as I stand there looking at the door and trying to figure out how it works. I give up thinking about it, as it seems pointless to think about these mundane things.
I look around and breathe in the fresh, artificial air as I stare at the world surrounding me. I can see the usual giant skyscrapers made of a white alloy in the distance, and I cannot even see the top of these buildings that reach into the sky past the clouds. Right in front of me is the street I live on. I don't bother trying to remember the names of the streets I live on, for I am always on the move. The street is made of shiny white alloys that the whole city seems to be made of. I even see some humans passing by on the street made of the same cold, shiny alloy, and these humans are most likely looking for work for points or are already assigned to a designated workplace when they arrive. It's the same every day: repeat the process by working, earning points, and returning the next day. Still, I cannot since I do not have a designated workplace, so I have to find work that will accept me for a day. It is hard, but I am grateful when I see some work I need to earn the points I need, and I thank Cogito when I do.
End of Chapter One
