The Creatures that We Are

Gao Yang asked even though he knew the answer. He chatted with Yan sometimes. Among the twenty-plus conversation topics available, he always selected “small talk”—seemingly the most innocuous option.

Through these exchanges, the AI shared carefully filtered gossip about the rehabilitation center's staff, never breaching privacy but revealing enough for Gao Yang's purposes. He'd started these conversations searching for flaws in the dream, but instead found himself collecting personal stories.

Ting Ting was a Jupiter Traveler. She woke up within the free treatment period two years ago.

Orphaned young, she'd struggled merely to survive. When the Jupiter Virus struck, her employer fired her immediately. By the third day, she'd fallen into a coma, lacking the credits even for hospital admission. Her being high on the free treatment list had been her only salvation.

Her recovery, both mental and physical, had been swift. The genetic mutations left her with a subtle power—when silent, she became nearly imperceptible as air. Yet like most Jupiter Travelers, legitimate employment proved elusive. Many ended up in society's shadows, turning to crime for survival. Many didn't survive at all.

Closure had offered Ting Ting an alternative path. She stayed, underwent training, and transformed from patient to nurse, finding stability within the center's walls.

“You don’t know, do you?” Ting Ting looked at the elderly woman in the commercial with admiration. “Madam Li is a Jupiter Traveler, too. She’s my role model.”

Gao Yang knew the story well. Surnamed Li had recovered swiftly after contracting the virus, experiencing minimal side effects. That experience had cemented her resolve. She founded Closure and worked with the governments proactively to establish treatment centers and perfect the treatment system, devoting 80% of resources to developing Bodhi. The battle with the Jupiter Virus was a long one.

She was one of the few public figures viewed favorably by regular people and Jupiter Travelers alike.

The public hoped she'd develop a vaccine; Jupiter Travelers prayed her company would cure their side effects. Yet she had enemies. Radical groups, terrorists, and extremist Jupiter Travelers who followed Qilin's vision of human evolution saw her as an obstacle to divine will. They believed themselves chosen for a new era of humanity and viewed her work as undermining the fight against the inevitable apocalypse, dooming human civilization.

Many sought her death.

“That so?” Gao Yang broke out of his reverie.

“Yeah! Madam Li gave me my second life.” Ting Ting smiled in pure happiness and gratitude. “My life has actually become better after becoming a Jupiter Traveler. I wouldn’t have even dreamed of it.”

Gao Yang smiled without comment. He watched as Ting Ting tapped the white stick of her simulated lollipop, changing its flavor. The popular product stimulated tastebuds without calories—a perfect substitute for weight-conscious snackers, though using it beyond two hours risked permanent neural fatigue.

“The terrorists are out of their minds!” Ting Ting brought up what had been angering her the most. “Qilin victimized them, yet they see him as God. Madam Li saved them, yet they repaid her kindness with violence! That’s just Stockholm Syndrome!”

“Yeah.” Gao Yang nodded, playing a good audience.

“Liu Li.” Ting Ting turned to the younger man. “Why don’t you stay, too? You’ve lost your memories. You don’t know how cruel the real world is. It’s especially difficult for us Jupiter Travelers.”

Gao Yang smiled. “I’ll consider it.”

“Don’t humor me!” Ting Ting was serious. “I know you still believe us to be your imaginations, that your previous dream was the real world. I was just like you when I woke up. It’s our disease. Just accept the treatment, and you’ll quickly recover.”

“Yeah.”

Ring. Ting Ting’s earpiece flickered once. Her hologram dress hat shifted from white to blue, meaning she was now on duty. Red would mean she was busy.

Her hat had never once turned red since she started the line of work, though.

She turned to Gao Yang. “Dr. Stone wants to see you at her office, Liu Li.”

“Okay.”

Gao Yang stood up slowly.

Yan was crouching at his feet. Its body was made of malleable metal. It flattened its ears to its skull and tucked its tail below its belly, turning into a white metal ball.

Rolling quickly, it followed Gao Yang to the elevator.

…

A few minutes later, Gao Yang and Yan entered an automatic door.

Inside was an office with light blue as the main color—the color was displayed by the smart screens acting as walls to create a soothing and comfortable atmosphere.

The minimalist space contained just two adjustable ergonomic chairs, one occupied by Dr. Stone. Even seated, her tall, slim frame was apparent. She wore a white coat and rimless glasses, a silver fountain pen gleaming in her breast pocket. She looked professional and bookishly beautiful.

Gao Yang “knew” her too: One Stone, now the doctor in charge of Gao Yang.

“Here you are.” Dr. Stone smiled at him.

“What do you need me for?” Gao Yang acted like a regular patient.

“Here, have a seat.” Dr. Stone waved at the chair opposite her.

Gao Yang sat.

“Lie down.”

Gao Yang did as she said. The chair embraced his body as two clover-shaped sensors emerged from beneath his nape, attaching to his temples. Numbing currents spread from his brain throughout his body, leaving him feeling light as if suspended on a swing.

“It’s been a week since you woke up. How do you feel?”

“Alright,” Gao Yang said.

Dr. Stone tapped her glasses with her index finger. Two blue rays projected a holographic information panel, which she navigated with simple swipes.

After a while, she nodded. “You’re physically well. I’ll give you a psychological evaluation.”

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