[The World Inside the Disc]
By inserting a data jack into the socket at his temple, connected directly to his cybernetic brain, one's consciousness could merge with the Network—a digital realm that continued to expand without end.
This was an era before the world had been completely consumed by metal and electronics, before the universe itself had become part of a colossal artificial structure. Humanity still retained traces of what it once meant to be human, though more than half of the population had already become cyberized and integrated into the Network.
A man whose arms and legs had been replaced with metal prosthetics worked as a courier.
His name was Bruce.
He met his clients at a bar owned by a man called Lamp, a broker who specialized in arranging jobs from the underworld. Robot bartenders silently mixed cocktails behind the counter.
Bruce always drank Jack Daniel's there while discussing business.
The cargo he transported was never ordinary.
If the authorities discovered it, he would be arrested and sent to an orbital prison. Every delivery was a high-risk operation.
The cyborg slid a small case containing a compact disc across the counter beside Bruce's glass of whiskey.
"I don't ask questions. Just make sure the payment goes through."
That was the rule at Lamp's bar.
No one asked who you were.
No one asked what you carried.
As long as the destination and the agreed payment were provided, any job would be accepted.
"The destination is Shanghai. A woman will be waiting at the airport. She already knows who you are. She'll approach you."
As the client spoke, Bruce fitted a metallic visor over his eyes and inserted a jack into his temple, checking the payment through the Network.
One of his many anonymous accounts displayed the transferred funds.
Removing the visor and disconnecting the jack, he stored the device inside his attaché case before calmly taking possession of the disc.
"Deal."
After finishing his Jack Daniel's, Bruce left the counter.
Hard rock echoed through the bar as he stepped outside, passed tattoo-covered bodyguards, climbed into a taxi, and headed for the airport.
On the direct flight to Shanghai, Bruce flipped through the news playing on the cabin's CRT monitor.
The world remained trapped in a new Cold War.
After the nuclear devastation of World War III had reshaped Earth's geography, the United States, China, and Russia fought over the territories of nations that no longer existed.
Following years of conflict, the world had divided into two massive power blocs: one centered on America and Europe, the other on China and Russia.
Meanwhile, an artificial island had been constructed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Officially designated a United Nations Autonomous Zone, it had become, in reality, a lawless city where no stable government or legal system existed.
Seventy percent of the world's criminals now hid there.
Bruce was one of them.
Among the headlines, one story caught his attention.
A research organization was negotiating with the United Nations to establish an entirely new nation inside the Network.
After humanity recovered from the population collapse caused by World War III, explosive population growth—especially across Asia—had become a serious global problem.
Their proposed solution was simple.
Cryogenically preserve the human body...
...and permanently transfer the human consciousness into a digital world.
Bruce had heard rumors of the project for over a decade.
Every time it surfaced publicly, worldwide protests erupted, and the United Nations quietly buried the story once again.
As he continued watching the broadcast, the aircraft landed in Shanghai.
Passing immigration with forged digital identification, Bruce entered the country without incident.
Sitting in the airport lobby, he connected himself to the Network through his visor.
Then someone spoke beside him.
Lifting the visor, he turned to see an Asian woman wearing a bright red suit and oversized sunglasses.
"The disc?"
Bruce opened his attaché case and casually held it out.
The easiest job he'd had in months.
He allowed himself a small smile—
Then his cyberbrain sounded an alarm.
His custom antivirus detected a severe digital threat.
Bruce instantly disconnected from the Network and scanned his surroundings.
Too late.
Several people nearby immediately triggered every survival instinct he possessed.
His hand slipped inside his jacket.
In one swift motion, he drew a Glock 18 and pointed it directly at the woman's sunglasses.
"Cyber Police?"
The woman removed her glasses.
Her narrow eyes curved into a warm smile.
"Your courier career ends today."
The instant she finished speaking, an unbearable impact exploded across the back of Bruce's head.
His consciousness faded.
As darkness swallowed him, the last thing he saw was a group of heavily built cyborg operatives surrounding him.
When Bruce awoke, he found himself lying on a medical bed.
Electrodes covered his body.
Several CRT monitors surrounded him.
"Awake already?"
The woman in the red suit stood nearby with folded arms, looking down at him with an amused smile.
"Cyber Police..."
Bruce muttered with a sigh.
She neither confirmed nor denied it.
Then he noticed the cable.
A massive plug—far thicker than any interface he had ever seen—was connected directly to his temple.
"What have you—"
Before he could finish speaking, his consciousness was forcibly pulled into the Network.
An instant later, he found himself standing alone on the ring road of a vast city.
There were no people.
No traffic.
No signs of life.
Only silence.
"So this is the new world."
The woman's voice came from behind him.
He turned.
She was standing there in the same red suit.
"The new world?"
Bruce frowned.
"The disc you delivered."
She smiled.
"Inside that eight-centimeter storage medium exists this entire universe. A genuine universe generated through randomized creation."
Impossible.
Yet Bruce's cyberbrain confirmed something disturbing.
He was no longer connected to the global Network.
Data was being streamed directly from an unknown storage device.
"A universe... inside that disc?"
His disbelief was obvious.
"The universe has been compressed."
She spoke calmly.
"Compressed into one hundred yottabytes."
"This is the first step toward the True Information World."
Bruce couldn't comprehend what he was hearing.
"Why me?"
The woman smiled quietly.
"You are the first test subject."
"My name is Alpha."
"I am the one who guides humanity toward the True Information World."
"And you..."
"...were chosen to show humanity the path that lies ahead."
She extended her hand.
"Abandon your flesh."
"And witness the true world."
Bruce had been chosen.
To become the guide for a world on the verge of transformation.
Chosen by the lips of a woman who was, for all practical purposes...
...a god.
[The World Inside the Disc]
End