'Hmmmm at last now I can rest' thought Jose.
"Mister 1224231? Mister 1224231? You are wakened? Mister 1224231, we don't have all the time in the universe, if you don't answer you will go to the nothing..."
Oh gosh, just in the time our "hero" thought that he could rest forever came are this annoying androgynous voice in his head! 'A man cannot rest in peace any more in this world? Oh no, Wait...'
"WHAT IS THIS WORLD? WHERE AM I?"
He scanned at his surroundings and felt like nothing make sense, all he can see was foggy... he was trapped in a kind of showcase, like an animal at the zoo. While he tried to identify his whereabouts, he heard:
"Mister 1224231, welcome to your new home. You got selected by the Treasure Gaia, that you used to call Planet Earth, to become our supreme master's new propriety. Now, with our treatments and care, you will reach the peak of your species in your planet. This is a celebratory occasion, sir!"
"Wait... WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?"
"It is simple sir. Our supreme master likes to know and study about biology and the evolution of species around the universe, for this he put many treasures he made himself around this plane. His objective is to achieve higher comprehension about the variation of natural evolution if presented at the most different environments. To avoid data variation and analytical mistakes he decided to bring here just the last specimen of the chosen species.
For the sake of our supreme master own research he will give you a body with the best genetic traces along all the history of your race! You will have the best physical constitution among all humans in the history, plus a highly evolved brain occupied by your experienced soul you will have an extremely bright future."
"So" Jose stated "you are saying" he slowly said "that I will be a lab rat AGAIN!?"
"Yes and no, sir. If you want to put in that terms you can say that your planet is our master's lab and all living things are his lab rats."
Jose was stunned now. 'Am I mad? Oh gosh, I knew that I will become crazy, how can a tortured brain remain healthy after living twelve hundred years?'
Seeing himself incapable to change his (in)sanity he decided to simply and humbly face it directly. 'Why can't I live with the fact that I'm crazy? At least I still have my rational thoughts'. And, just like that, he relaxed.
"So, what kind of place is this? Why Can't I feel anything in this place? Who are you? Who are your master? What is his goal?"
"You have many questions. I am, in a way that you can understand, a living and sentient AI and you can call me Alfa. My master is a charitable man, you can call him God if you want, but you don't deserve to know more than that."
"What do you mean by God?"
"He is a being who has infinite power, can create worlds with life, can operate miracles and can decide what to do with your soul. To me, he is quite capable of have the definition of a God."
"At my world we had a saying 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic' and, for what you said, he looks like a scientist with knowledge and technology that I don't know."
"You are free to think in the way you want, but never tell bad about our master, you can't afford it. About your other questions..."
Alfa slowly explained all the circumstances. He, now, are just the remnant of his spirit that died and was fished before he could be washed by the Soul River. His state is unstable and if they don't make a suitable physical body for him his soul will crumble and turn into energy.
This is the reason why he couldn't receive clear information from the environment, since he hasn't a body to make the connection between the soul realm and the physical realm.
He got placed temporarily in this place, that can be viewed as a nursery or hospital, until the completion of his new body and merge it with his soul.
His number is 1224231 simply because there were 1224230 other sentient beings selected in the most different galaxies.
He was informed about the specs of his new body:
- The sturdiness of the bones and large lungs that came from Neanderthals;
- The genes that optimize life in high altitude and turn men in "super athletes" that came from Denisovans;
- The brain that came from Homo Sapiens;
- The nano computer parallel brain from the Homo Cyborgensis;
-His body will be built considering the optimal consume of energy and proportion of consume between the brain and the body;
-Hundreds of thousands of years of development of the immunological system will be inherited;
-As an extra, all common problems will be removed: myopia, Alzheimer, chronic and genetic diseases, cancer probability, etc.
The only part that he could give his opinion was in his new looks:
-He will get a straight brown hair, tanned skin, green eyes, small nose and big lips. His face will be completely harmonious.
-His body will have 180 cm height and 80 kilos, just the necessary corporal fat and compact muscles (like the ones you get by practising sports, unlike the one's body-builder).
"So, Alfa, when and how I will be allocated in this body?"
"You mistake a point. It's not that your soul will be placed in your body, is the body that will grow around your soul. And beware, it may hurt."
Suddenly, he was exposed to an unexpected pain, at the beginning it was like when you are trapped in a sandstorm at the beach, causing almost none of pain.
Then this evolved to a situation that the sand will incessantly hit your eyes, every time.
At the end the best way to think about it is to compare with being tossed in a lake with a school of hungry piranhas when you have the Wolverine's healing factor. You could feel parts of you being ripped and sliced, but when you've been bitten the flesh will grow up again, waiting for new bites.
Jose, when the pain escalated, realized something new. He was already used to the pain. He felt the pain but feeling pain didn't diminish his ability to think and rationalize. 'Years being a lab rat give me something good, at last'.
While he was thinking Alfa voice boomed:
" 'Creating shackles' process is done - Completion: 1/87.
Next phase: bind the soul to his brain.
Prevision to finish all the steps: 23 years.
Have a good time!"