"Whoa. I died already…" Kiersten said, half jokingly. Kiersten and Lisa were back at Kiersten's place since the President said that they could no long assist Eva until the experiment was over. "Kiersten, that's not funny!" Lisa said as she rose from the couch. "This is the most horrific thing I've ever seen! I can't even begin to imagine what Eva must be feeling right now!" "I know but—come on! Is this Leo's idea of a joke? Why did he kill me off first?" Kiersten laughed. When she saw Lisa pacing back and forth nervously, she said, "All joking aside, Eva's got this." "Yes, but she doesn't 'know' she's got this. Poor Eva."
There were many other channels on TV dedicated to commentaries and podcasts that focused in-depth on the experiment. All eyes were on Eva, or rather, her dream. In the meantime, it was getting a little hotter every day. Food and water were ridiculously expensive by now because of the scorched crops and the dried up rivers. And there wasn't enough to go around. Some people accepted the will of God and didn't bother to buy food anymore. Others refused to accept reality and crowded the grocery stores like how angry ants crowd an ant mound when it's stepped on. There were many fights outside; fights over what little food could be found left. Many have died, but plenty of people were still alive and refused to give up hope. Rather it be a violent hope of survival, or a peaceful hope of surrender.
However, despite how dim everything looked in light of Leo's absence, the enlightening conversations on the television and between one another kept everyone a little more sane. Leo paused the dream; as he would do from time to time to give everyone a little break. (Eva doesn't notice the breaks. To her, a 30 minute pause is like a fleeting moment, or the blink of an eye). Mei came in the living room with a snack. "Sorry girls, one cookie each for lunch." "We understand, thanks Mom!" Kiersten said as they gratefully accepted the cookies. "Wow, it's amazing how this whole dream is under Leo's control!" Kiersten said as she took a nibble. "And yet, that's comforting to me. It only means that Leo never left." Lisa added. "I feel bad for Eva, but man. This has gotta be hard on Leo." Kiersten said. "You feel more bad for Leo than you do Eva?" Lisa asked. "Well, yeah. Think about it! Would you rather hit or be hit by someone you love?" Lisa paused for a moment to ponder. "Being struck hurts, but striking someone you love without wanting to has got to be the worst feeling in the world." "You do have a point." Lisa said in agreement.
Back in the lab, Eva laid motionlessly on the table. The scientists were gathered around her as the screen went black. "Eva must not be dreaming right now." One scientist said. "Incredible. An entire simulation that we know we didn't create." Another scientist said. "The implications of it all. There is a God." "Yes." Said the President. Then he said, "For years we have been teaching that there is no God. No afterlife. And now, to have it all blown up in our faces." Everyone stood silently. "Well, hopefully this God doesn't turn out to be a dictator." "I don't think so. He looked peaceful enough to me and gained this girl's absolute trust and confidence." Said the President, then he added, "By doing this miracle alone, God has already proven his existence. I think by dragging this dream any further must mean he's buying more time for everyone to make their decisions." "I can see why. If this is what the world of darkness is like then I sure as hell don't want to go!" Marshall said emphatically. "Who would want to go there anyways? I mean, is God implying people are actually going to choose this?" Asked Henry. The President sighed, then said, "Pride, is a terrible thing." And as he said this, there was static on the screen. The dream was about to continue.