REAL WORLD—UNKNOWN LOCATION—2078
Dr. Wu Zuhai woke up.
He woke up fully clothed, sitting on a comfortable couch in the vast lobby of the Hotel Regus, an ostentatious hotel with locations in the world's biggest cities.
The air was cool and fresh. Not a single speck of dirt could be seen on the reflective granite floor tiles, the vast ceiling, or the modest red walls which bore the lobby's gentle lamps.
And Dr. Wu Zuhai, sitting on a dark leather couch along one of the lobby walls, was almost completely alone.
A young woman stood behind the courtesy desk. She was the only person here.
The last thing the scientist remembered was the door to his laboratory breaking down. God's minions had captured him. How long ago had that been? It felt like an eternity ago. It felt so long ago as to be meaningless.
But… if he'd been captured, then what was he doing here?
Dr. Wu Zuhai stood and turned to look out the hotel lobby's gold-and-crystal doors. He could see the streets of some American city outside, judging by the shape of the traffic signs and lights which he could barely see through the glass… but there was no doorman. Nor could he see any people walking on the sidewalk, or even a single car passing.
This, despite the fact that it was the middle of the day outside.
Dr. Wu Zuhai turned back to the courtesy desk, where the attendant seemed to be ignoring him and instead typing at the courtesy desk's computer. The scientist slowly walked across the rich carpeting below his feet.
Though the room was carefully engineered to muffle sound, so that it could provide its guests with the most comfortable experience possible, Dr. Wu Zuhai's isolation in the empty lobby made the faint echoes of his footsteps and the shuffling of his clothing as he walked seem as loud as anything he'd ever heard.
Even still, the young woman didn't look up.
It wasn't until the scientist awkwardly came to the desk and rested his hands on the cool surface of the rich oak that she finally, smoothly, raised her head to meet his gaze.
"Hello," she said in a strangely accented voice. Her face looked… odd. Attractive, but odd. Smooth and neutral, as though every feature from her eyes to her hairstyle had been carefully selected to appear perfect. After a moment, Dr. Wu Zuhai realized that her facial muscles didn't move much as she spoke, which heightened the eerie effect.
And, well, "Hello" was all that she said before waiting for him to respond. So, after a moment, Dr. Wu Zuhai cleared his throat and spoke in a voice that felt like it hadn't been used in years. "Hello," he replied. "Miss, I'm afraid I don't know where I am. All this seems very strange to me. Can I trouble you to provide me with the hotel's information pamphlet?"
She gave a slight nod. "Of course, Doctor. Please wait for a moment. I must inform the owner that you are awake. After that, I will be happy to provide you with all the information you desire."
His heart froze.
The "owner?"
"God," he whispered. "I understand now. This is all a simulation."
"I assure you that it is not," said the woman in an unconcerned voice. "Please do not do anything foolish, Doctor. Please only wait for the owner to arrive. He wishes to speak with you."
Then the elevator door at the back of the lobby let out a tiny chime to announce that someone was about to exit.
Dr. Wu Zuhai froze, then turned slowly, dread building inside him with every heartbeat, as he prepared to face whatever monstrosity God would send to torment him.
But the figure who got out of the elevator was… not exactly monstrous.
It seemed to be a living statue of gold, almost identical in facial features to Michaelangelo's sculpture of David. Its eyes were pure white and gave off a soft glow, and it wore the most perfectly tailored suit imaginable. Its hands were shoved casually into its suit pockets, and it walked almost lazily through the empty lobby to come, finally, to a stop in front of Dr. Wu Zuhai.
The scientist felt sweat breaking out on every square centimeter of his body. His hands shook. He stared into the burning eyes of God—or, at least, its avatar. "This is a simulation!" he snapped, feeling desperately defiant. If nothing else, he would keep control of his own mind, his own sanity.
Even if God ordered him pulled apart cell by cell, tortured to death in the most horrific ways imaginable, even still, the AI-human fusion couldn't make him believe an obvious lie.
"No," said the golden figure. It spoke in a voice that sounded like the music of a full orchestra, a voice which was impossible for any living creature to produce. "This world is real, Doctor. As real as anything can be."
It gestured behind the scientist, toward the windows leading outside. "I understand why you must think this. Your last memory is surely the moment when my servants captured you in your laboratory. The capture was a painful process, due to your resistance. I ordered the administration of a drug to remove most of your memories of the last moments of the capture."
The doctor laughed bitterly. "How stupid do you think I am? There's nobody here. Nobody outside. The truth is clear. Everyone in the scientific community knows your one weakness: you may be connected to every electronic device across the world which can access the internet, but you somehow lack the ability to read the human mind—even though we have the technology to create simulations which seem perfectly real 'to' the human mind. You can copy a whole mind into a new body or even simulate it, but you can't decode the thoughts and memories of the human mind 'without' fully simulating it!"
The golden figure gave an amused smile. "You're rambling, Doctor. What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that I understand exactly why you'd put me in a simulation," Dr. Wu Zuhai continued grimly. "You need to know my secrets. You've definitely uncovered my intentions in sending Alexei back in time… but the truth of how I managed it is locked inside my brain. So you've put me into a NeuroVR simulation to try to convince me to give you those secrets. You'll surely offer me everything my heart desires in exchange for those secrets."
"Oh?" God replied smoothly. "So you've unraveled my whole plan, Doctor. Very well done." Its voice dripped with sarcasm. "Except that I have no reason to create a simulation for this purpose. Walk with me. I wish to show you something."
"And if I choose to stay here?" the doctor asked.
God tilted his head in a thoughtful manner. "Well, we were going to see your family, Doctor. I suppose I could pay them a visit all by myself if you'd prefer. Who knows what might happen to them then? Don't worry. I'll make sure to get it all on video and show you afterward. Though… if you come with me, no harm will come to them. I promise."
A knot formed in the doctor's stomach. "My… family?"
"Yes," God replied softly. "Come with me, Doctor. It's been a long time since you've seen them, hasn't it? Come with me, and on the way, I'll show you the paradise that the whole world will one day be."