"Well, enough about me, young man. I am here to talk with you about your next life. I am the Goddess of Reincarnation, after all," she says playfully.
"Okay, do I get to choose anything, or do you need anything from me?"
"You will get a certain number of wishes based on the result of the Karma accumulated in your life, the positive impacts you left on the world."
A light construct formed between us as she talked, eventually forming a meter after she finished speaking.
"Please place your hand on the construct in front of you."
When I touched the thing, I felt something scan me. Well, scan is not the right word. It felt like something violated every inch of my being with intense scrutiny. It was disconcerting.
"Sorry for the discomfort, but this measures your impact, decisions, and intentions when making these decisions."
"So, if I donated all my fortune to the poor but only because I was dying soon and wanted to be looked on favorably in the afterlife, would it count for a lot less?"
"Correct. I have seen that happen many times, not as much lately from your world, but it was heavily present in the past. Luckily, in the end, everyone gets what they truly deserve."
I feel the thing stop scanning me, and I relax as its presence fades. I am not nervous or worried about my score. After all, I believed that there was nothing after I died. So, all of this is just a bonus for me.
"It seems you have done alright for yourself, Marcus. The number of wishes you have is two, and since you meet the threshold for the Karma amount, you may choose the world of your birth, but not the time."
"What was my score in the end?"
"Well, the score is not a human number per se. It is more like a cosmic weight. If I had to try to make it comparable for you, you got a four hundred on a scale of a million.
"Only four hundred? It seems low, but I guess I didn't do anything."
"Well, I can't tell you what went into it exactly, but just think domino effect."
"Thanks for treating me so kindly, Samsara," I say sheepishly.
"It's no problem, Marcus," she smiled playfully.
"Can I be reborn into the world I came from?"
"You can be reborn into a slightly alternate version of your world, but you cannot be reborn into the exact one you came from."
"I would like that, please."
"Done, your two wishes?"
"Can I use one to determine the time and place?"
"Yes, even though your score wasn't high enough to get the option automatically, you can still use a wish to determine it."
"OK then, I would like to use my first wish to be born in the United States in 1997."
"Same year of birth? You hope to use some of your knowledge since the world is only slightly altered," she asks playfully.
I rub my head sheepishly since that was indeed my plan. I was an accountant, so getting rich when you can mostly predict the market is elementary for me.
"Anyways, I'm done teasing you. Your last wish?"
I sit up straight for this one since it is the most dangerous request.
"Samsara, for my final wish--"