"Augghhhh."
"I can't see, feel, or hear anything…!"
Ozwel expressed his concern to himself about the mysterious state he found himself in. It was as if he couldn't even breathe, more like he didn't have to breathe anymore. The darkness enveloped him completely, a void that felt infinite. He tried to move, but it was as if his body didn't exist.
'Do you want to go back?'
A divine voice whispered in Ozwel' head, asking him if he wanted to go back to the place where he started his journey—the journey of getting back what he lost six months ago.
Ozwel's mind raced. Go back? What did it mean? Was he dead? As he floated in the void, memories began to flood back, overwhelming his senses. He remembered everything. He remembered the fall of 2019.
In the fall of 2019, a newly discovered virus, Corona, caused a newly found disease known as Covid-19. It wreaked havoc across China, resulting in a nationwide lockdown to prevent further infection. All the countries stopped the immigration of Chinese nationals and the people who lived there, even if they were citizens of their respective countries.
Away from all this global panic, there lived a small family of three in Switzerland—a father, a mother, and a daughter. They lived in a quaint chalet on the outskirts of Zurich, surrounded by the serene beauty of the Swiss Alps. The father, Ozwel, worked as a scientist, a quantum physicist. His work often consumed him, but he always made time for his family. He was engaged in self-paced research on quantum simulation—a simulation where a person can feel and experience all events as if they are actually happening to them. He was inspired by Sword Art Online and dreamt of creating a virtual reality so immersive that it would blur the lines between the real and the digital world.
Ozwel' wife, Ingrid, was a talented artist. Their home was filled with her paintings, each one more vibrant than the last. Their daughter, Freya, was a curious and lively six-year-old who adored her father and often spent hours in his lab, asking endless questions about his work.
One crisp autumn morning, Ozwel received an urgent call from his university.
"This Dr. Ozwel Erikson I am speaking to?" A lady's voice came from the other side of the phone.
"Yes, it is"
Turns out he had to go on a trip to France with his academic apprentices for a week or so. Lady further explained him the details about his trip.
"Your research paper regarding the Quantum Simulation has been selected and you're invited to give a presentation lecture to the university students from all over the world."
Now he had to tell his family about such an important achievement.
The trip was crucial for his research, and despite his reluctance to leave his family, he knew he had to go.
" Ingrid? You there, " he called out his dearest wife and continued,
" I've been invited to a prestigious event of scientists"
Ingrid heard him clearly and left whatever the chores she was doing, ran straight towards Ozwel like a child, since they were all very childish in nature with each other.
Freya was at school and probably on her way back home in her school bus.
"That's amazing, Ozwel! I knew you would breakthrough your research" Ingrid had no idea about the event since she had no science background at all but still cheered him.
His wife is the only person who cheers him up since he lost all his contacts from his family and friends because of him being consumed by his work, there was a time when he almost forgot to ask about Freya's wellbeing for days because he was way too busy.
In the evening he starts packing his bags and suitcase while Freya, his daughter is looking at him with a sadness on her face because all she has seen is his father going out for days. She always missed her father, Ozwel notices her sad face, "Munchkin, why the sad face? I am just going for couple of days don't be sad, I'll get you your favorite soft toy from that cartoon, Booh okay?"
He then departs for his journey to France while his family is waving at him on the airport and he waves at them back.
While boarding on the Plane he thanks God to give him such a happy life and a supporting wife who always stands by his side.
Three days into his trip, he heard about the Covid outbreak across Europe, resulting in a 14-day quarantine. The news was like a punch to the gut, but Ozwel tried to remain optimistic. He kept in touch with Ingrid and Freya the other Eriksons through video calls, reassuring them that everything would be fine. But deep down even Ozwel was panicking like his heart was pounding while he talked to them.
However, fate had other plans. One of his apprentices came with somber news: his wife and daughter were infected and were taken to the hospital immediately, but because of the lack of oxygen in their bodies, they did not survive.
Ozwel was devastated. He felt his world shatter into a million pieces. The grief was unbearable, and he sank into a deep depression. The days blurred into weeks, and the weeks into months. He stopped his research, unable to focus on anything. The once lively and curious scientist was now a hollow shell of his former self.
Six months passed, and Ozwel decided he couldn't live like this anymore. He needed to find a way to cope with his loss. He decided to resume his research, hoping it would provide a distraction. As he delved deeper into his work, he discovered something extraordinary. His quantum simulation project had made significant progress, and he realized he could potentially use it to create a virtual world where he could be with Ingrid and Freya again.
Driven by desperation and a longing to see his family, Ozwel immersed himself in his work. He spent countless hours perfecting the simulation, tweaking every detail to make it as realistic as possible. He wanted to recreate his life with Ingrid and Freya, to relive the moments he had lost.
Finally, the day came when the simulation was ready. Ozwel hesitated for a moment, a mix of excitement and fear coursing through him. He put on the VR headset and activated the simulation.
The world around him dissolved, and he found himself standing in his chalet. The familiar sights and sounds brought tears to his eyes. He heard laughter and turned to see Ingrid and Freya playing in the garden. They looked so real, so alive. Ozwel's heart swelled with emotion as he ran towards them, calling their names.
Ingrid looked up and smiled, her eyes filled with warmth. "Ozwel, you're home!" she exclaimed, running to embrace him. Freya followed, giggling and clinging to his leg.
For a moment, Ozwel felt complete. He was with his family again, and everything felt perfect. But deep down, he knew it wasn't real. The simulation, no matter how perfect, was just an illusion.
Days turned into weeks, and Ozwel spent every waking moment in the simulation. He relived cherished memories, created new ones, and for a while, it felt like he had found a way to cheat death. But as time passed, the lines between reality and the simulation began to blur. He found it increasingly difficult to distinguish between the two, and the joy he once felt started to fade, replaced by a hollow emptiness.
One day, while he was in the simulation, he heard the divine voice again.
'Do you want to go back?'
Ozwel was confused. Go back where? To the real world where his family no longer existed? Or stay in the simulation, living a lie? The weight of the decision crushed him, and he felt himself spiraling into despair.
Ozwel knew he couldn't continue like this. He had to face the reality of his loss and find a way to move forward. He decided to shut down the simulation, despite the pain it caused him.
Few days later he spent almost all of his day in that Virtual Reality a.k.a Quantum Reality and suddenly he felt like losing control. But he didn't removed the VR headset, the void enveloped him once more causing him to blackout inside the Virtual reality itself.
"Augghhhh."
"I can't see, feel, or hear anything…!"
Ozwel Erikson expressed his concern to himself about the mysterious state he found himself in. It was as if he couldn't even breathe, more like he didn't have to breathe anymore.
'Do you want to go back?'
A divine voice once again whispered in Ozwel' head, asking him if he wanted to go back to the place where he started his journey.
The voice made Ozwel very uneasy, it was literally numb state he found himself in and the suddenly going into his head.
"Am I Dead?, Is this afterlife? Are you an angel descibed in Bible or are you a God of Death Yamraj from Hindu scriptures"
His mind was racing with various thoughts since he never believed in the concept of Gods or any Religion it was nothing but Mythical Stories to bind the human beings together after the Cognitive Revolution that helped them survive and fight their nemesis neanderthals.
"I can't answer any of your questions, but I warn you that it is a line that cannot be crossed by inferior ones" the mysterious divine voice refused to respond to any of his nonsense question.
The voice repeated the question, "Tell me, Do you want to go back?"
Ozwel took a deep breath, or at least he imagined he did. "Yes," he whispered. "I want to go back."
With that, the void began to dissolve, and Ozwel felt himself being pulled back into the world of the living. He opened his eyes and found himself in his lab, surrounded by his equipment. The simulation was over, and reality had returned.
'Or did it really end?'
Ozwel knew he had a long road ahead of him. Grieving was a process, and healing would take time. But he was determined to honor the memory of Ingrid and Freya by continuing his research and making a difference in the world. He would find a way to turn his pain into something meaningful.
As he looked out the window, the sun began to rise, casting a warm glow over the mountains. It was a new day, a new beginning. Ozwel wiped away his tears and got to work, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
Despite his unresolved issues with what it was just Before he woke up.
"Was I dreaming? Or was it some superior being that actually controls all the laws of physics that we studied so far? Just because I meddled into the quantum realm through the quantum simulation, did I trigger something that shouldn't have been done?"
All of his questions were based on his logics, knowledge and experience he had in his life so far, but this was something that noone even imagined.
He buried his thoughts and in the quiet moments, when the grief threatened to overwhelm him, he would remember the love of his family and find strength in their memory. The journey was far from over, but Ozwel knew he was not alone. His family was with him, in his heart, guiding him every step of the way.