ADJUSTING TO THE NEW WORLD
By week four, I finally stepped outside.
Not because I wanted to but because I had to.
My nutrient supply was almost out, and there was no one to get any for me.
It took me a long time to accept that I was now Ann. I often wondered where Ann had gone, now that I had occupied her body.
… Was she dead?
What about me? Was I also dead? If so, how did my family take it?
My family, I miss them dearly, so much so my heart aches with every thought of them.
Everything around me was so strange.
Only rich people get to eat food, real food. Everyone else relies on nutrient supply, a thick brown jelly like substance that comes in different artificial flavors, but they all taste absolutely vile.
The weather, what's that? Nonexistent! It's like living in a perfectly tampered globe; it's never hot, never cold… or windy or cloudy… or anything, for that matter.
As for the oceans and seas, yeah, they exist alright. But Empire State Zhao? Landlocked. Freaking landlocked!
And not only that, but the oceans and seas are ruled by the Star Born Compact, a Hydropolis kingdom governed by sub-aquatic humans and Vlops, these facultative anaerobic, unicellular, 'interstellar' organisms.
This meant taking a swim required crossing a border, which is nearly impossible now. Even after the war ended years ago, tension still lingers amongst all five national forces.
What a mess.
But guess what? Who was I to judge? I wasn't from here anyway. I felt like an alien, or what they now call 'interstellar beings.'
As I walked towards the distribution center to restock on more nutrient supplies, I took in the ultra clean, tech dependent city named Uvena.
Metal streets lined with hover cars. Skyscrapers wrapped in reflective metallic panels that just hurt to look at.
Robots were everywhere. Every few steps, one could be seen carrying out precise tasks, completely indifferent to my presence. Humans in colorful, metallic suits moved amongst them, like they'd stepped out of a mecha anime. And towering over them all were the Zhens also known as AI prophets with bodies like metal, uncanny and imposing, faceless, futuristic skinwalkers.
"Whoever created those were definitely high," I muttered as I stared at the passing Zhens.
After a couple of minutes of walking, I spotted my destination.
A building that looked more like a morgue than a food distribution center, its cold, quiet, and the smell of disinfectant permeated through.
Just the low hum of hovering service bots zipping across the room and holographic displays blinking out menus I didn't quite understand.
"State your unit ID for nutrient allocation." A service bot zipped across the room to meet me.
"I nuh…" I caught myself. "Ann Ivly. Nine-three-six-five-double-A."
The bot scanned my pupils and paused. For a brief moment, I thought there was something wrong, but it simply blinked green before going to retrieve 3 boxes, each containing 12 packs of nutrient supplement.
I took them with sweating hands as I got the notification on my holo-watch of points being deducted.
"I'm going to need a job, and a good one," I whispered to myself.
As I turned to leave the distribution center, a voice called out.
"Ann."
A girl about my age now stood a few feet away from me, tall, silver haired, with milky white pupils and skin fairer than snow.
"You're not acting like so stiff today," she scoffed.
Not knowing how to answer, I just stood there staring at the stranger.
A few seconds ticked by.
The girl, unnerved by my stare, continued, "Never mind, I guess we're all a little tired after the graduation ceremony. See you around, 9365AA."
And with that, she continued her way into the distribution center, leaving me rattled.
I knew who it was, Ais a fellow graduate of Ann's—but we weren't close, luckily.
Still, I had to be careful.
Even if I'm not Ann and probably never will be, I'm going to need to act like her for now.
…
Later that night
I returned to the apartment and dumped the nutrient packs on the counter like they were lead bricks before storing them into the fridge. I stood for a long moment, staring at my reflection in the dark glass of the balcony door.
Ann's body. Ann's eyes. But not me.
There were no brown eyes, no shoulder-length kinky hair, no skin that turned a shade darker in the sun. There was nothing. But now I had to move on, it would have been what my nana wanted.
I activated the holo-screen and typed in Technological Firearm Department.
The interface glitched briefly before loading.
"WEAPON TECHNICIANS WANTED" it read in massive red lettering.
"EYES ABOVE TIME. THE FATE OF THE LIVING. ALL THAT IS WAS MEANT TO BE"
Below it, a video started to play.
It was Ann, and she was assembling what looked like a gun. With speed and precision, she connected different parts.
I stared in awe and horror. Ann—I finally got to see her. Her green eyes glowed with determination as she gave off an air of solemnity. There she stood, a woman, not a girl like myself—too different for me to know if I could pull off acting like her.
Shaking myself out of my amazement and brief awe and fear, I was also surprised at myself. I knew what was happening with each movement Ann made to assemble the gun—more specifically, an Electra-Gun.
Normally, I couldn't even use a kettle without reading the manual, but now, with the help of Ann's memories, I at least knew how to assemble certain weaponry. As for doing it physically… well, I wasn't sure about that.
Nonetheless, my finger hovered over the Apply button.
"What else am I going to do?" Then I pressed it.
The screen blinked, and a cryptic message appeared: "BE PREPARED FOR WHAT IS COMING, THE END IS NEAR" before going back to normal.
Application sent.
"What was that?" I scratch my head.