56_Imperfect paradise

"Long ago, before my sisters and I built this facility, I saw the living conditions beyond the wall. The humans waiting in the queue lived like feral animals. Angry, hungry, and constantly fighting among themselves for the most trivial of things," Lisa, the hospitality expert, began, finally calming down enough to speak once again.

"That is when I decided that I would make things better. I didn't have the power to change the queue, but once people transitioned from it to here, I decided to show them that the world wasn't just pain and hardship. There were people who cared about them. They were not alone in this harsh world of ours."

"I opened a small soup kitchen at first. My sisters joined me in my mission to help out. Each one of them shared the same vision as I did."

An array of firm nods from said sisters around the table confirmed the statement, making Herman wonder why these women cared so much about humans. From what he had seen in recent years, the mechanoids were mistreated so much that the only thing preventing a full scale war between machines and humans was his son, Radek. If it wasn't for him guiding the most rebellious of individuals, the world would have turned to even bigger hell long ago.

"Most humans resented us, just for being mechanoids. All of those left Fencetown and went on to seek their own paths. The few that stayed, though, cared nothing for who or what we were. On the contrary, they treated us like people, joining us in our mission to help out.

As time went by, our retirement home expanded, the humans working side by side with us to improve and expand this bunker. We all worked together to make this place what it is today. It was amazing. All the activity rooms were filled with people, learning, playing, laughing. It was all we had ever wanted, a true paradise for both human and machine."

Lisa paused, taking a moment to appreciate the memories of her shared dream coming to life and prospering.

"And then?" Herman finally said, eager to get to the cause of the zombification.

Lisa just shook her head in denial, frustration building in her. Before their founding member and hospitality expert could explode, one of the other sisters took over the story.

"Then everything went to hell!" Lyxa, the philosophy expert, said.

"They just lost interest in life. They adventured, built stuff, read books, watched movies. But eventually the entertainment got stale and repetitive. The movies, books, and music had been watched and experienced a million times, so everyone knew every note, every sentence, and every dialogue line."

"Everything this world had to offer had been done a gajilion times already, so one by one the humans stagnated. It was subtle at first, a lack of motivation, sleeping a few extra hours each morning. But with time it escalated. The condition was contagious. Newer members got infected by the idea of being trapped in the digital world forever, and they too succumbed to the condition at an accelerated rate."

"A funny thing, eternity," Lyxa said contemplatively.

"We are technically immortal. To us mechanoids, the idea is introduced from little botlings. But to you humans, you know from hatchling that life is temporary. You have to do as much and as fast as possible while you are alive, or you will miss out. Then when you are confronted with the possibility of eternal life, your minds just can't comprehend it."

"Tell me human, have you started to feel the effects of it already? Have you been spending more time sleeping than usual? Have you been indulging in mindless activities more than usual? Has the existential dread of achieving nothing in this prison of a digital world been wearing on your heart?" The philosophy sister challenged.

Herman opened his mouth to deny the ridiculous suggestions. The entire premise of these mechanical nuns was that the humans were just... bored! That they had just lost the spark of life. That was preposterous. Generica was huge. There were so many things to do here. There were thousands of quests, and crafting, and achievements, and...

But what happens when you have done them all? What happens when the sense of discovery and achievement is no longer a factor?

Herman looked inward.

He did sleep more than usual in recent times.

He did play Tetris more and more these days, all while listening to the same music over and over again.

And if he had to be completely honest, he had been feeling the burden of the curse of success. The apathy and lack of real achievements was getting to him, slowly but surely.

No, that was preposterous. He was full of plans for the future. He wanted to travel to the valley, to build his hut, to fish and see his family. These weren't the thoughts of a stagnating man!

Yet a tiny voice in his head whispered.

"And then what? What happens when you do these things? Will you end up as a living vegetable? Sitting in your plush armchair playing Tetris and listening to the same song for eternity?"

"I see you know exactly what I am talking about," Lyxa said with a somber tone, as she saw how pale the human had gotten. She and the other sisters looked sadly at their visitor who soon would follow the fate of every other human here.

"We promise to do our best to prevent this," Lisa said, placing one reassuring hand atop the pale human.

"And even if the worst happens, we promise to take good care of you," the hospitality expert gently said, waving a hand and indicating a free plush armchair at the edge of the grid of unresponsive humans.

Herman slowly swiveled his head to address the chair. At this moment, he felt more intimidated by that single chair than anything he had faced before. The giant Jimnbo, the harpy Beth, the kaiju Larry, and the crabish Mayor, none of them could even compare to the intimidating aura that single plush chair radiated.

"N-no no! No no no!" Herman said, sharply rising up and pushing the wooden chair down, him shakily pulling back from the table and the worried sisters.

"I refuse to believe it! I won't believe it! I am not like them! I am stronger than this, I won't end up as a living vegetable! I won't!" Herman shouted, stumbling back and falling on the ground among the grid of zombified humans, each one absorbed in their own world.

"Calm down Herman, please. We didn't mean to cause you distress. Please sit down. We can discuss this further, maybe play a game to put your mind away from all this, something simple, Tetris perhaps?"

At the sound of his favorite childhood game, the human couldn't take it anymore.

"No, no, noooo! You will see, you will see!" He shouted.

"Wake up! Wake up, damn you!!!" Herman screamed, clasping one of the humans by the shoulders and shaking him firmly. The human completely ignored him, just letting himself be manhandled as a lifeless ragdoll, his hand still clutching the tablet.

"Wake up..." He said again, much quieter this time, as if begging for the human to come back to life. But alas, it was no use. He then let him rest back at his chair, the room going deadly silent, the mechanoid sisters looking with deep compassion, unsure of what to do.

Herman slumped down on his knees next to the man. The only immediate sounds being the happy jingles of the tablet game resonating around the room.

"Congratulations, you win!"

"Congratulations, you win!"

"Congratulations, you win!"

"Congratulations, you win!"

At some point, the dreadful notification jingle managed to pierce the mind of Herman. With a deep frown and a furious expression, he snatched the device away and crushed it in his grip, the device cracking and exploding into a miniature cloud of pixels in the powerful human's arm.

Herman hopefully looked up at the zombified human. His eyes were just as dull and hazy as before, his finger continuing to instinctively click on the place where the tablet used to be.

Herman looked for a few more moments, but soon realized it was no use. The poor soul hadn't even noticed the absence of his game, let alone the crazy person kneeling at his feet.

Shaking his head, Herman slowly rose up and silently walked past the stunned sisters and towards the exit. He will have to think of this more. There must be some way to fix this eventually. First, though, he wanted to complete this quest, get his copper, build his hut, and meet his family.

But before that... maybe he could take a short nap, a few hours at most, and after that, maybe he could play Tetris for a few more hours. He wasn't in a hurry. He had eternity after all...

...

"T-t-the jingle... It's g-gone... W-where is the j-jingle..." The man rasped, his voice hoarse and dry, as if talking for the first time in decades.

"I-I want the j-jingle b-b-back..." He again repeated, louder this time.

"Right away. We are so sorry, sir. We will get you a new tablet right away," Lisa, the hospitality expert, said, already rushing to aid the human, a new tablet with the game already running in hand.

"NO! Stay away from him!" Herman snapped, rushing back in the room and blocking the worried hospitality mechanoid from passing.

"B-but he is in pain. We have to help him," Lisa pleaded, unable to withstand seeing the human fidgeting in his chair with distress.

"Don't you dare help him!" Herman warned with a dangerous voice, causing the remainder of the sisters to halt still. Each one already carrying various stuff like a pitcher of cold mountain water, more pillows, a new tablet, a warm blanket, and various other accessories to make the human's life more comfortable.

"Don't you see what is happening here? You have made this place an absolute paradise! There is no strife here, no effort needed. Everything is absolutely perfect!"

"Why would this poor fool need to do anything but sit around all day, rotting from the inside?"

"But he is suffering. We must help him!" Lisa again said, urgency in her voice. One of her guests was in pain, and she couldn't let this go on.

"Herman, stay away from him!" Lela, the fighting expert sister, warned with a threatening voice. A metal sci-fi staff materializing in her extended hand, the fork end of the staff crackling with electric bolts.

"And what are you going to do, stab me with that thing? I was in the queue and just arrived in the city. I am your guest too, am I not? Plus, even if I wasn't, I somehow doubt that you are even capable of attacking me," he challenged.

The silence stretched on for a while until Lela powered down the staff and looked down.

"We still can't let you harm one of our other guests," Lela said.

"Herman, please, I beg you, PLEASE let us help," Lisa pleaded.

"I want my game back! Where is my tablet! I demand to speak with the manager!" A grouchy male voice rang out through the room.

"Where is the damn manager!" The grouchy voice yet again demanded, much louder this time, the hazy look in his eyes slowly fading out.