Gemini- Love Found in a Fantasy Read online

  GEMINI

  LOVE FOUND IN A FANTASY

  CECILIA BURNS

  Copyright © 2020 by Cecilia Burns

  All Rights Reserved

  ASIN: B08856V6Y4

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cecilia Burns

  www.ceciliaburns.com

  "What the…" Hecate said, quickly jumping from the bed and covering herself with a blanket.

  "What the hell is this?" the man asked angrily.

  "What are you doing, Luke" she asked almost in an unbelievable tone.

  "What am I doing? I should be asking you that! What is the meaning of this?" I asked her while pointing towards the bed. Then, everything set in on me. What did I just do? Fuck! I started regretting barging in. She could hate me for this, but I knew there was no way I could let this happen when I was just meters away.

  - CHAPTER SIX, INSANITY

  CONTENTS

  REALITY

  FANTASY

  DESCRY

  LEVITY

  GRAVITY

  INSANITY

  CLARITY

  -Chapter One-

  REALITY

  I could hear them. Clicks and types over and over again. It was enough to make a man lose his senses, but I always tried to remain calm. No matter what happened to me throughout the course of my life, I always coveted that sense of calm and peace.

  I glanced at the time and realized it was still roughly an hour before I could get off from work.

  "Ugh." My annoyance was evident, but thankfully, nobody cared enough to notice. Like me, everyone was in their own little cubicle, doing their own thing. Turning to my left then my right and then backward, I gazed at them…at us. To me, it was a physical microcosm of how I saw the world of today: People were trapped in a cubicle of their thought process, unable to go beyond their own cubicle even to attempt to fathom another's life. My wife said human interactions have been literally killed by technology and AI. I would know; I am one of the people to whom she is referring.

  "Boo!" a familiar voice exclaimed from behind me, startling me and taking me from my reflection.

  "What the hell, Jerry?" I complained, looking at the unrest it caused among my coworkers. They all frowned at Jerry and me before getting back to their work. Jerry just laughed at me, taking a moment to check out what I was working on while resting his hands on his chair.

  "I don't know how you manage to work this boring job, bro." Everyone turned to look at him, and I facepalmed. "I said that in a louder voice than I thought it was, didn't I?" he added, causing me to smile. What a guy, I thought.

  "I also don't know how I do it, man," I concurred with his earlier point. "What are you doing here? I guess you are done with your ledgers and whatnot." Jerry worked at Accounting in the company, two floors below mine.

  "Still better than this tech crap that you do."

  "Which isn't saying much," I retorted, and we both chuckled. "At least the pay is good, so I will endure it so I can provide for myself and the missus."

  "Attaboy," he agreed. "You do realize it's a couple of minutes to five, right?" My eyes widened, and I checked the clock next to me. It really was 4:54 pm. I was in my thoughts for close to an hour and time flew that quickly?

  The moment the clock reached five, everyone rushed out, and we all knew what we were going to do, or rather, where we were going. I was rushing as well because it had been on my mind all day, but Jerry had other plans.

  "Hey, asshole," Jerry said to me while I made my way out of the building. "How would you like to do something different before you go and fuck an octopus in your GEMINI whatever?" I scoffed.

  "That's not how it works," I said. "What did you have in mind?"

  "Let's go to the beach. I wanna show you something." I gave him a suspicious look. I knew my friend very well, and Jerry was a perv.

  "The bikini girls would be gone by now, Jerry," I informed him.

  "Ugh. You really think that's why I want us to go there?"

  "Yes," I said with conviction.

  "Well, my past actions have created a precedent," he admitted. "Anyways, that is not why. I…wanna talk to you about something." He had a serious look on his face, which he almost never does, so I knew he wasn't kidding.

  "Okay," I said. I wanted to take the car, but since it wasn't far, Jerry was able to convince me to walk with him. Jerry Faulters was one of the few people, alongside my wife, who were against the rise of GEMINI. He never complained like Diana, though, as he felt everyone should be free to live life the way they wished. Jerry was a person who spoke more with his actions. He actually exercised instead of implanting himself with a fitness chip like Diana and I did. He obviously did not use GEMINI or anything even related. I couldn't even recommend that he get into it because I was struggling to find a balance. Jerry also liked to walk, partly due to keeping his body in shape, but also because he liked to see the world at a slow pace so as to be able to savor it all. In a car, we mostly lose the essence of it all. I do look and appreciate the world we live in, but I can also see its flaws. Nothing is perfect, though, and to expect the world to be is a fool's wish. Jerry also drove his car by himself, unlike ninety percent of the world that used the GPS Automaton system to let their cars drive themselves. To be fair, Diana was not necessarily against technology, except GEMINI. Hers was more specific. And although Jerry seldom said it outright, I knew him well enough to know that he did not like the burgeoning advancements in A.I, or at least what it had become.

  "Hmph," I remarked under my breath, which Jerry caught. I had seen a woman jogging by the other side of the road. My remark was not one of derogation but of awe. I was impressed and happy that there were not only people who preferred how things were but had the fortitude to act on it by living a human, natural life.

  "Don't bother," Jerry chimed, and I looked at him, a tad bemused.

  "She is out of your league." I scoffed and shook my head while he laughed.

  "The world sure is beautiful," I said as we neared the beach. I could see the bustling side of the city from where we were situated. The different and unique colors on the skyscrapers and other large buildings had begun to give an emblazoned view of the entire area from the view of someone looking on from afar.

  "It sure is," Jerry opined. "Too bad we don't really see it."

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "Humans are never satisfied. Soon, we will get tired of this, and it will no longer interest us, causing us to go even further in our search for perfection." Jerry seemed a bit different from usual today. Scratch that - he seemed very different from usual. He had a pensive look on his face.

  "But that's the whole point of living, isn't it?" I countered. "We must aim for more until the day we die. Purpose is what gives us meaning as humans. If we are satisfied, is that not the same as being dead, eh Jerry?" I posed the question to him. Every once in a while, he and I have these philosophical debates about the essence of life and what is paramount or even necessary to one.

  "You're right, but why do we always chase things like technology and stretch it the extremes? Is it tech that will give us meaning in life? Why can't it be family? Friends? Other goals?" he asked.

  "Yesterday, I overheard someone say that h
is current goal in life was to get money to use in GEMINI. He said he’d spent the last two days in GEMINI, only taking intermissions to eat.”

  "Geez. That's rough."

  "Yeah. I know, right?"

  "I’ve heard of people who died as they were there for too long without eating," I mentioned as we got to the beach. We both walked close to the edge of the water and sat down. "I'm very fortunate that I have Diana to check on me."

  "That woman is really trying if she is handling a fuck-up like you," he mused, and I nodded while laughing.

  "Fair point," I admitted. "But we aren't happy." I just blurted it out in a moment of vulnerability, but I guess he was the best person to say it to. Who better than your best friend?

  "Why do you think that is?" The level of sarcasm in his voice made me know he already knew the answer. My obsession with GEMINI had driven a wedge into our relationship, and still, Diana stayed with me. I wasn't sure why, but I assumed it could be money related, since she had to leave her job for me. Gosh! I really have made her life a living hell. Jerry glanced at me, a stern look on his face.

  "I saw her yesterday, Leo," he said. The sadness in his voice made me think he did not see her in a very good situation, so it piqued my interest.

  "Where?" I asked curiously.

  "I was coming back from the grocery shop - I was the only human there because we have become too lazy to actually go get our own food, instead, sending bots to do it." I really didn't care about the part on the bots, but solely on my wife. "Nevertheless, I saw her on my way back. She was coming out of some place." Maybe it was her society, I thought. I didn't even know what it looked like now, to be honest. I had been so caught up in the fantasy world that I stopped going to the meetings and haven't followed her there in years.

  "Did you guys talk? Did she tell you something about how she is unhappy with me?" I let my insecurities out to the forefront.

  "No. I couldn't even greet her after seeing how distressed and unhappy she was," Jerry said it with sadness, but I could tell he was partially upset at me for making her feel this way. He paused to let that sink in, turning and gazing at the ocean before us.

  "I know people are searching for an escape." He began his monologue. "Everyone is chasing something…everyone needs their fix away from an already stagnant reality. A fantasy will always be better than reality. It is sad but true. The limits are unknown." Jerry turned back to me.

  "That being said, we don't exist in a fantasy. We live in reality. No matter how you try to make your fantasy a reality, it's still just a fantasy. Your wife is your reality. She is there with you always, and while you spend time in your crazy little world, that woman is preparing your meals before crying herself to sleep. Leo, you have to do better. I know it's easier than it sounds due to the addictive nature of it. However, don’t forget the fact that it is not an ACTUAL reality."

  We talked a little more before parting ways. As I made my way home, I ruminated on what my friend had told me. I understood everything he said but only began getting teary-eyed the more I thought about it. I knew why I was crying: No matter what he said…regardless of the truth in his words…I couldn't stop. I also knew why I could not stop. It was obvious to me that I was an addict. I loved GEMINI more than I loved my wife.

  My name is Leonardo Kalrisian, and I am a lover of technology, but none more so than the virtual reality interface known as GEMINI. I guess Diana, my wife, had a point that I had become completely detached from reality ever since I began using GEMINI.

  The worst part is I wasn't always like this. How did it get to this? I often ask myself this question, but I know exactly how and why. It was all my fault. Thirteen years before I met Diana, GEMINI was released and took the world by storm. I hated it, both the hype around it and the way it constricted the realness of human relations. Unbeknown to me at the time, Diana was also vehemently against the GEMINI interface. At that time, everyone rushed to get a GEMINI VR Gadget like it was the thing they needed most in life or had to experience in life. GEMINI was a virtual reality world in which you could be anything you wanted and live in an uncanny society that you could have never imagined existing in reality. She and I bonded over our mutual disdain of the device and what it was doing to our society. We eventually got together as a couple. She even moved to my hometown here and left her job for me. Her job was great, and she earned more than I did back then, but she left it all…for me. We were in love…I mean a real love, not some fantasy or one cultivated within our mind and greatest fantasies.

  However, being well-versed and involved in the technology industry due to my work and knowledge, I saw the monetary potential for investing in GEMINI v1 when it got released. It was strictly from a business perspective, but Diana was against the idea. I could understand her reluctance to do anything involved with the world of GEMINI, but I saw it as a good way to earn money. We argued a lot on the matter, and I felt she wasn't getting updated with the times. Eventually, I was able to convince her it was a good idea, since it was just to get money. Little did I know that would be my worst mistake.

  We were all addicts to that sick, yet sweet world, and because of that, this world suffered. I saw how empty the streets were as my car drove by. All I could see were other cars, and even that was scanty. Everyone had already rushed home and put on their gear to begin or continue their experience.

  A part of me wished the Government would ban the GEMINI VR gear for my and many people's sake, but I knew that wouldn't happen, and a huge portion of me was happy the device was here to stay. I needed it. I had stayed delved deep into the GEMINI world so long that I had completely forgotten how to exist in a normal, functioning society. Droids and bots did everything nowadays for us. But to compensate for that - since not doing work would tend to make us fat - fitness chips were provided. Technology used to counter the drawbacks of another technology. Initially, I never thought these things would be as bad as they turned out to be. GEMINI, I thought would be a phase some people go through before they got older or tired. The bots and droids I felt would simply make life easier, not just monopolize the labor we do, leading to the loss of many jobs. The fitness chip I saw as necessary for human body image and self-worth. But is it really? We don't know how to do anything because we don't learn them with our bodies. And being muscularly fit does not stop one from getting other forms of ailments. The fitness chip is not God, nor is it magic.

  Instead of what I thought was going to happen, GEMINI kept innovating and fine-tuning their world to be even more addictive. While the market potential was originally a good business idea in my books, it steadily turned into something else as the years passed. The platform became uncontrollable even for the makers. I was not sure even they predicted it would boom like this. The Government decided to impose certain regulations and oversight over the process through which one gets a share or an ownership portion of the virtual world game. They made it so that only through bidding could one open any business or hold shares on GEMINI. By then, the makers had just cranked up GEMINI v3, the current and best version of the experience. Unlike a few years ago when the competition was minimal, this time, too many people had become involved, making the business side of GEMINI over-saturated. With it now being a bidding process, only the rich could buy shares or use the world for business purposes, and I was not one of them. I left the virtual reality business world and went back to my former 9-5 job. Thankfully, they accepted me back because I was overqualified. The pay was very good, allowing me to provide for my wife, who had left her highly lucrative job for me.

  Thanks to the rise of bots and droids that made labor much easier, both people and companies hired them instead of people, and this led to many humans losing their jobs. I was lucky to work in I.T in a company that programmed the hardware of droids and software of bots, so my job is currently safe. Many people weren't so lucky. Living in the city, I rarely get to see them, but on the outskirts of the city and smaller towns, many homeless and now-unemployed people resided.

&
nbsp; I got home and remembered when I would shout, 'Honey, I'm hoooome!' and she would come to welcome me with a kiss. Those days were long gone. When I first got the GEMINI VR headset to learn how to utilize my business on it, it was in its primary version. Diana was still against it, but she let me do what I wanted. This came after numerous nasty fights, though. I kept telling her she wasn't the boss of me and couldn't tell me how to use my money, forgetting that it was 'our' money since she left her job for me to come back here. I was so inconsiderate back then. With time, she began to complain less and less, and I didn't care even to talk to her because I was so focused on this newfound fantasy world.

  Eventually, by the time GEMINI v3 came around, everything good between us became nonexistent, and we were like ghouls ghosting around the house. I knew then that I did not love her anymore. I had found a new infatuation. This must have been horrible for her to go through, yet I let her go through it alone. Diana probably realized we were lost from each other a while back, but she never said anything. She quietly did what she always did as a wife, and I, being the fool I was, never said a word. Sex, which was one of the main reasons I remain stuck to GEMINI, was another thing that had become dead in our relationship. Diana was never the lusty type, but at least we did have sex then. Now, there was nothing of the sort, and understandably so. I did not deserve to ask that of her when I was behaving the way I was.

  "Hmph," I chimed to myself after noticing my meal on the dining table. We mostly ate together in silence every night before she goes to bed, watches a movie, or heads to the Live Real Centre while I headed to GEMINI. Over the years, I think Diana has become even more against the virtual reality concept. She seemed to be more devoted to the Live Real Society, a group of people that thought GEMINI was destroying the world as she did. The last time I went there, they had a healthy number, but I am not sure the numbers haven’t dwindled since then. I wonder how good the society is doing these days. We barely talked, so it was hard for me to ascertain how things were going. Diana still went for the society meetings daily, though, but I don't really know what to make of that. She might be spending so much time there to avoid me, the way I was using GEMINI. The problem is, I wasn't using GEMINI to avoid her but because I chose GEMINI over her.