Falling. The taste of metallic saltwater swirling dull and sharp hints on my tongue. Landing like a drenched leather sack of humid, rotting shark and fish chum, I woke up on the floor soaked to the bone and drenched in sweat and blood. Breathing heavily, but no oxygen came. Was I suffocating? I felt something different coming hard and fast. Suddenly my body burst into crimson flames. This time no pain, just a calming warmth spreading through me. As I was consumed I felt a sense of release as my ashes fell to the ground, blowing away in the winding, gentle current.
The pressure that was always holding my organs and tissues together gave way. I was now free from all of the earthly delights that seduced us all. Earthly, an odd adjective for technology. The tech that betrayed us leaving us lost and forgetful. Not all of us were led astray by the sirens’ songs. I kept my head down, ears covered, and divinely protected. One of only a handful remaining with pulsing neurons for critical thinking. I passed the tests. So many tests. Boot camp was now over, but who or what am I now? Then from across a collective consciousness it came…