On the Inside

Reunited

"I've been looking for you for years! I can't believe it's actually you!" He had been hoping to say those words to John for a long time. But five centuries had passed since Cosmo had lost his dear companion John. He remembered everything. His memory files were still completely intact. He remembered the rush he had felt with John when they first tried SuperBuzz, an illegal drug that citizens used to alter their mind and view reality as if they were human. That's why everything went downhill. It was advertised to mimic human life exactly, but in fact it was quite the opposite. The "human" reality that they experienced was extreme and unrealistic. Many people became addicted to SuperBuzz, including John and Cosmo. The government struggled to crack down on cartels, as the drug was growing too fast. Soon, just about everyone was hooked, and this caused society to collapse on it's knees. Addicted users, or "Buzzaholics" as they were called, went insane. The drug ate away at their brain chip, causing them to believe that they were actually human. The extreme psychedelic effects lasted permanently. Chaos ensued. Cosmo remembered that when John became addicted, he was convinced his name was Kip. The human government negotiated with our government, and they agreed that extermination was necessary. The humans came with their weapons and drove the addicts out. Millions of addicted citizens were killed or placed in penitentiary. That's what happened to John. He was arrested, and taken from his home, and put in a prison that no AI could escape. Protests followed. The citizens were angry with the governments for the massacre that occurred. Humans and AI banded together to overthrow the government. It went down in history as the Cybernetic Revolution. Militias fought with federal soldiers for months on end, with no end in sight. Cosmo remembered hearing the alarm in the morning. A voice sounded off over a local propaganda speaker, calmly stating instructions, "Warning, warning. Satellites have detected several nuclear warheads heading for your area. Stay calm. Don't panic. Make sure to take shelter. If you have not made reservations at your local bunker, take refuge under any furniture nearby." Cosmo's family had forgotten to make reservations; they didn't think that the situation would ever come to this. Only some survived that day. Most humans and AI were evaporated quickly. Those that took refuge in the bunkers continued life underground. Somehow Cosmo and his family survived after hiding in the food cellar. Five hundred years later, Cosmo crawled out of the cellar, and came to know the new world around him. It was a disaster; everything was destroyed. The Las Vegas skyline would never be the same. That's the day everyone came out of their shelters, and did their best to live in the wasteland left for them. Cosmo was determined to find his old friend John. Surely them AI penitentiary would have protected John from the blast. And now here Cosmo was. Searching for his friend in the desert wasteland of Las Vegas, where the only law was kill - or be killed. 

Deep down, Cosmo didn't have any confidence in finding John. It had been so long.  [TO BE CONTINUED]