Trigger warning: Extremely dark and nihilistic philosophy. Suicidal thoughts.
"What did you do to him?" Jack shouted at the cyborg leader, while assisting Tony with Steve and laying him onto the ground.
"Nothing, he just saw his existence in context of the world and universe." The cyborg said.
"Nothing, we don't exist..." Steve gasped. "Let me die."
"How could you!!" Tony raged and charged the cyborg with his rifle, but a clean sweep of his hand sent it toppling to the ground. Tony then punched him in the face, but the metal hurt his hands while the cyborg was unaffected.
"Resistance is wasteful." The cyborgs said in unison.
"You see, our AI believes in observable facts, which has led it to believe in atheism and nihilistic world views. The facts you ignore everyday, to go about your lives, the HPDCM confronts you with it head on. We haven't found a subject capable of living through the experience, except cyborgs of course."
The leader cyborg stepped forward towards them.
"Now, which one of you is going first?" he said menacingly.
Tony and Jack looked at each other.
"Mr. Jack, I don't want to die please. Please get me out of here, I want to go home." Tony said, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"What a wonderful idea it was, going on a flipping adventure in the middle of nowhere". Jack thought to himself.
He had done it once again. First he lost his own world, and dragged Jill away from hers too.
And now they were going to lose their lives. For 'science'. He lost Steve already, and now Tony, a young kid who had barely seen enough of life was going to die. Because of him.
"There must be some way out". Jack thought.
"Fine then, if you don't decide, we'll just have to force you in the machine." the cyborg declared, gesturing towards the eye-shaped booth. The deadly VR headset hung ominously.
"Wait." Jack said authoritatively. The cyborgs stopped in their tracks.
"You would need more test subjects for your machine, am I right?" he asked the leader cyborg.
"Yes, of course." the cyborg nodded.
"Let Tony go. In return, we'll bring you more volunteers." Tony was aghast, but Jack gave him a look. Let it flow kid.
The cyborg didn't react.
"Otherwise you lose both of us, and no one will ever come to your island again." Jack said.
After a pause, the leader cyborg walked over to Jack, and helped him stand up. He shook his hand.
"We have a deal."
Jack took out his smartblock. "Adam you still there?" he inquired.
"Yes." a hoarse voice whispered.
"Tony is coming to your landing site. Please wait for him."
"Aff-affirmative" Adam stammered.
Tony got up, and looked at his fallen rifle and shield. And at his fallen comrade and mentor, Steve. He was visibly shaken by the day's events.
"What about you?" Tony asked Jack.
"I've waited all my life for this." Tony saw the steely, dead look in his eyes, and realized he had said it truthfully.
BINABASA MO ANG
Aimless Town
Romance'It doesn't matter anyway.' This was something Jack used to say to Jill all the time. Until they arrive in a town which exists to match people with things that matter to them. Unable to return to the outside world, they have no other option but to a...
