For someone with a customer facing job at a large amusement park, Kate was quite cheerful. Her demeanour almost never changed when she was dealing with the dozens and dozens of parents who came to drop off their kids, raise complaints about mundane topics or be completely unreasonable in their demands. She never lost her temper, never raised her voice and never complained about her job. Heck, she was never even seen without a smile on her face.

Anyone who knew her would agree that Kate was the most cheerful person at Strawberry Castle. She had been working at the children entertainment giant for seven years. Although she currently headed the customer service department, Kate would often visit the play area and help its staff. She was liked by the children and her Fairytale Hours on Sundays was a popular attraction.

This was a day like any other. Kate finished up her routine checks on the customer complaints and feedback received, made sure everything was responded and in order and got ready to leave. Before she stepped out of her small office, she made sure to take a piece of paper from her desk and slipped it inside her purse. Her steps were light as she exited Strawberry Castle waving to the security guards.

“Mm…hmhmm… Mm…hmhmm… This is a nice evening to be out…” she hummed to herself in a sing-song-y voice. Unlike usual, today she took a different route back home. She cut through Hiblander street and took the long path through the woods. Although the city she lived in was small, it had a nice close knit community. Corporations such as Strawberry Castle and Ronald’s Burgers were slowly destroying much of the forest and natural greenery the city had.

Despite hating this, she worked at one of them simply because she enjoyed watching children smile. Somehow keeping them safe and happy felt like it made her life a bit better. It helped her have something to do every day and feel good at the end of the day. Isn’t that the goal of our lives? To be happy and to make others happy? She thought to herself.

A sudden rustling sound from behind her woke her up from her cheerful day dreams. She stopped walking and took a look around. The road was completely empty and she could not see anything moving through the forest path on either side of the road. M_ust have been a small animal moving._ She started walking on, albeit a little faster than before. A few minutes in she heard another rustling sound, this time followed by faint footsteps.

Her mind ran a dozen different worst case scenarios and just as many equally possible rational ones. She increased the speed of her steps a bit more while listening intently. The footsteps seemed to be coming from her right side. It kept up with her, as if someone was carefully trying to follow her but not fast enough that they got ahead. Sweat drops started forming in the back of her neck and forehead.

While maintaining some calm, she quickly went through all the objects in her purse. Anything that could be used as a makeshift weapon. Like any smart woman she had a small pepper spray bottle. Without turning back, she slipped it out with one hand and held the tiny pocket knife attached to her key chain tightly in the other. She broke into a half run, her heart now pounding.

paht! paht! paht! The footsteps following her now broke into a run as well. Kate tilted her head while trying to figure out how one person could have such a heavy footstep. Maybe it is an animal? She decided to use this opportunity. She ran through the next steps in her head. She would turn around, use the pepper spray on her pursuer and then run away full speed. This was her best option as without a deterrent, the pursuer will catch up to her speed.

Having made up her mind, she turned around and pressed her finger on the nozzle of the spray while she pointed it at the massive figure behind her. The pepper mix that was spat out covered the figure before a massive arm the size of a dustbin lid was swung toward her face. “Oh, shit!” Kate’s world spun as she took a heavy slap to her face. Her body was sent flying and landed two feet away from its initial spot. Blood covered one side of her face. Her horrified eyes watched as the massive bear roared in pain from taking the pepper spray to its face.

“Yeah… i-it burns… doesn’t it?” Kate breathed her last muttering that.

“CUTTTT!” Chief Director Yeewon Nam yelled at the crew. “A bear? A. FUCKING. BEAR?!” He pointed his thick, stubby finger at the dozen technical crew members sitting in the A.I.R. office. “Are you morons THAT stupid? Or do you morons NOT understand what we are doing here?”

“S-sir…” Brennan Lager, the Lead in charge of this operation tried to explain their decisions. “We increased the difficulty to extract the most amount of emotions from the subject in the shortest time possi…”

Yeewon stepped next to Brennan and screamed in his face, “THE SUBJECT NEEDS TO BE ALIVE TO EMOTE! A bear kills a human very, VERY easily! Do you understand that?”

Brennan was scared out of his wits. He had never seen the Chief Director this angry before. He kept his mouth shut and only nodded, afraid that he might lose even more face in front of his crew if he tried talking anymore.

After a few seconds of making incoherent noises, Yeewon finally seemed to calm down a bit. “Listen here guys! This is the final run we have at getting the best results possible for Project Zebra. The idea is to get the best possible emotions out of our subjects by inducing artificially created scenarios into their mind and getting them to react to various possible stimuli. The simulation needs to include fun and sad scenarios in equal parts. A constant flow of happy, sad, bittersweet, foul, scary and tension-inducing moments are needed to fill up the Neogen 8K21 series cells. You cannot be doing things like bringing a bear into a thrill scene.”

He paused looking around, “Unlike in movies and video games, most humans would instantly get killed against such a powerful foe. No more being alive, no more emotions flowing and no more A.I. recordings.” He took a few more breaths and took a cigarette out of his pocket.

“Remember, all our subjects are people who are either old, wounded beyond recovery or otherwise classified as being non-useful civilians. They can only take a dozen virtual deaths at most before their hearts stop naturally. We are investing heavily into the life support units for preserving each of their bodies. Our goal is a minimum of 30 full cells of neural energy and a recommended 41 full cells if we want to break even next year.”

Placing it in his lips, he lit up the cigarette. “Keep the situations tense, but not enough to be fatal. Make them go through the good, the bad and the ugly. I want emotions, I want to see ecstasy, I want to see joy, I want to see tears and I definitely want to see fear. All this, while making sure the subjects feel like they accomplished something in their… ah, ‘lives’,” he made two air quotes with his fingers. 

“Heck, make them feel like superstars or heroes if you have to. But do not make things fantastical or too perfect. If they suspect that things might not be real, then the output will not be as efficient.”

He smiled at the crew once again, “Let’s take it from the top folks. This time, be more careful Brennan.” Brennan nodded, feeling a little better now that his boss seemed to have calmed down.

“Do you know the name of the subject Brennan?” Yeewon asked. Brennan took out the subject’s information chart and read out. “Katherine Taylor, sir. Age 82, paralyzed from the waist down after an incident involving domestic abuse…”

“No, you moron. Her subject-name in the file. So I can keep track of the number of A.I. deaths she has had.” Yeewon scowled.

“Oh, sorry sir. Uh, File A-9-211.”

Yeewon nodded and made a change in the YeeCorp app. 

‘Test Project Zebra’ file.

Note 1 – Subject A-9-211 : +1 death due to screw up from Crew 7.

“Who the fuck cares about her actual name anyway?” He mumbled as the new holographic projection started.

‘Studio 7. Artificially Induced Recordings – Making your energy consumption eco friendly’, a sign read in front of large theater room door as the next scenario began playing out in Subject A-9-211’s mind.

Lichtarr, Banaad, Gintaar.

That which is meant to happen, will happen. It was the fundamental philosophy by which the world worked. Everything is as written by the Ancient, and what the Ancient wrote becomes reality. Liza had grown up hearing this mantra every day. She was part of a large clan that lived in the Shivering Pines, the enchanted forest. The worship of the Ancient was salvation, and the teachings of the Ancient were absolute. Liza knew this.

But this day was unlike any other. Something had shaken her unquestionable resolve to abide by the laws of the Ancient. She had to do this! Growing up in one of the smaller villages among the clan, her only family were her mother and her brother. Liza’s brother had been called to a village meeting four days earlier and sent on a hunting mission to secure a sacrifice for the Festival of the Many.

Rior never came back to the village, and the elders had declared him dead. In the Reultsi belief, a hunter who died during a hunt was declared a failure, and his family would be bound to two decades of servitude to the temple of the Ancient. She knew her brother well. He was one of the best Reultsi hunters alive. He would not have died to any beast in the forest. There was something amiss about the way things were happening. For one, the village council did not send out a scouting party to determine his death. Second, the hunting mission was given to Rior unannounced in the middle of the night with no time to prepare.

Liza was not going to stand quietly and let her family be shunned. She had heard of one capable of opposing the Ancient—a being dwelt in the black lake. The children grew up hearing stories of how the Ancient had stood up against this creature and bound it to the lake. The Reultsi were prohibited from going anywhere near the lake as the creature could apparently take control of someone’s mind. It was a significant risk. But Liza was desperate and needed help. She had to find out what happened to her brother. Her mind was made up.

Her vision blurred as she tore through the thick forest with everything she had. Her legs powerfully kicked down, causing her body to be propelled forward with practised efficiency. West! This has to be West! There were footsteps behind her. She dared not turn around and look. She threw down one of the round, grey spheres she had packed in her bag and quickly darted to the side as the dung bomb exploded. She continued running as the stench of feces swiftly spread. She and her brother had devised the idea of modifying the smoke bomb into a dung bomb to cover up their scent from tracking beasts and rogue hunters.

The bomb seemed to have done its job as the footsteps behind her stopped. She could hear the sounds of the black lake ahead. She made it! No village hunter would willingly enter the lake. She had to reach the inky water, and they would stop pursuing her. She saw a glimpse of the dark, splashing water, its colour seemingly absorbing all light around it. She kicked herself forward by using a nearby tree trunk as a platform. Her body plunged into the inky black surface of the lake. She felt herself entering a thin, invisible layer of air. A barrier? Before her thought could go any further, she heard a swoosh and a loud, wet thunk! A scream escaped from her throat as she felt the sharpened tip of an arrow sink into her spine.

Liza opened her eyes. And quickly closed it again. Everything was bright. Had she died? Was this the afterlife? It has to be because the last thing she remembered was diving head first into the black lake, the inky black water swallowing her vision as she bled from her wound. She moved her shoulders and winced at a sharp pain shot through her. Wait! Why am I still hurting if I’m dead? She forced her eyes to open again and blinked several times, slowly adjusting to the bright light.

The scene before her was almost unbelievable, circling it.

“So you came here to find what happened to your brother, child?”

The voice echoed inside her head. It sounded similar to that of her mother’s. She was too dumbstruck to speak. She nodded, unable to move or speak for the time being. Was this the dark creature bound to the lake? Was this the black lake? It is so bright here. Is this a dream? 

“Yes. Yes. And no.” The voice replied as if it could read her thoughts. “You see, I was bound to the lake by the one you call the Ancient. But neither myself nor this lake is dark. You see it as such because of the barrier the Ancient had raised around this place. I am Lilori, once the goddess of pathways. If you are determined to walk, I can show you the path you need to take.”

Something about the being made Liza feel at ease. Her heart no longer felt the presence of danger nearby, her pain had reduced from the water touching her wound, and her voice slowly returned as she responded to Lilori. “Yes, I want to find out what happened to my brother. He… He is still alive, isn’t he?”

There was a pause. Then, the doves flapped their wings, flying toward Liza. A wave of water lifted Liza’s body gently. The arrow that was stuck in her back was slowly pulled out. She winced but straightened up, standing in the waist-high waters of the lake. The doves quickly dipped into the lake and came out. A large bubble of water floated between them. As they approached Liza, she noticed that the bubble showed a scene. A Sunset in a distant land she had never seen before, with rocky shores and strange-looking wooden contraptions that floated in the water. This must be a vision, she thought.

“The road you must travel is long and hard, child. You must gain power and knowledge of the Ancient to know the truth. I cannot answer your question now, but I can tell you this is the path you must take if you want to know the truth.”

Wordlessly, Liza nodded. She would do anything to save her brother. She thought about her mother. She would be made to serve the temple now. However, since Reultsi considered that to be the ultimate punishment, she would not be subject to anything worse. She looked up at the pair of eyes and then the water bubble. “Yes, I’m willing to do anything to save my family.” Tears rolled down her cheek as she slowly extended her palm. I’m sorry, mom. I will return soon, with Rior! she thought to herself.

The doves placed the water bubble on top of her hand. It did not burst like she expected it to. It slowly started expanding in size, becoming larger and larger in her palm. The scene inside it seemed to get closer and closer to her. She held the bubble with both hands as it continued to grow in size.

And before she realized it, she was being pulled into the now child sized bubble. Was this one of the pathways that Lilori mentioned? Before she knew the answer, she felt a tug in her back as she felt like she was falling face-first into nothingness. She closed her eyes tightly as her stomach was getting ready to hurl. Then, the sensation suddenly stopped. Her feet were planted once again on solid ground. She opened her eyes to see the Sunset. The Sunset from the bubble! Surprised, she looked around to find herself standing on the sandy beaches of a strange land. Broken, massive wooden vessels could be seen in the distance. Her hand gripped the dagger at her waist. 

I will walk this path! I will get stronger! And I will find my way back home!