《Humanity’s Next Steps》Dr. M - Matchmaker
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Dr. M - Matchmaker
When scientists perfected life extension, all around the globe, humanity embraced the transformation—our final rite of passage to become an ageless species.
We rejoiced at our new Age of Immortality.
The conversion required irreversible surgical treatments—such as gene editing, nanotechnology, blood transfusions, and artificial replacement organs.
We claimed in a new saying: “None shall ever die again. The disease known as death holds no dominion over us.”
All true, except on the rare occasion when immortalizing struck some individuals with a terminal creeping genetic sickness.
Yet, a much deeper problem manifested itself within the intrinsic psychosocial nature of immortal beings—a growing number of people became severely depressed.
They requested termination because they grew tiresome of existence; it was too much to bear. There wasn’t much to do that hadn’t been done before.
Some people feared to make choices, which could haunt them for as long as they lived. Immortalizing gave us near-perfect memories and instant recall. Every waking moment, we vividly recalled every detail of our life experience no matter how intolerable.
Our minds constantly replayed losing a loved one, being the cause of a tragedy, failures to succeed, or being responsible for someone else's misfortune.
Our memories took on a life of their own.
Recollection triggers were unavoidable—after all, living forever is quite repetitious. Despite colonizing the solar system, our day to day life was still fairly mundane.
Our scientists tried to remove negative memories but found that it made matters worse.
A single memory interdependently relies on a multitude of others, requiring more wipes, leading to retrograde amnesia—effectively killing one’s personality.
Not to mention, the gaps created awkward social encounters.
So the majority of us succumbed to reexperiencing all of our past emotions for eternity.
But not everyone coped with the constant bombardment of their recollections.
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A new trend emerged—to play executioner—to control one’s lifespan.
Suicide rates rose to epidemic proportions, surpassing the sum total of all deaths centuries before life extension was ever invented.
So our lawmakers made it illegal to kill oneself.
You might ask, "What difference would it make if they'll be dead?"
It made no difference to the dead, but the lawmakers responded to this by punishing loved ones. The closer to the offender, the more likely they’d suffer. Anyone who conspired to aid or knowingly allowed suicide faced punishment.
In time, the suicide rates nearly vanished, and yet, despite the risk, certain individuals resolved to end their existence.
That’s where I, Dr. Matchmaker, came into play.
I developed a technological loophole for termination without any trace of responsibility.
I worked in an undisclosed location under disguise.
My patients were sent to me while they were put to sleep. Their destination kept a secret from them. They awoke for our first and only meeting.
I still vividly recall the first session centuries ago …
————
My assistant spoke over the intercom, “She's ready.”
“Please send her in,” I replied.
“Good day Dr. M, I’ve come here to terminate my life.”—She began to unmask.
I covered my eyes—“Stop! I’ll allow you to reveal yourself, but for now, you must remain anonymous. I mustn’t know who you are until you become my patient.”
“I’m confused. They told me you terminate people without a trace.”
“That’s correct, but you must swear that you’ll uphold your end of the deal. By removing your mask, you'll be making that committment..”
“What deal is that? Can I know what the procedure is? Will it hurt?”
“No. And yes. I'll not lie, it might be excruciating, but after a while, you’ll no longer exist. And that’s what matters, doesn’t it? It’s not like you’ll remember what happened. You must decide for yourself how important it is for you to die. I’m not a counselor.”
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“That’s true!" Her voice cracked up. "I can’t stand this grief. It’s more painful than any physical suffering. My life is a non-stop nightmare. I keep remembering him. Every time I see someone’s child, I relive that horrible accident.”
I interrupted her— “Say no more and just decide.”
The anonymous person stood silent for a moment, then raised her hand—“I swear to go through with this.” Then, she revealed her face.
“Come with me.”—I gestured for her to follow.
We entered my lab, where the body of my other patient lay unconscious on a slab.
“This is Robert Stock. He’s dying of the rare creeping genetic sickness, caused by the same technology trying to make him immortal. It's incurable. His body shall painfully and slowly decay inside out.
“He’s spent his entire life imitating his father, a successful space-mining entrepreneur, but he now desires to be more like his mother. Around your age with two children, she divorced his father. She became a writer, living in the peaceful countryside, raising her kids. “
“That’s incredible! That describes my life exactly! Except I had 3 children, but my son died in a tragic accident. It was all my fault ...”—Her voice cracked up again as she wept.
“Indeed. Quite the coincidence? When our system finds a match, both subjects are brought to me ...
“Mr. Stock worked as an angel investor, living alone, and did quite well for himself. But he said the hustle and bustle and loneliness made him wish for another life. All his money will get transferred to you once he takes over.”
“Takes over?”—She looked puzzled.
“Yes. You swore to your agreement. Your consciousness will be swapped. You’ll terminate as you requested, with his illness, and he’ll take over your life.”
“I, I, I don’t … know”—She stumbled backward.
“It’s too late to change your mind! If you break our agreement, you and your loved ones will suffer a fate worse than his. We’ll report your identity to the authorities.
“Step into the chamber so we can proceed ...”
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The Wolf Saga, Wolf that Devours Empires
The Empire of Human is about to enter a turbulent era. A World Power has fallen. But mere hours after dying, he is reborn as a half-human, half-elf boy named Wolf. The story follows this odd boy as he grows up, his relationship with his father and those around him, his lack of common sense from being raised in the wilderness, and his desire for revenge. Witness Wolf's journey as he aspires to climb to the peak of the world to unravel its mysteries, and as he tries to figure out why it’s wrong to decapitate a street thug when the man tries to mug you. “I mean, the man literally said ‘Money or life,’ so what’s the big deal?” Releases Mon/Wen/Fri. (GMT-ish) Trigger warning. The Wolf Saga may not be suited for you if any of the following disturbs you: - The story will have fighting and killing. The gore will not be explicit, but there will be descriptions such as "head burst like a melon", "instantly turned to cinders", "blood splashed/fountained" etc. Most of the violence will be performed by the protagonist, some of it before he reaches his teens. If such scenes bother you, you should probably give Wolf a pass. - The story will have sexual content. It's there for a reason. Once again, these scenes will not be explicit. Genitals will be mentioned sometimes, but never described in detail. Nude bodies will be described in passing, without too many specific details. If you're afraid of nipples, you should probably give Wolf a pass. - The story will have a decent amount of cursing. If you haven't given up by now, this is unlikely to bother you. Still, I believe I should forewarn you that a number of curse words will be making appearance from time to time. - The story will have no small amount of loss for the main character. If you enjoy novels in which everything is fine, the protagonist makes it at the last moment and saves the day... This is not such a story. Life happens. As a reader, I'm annoyed with heroes making it in the nick of time, so for the sake of fairness I used dice on a number of occasions, making do with the result. Sometimes it was anticlimactic, sometimes it was tragic and it led to the story you see before you. Dedication: This story is written for Tired Mom and Wolf, whose arrival the rest of the pack is eagerly awaiting. Thanks: I would like to thank Tired Mom for her proofreading and encouragement over the years. I would like to thank you, Dear Reader, for taking the time to read this big pile of words.
8 241From the Final World
I have lived a long, long time. Longer than the universe knows; longer than any star has seen or traveling light records. My memories; that is all that is left that knows that length, and that which was seen within it. Then again, that is all that ever did. When I am gone, it will be forgotten, a truth and a history lost forever no matter who or what tries to find it. I think that is why I write this now. A record, or a lament, of the most significant being of all time. It is a prideful exaltation of endless triumph, or the dread condemnation of infinite evil. I don’t know which; I shall leave it for others to judge. I could explain further, of course. I could list the sins that have been committed, the deeds that have been done. Yet for now, I believe this is enough. Her story will speak for itself. About the good, and evil, in the heart of a single girl burdened with more than her fair share. And how she reacted to it. So, I will tell her story. Of gods and devils, mortals and monsters, of legends long forgotten and civilizations long turned to dust. And in the end, I hope she knows herself, whether it is salvation, or destruction, she should receive.
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Past.. Is a tricky word. It's past, The past which has already occurred. Yet, The same past has the power to affect the beautiful present and future of oneself. Arnav doesn't come for the remarriage. Reason? Is it really needed? Khushi is heartbroken She has done nothing but cry all these days One incident of the past had overpowered her love. He had blamed her, Though not directly, But he had.. Even when she had no control over the happenings of that day. But... There's more to the story than meets the eyeCover by MeghaMiglani
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"Tunah khan Ka Kookie hi a hmui a fawh ka chak lutuk tih i ngaihtuah", ~JungkookFlash back tamtak a awm a i in chhiar bo em lovang chu a✌😂
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