《Humanity’s Next Steps》Dr. M - Matchmaker
Advertisement
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.
Advertisement
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.”
Advertisement
“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 ...”
Advertisement
Spartan (Re)
Thor, a genetically engineered super-soldier finds himself as the chosen champion of Ares, God of War. Thrown into a universe wide Battle Royal. But does Thor have what it takes to sacrifice everything, to reach to top? A LitRPG-ish story with no ‘status screen’, no attributes, no skills and no game nonsense. Only the Abilities granted by Gods upon their chosen champions. Thor will not be Over-powered, nor will he be perfect. After all, he’s only human. Or is he? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Long awaited Return of Spartan!
8 204Oh Great, I Was Reincarnated as a Farmer.
What do you get when you cross Home Alone, Isekai, litrpg, and a farming simulator? You get Arnold’s life, that’s what you get. Accidently murdered by a cleric in another universe in a botched resurrection, Arnold, a semi-pro gamer, finds himself incarnated into the overweight corpse of that universes version of him. It could be a bad joke, but apparently, it happens so often that they have a standard procedure for returning you. That standard procedure doesn't apply to Arnold. Now stuck on a new earth with no way home, Arnold must use his gaming skills to figure out how to level his farmer class to 100 and gain a new class that doesn't make him want to beat his head against the wall. There is one little problem. Farmers don't gain experience from killing monsters. Like at all. Follow Arnold as he comes to grips with his new reality and discovers creative ways to improve it.(This was originally put up for feedback purposes, so I could finish my final edit, before publishing on Amazon. There were originally only going to be 20 chapters, but I needed more feedback so I bribed the readers to reread my new first chapter with 4 more chapters. The whole novel will not be going up on royal road. This novel will be taken down on the 10th of May.)Amazon link below. Oh Great! I was Reincarnated as a Farmer
8 69The Slayer and the Sphinx
What if every magical creature you'd ever heard of was real, driven into hiding by an army of violent zealots? This is reality for Sarah Heisen and Porter Collins. Sarah is a sphinx living a life of luxury in her family's mansion. Hidden from all danger, but shut off from the world, she wants nothing more than to escape. Porter is the Slayer's most promising recruit, and his skill is matched only by his hatred for those he hunts. The two are brought together as enemies, but fate has different plans for them. When an accident erases Porter's memory, he clings to Sarah for support. Now they are lost, injured, and helpless. If they want to survive, they will have to work together- and they may change the world as a result. The Slayer and the Sphinx is featured on Web Fiction Guide and Novels Online! www.webfictionguide.com http://novelsonline.info/
8 178Mushoku Tensei: That one forgotten Mob
Life is filled with the unexpected. Today is another normal day in life, as I passed the time with my friends to bully the cursed superd child feared in the village to show our might to her. A water ball suddenly hit us. The kid from the knight's office was unleashing his spell to attack us, the bully. Never would I expect that simple water ball to create a trigger for memories to fill my brain. I was 5 at that time, and the memories were jumbled. I don't know whether it’s mine or another's. I just know that this is not a memory of a single person. And, from that memory, I know that I’m actually a mob... I’m one of Sylphiette’s bullies. You won’t know me since I am not named in any of the works, whether they were manga, novels, or even anime. Heck, I only say one word and I'm dead in the next part. an actual mob, where I don’t even appear in either the opening or the ending of the anime. The thing happened so suddenly. I don’t know whether I am reincarnated, transmigrated, or just receiving some memories from someone in the real world. The deadline is 5 years from now, the day the Metastasis incident happened. Can I be another prodigy in the Mushoku Tensei world, or will I still be another slightly better mob? Disclaimer! *I’m not a native, so please do tell me if you find any grammar mistakes or better word choices. *!!! There'd be a lot of web novel parts and less Claude's POV, but it'll get focused over time, so be patient and skim if you don't like some parts. I made it So other reader Can Understand where they are in the Story. It's also my timeline note! *Thank you very much for reading and your feedback. *R-18 tags for gore and profanity.
8 245Words to My Demons | Poetry ✔️
❝she was simple, an angel born without wings. yet she was special, an enchanting song her lost soul sings. ❞ A dark and deep poetry collection of every little thing that makes us both unique and insane.~ Highest ranking in Poetry: #7 ~ 1st Place in 2018 Ocean Awards ~ 1st Place 2018 Monthly Genre Awards ~
8 350Pᴏᴇᴛʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ Wʜɪꜱᴘᴇʀꜱ
my last entry. Started: March 23, 2022Finished: October 30, 2022
8 161