Pain. So. Much. Pain. The man woke from his dreamless sleep the exact same way that he had for the last 17 years of his miserable existence. Pain and he were old friends, joined side by side since their birth. As they had been brought into the world together, they would one day leave this world the same way. Together.

But, in the same way they were friends, they were also the worst of enemies. Therefore as he had done every morning for as long as he could remember, he ripped apart his suffering and pushed his way through the barrier that covered his mind.

Not today, he thought to himself. Especially not today.

The man opened his eyes to the white walls of the small room that he called his home. The doctors had told him that the isolation and peace would help his condition, but just like all of the suggested treatments they had tried over the years, it did nothing.

He had no idea why he was the way that he was. 17 years ago, he had been dropped off at a low budget orphanage and for a long time, that was the only life he had known. Pain had been with him since his birth, but at the age of 5, his body also started deteriorating. Slowly, all of his coordination and motor skills had shut down and by the age of 12, he had started using a wheelchair. The orphanage had not had the resources to deal with his issue and he had almost accepted his certain death until a certain day 3 years ago.

A man, specifically looking for him had stopped by the orphanage. He had claimed that he was a successful businessman that was developing an AI network to help disabled kids like him.

One thing led to another, and he had been admitted into a facility, where the best doctors in the world had gone to work on him, to see why his body was broken. They’d all come up with a load of nothing. They had no idea why he was disabled and why his body had deteriorated over the years.

They had suggested that the AI Connected Network (AICN) testing be paused until they figured out what was wrong with him. But at his insistence and Mr. Talvidge’s eagerness, he became the guinea pig for this new network. If it worked, he would regain the use of his legs along with other advantages from having an AI network in his head.

If it didn’t work, well, he certainly had nothing to lose.

All of the testing and development of the AICN culminated in today. Today was the day he would finally become somebody, or waste his days away.

It took a couple more hours for a nurse to arrive.

“Okay sweetie, I’m just going to give you a little poke here and once you wake up the operation will be all over.”

It was funny how all of the nurses and doctors spoke to him, as if he was a child. They thought that just because his body had deteriorated, so too had his mind.

At this thought, he fell into another dreamless sleep, a place where even the pain couldn’t follow him.

***

Shouting. Voices in the background. More shouting. He opened his eyes but it was blurry. So blurry. He could see four white smudges running around him, with Mr. Talvidge’s blurred black suit in the background. It was obvious he was yelling something, but why would he be yelling?

And then it all came into focus. He was tied to a metal bed by thick black bands. Surrounding him were machines, so many machines. The lights, the cold, the people, it was so overwhelming. He was thirsty.

He tried to croak out his desire for some water, but he couldn’t speak. His body had seized up. He just didn’t notice the pain until now, because he was so used to it, that he didn’t realize that now there was another source.

And then his hearing also came into focus.

The doctors were running around, poking and prodding him with different machines. Worst of all Mr. Talvidge was screaming in the background.

“Save him! What the hell are you doing?! What’s going on?!”

“Sir please calm down we aren’t sure,” one of the doctors answered him, trying to calm down the businessman. “The connection with the AICN was perfectly executed and the patient’s body responded well within the first few minutes. We do not understand what happened to him. His body suddenly seized up and his heart rate started dropping. Currently we are trying to look inside of him to find out why he is dying.”

And then it was gone again. The voices, the poking, the people. His eyesight started fading and with the last embers of his first life, he caught the sad face of one of the doctors.

And then he was finally at peace.