As the door automatically opened upward at the teenagers’ approach, a roar came from the other side. Claws, scratching the floor, passed over the threshold of the ascending entrance. The creature’s short, brown knife-shaped nails were no bigger than a human phalanx, yet their friction on the ground emitted a strident noise.

Before the ascending doorway could slip into the ceiling, a canine sprang up from underneath and charged at the teens.

Woof Woof

The blue-eyed dog pounced on Loris. Unable to reach his face, with sixty centimetres at the withers, it licked his hand instead. Full of saliva dripped from his long, warm, slimy tongue.

But now was not the time.

The canine visibly failed to make sense of the teenagers’ gloomy facial expressions, which intensified second by second. On their way back, they’ve seen a lot of strange behaviours, some bordering on the illegal—totally unheard-of in silver cities.

It brought a sense of insecurity and chaos they had never experienced before.

Loris gently stroked the head of his everyday company, getting rid of the sticky liquid. “Rex, deactivate.”

The dog’s behaviour shifted. His tail, wagging with joy, stopped, his widespread ears curled up, and he assumed a perfectly neutral position. As he stood still, its eyes dimmed. When they turned grey, the dog turned and mechanically trotted back into the house.

The teenagers walked through a blank hallway directly leading into the living room.

When they entered, a soothing voice echoed. “Aina, at your service.”

Inside, not any physical presence; the living room was utterly empty. Devoid of supplies and furniture, only animated imagery akin to tags graced the walls.

A larger-than-life animated image covered the front wall. It depicted a younger version of the three friends. They laughed and smiled, with Anastasia in the middle and her arms over the boys’ shoulders. A few kilometres behind them stood a large and pyramidal mega-structure whose upper part far surpassed clouds. Around it, a helix-shaped like a strand of DNA - wrapped the structure from top to bottom. It almost looked like an anaconda writhing around its prey.

Loris looked at it wistfully and turned to his friends. “What do you want to eat?” According to the custom, he had to decide on his birthday details. Only with everything that had happened, it was no longer New Year’s Day, not even his birthday, but just a crappy day.

Anastasia hastened to reply. “Something sweet!”

“Anything, as long as it’s sour.”

“You’ve heard them, Aina. Same as usual for me.” Loris said.

“Understood,” Aina answered with the same tone, which had relaxing properties similar to ASMR.

Impatiently waiting for the order to be ready, Loris glanced around. Many animated images related to athletics gave life to the right-hand wall, such as gloves, knee protectors, and gadget sports shoes. In the centre, a charismatic charismatic-looking athlete overshadowed these vulgar details. The blistering stride of his overly long legs would look like a photoshopped picture if it wasn’t for the speeding scenery behind. Yet, the portrait of this emblematic Olympian wouldn’t stand out so much without his excessively defined muscles, making him look like a red mass of meat and bones.

A small hatch opened on the same wall, revealing a pink rectangular machine barely more significant than a microwave, a bowl, and a plate.

The machine ejected five dozen multicoloured sphere-shaped candies and many fruits within seconds. A little later, a giant chocolate bar landed on the plate; the device opened to let a purple beverage go through.

BIP

Finally ready. The teenagers held out their hands, prepared to receive.

The food printing machine catapulted the dishes towards them. Following a ballistic trajectory, they landed in their palms.

“Aina, prepare the no-gravity chairs,” Loris said.

“Understood.”

Three coloured points of light forming a triangle appeared near the centre of the room. A hatch opened. It let through three thin translucent seats, which reflected the three primary colours that glowed below.

The adolescents approached the centre.

Fabrice leapt onto the left-hand seat, which let in an incandescent blue light raging inside like an electrified field. His position gave him a perfect view of the right wall.

Loris hopped in the middle one and Anastasia on the last, giving her a direct view of a wall filled with wild animals. A young girl and a raptor flapping its wing beside her stood among them. Both shared the same eyes. Using an old vintage wooden bow, the little girl targeted tiny mammals escaping into the depths of the moving image.

With the help of his smartwatch, Loris’ seat rose, allowing him to hover in the middle of the room. The seat adjusted according to his position as if it had its own will, allowing him to switch between different comfortable poses. It now looked like a thin deckchair without armrests.

Anastasia sat cross-legged and devoured her meal with an astonishing speed. “Aina, prepare and set my bed in relaxation mode.” She spoke so fast that it was hardly understandable.

“Understood.”

Fabrice was sitting like a king on his throne. He scratched his head, having no clue what she had just said. “Aina, collect, analyse and summarise by order of pertinence data on what happened this night at 1 am worldwide. You can use up to 10 000 of my merits.”

Loris spat out his drink. “10 000?!”

“According to which criteria?” The domestic AI asked.

“Loss of consciousness.”

“Understood.”

Fabrice smirked at Loris. “That’s what it’s like not just to live off your allowance.”

Loris grunted and bared his teeth.

Aina’s soothing voice interrupted their bickering. “The data is now available on the local network. Do you want to hear the summary report?”

“Yes,” Fabrice answered.

“All over the world, humans lost consciousness at 01:00 GMT+1, first of January 2500. There is no record to the contrary. The lack of data regarding underground, underwater and reclassified cities makes it impossible to confirm that this phenomenon affected all human beings.”

Fabrice took a bite of his energy bar. “What about other species? And robotic humans?”

“No irregularities were found.”

Loris gulped. “What about intra-barrier cities?”

A few seconds passed. He had definitely been ghosted.

“Aina!” Loris exclaimed.

“No permission.”

Loris sighed.

Anastasia, who had long since swallowed her last treat, jumped off her couch. “I’m exhausted, guys. See you tomorrow.”

She left the room while her chair was falling gently to the floor. Its red colour illuminated the room for a moment before the hatch closed.

Fabrice glanced at the corridor. “Aina, can you raise the temperature by two degrees?”

“Understood.”

The passage leading to the corridor closed.

Loris laughed at his friend’s barely veiled intentions.

Fabrice stared into his eyes. “Avoid talking about family-related matters in front of her.”

The Caucasian teen raised his eyebrows.

“I’m pretty sure her father did not give her any news.” He added.

The birthday boy huffed. “Fine, then it’s time to tell me what you know.”

“My mother got me a residence pass for the inner city.”

Loris looked at the animated picture in front of him. “You’ll be safe there.”

Fabrice stared at the same wall with nostalgia. “I won’t go. Even there, no one was spared.”

Loris’ eyes widened, and his lips quivered. “People lost consciousness even within the pico-b…?”.

He took a deep breath, helping him to calm down. “We both know that the real danger will be of a human nature.”

Fabrice looked down, feigning ignorance.

Loris glanced one last time at the wall and chuckled. “Your shitty personality is at odds with who you truly are.”

Fabrice placed his plate on a tray that had just formed from the left armrest of his seat. “I’ve finished eating. Anything else to say?”

“Oh, uh- Wait. I nearly forgot. Give me some advice regarding the Noflo method. Wanna start serious training.”

The blue, thunderous seat was landing. “Ask Aina.”

“Come on, don’t be a dick. An Olympian like you can’t be compared with a domestic AI.”

Fabrice chuckled as his chair rose to the height of Loris’. “How much do you have in savings?”

“About 15000.”

Fabrice shook his head in disbelief.

“Money is not an issue. I’ll make some.” Loris said.

“If what we experienced isn’t the biggest prank in history, we’ll need a bloody fortune to survive. And I don’t plan to babysit you, nor will I let Anastasia do it.”

Loris connected his eyes to his. For an instant, something shone in Loris’ eyes, as if he showed his true self. It transmitted his determination. “Believe me.”

“Fine,” Fabrice said, index finger-wagging. “I’ve sent you a file with everything you need to know.” His seat landed. “Oh, one last thing; As long as the Noflo accuracy rate is below 75%, don’t push yourself too much,” he said, moving toward the only exit.

The door opened as Fabrice approached it.

“Why?” asked Loris.

“You’ll break yourself.”