Chapter 38: A Fragile Hope

Upon returning to the station and stepping back inside the tent, Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie sat down around the table once more. Across from them stood Mary, who appeared fully prepared to leave, and Selma, who sat casually smoking with both feet propped up on the table while listening to a soldier report to her.

Once finished, Selma dismissed the soldier. As soon as the soldier exited the tent, Selma glanced at Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie in front of her, then turned to look at Mary, who was sitting beside her with her arms crossed, staring back at her,

"Do you believe what I told you while they were away now?" Mary asked.

"Yeah... I do. No wonder the military wants them," Selma replied, glancing at Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie.

"Um... what were you two talking about while we were away just now, Sister Mary?" Clyde asked, bewildered, turning to look at Mary.

"It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. What matters is that we’re leaving in an hour. I asked them to delay the train’s departure specifically to wait for your return," Mary answered.

"I see... thank you, Sister," Clyde replied, still feeling confused.

"You guys should get ready first. Is there anything you need?" Selma asked the four of them.

Hearing the question, Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie turned to look at one another before facing Selma,

"Could we get one set of clothes like what the four of us are wearing?" Casca asked.

"Oh? Just one set? But there are four of you?" Selma asked, tilting her head.

"It’s not for us, but for our sister and Corie’s, she’s a girl too," Casca answered.

"Yes, that’s right, Sister, we’re going to pick her up," Corie added.

Selma fell silent for a moment, then took another drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke upward, a subtle smile appearing on her face,

"Alright, I’ll provide it. Anything else?" Selma asked.

Craig raised his hand, and all heads turned to look at Craig, who was sitting between Casca and Corie,

"There’s something I’m still curious about... the people inside the simulation... if they die in the simulation, they wake up, right? But what if they don’t die and live out their lives until old age inside the simulation?" Craig asked, clearly still curious about the simulation.

Naturally, Craig’s question spoke directly to the queries that occasionally crossed the minds of Clyde, Casca, and Corie, as they too had only recently awakened. Mary, hearing this, turned to look at Selma, who visibly appeared reluctant to explain the details of the simulation. "Sigh," Mary let out a sigh and then looked at the four young people in front of her,

"Let me answer that. If we want to free someone from the simulation, we kill them, but what we’re actually killing is their mind that entered the simulation. That’s why the military created such horrifying and disturbing apocalyptic scenarios, so that the human mind dies along with its body inside the simulation. However, not all minds actually die; some remain alive but lost or in a state of suspended animation. That’s why some roam inside the simulation as zombies or machine zombies, like what happened in that broadcast earlier," Mary said.

Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie did not interrupt what Mary was saying, listening intently and waiting for her to continue,

"However... if a human inside the simulation is left to live until old age and dies of natural causes, they will be reborn inside the simulation and live through the same scenario under a different role, with everything reset from scratch and no memory of their previous life. They won’t realize they are inside a simulation and will never know that the real world is the one we live in now," Mary added to her explanation.

"You know the concept of heaven and hell, right? Heaven means being reborn inside the simulation, and hell? Well, waking up and facing this world. That’s roughly the situation," Selma added, backing up Mary.

Clyde, Casca, Craig, and Corie choked up, unable to say a word. Everything Mary and Selma said was deeply unsettling, yet it left them trapped in a dilemma. The people inside the simulation didn’t have to experience a harsh existence in a world under constant threat, living out their lives in happiness, even though every single day their blood and nutrients were being drained to serve as food for the nephilim.

Mary and Selma, looking at the expressions on their four faces, knew exactly what they were thinking, as both of them had felt the exact same way when they first woke up.

"In that case... Lyra, Nate, and Dana... shouldn’t be freed, right? Maybe they’re much happier inside the simulation," Craig said in a soft voice.

"That won’t work. Like you said earlier, you came from a farm that just suffered a horrifying apocalypse, and if they become creatures like the ones in that broadcast, they won’t be able to be happy and will be lost forever. It’s better for us to blow up the farm and truly release them from life," Selma countered.

Hearing Selma’s words, Craig lowered his head, both fists clenching on top of the table. Seeing Craig bowing his head, Clyde turned to look at Selma,

"But suppose... Craig’s friends who turned into machine zombies were killed inside the simulation, do they still need to be saved?" Clyde asked.

Craig turned to look at Clyde, who was now staring at Selma across from him. Casca and Corie also realized why Clyde was asking such a question; they immediately whispered to Craig, and Craig’s expression shifted completely.

"Hmm... if that’s the case, then yes... they must be saved because they’ll definitely wake up in this world, terrified," Selma answered.

Craig was instantly stunned upon hearing Selma’s words. He turned to look at Clyde, who smiled and nodded at him, and then saw the smiling faces of Casca and Corie looking at him as well.

"That incident happened about five days ago, so there’s a chance your friends have already been rescued and are currently at Safe Haven. Just hope that when you get there, you’ll meet them," Mary added.

"Yeah, that’s true. We have detectors, and if anyone actually wakes up inside one of the farms, we’ll definitely pick up their signal and wouldn’t just leave them be. Besides, many of the farms around here have been abandoned and are guarded only by guard dogs without any nephilim present... even though our detection equipment is controlled by the military," Selma added.

"Thank goodness, then," Craig said, feeling slightly relieved.

"There’s one thing I must mention, though. When they wake up, most of them remember nothing or only have faint memories of their lives inside the simulation. Their brains will restore their memories from when they were alive in the real world and suppress the memories from the simulation... so... don’t hold out too much hope that your friends from the simulation will recognize you when you meet them," Selma added.

Clyde was startled. Deep down in his heart, he had already suspected that might happen, even as he tried to deny it. But after receiving confirmation from Selma, he completely gave up on the hope that his parents, Monica, Tyler, and Kate would remember him when they woke up. Right now, he actually hoped they wouldn’t wake up at all, so they wouldn’t have to witness the real world and could live happily inside the simulation instead.

"But why were you and Sister Mary able to meet again after coming out of the simulation, Sister Selma?" Corie asked.

"Because our pods were right next to each other at the farm, and when I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was her," Mary answered, pointing at Selma.

"Yep... same here, I saw her too when I opened my eyes, and my memories from the simulation where we’d been childhood friends still remained. That’s why I said don’t hold out too much hope; them remembering us isn’t impossible, but it’s certainly far from guaranteed," Selma added, shrugging her shoulders.

"Then why do I still clearly remember my life in the simulation after waking up?" Clyde asked.

"Yeah... I’ve got the exact same question," Craig added.

"That’s why I said most of them, didn’t I? Of course, there are people who wake up with their memories of life in the simulation still vivid in their minds, some even want to go back. That’s what the rehabilitation center is for; they focus on delivering reality to people who are experiencing deep suffering, trauma, and sorrow because they still remember their lives in the simulation," Selma replied.

After that, silence fell over the tent once more as they each sank into their own thoughts. Relief was visible on Craig’s face, while Clyde appeared torn by a deep dilemma, and Casca, Corie, Mary, and Selma simply sat without speaking, the only sound being Selma occasionally blowing out smoke with a faint noise. The tent flap was pulled back, and a soldier stepped inside, breaking the silence,

"Sorry, boss, the train is leaving in half an hour," the soldier said.

"Well... the time has come. Alright, everyone, get ready," Selma replied, standing up.

Selma then walked over to a short cabinet inside the tent, opened it, and pulled out a set of military attire consisting of a black t-shirt, tactical three-quarter pants, a black jacket, and boots, bringing them over to the table and handing them to the four of them. Naturally, the four of them looked at the clothes, but they were confused because the garments appeared to have been worn before,

"Ah... right, these military uniforms belong to me. I used to be in the military too, and since I don’t use them anymore, feel free to take them for your sister to wear later," Selma said.

"Oh... okay, thank you, Sister Selma," Casca and Corie replied in unison.

"Alright... let’s get ready to move out," Mary said, standing up with a smile.

Clyde, Casca, Corie, who stowed the clothes inside her bag and Craig stood up as well. They all stepped out of the tent to prepare for their departure to Safe Haven, the rebel city, by train.