Lucien stared at the shattered moon hanging in the sky while hiding inside what used to be an ice cream shop. He had woken up about forty minutes earlier, with a pounding headache and a phantom pain that had thankfully faded.
He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to convince himself this was all just a bad dream. But as he glanced outside the broken windows, all he could see were massive buildings of various shapes and styles—none of them familiar. None of them belonged to his world.
Some looked like they scraped the very heavens. They were futuristic—no doubt about that. The place he was in had once been an urban zone… or at least, it looked like it. The streets were cracked and dirty, overgrown with vines and weeds that had broken through the concrete like nature reclaiming what man abandoned.
After several minutes in shock, he sighed and gave in. If this was a dream, fine. He'd play along until he woke up. Days without proper sleep could make anyone collapse from exhaustion. That's what this had to be.
With that thought in mind, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Time to explore this post-apocalyptic wonderland. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips. A flick of his hand sparked it to life.
He inhaled, held it for a second, then exhaled slowly. The smoke calmed him. To be honest, he wasn't even nervous. He'd been to worse places. Waking up in a futuristic city? That was almost... refreshing, even if it was temporary.
Leaving the ice cream shop, the first thing he encountered were abandoned cars. Some were brands he recognized, others completely alien. One detail stood out—they didn't have tires. In fact, they barely had wheels. Instead, cylindrical objects hovered slightly beneath the chassis. He had no idea how they worked.
He kept walking through the deserted streets. And then, at a street corner, he saw it—
A white robot, perfectly still.
Squinting, Lucien instinctively reached for his pistol and crept closer, keeping nearby cover in mind in case things went south.
"Hey!" he called out.
No response.
"Turn around! I just wanna talk!"
Still nothing. With a sigh, he advanced, still alert, and stopped barely a meter from the machine.
"Beautiful…" he murmured.
The craftsmanship was stunning. Sleek, minimalist lines. Efficient curves. An engineering marvel.
Lucien had always loved technology. Since childhood, he'd been obsessed—grew up watching Iron Man and dreaming of having an AI like JARVIS someday.
"If it weren't for my mom, I probably would've studied software engineering," he muttered, crouching to get a better look.
He couldn't resist. His hand reached out and gently touched it. Whether from age or instability, the robot suddenly collapsed, clattering to the ground and echoing through the empty street.
—
One hour later.
Lucien had scoured the streets, explored what remained of nearby shops, but found little. As he wandered, something caught his eye—a building that stood out from the rest.
It was large. Too large for just a shop. One corner of its glass entrance was shattered, revealing a dusty, deserted interior.
Raising an eyebrow, he stepped closer.
With minimal effort, he moved aside the broken door and walked in. Empty shelves lined the place. One glance at the design and layout told him it had been an electronics store.
Scattered around the floor were metallic mannequins, and most of the display cases had been smashed, their contents long gone.
"Looted... Probably during the chaos," he muttered.
Most cases were broken, all the same—except for four. One of them immediately caught his attention.
Untouched. Clean. As if time itself had skipped over it.
Inside, resting alone, was a small black sphere. No label. No price tag. Not even dust.
Lucien's eyes lit up with curiosity. No footprints. No recent signs of activity. Just that sphere, smooth as polished obsidian. It was surreal. How could something remain perfectly preserved when everything else had been destroyed or stripped?
Humming softly to himself, he found a stick, tapped the glass, shielded his face from the shards, and reached for the sphere.
"And what are you?" he whispered.
It was cold and light in his hand. And then, as if it heard him, thin blue lines began to glow across its surface—like veins pulsing with energy.
The sphere vibrated gently. Then, it bloomed like a mechanical flower.
Black dust scattered, swirling in the air, before condensing again. In moments, the dust reshaped itself.
A pair of sleek, black glasses floated before him.
Lucien held them carefully, stunned by what he'd just witnessed.
"Holy shit… This is nanotech," he breathed.
And it truly was. Not the theoretical kind. Not the "someday in the future" kind. This was real, functioning, autonomous nanotechnology. The kind that shouldn't exist. Not in something as simple as eyewear. Not yet.
"Something like this... I could sell it and be filthy rich. Or end up with every government on my ass."
He smiled.
"Let's see how they look."
He slid them on—and felt them latch onto his face, just slightly.
Then, blue holographic screens appeared before his eyes, hovering in mid-air. As he turned his head, the screens followed. He reached out instinctively—and they responded, moving with his touch.
"No way… If this is a dream, I never want to wake up," he laughed, genuinely amused.
For nearly a minute, he played with the interface, waving through menus. A leftward swipe cleared all but one screen, which displayed various unreadable data.
Then a voice—genderless, synthetic—spoke directly into his ear:
«Initializing neural link… Neural link established. Accessing and storing memory… Successful. Attempting satellite connection… Error. No satellite networks detected.»
Lucien blinked. A small popup flashed in front of him with the same message.
"No satellite network. Abandoned city. No people in sight. Yep… definitely has that apocalyptic vibe," he muttered.
«Welcome. I am Nexus-988. I will assist you while I remain in service.»
The voice returned, emotionless. Lucien didn't respond right away, his attention fixed on the floating screens—most of them were blank. Probably due to the failed satellite link.
"Mmm… Nexus, right?" he asked tentatively.
«Yes, Master. How may I assist you?»
Lucien sat down on the dusty floor, tapping his fingers against it.
"Tell me. What are you? Who built you?"
«I am a neural intelligence system developed by Nexus Technology. Generation 988.»
"Neural intelligence system… Okay. What exactly are your capabilities?"
«I can record and store video, images, and data. I also enhance cerebral processing, allowing for faster understanding and learning. Additionally, I have access to public databases.»
The explanation was clear. Logical. And impressive. Lucien nodded, already imagining the possibilities.
"That's why you tried to connect to the satellites. And… when you say 'store anything,' do you mean anything?"
«Affirmative. Unfortunately, I cannot access the quantum satellite network at this time. As for your second question—yes, I can store any form of data, though my storage has limits.»
Lucien mulled that over. He wanted to believe it was still a dream. But something told him… he wasn't waking up any time soon.
And just like that—he felt it again. That same dizziness from earlier. Before he could react, the world around him blurred—
—and he was home.
"What the… what the hell was that!?" he shouted, jumping to his feet and drawing his weapon on instinct. His heart thundered in his chest.
«Elevated heart rate detected. I recommend calming down.» said the same cold, synthetic voice.
Lucien froze.
His skin crawled. A chill ran down his spine. Slowly, he reached up—and felt the cold frame of the glasses still on his face.
"What the hell…? No, no, no… Oh God!" he gasped, dizziness returning as he collapsed back down, breath ragged and fast.