🚨SIREN — UNNMM… UNNMM…🚨
A distorted voice echoed through the facility.
"All facilities evacuate immediately.
Breach detected — Series SSS.
This area is extremely dangerous.
I repeat—evacuate immediately."
UNNMM… UNNMM…
PHSSSS—
The hibernation chamber unlocked.
Cold vapor spilled into the air.
"A—ah… a-ah…"
A figure staggered forward, barely conscious.
"Oi! Are you fine?"
A man grabbed his shoulders.
"Can you hear me? Look at me."
As his blurry vision tried to focus, a transparent screen flickered in front of his eyes. Showing the name and occupation of the standing person.
REGISTERING SUBJECT…
"Huh…?"
"I'm Rig," the man said quickly. "If you don't mind, let's get out of here. This place is a death trap."
Rig threw the man's arm over his shoulder and dragged him through the chaos.
Human screams tore through the air from every direction.
He wasn't fully awake—his vision swam, doubling and blurring, while his head felt like it had been split in two.
Rig shoved him into the back seat of a car and sped off.
Memory — Fragmented
A boy pedaled his bicycle as fast as he could.
He stopped in front of his house, kicked the stand down, and rushed inside.
Breathing heavily, he pulled a paper from his bag and slammed it onto the kitchen slab, then staggered back until his shoulders hit the far kitchen wall.
His mother was cooking.
His father watched TV.
The boy's school uniform was torn, dirty—clearly from a fight.
His face showed no emotion.
The mother picked up the paper.
She froze.
Then she smiled—soft, trembling.
The boy blinked, confused.
She suddenly laughed.
Then she cried.
His father rushed in. "What happened?"
She hugged the boy tightly.
"Go take a bath," she said gently. "Change your clothes. I made your favorite dish."
The boy's eyes widened—like a puppy hearing good news.
Then—
BANG.
A bullet shattered not just the window, but a family's happy moment.
Glass exploded like rain.
The bullet pierced her head.
She collapsed.
The father in shock rushed to the mother and screamed.
"CALL THE AMBULANCE,
SOU! CALL THE AMBULANCE!"
The boy couldn't move.
He couldn't cry.
He couldn't scream.
His mind went blank.
Hey sou Hey
Hey...
Present
"Hey."
"Wake up."
Water splashed onto Sou's face.
He gasped awake, eyes wet with tears.
Rig exhaled in relief. "Ah, finally."
"You know I've been trying to wake you up for three hours? Give me a break, man."
Sou whispered, "Where… am I?"
"Oh, you can talk. Good," Rig said. "This is my house. Or you can call it my base."
Sou pushed his legs off the bed, trying to stand.
"Woah, woah, woah—where do you think you're going?"
"I don't know," Sou said. "But far from here."
Rig frowned. "Do you have any idea what it took to bring you here? Without me, you wouldn't survive outside."
Sou looked up. "What do you mean?"
Rig sighed. "The outside world… it's chaos. But you probably don't know."
"The world you knew," Rig continued, "is gone."
Sou said flatly, "Stop twisting words. Be clear."
"…It's 2043."
Sou froze.
"Hibernation?" he asked.
Rig nodded. "Yeah. You were asleep for a long time. And now—many people want you."
He smirked. "I won't lie. I'm one of them too."
Sou's eyes sharpened. "Why? What did I take from you guys?"
"You never took anything, from anyone." Rig replied calmly.
"But we are taking something from you."
Sou's voice dropped. "What do you want?"
Rig waved his hand. "Relax. I'll explain everything. But first—do you like soup?"
Sou stared at him. "Answer me."
"Veg or non-veg?"
"…."
 A while later—
"Here," Rig said,
placing a bowl down. "Hot veg soup."
Slurrpp.
"Can you slow down?"
Sou winced.
"Ah—sorry. Living alone for too long does that to you," Rig said awkwardly.
Slurrrrrppp.
"Will you stop?" Sou snapped. "That sound hurts my head."
Rig stopped.
 "…That won't do," Rig muttered.
"What?" Sou asked.
Rig looked straight into his eyes.
"To answer your question—"
"The thing everyone wants from you is—"
He smiled.
"Your brain."
...
His eyes didn't move.
"My… brain?"
"Yes. Your brain," Rig said calmly.
"Well—not exactly your brain. But something connected to it."
Sou
"What does that even mean? I don't understand the garbage you're saying. Keep it short."
Rig clicked his tongue.
"Why don't you understand anything I say? Don't tell me you forgot everything."
He paused, studying Sou carefully.
"…Come to think of it, I never asked your name. What is it?"
Sou hesitated.
"My name…"
The memory surged back.
Call the ambulance, Sou.
Sou—hey…
Sou!
His fingers clenched.
"…It's Sou."
Rig stiffened.
"…What?"
His expression changed completely.
"You're not the person I was looking for."
Sou's eyes sharpened.
"What are you trying to say? Be clear."
Rig exhaled slowly.
"Alright. I'll explain everything."
He leaned back.
"You see, while you were in hibernation, everything changed. The internet. The digital world. Even the physical world."
"The information you once knew?" Rig continued.
"It's gone. You'll never know what was true—or what is true—anymore."
Sou looked at him.
"Why?"
Rig gave a hollow laugh.
"When AI reached its peak, some advanced systems began corrupting data—everything stored digitally."
"Humans were the ones controlling them. And would you believe it? The same people who once hated AI for stealing their jobs started using it to spread misinformation."
"They started selling the so-called 'correct' information for profit."
He shook his head.
"A messed-up cycle, isn't it?"
Sou asked quietly,
"What about the government? Didn't they stop it?"
Rig laughed—cold and bitter.
"The government?"
His smile lingered for a moment, but it quickly faded.
"They tried at first," he said, leaning back, eyes distant.
"But when truth itself became a commodity, governments stopped being referees… and became buyers."
Sou's fingers clenched. "Buyers?"
"Whoever controlled the data shaped reality," Rig continued. "Elections, history, crimes, even identities—everything ran on digital records. Once those were rewritten, laws
meant nothing."
Every industry, hospital, and medicine supply was controlled by government AI. Trust had vanished, but fear of death hadn't. Survival left people with no choice but to rely on it.
"Education collapsed. Schools disappeared. No one even says what background they're from anymore."
"People study in secret, at home. They don't even know if what they're reading is real."
"So they experiment. Rewrite books. Edit knowledge."
Sou swallowed.
"And the internet?"
"Dangerous," Rig replied.
"Quantum AIs are everywhere."
Sou asked,
"Then why don't people share their knowledge?"
Rig smiled faintly.
"What do you think?"
"In a world where information is limited and corruption is everywhere… what happens when someone says, 'I know this'?"
Sou's eyes widened.
"…You become a target."
"You see, Sou"
Rig turned toward the window.
"The world without information."
"The world without knowledge."
"The world ruled by corruption is..."
He looked back at Sou.
"Hell."