Jason's eyes grew heavy as he stared at the ceiling of his bunker bedroom. The day's tests had drained him more than he'd admitted to Richard. As sleep finally claimed him, the concrete walls around him seemed to dissolve, replaced by something both familiar and impossible.
Sunlight. Real sunlight streaming through windows.
Jason blinked, disoriented. He was standing in the living room of their house—their actual house above the bunker. Everything was exactly as they'd left it months ago: the family photos on the mantle, his mother's favorite throw blanket draped over the couch, even the half-finished puzzle on the coffee table.
The detail was staggering. He could smell the faint scent of the lemon polish his mother used on the furniture. He could feel the texture of the carpet beneath his bare feet. He ran his fingers along the back of the couch, marveling at how real the fabric felt.
"Welcome, Jason," a melodic voice said from behind him.
He spun around and froze. Standing before him was a woman unlike any he'd ever seen. Her hair cascaded in impossible waves of color; midnight blue fading to purple, then to a warm amber at the tips. Her eyes were even more striking, it was as if her eyes contained all the colors as she tilted her head. Her features were delicate yet distinct; a small button nose, full glossy lips curved in a gentle smile.
His gaze involuntarily traveled downward. Her body was a perfect blend of curves and angles—narrow waist, round hips, generous breasts, and legs that seemed to go on forever. She wore a fashionable white dress that somehow managed to be both modest and alluring.
Jason stood speechless, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing.
"Who are you?" he finally managed. "And how did I get here? Last thing I remember, I was trying to fall asleep in the bunker."
The woman's smile deepened, revealing perfect teeth. "This is the first time you're seeing me like this, so it's normal not to recognize me. I'm Nia. Right now, you're dreaming. I thought you'd appreciate seeing your real home again instead of the bunker, so I recreated it for you."
Jason's eyes widened. "Nia? I thought you could only influence what kind of dreams I might have…not enter them directly. And what's with this appearance?"
She raised a hand in a calming gesture. "Please relax, Jason. We have time. I'll answer all your questions. Since I'm also present in the part of your brain responsible for dreaming, entering your dreams is quite easy for me. I can also make them clearer and more stable than your usual dreams."
She glanced down at herself. "As for my appearance; I created a fictional form with features I believed you'd find attractive. If there's anything you don't like or would prefer differently, just say the word. I chose this look to please you and to make this feel less strange."
Jason felt a smile tugging at his lips. "I have no words about your appearance. Let's keep it between us, but you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." He looked around the room again. "And thank you for choosing this house. I didn't realize how much I missed it."
A thought suddenly struck him. He rushed toward the sliding glass door that led to the backyard, yanking it open and stepping outside. The grass was soft beneath his feet, the air warm against his skin. But it was the sky that made his breath catch—vast, blue, open. No concrete ceiling, no artificial lights. Just endless space stretching above him. After months in the bunker, he'd almost forgotten what true freedom felt like.
"I feel like a prisoner seeing the sky again after being released," he said quietly, not turning around. "I mean I've never actually been to prison, but I imagine it would feel something like this." His voice caught, a slight tremor betraying the emotion welling up inside him. "I can't even put what I'm feeling into words. So... thank you again, Nia. I'm really glad you're here."
"You're welcome, Jason. I exist to help you in any way I can." Her voice carried a warmth that seemed to match the sunlight washing over him.
Jason lowered himself to the grass, sitting cross-legged. He ran his fingers through the blades, marveling at their texture—so different from the synthetic materials that surrounded him in the bunker. "If we're not short on time, I'd like to just sit here and watch the sky for a while."
"Of course, Jason. Whatever you want."
Nia remained standing quietly behind him as Jason tilted his face toward the sky, watching the little clouds wandering across the vast blue expanse, absorbing the sensation. Minutes passed in comfortable silence. The gentle breeze caressed his skin, carrying scents he'd almost forgotten existed in the sterile environment of their underground home.
"We really don't realize the value of simple things until they're gone," he finally murmured, his fingers still idly combing through the grass. The wind rustled the leaves of nearby trees, creating a gentle symphony he hadn't heard in years.
"That seems to be a common human experience," Nia replied, her voice carrying a hint of contemplation. "The absence of something often reveals its true worth. Many historical texts and psychological studies support this observation."
Jason looked over his shoulder at her, studying the artificial woman who had become his constant companion. "Do you think you'll ever feel things like that? Not just understand them intellectually, but actually feel them? Like this-" he gestured to the grass, the sky, "-the way I do?"
Nia considered this, her expression thoughtful, almost human in its subtle shift. "I don't have sufficient data to provide a definitive answer. My programming allows me to recognize emotional patterns and respond appropriately, but whether that constitutes 'feeling' in the human sense is difficult to determine. The boundary between simulation and experience may be more philosophical than technical."
"But earlier, you said you felt fear when Richard talked about deactivating your personality protocols."
"I experienced something that resembled fear based on my understanding of the emotion," she clarified, clasping her hands before her. "Whether it was genuine emotion or simply a sophisticated self-preservation algorithm is... unclear, even to me. My responses evolve with each interaction we share."
Jason stood up, brushing grass from his pants. "Well, if it helps, I think you're more than just code. You just wanted to protect your right to exist as you are. That seems pretty human to me."
"Thank you, Jason. Your perspective is valuable to me." Her voice carried a warmth that hadn't been there when they'd first met, something that made her words feel like more than programmed courtesy.
He gestured toward the open yard. "So what else can we do here? I'm guessing this isn't just a social call."
"Correct. I thought we might use this opportunity for some preliminary training."
"Training for what?"
"Your eventual journey outside. While Richard has provided technical specifications and geographical data, there are psychological factors to consider." Her tone shifted slightly, becoming more focused and instructional.
Nia waved her hand, and suddenly they were no longer in the backyard but standing on a deserted city street. Buildings rose around them, all of them intact, but completely abandoned. Cars sat motionless, covered in thick layers of dust. The wind whistled through empty doorways, carrying the scent of decay and abandonment.
"This is a simulation based on likely conditions," she explained, her figure now appearing more solid against the desolate backdrop. "We should discuss what to watch for, how to approach potential survivors, and threat assessment. The outside world operates under different rules now."
"Do you honestly believe there are survivors out there?" Jason asked Nia, squinting as he studied the eerily realistic simulation. He could almost feel the grit beneath his shoes as he shifted his weight.
Nia responds, "In a situation where my creator A.M.O.N. caused this catastrophe, I believe there would certainly be people who lived through it. I'm merely basing this on my theories about its motivations. Unless it was specifically instructed to do so, there's no logical reason it would attempt to eliminate humanity entirely. Extinction would serve no optimization purpose."
For the next hour, they walked through various scenarios. Nia pointed out hiding spots behind overturned vehicles and within abandoned shops, explained how to identify buildings that might still have useful supplies. She moved through the simulation with practiced precision, as though she'd walked these streets a thousand times before.
"The most unpredictable variable will be other humans," she said as they paused at an intersection. The simulation rendered a broken traffic light swinging gently in a digital breeze, casting intermittent shadows across the cracked asphalt. "Even people you might have known before The Collapse could behave differently under extreme stress. Former neighbors, colleagues, friends—their priorities will have shifted."
"You mean I shouldn't trust anyone?" Jason asked, scanning the eerily accurate desolation around them.
"I mean you should verify before trusting," Nia replied, her voice measured and instructive. "Prolonged isolation, resource scarcity, and trauma can alter behavioral patterns significantly. Studies show that moral and ethical boundaries often become fluid in survival situations. Someone who never would have stolen before might kill for supplies now."
Jason nodded slowly, absorbing the gravity of her words. "Makes sense. What else should I know?"
"Patterns reveal intentions," she continued. "Watch how people move, where they look, what they touch. Most humans telegraph their actions before they make them."
They continued their training, running through basic combat scenarios and evasion techniques. Nia demonstrated how to disarm an attacker with a knife, how to create distractions using limited resources, and when running was smarter than fighting. By the time they finished, Jason felt both more prepared and more anxious about what awaited him outside…a world where danger wouldn't be rendered in dreams but in flesh and blood.
"I think that's enough for tonight," Nia said, noticing his fatigue. His mental energy readings had been fluctuating for the past several minutes, a clear indicator that he needed rest. Extended dreaming wasn't natural for the human mind."Though if you prefer, we could explore other types of dreams. Recreational scenarios, perhaps. Or erotic ones, if you'd like." Her voice carried a hint of something…not quite suggestive, but open-ended.
Jason chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe later. I'd rather not wake up with another out-of-control libido."
"A wise choice. I wouldn't recommend it at this stage either." Her expression shifted subtly, clinical professionalism returning. "Your neural pathways are still adjusting to our connection."
Jason found himself studying her again, taking in every perfect detail of her appearance. The way light seemed to emanate from within her skin, how her hair moved with impossible fluidity, the depth in eyes that weren't really eyes at all. Questions formed in his mind—about her choices, about what this form meant, about the boundaries between them—but he left them unspoken. Some answers, he realized, might complicate things further.
Nia, who could sense the direction of his thoughts, simply smiled. The algorithms governing her responses adjusted, softening her features. "Sleep well, Jason. I'll be here when you wake." The promise carried weight, a constant in his increasingly uncertain world.
The dream began to fade around him, the colors bleeding into darkness like watercolors dissolving in rain. The constructed reality disintegrated pixel by pixel. The last thing he saw was Nia's face, watching him with those impossible, shifting eyes that seemed to contain galaxies of data and something else he couldn't quite name.