The road was paved with glass, creating an illusion of walking on space. Also, the path was flanked by a starry sky, and Matthias seemed to have reverted to a childlike state. His eyes were gleaming happily while the stars were smiling down at him. Heather envied him for that, as it had been a long time since she last felt like a kid who got her wildest dream fulfilled.
She wondered what her wildest dream was anyway. Every time she was asked that question, Heather would tell them about how she wanted to be a successful businessperson. But is that really what I like?
“Feels like we’re walking in space, huh?” Matthias looked at her.
Heather nodded with a smile. She didn’t want to snuff out the light in Matthias’ eyes, for dreams were something to be respected, and she respected everyone’s preference. The older she got, the vaguer her childhood dream was, but she knew she never wanted to be a filthy businessperson in the first place.
“Look up there. It’s the planets.” He poked her gently, reminding her of the view.
Heather looked up and saw the planet’s hologram. I see. This is no normal path. They started off with something normal to get the customer into the mood, but the deeper we go, the more magnificent it gets. “Super realistic ride, huh? Interesting,” she commented calmly, but that was already an acknowledgement coming from her.
It wasn’t a long ride, but they spent more time than everyone else normally did. Matthias would point out all the projections, then when they were nearing the end, the projections turned into AR visuals.
A spaceship was floating above their heads, and Matthias tried to touch it. Heather watched him as he tried to get closer to the spaceship, and she thought Matthias was really adorable that day.
Then, two women in spacesuits appeared at the end of the tunnel and announced simultaneously, “We shall open this door of mysteries for you.”
Heather was surprised that the ride was better than she thought it would be, while Matthias looked excited. He suddenly held her hand, and Heather wanted to shake it off. However, she hesitated when she saw how delighted Matthias was.
Matthias took her to the door and tried to push it, but it was an automatic door, so it slid open before he could touch it, just like in the movies.
They went inside the spaceship, though Heather was just curious, while Matthias was in there to learn. It was a nice view, for the simulation was no AR visuals, but real-life objects. Matthias tried to touch everything he could. At that moment, it was as if they were flying in space, and a big screen stood before them.
They could see what was happening outside through the screen, then they looked at each other and realized that the people around them looked emotionless. After a while of observation, they realized that the people were just simulations instead of the real deal.
Matthias wondered if the simulations could talk to humans, so he took Heather and went up to the captain to greet him. “Hello, captain.”
The captain was sitting in the center, but he ignored Matthias. Matthias looked at Heather before trying again, though he knew it must look stupid. “Can you understand me, captain?” He had to get the answer for that, or it’d become an obsession.
“Be quiet, sir. I’m trying to lead my team here,” the captain answered, much to their surprise. Apparently the simulations could talk to people.
“Sorry, captain, but I have a lot of questions—”
Before he could finish, the captain interjected, “A moment please, sir. I’m very busy right now.”
Matthias kept quiet and turned to the screen. Apparently, the spaceship was traveling smoothly, so the captain didn’t have anything to do. And nothing was happening, as everyone was working as usual. Matthias whispered, “Looks like the captain is ignoring us.” Matthias was still looking at the captain.
“Or maybe you’re just annoying,” she teased. Compared to Matthias’ curiosity, Heather would much prefer a quiet observation.
“It’s probably pre-programmed.” Matthias wanted to salvage the situation. Since simulations weren’t really advanced, it was impossible for a simulation to have a conversation with a normal human.
Heather smiled. It was a gentle smile, for Matthias was acting like a curious teenager that day; the sight of it even made her tone down her fierce look.
“Mr. Locke, Miss Langston, please take your seats,” someone suddenly called them, much to their surprise. Simulations have gotten this far?
They looked in the direction of the sound and saw a robot around half the size of a normal adult. It looked like it was an adorable child, and it was coming up to them, eventually standing before Matthias and Heather.
“Mr. Locke, Miss Langston, we will be warping soon. Please take your seats.” It then pointed at two empty seats on the right.
Matthias and Heather looked at each other before going to their seats and sat down, just like how the robot advised. The seats turned on auto mode and buckled them up the moment they sat down. It was as if they were in a Hollywood set, where everything felt real but also fake at the same time.
After that, they heard the captain commanding the crew, and Matthias held Heather’s hand while grinning gently at her. “We’re going to leave Earth for another planet now. I’m glad that you’re with me on this journey.” Seemingly thoroughly enjoying the process, he got into character.
She blinked at him, feeling interested about Matthias’ change. A while later, she nodded. “We’re gonna colonize it.” She started beaming, and he laughed.
“Nicely worded. We’ll build a big colony,” Matthias answered.
They had a fun time and ignored the bumpy ride along the way. Warping could be extremely uncomfortable, but they didn’t feel it before they lost their grip on gravity. Once they realized they were in a gravity-free space, they could feel the floaty feeling even in their seats.
Heather held Matthias’ hand tightly as the simulation became more and more realistic. She started feeling as if she was on an actual space trip with Matthias. The super realistic ride slowly deconstructed her perception of reality, bringing her into the mood, and then putting her into the scene.
Soon, Heather was starting to feel dizzy and uncomfortable; her mind was all jumbled up. That was the moment when the robot popped up and handed her a pill. She looked at it before turning to Matthias, who nodded at her, and she took the pill hesitatingly. Then, the robot answered cutely, “This pill will lessen your nausea, Miss Langston.”
Wait, how did it notice my discomfort? “Can I really take this?” she asked. Heather couldn’t believe that they had actual medicine lying around, and the pill she was holding looked like a cocoa bean.
“Don’t worry. It won’t harm you,” Matthias persuaded her. He seemed confident that the pill would work.
Thus, she popped it into her mouth. Wow, it even tastes like a cocoa bean. Bit sweet. She felt better after taking the pill, though she suspected that it was just a placebo effect.
“The effect is the strongest ten minutes after ingestion. It will soothe all your discomfort.” As the robot spoke, it slapped its belly and revealed a clock that was counting down.
Heather didn’t know how far technology had advanced, since she didn’t read much about it. She was surprised that robots had come so far though, and the simulated humans were great too. Since they were in a dark room, it was hard to tell that they were simulations.
The spaceship was still warping, but Heather was feeling better after taking the pill. On the other hand, Matthias looked fine, much to her envy. Since men had better physical abilities than women in general, Heather couldn’t win against him when it came to this aspect.
He was showing concern for her, and she smiled. “I’m feeling much better now. Keep your eyes on the screen, not me.” Matthias was looking too adorable, so she couldn’t even bring herself to scold him.
The screen was showing some realistic footage, and the guests could see what was happening in space. Hm, this is interesting. Heather thought she could fall in love with space after the ride, while Matthias was getting more and more excited, as if he were a hot-blooded teenager.
“Space is awesome!” he commented. Traveling in space was his dream, and the trip fulfilled that wish of his somehow.
“Slow down,” the captain commanded. As the spaceship started slowing down, the feeling of vertigo was slowly disappearing too. Matthias and Heather stared at the screen, which was now showing a beautiful planet. The beauty of that planet captured their attention, and Heather grabbed Matthias’ hand. “What is that planet? It looks like Earth.”
“Kepler-452b,” he answered. That planet was 98% similar to Earth.
“Are we going to land on this planet?” she asked. Since they could simulate a space trip, she was looking forward to the simulation of the landing.
“The captain will answer that, Miss Langston.” Heather was amused by the robot’s sudden appearance. Then, they saw the captain coming down from the helm and walking up toward them. Matthias and Heather were starting to get a little nervous, since the captain finally had time to answer their questions.
