ENVISAGE...!!!!

ENVISAGE....!!!

Authors Note:

This story is only for those who want to mess with their minds. Its a science fiction.

It took me more than six months to write this story. My friend Archi Garg has tried her best as the proof reader. Thanks to her for bearing with my horrible grammar and bringing this to a good shape.

The name of the locations, currencies, devices, terms and terminologies etc used in this story are purely a work of fiction. I do this to suit my convenience. 

I have tried my best to give a logical explanation to everything I have proposed in this work of fiction. Any debate in this regard is welcome.

Resemblance if found with any movie is purely co-incidental.!!

Enjoy reading it and please share it if you like it...!! :)

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“Do you want to sign the Contract?” asked Jerome. The Lift was at the 89^th floor and was slowly descending.

Winton looked at Jerome and then at the Elevator screen. It was still reading 89. Apart from them, there was none else in the lift. It was eleven in the night.

“How difficult is it going to be?” asked Winton. He wasn’t looking tensed but he had serious thoughts running through his mind.

“No one knows..!! Not even you, unless you try..!” replied Jerome sharply and turned back to face the glass walls of the lift. The whole City of Nuivenna could be seen through the glass walls and the city looked bright, bathing in artificial lights. Hundreds of skyscrapers and the millions of stars above made the view look beautiful. But Winton was in no state to enjoy the visual treat.

“When should I start?” asked Winton breaking the brief silence. He looked more determined now. The lift was at 83^rd floor now.

“The moment you sign the contract…!! You sign it now and you will have hundred million Stellars in your bank account the next minute” smiled Jerome enigmatically.

Winton looked lost in his thoughts.

“You look lost in some kind of imagination Winton. Reserve it. You have far more imaginations to do” he laughed.

“Where should I sign?” asked Winton looking into Jerome’s eyes. Red digits above the door read ‘75’. He looked at his watch it read 11:05.

Jerome opened his briefcase and took out a palm sized black device. It resembled a floppy disk with a small bright circular screen in the center.

Winton curiously looked at the device as Jerome swiped his finger on the tiny screen. For Winton’s surprise, the device transformed into a thin and transparent rectangular screen. Jerome held it against Winton.

“Place both your hands on the screen and look into it” Jerome instructed.

“Your hands Winton, on the screen” Jerome instructed him again.

Winton took a deep breath and looked at Jerome once. He gave him a look of assurance.

Winton placed his hands more firmly against the screen. Slowly digital patterns started appearing on the screen. He held his breath and brought his eyes closer to the disk. The screen started to glow.

“Mr Winton, Speak of your approval to be a part of ENVISAGE for the next two years. If you agree to comply with the policy of agreement say ‘Yes. I do’ after the beep” a voice spoke from the device and soon a beep tone was heard.

“Yes. I do” said Winton.

“Mr. Winton. You are a Type-4 Conceiver now. Welcome aboard” the voice spoke again.

“Welcome Winton. Please wear this. This is synthesizer” said Jerome handing over a black thins strap with round ends to Winton. The gear looked like head phones.

“I am not able to understand the purpose of this whole project..!!What will you do with my envision model? What will be your gain from this? And why me when any one can do this?” asked Winton wearing the head gear. For the first time he looked nervous. The lift had reached floor number 53.

“It’s none of your concern” said Jerome and held Winton by his collar. Before Winton could react, Jerome swung him forcefully towards the glass walls of the lift.

Winton crashed through the glass walls. He screamed as fear of death crept all over his body and he closed his eyes.

He was falling straight from the 53^rd floor. ‘I am just a couple of seconds away from my death’, thought Winton as he fast approached the ground. With the speed and the height from which he fell, there were hardly any chances of him surviving.

There was a loud thud as he fell flat on a yellow convertible. The moment he fell he was dead. His body was shattered into pieces. One could rarely recognize it as a human body. Blood started forming a pool.

The lift door opened.

“That was quick Winton” said Jerome and smiled at Winton. They were at ground floor.

“You had asked me to start right away, didn’t you...!?” replied Winton.

Both walked out of the lift.

******************************************************************

“I didn’t kill her. Please believe me..!!” Winton pleaded again. The fear of death had taken a grip over his body.

“Admit it..!!” shouted the masked man and fired a shot at his leg.

 “God….!!!!!!!!!!!! No” Winton cried in pain as his feet started bleeding. His toe was completely damaged. The chair dangerously leaned further against the railings.

The masked man held the chair and stopped it from falling over from the balcony.

“Listen..!! Now it’s your toe. And next it’s your head. Its time you admit” said he.

Winton looked at him with begging eyes. Winton had death right behind him in the form of a free fall and death ahead of him in the form of a pistol. The man in mask had full control over either forms of his death.

“Okay..!! Okay..!! I admit. Yes I killed her...” Winton gave up, when the masked man interrupted him.

“Great!” Said he and pulled his trigger. Winton’s head was shattered into pieces. He was dead the very next second.

****************************************************************

“Are you done?” asked Jerome.

Winton was sitting on a chair that looked ugly with many electronic components mounted on it. He opened his eyes.

“Yeah! Tried all that I could.”, he replied and removed the strap that he was wearing on his head and handed it to Jerome.

“Let me see what awaits me in your envision model” Smiled Jerome as he sat on the giant chair.

“You wish” laughed Winton.

Jerome smiled and closed his eyes.

**************************************************************

“You are out of your mind. I wasn’t even in the country when she was murdered.. What makes you think that I have murdered your sister..!! You have gone nuts..!!” yelled Jerome.

“This is not how you talk when you are at a gun point Mister. This is definitely not how you talk. I pull my trigger and your head is gone. So show me some respect. Admit that you have killed her and give me a good reason why you did that” said the man in black mask, pressing the pistol on Jerome’s forehead.

Jerome was sitting on a chair. His hands were tied behind and legs tied to those of the chair. He had bad bruises all over his face and hands. His lips were bleeding and eyes swollen.

The chair was in the balcony leaning against the railings of the balcony. The wind was blowing heavily. Sun was about to set.

Jerome turned his head slightly towards his right and looked down. He felt dizzy looking at the ground which was almost 1000 feet below. They were at 53^rd floor. The height looked dangerous. Jerome looked again at the masked man with fear filled eyes.

“Sir, listen to me. For god’s sake trust me. I didn’t do it.” Jerome pleaded.

“Ah..!! Finally you have realized that you should show me some respect. Great..!! Now listen to me carefully..!! I know that you have killed her. All that I want you to do is to confess and give me reasons. Else I am going to blow your head off” .

“I didn’t kill her. Please believe me..!!” Jerome pleaded again. The fear of death had taken a grip over his body.

“Admit it..!!” shouted the masked man and fired a shot at his leg.

“God….!!!!!!!!!!!! No” Jerome cried in pain as his feet started bleeding. His toe was completely damaged. The chair dangerously leaned further against the railings.

The masked man held the chair and stopped it from falling over from the balcony.

“Listen..!! Now it’s your toe. And next it’s your head. Its time you admit” said he calmly.

Jerome looked at him with begging eyes.

“Okay..!! Okay..!! I admit. Yes I killed her...” Jerome gave up, when the masked man interrupted him.

“Great!” Said he and pulled his trigger. Jerome’s head was shattered into pieces. He was dead the very next second.

****************************************************************

Jerome was soaked in sweat when he opened his eyes. He was looking terrified.

He looked around with wide open eyes.

“I will take that as a compliment Jerome” Winton winked at him.

“compliment, what?” asked Jerome.

“You look terrified and lost. That means the envision model that I made was impressively perfect. You were able to experience my imagination, weren’t you?” smiled Winton.

“Ah..!! God.!! Yeah..!! I am still lost in it. You have a terrific imagination Winton. It was so real. I was terribly scared. And you know what? I could even feel the pain of my damaged toe. And death was so real.” He stopped for a breath.

 “I almost thought that I was dead. Visuals were so very close to reality and the  emotions that you created for me to experience were also perfect” he added. The sweat beads on his forehead and his frequent gasps for breath gave a picture of what he had been through.

Winton helped Jerome to get off from the chair and removed the metallic strap from his head.

******************************************************************
 “Why did you to choose to die before giving the reason. It was disappointing, again” said the blonde guy as he got up from his chair. He removed the strap which he was wearing on his head.

“I didn’t think that it was important buddy. I had to concentrate more on the emotion paradigm.” replied Winton.

“You could have cooked up a story” said the blonde guy.

It was a large hall that looked like a digital laboratory. The hall was well lit under white light and digital screens were seen all around the wall.

There were around twenty people in the hall who were seated on chairs that had sophisticated electronic components attached to it. They were all wearing metallic straps on their head.

A large spherical structure made of glass was placed at the center of the lab.

“This is no fun my boy” replied Winton sharply and added, “You can never imagine the amount of concentration I had to gather to create this model”.

“How was the envision model??” he asked the other group of ten people who were sitting on white chairs with straps on their head.

“I should say that it was great..!! I could actually sense almost everything. Especially, the moment where I feared the death from fall as well as death from the pistol. You know I could feel it.! My heart froze. It stopped beating. And the pistol shot on the toe was terribly painful. Even the visuals were so very perfect” replied a guy with short hairs.

‘Type-4 perceiver’ his name plate read.

 “I am going to perceive it once again” said another guy and put on the strap on his head.

“Go ahead..!!Weak hearted ones, this one’s not for you” laughed Jerome as he held his hand closer to his chest, faking as if he suffered from heart attack.

Winton smiled and went up to the computer which was near Jerome.

“Winton, I have perceived few models which you had created in initial days. Every model has death in the form of dangerous heights as a part of it. Why does your plot revolve around scary heights?” asked yet another type-4 perceiver.

“Let me ask you, can you ever imagine yourself getting scared looking at an apple?” asked Winton.

“Well..!! No” replied the guy.

“That’s exactly the point. You can never imagine yourselves getting scared of things which you are not really scared of. If I want to create a virtual world and make the perceivers experience the fear of death, I have to create those genuine and perfect emotions. And if I want to create them, I have to experience them first.”

 He smiled and continued, “I am naturally scared of heights. Hence when I imagine a dangerous height, natural emotions of fear get created and the same emotion are captured by the synthesizer. ”

“Folks..!! This is exactly why we have Winton amidst us. Winton, the perfectionist.” said Jerome and pointed his hands towards Winton.

Winton took a bow and laughed.

“Okay! Gentlemen remove your perception gear now. Give me your five precious minutes. I have prepared a small speech” said Jerome and acted as if he is searching for a speech written paper in his coat.

“Am I spared?” winked Winton. Perceivers laughed.

“Trust me Winton and trust me gentlemen. When I am done with my speech you would be left speechless” Jerome sounded serious.

Everyone grew silent and looked at Jerome keenly. Winton frowned a little.

“Five years back a strange idea made its way into my mind. An idea that sounded stupid. I thought of creating something which would help the mankind to record their imagination, capture their imagination and help others to see it and experience it anytime and any number of times. This was something similar to shooting your marriage video and watching it over and over again”. Few of them laughed.

“And this is when I met Winton. I asked him to help me in building a device that exactly does the same. ” said Jerome continuing with his serious tone. Nobody spoke.

“I named this project project Envisage. Envisage involved conceivers who do all the imagination and store it as an envision model.  This model would later be perceived by by anyone who wears those funny looking straps” said he pointing towards the strap which one of the perceiver was wearing.

“Jerome! What is all this? Refresher courses on project envisage? You know very well that we all know all this, don’t we?” smiled a spectacled guy as he approached Jerome.

“But you should know one more thing son. I hate interruption. I have a terrible aversion towards it” responded Jerome sharply with no hint of smile. The spectacled guy stopped.

“Ah where did I stop? Oh. I now remember” said Jerome and continued.

“The person who perceives the model starts believing that what he is experiencing is real. Because envision model is not only about capturing and transferring the visuals of your imagination but also the emotions. We force into the perceiver’s mind, the emotions which we create.” He gave a brief pause.

“For instance if I imagine myself landing on the moon, dancing on it and feeling excited about it,  the person who perceives the envision model sees himself landing on the moon, dancing on it and being excited about it. Pardon me, see is not the word, Experience is the word. The whole idea of Envisage is imagine, experience and make others experience your experience. And if, for instance I imagine myself getting killed, the person who perceives the model experiences the same”. None spoke.

“I thought the whole concept was so strong that I could build an envision model where people could spend their entire life time. An envision model filled with happiness” said Jerome.

“Offering a choice for people to live in a virtual world that promises complete happiness, is it?” Winton threw a quick question.

“Interruption sounds pleasant when it has questions like this. No Winton, it’s not the choice that I offer. It’s a bait that I offer to lure the entire mankind to get trapped in my world of imagination, forever. Now, this is something that you were not told before, right?” he laughed and opened his arms. A black, rod shaped device was seen in his right hand. It shone brightly under the white light in the lab.

“Do you even know what you are talking about Jerome?” protested Winton. Even Perceivers joined him.

“And what will you do while the entire mankind is trapped in your virtual world? Party alone? This sounds ridiculous”, a perceiver sounded furious.

“Jerome you are not in your right senses. You clearly know that, to create an envision model spanning one day, it takes more than a year of imagination?” asked one more perceiver.

“Ah... I pity gentlemen! You are yet to understand my intentions. You all know that an envision model is a result of combination of imaginations of various conceivers. Each conceiver imagines one complete day of life without any discontinuities. And I chose fourteen such people, who could imagine a perfect 24 hours each. And it’s no secret that Winton was one amongst them”.

He continued, “After these fourteen people created an envision model of one day each, my next job was to blend them together and create one unified model where a person can live fourteen virtual days. Now this blending has to be done carefully because for a person who perceives, it should appear as if all fourteen days are interconnected and continuous. Because any discontinuity might alert his subconscious mind which in turn could wake up that person to reality.”

“Well Jerome, You should know one thing about dreams.  Normally a person has about fifty to seventy dreams while he sleeps each night, each of which won’t last beyond twenty minutes. Some of them in color and some in black and white. This means that irregularities and discontinuities are common in dreams. So the very concern of discontinuity in dreams that alerts the subconscious should never arise” explained a perceiver intensely. Every one listened to him keenly.

“That’s the difference my boy. What we are dealing with are not dreams. Dreams are something that one’s own mind creates. But envisage is all about experiencing the imagination of someone else” responded Jerome.

There was a brief pause.

“Okay let me resume my speech Gentlemen. With the help of the conceivers I will create a single, perfect envision model of two weeks. Everyone who decides to perceive, will perceive this same model. This means that everyone who perceives this model sees the same visuals, under goes the same kind of emotions, experience and lives the same life”. Again there was a pause.

“And I make them perceive the same model for more than five years” he posed a wicked smile.

“The same model of just two weeks for a span of five years! I didn’t get you” Winton posed a doubt.

“It’s simple Winton. I keep them in a loop. I make them go through the same two weeks experience for a period of five years. They would be imagining the same thing after every two weeks. This would eliminate the need to create imaginary moments for one’s entire life time. Isn’t it something brilliant?”

Silence loomed.

“But there is one problem. In order to keep the people in the same loop of envisage, at the end of each loop we would have to make them imagine that they are dead. This is to keep them oblivious to the fact that he is going through the same set of events. After he experiences his death he is again put through the same set of imaginary events.”

“And that’s the reason why Winton was hired?” asked one of the perceiver.

“Yes. That’s why Winton was hired. Winton was and is the county’s greatest writer on crime subjects. As a part of research for his novels he has interviewed more than hundred convicts. He is one such person who could perfectly imagine how a person gets killed and he is one person who could possibly empathize with a person who is about to die”.

“Jerome, if you had plans of keeping them in loop, then why create two weeks of envisages? Envisage of a day would have worked well” a perceiver asked.

“Not everyone’s mind is as weak as yours my boy. Memories of their subconscious mind won’t fade that easily. Even if I make them imagine dying, the memories of that imagination will still persist in their subconscious mind for a few days. And if I make the person go through the same events daily even before that previous same memory fades away, there is a risk of the interference of similar imaginations”.

“You are trying to tell that the person would sense familiar events happening to him every day.? Yes.. I completely agree. I have perceived the same model created by Winton more than five times.  The third time when I had to go through the moment when the masked guy shoots at my toe, I felt that I have already gone through it sometime before.”  Spoke a perceiver.

“Same here. Even I felt the same way when masked men pointed the gun at me” Added another perceiver.

The former continued, “Fourth time, I could easily tell what was going to happen next. I felt something was wrong. And the next time, I could sense that what I was going through was not real. I felt that I am imagining something. And that’s when I felt that I am living in some dream and I should wake up. And something compelled me to open my eyes. And I woke up”

“Déjà vu.., Déjà vu is the word. Any person who goes through the same déjà vu daily, would sense that something is wrong. And there is a risk of him getting out of the envisage. Fourteen days is an ideal period to overcome this risk. I hope that answers your question”.

Jerome pointed his device towards a large globe kind of structure that was placed at the center of the lab.

The structure dissolved in air and reappeared in the form of a large holographic screen.

The screen showed a large array of photographs of people. Photographs were changing rapidly.

“Do you know what you are looking at?” Jerome asked.

Silence was the answer.

“You are looking at those people who have paid me for the deal to live in my virtual world. And don’t be startled if I reveal the number. Its sixty percent of Origiana’s population and still counting. I will make them all perceive my model at the same time and then I make them stay in my model forever. Each and every individual will be living the same life, for their entire life. Laughing at the same time, crying at the same time, seeing mountains at same time, partying at same time, sleeping at same time and getting killed at the same time. And back in the same loop again.” Jerome laughed and turned off the screen. It retransformed into the spherical structure. 

“You would ask me why I would want to keep people in my imaginary world forever. Honestly speaking, I don’t have an answer. I am yet to figure out”.

 “What are we doing here Jerome, waiting for our turn to get trapped in your envision model or helping you build the envision model to trap others in it?” spoke the blonde perceiver in anger as he threw the strap on the ground.

“No my boy. You guys wearing perceiver badges are here just to test the perfection of the envision model which these conceivers are creating. And since you are type-4 you are testing just the death part of it, which was perfectly crafted by our great Winton. Hence, yes..! You are helping me to trap others in it” He laughed.

“In that case Mr. Jerome, I wish to be out of this” blonde grew even more furious.

“Amen” said Jerome as he pointed the black device towards the blonde. Blue light flashed near the guy’s neck and he was reduced to ashes the next moment.

 “If you aim to create, it’s always advisable to also learn to destroy” he laughed and pointed the device towards the roof. Once again blue light flashed, but this time with far higher intensity. Winton closed his eyes in pain and when he opened it he found himself being surrounded by heaps of ashes. Jerome had killed everyone except Winton in no time.

Winton looked at Jerome in utter disbelief.

“I am finding it hard to understand what is going on here. While signing the contract you had never told me about this. I have spent my valuable two years to come up with a perfect imagination”.

“And I have spent hundred million stellars on you Winton. You have done no favor. I have paid you to do this.”

Winton started shaking in fear. He looked at the heaps of ashes and then at Jerome. He knew that it won’t take much time for Jerome to reduce him to ashes.

“Why are you looking at those dead guys Winton? Don’t you worry. You won’t be treated in the same manner” Said Jerome and pointed his device at Winton. He was at once lifted in air by what it seemed like an invisible force. Winton screamed in fear.

Jerome laughed and made a gesture with his device. Winton was pushed hard against the wall with a great amount of force. A loud thud was heard.

“Do you know in which floor we are in Winton?”

Winton nodded his head to say that he didn’t know.

“Its 53” said Jerome and continued “And I am now going to make my one last revelation to you Winton. Do you know what it is?”

Again Winton nodded his head signaling a no.

“This is just another envision Winton. You are in my envisage. You are in my virtual world Winton” said Jerome and made another gesture with his device.

Even before Winton could come up with an expression of disbelief over what he had just heard, a large cylinder looking thing banged Winton against the wall.

Winton couldn’t even scream. He was dead in no moment. There was no trace of him left, except for the blood on the wall.

*****************************************************************

“I am curious to listen” said Jerome and winked.

“Am I still alive?” asked Winton.

“Yep. You are” said Jerome and removed the head gear from Winton’s head. Winton looked at Jerome and then at his watch. It read 12:45. The lift had stopped. They were in the 61^st floor.

Winton looked at the glass wall of the lift. The well-lit city was looking beautiful in the night, as it was minutes ago. Winton looked at Jerome.

“I don’t believe this. So all this while, in the past ninety minutes I was perceiving  two years of my lifetime in your envision model. I creating the envision model for you, you along with the other perceivers, perceiving my envision model was all part of your imagination which I was experiencing..! I don’t believe this”. Winton was fighting hard to come out of the shock.

Jerome pressed the button of the lift and it again started descending slowly.

“Yes Winton. You are right. You were never supposed to conceive an envision model for me. You were only a perceiver who was supposed to perceive the model which I had created” smiled Jerome. The lift was in 58^th floor now.

“You made me experience a period of two years in just less than two hours! This is unbelievable Jerome. The hunger, tiredness, excitement, anger, happiness that I experienced?”

“They were all part of my envisage Winton.”

“The envision model that I created after signing the deal, and you throwing me down from the lift and killing me?”

“Those were also part of my model Winton, pure imagination. And that’s why, you are still alive” Jerome laughed.

“But why did you choose me to test your model, Jerome? You could have chosen anyone. Why me?”

“Because, you are the person who can imagine things with great amount of perfection. You are the person who can imagine and empathize with death more than anyone else. If I deceive you and make you believe that what you experience while perceiving my model is real then I can deceive anyone Winton”.

Winton continued to stare at Jerome with wide open eyes. Lift continuing with its slow pace went past 56^th floor.

“You were my validation point Winton. You are a proof point that my imagination is perfect and flawless.” Jerome smiled and gave a pat on Winton’s shoulder.

Lift had reached 54^th floor now.

“The final speech that you gave explaining the theories of imagination, how envision model works etc. was it all true?” asked Winton looking at him.

“Yes. It was all true Winton” replied Jerome. There was a change in his tone and his facial expression.

“And what about your intentions that you revealed Jerome? Intention of trapping the whole mankind in your envision model, keeping them in loop? All those evil intentions, is it all true?” asked Winton in shaking voice.

Jerome didn’t speak. There was a brief silence.

“Are you feeling honored that I chose you to test my model Winton? Do you really think that you are my validation point Winton” said Jerome sharply and smashed his brief case against Winton’s face.

Winton screamed in pain. Jerome quickly opened his briefcase and pulled a pistol out of it.

“This is how powerful my envision model is Winton. You are finding it hard to recall who you are. You are finding it hard to come in terms of reality” Said he looking into Winton’s fear filled eyes.

“Try to recall Winton. I had never approached you. You were the one who built this Winton. You don’t even remember that. All the theories that I explained was yours. Its your creation. The evil intentions that I explained was not mine. It was all yours. You were the one who asked me to test your invention on you. I am just a conceiver Winton.” Said Jerome pointing the pistol at Winton. 

Winton was standing with his back pressed against the glass walls of the lift. His eyes were wide open. He lifted his hands in fear.

“What are you thinking Winton?” asked Jerome and fired the first shot. The spherical glass of the wall of the lift got shattered into pieces. Winton who was standing close to the wall lost his balance and was about to fall down along with the shattered glass.

He got hold of the metal frame of the lift and helped his balance. He looked behind. There was nothing behind him. He was standing at the edge. The height made him dizzy. He looked at Jerome.

“What are you thinking Winton? About  your death? Or about the reason why you are being killed?” he smiled. Lift was slowly descending.

With fear in his eyes, Jerome asked “I don’t know. I have no clue. I just want to know if this is real or if it’s just another envision?”

 “What do you think Winton?” said Jerome enigmatically.

“I don’t know”.

“Well, You might know once you are dead” said Jerome with a cruel smile and fired another shot.

The bullet hit Winton and he fell into the vast nothingness of the dark.

The screen above the lift read 52.

*******************************The End*****************************

Inspired by: INCEPTION...!!