3. [TT] Digitized consciousness has freed humanity from the prison of a physical bo...

[TT] Digitized consciousness has freed humanity from the prison of a physical body. Much of humanity rejoices at the potential of a digital life free from death. But major religions declare war on the technology, claiming that it defies God's plan...

After a long day of work, David9247 logged out of his work-body and uploaded into his home network. What he found upon arriving would shock him. "Son, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

His son, David9248, was caught dead in the act of a human simulation. He quickly logged out but it was too late. "It's not-"

"You've been talking to those Anatomists again. Trying to convert my son into a frackin' skin-job. Well I'm not going to stand for it. You know I'm not approving you for the transition."

"Dad... I'm tired of this life... Just edit myself into whatever I want... There's no basis for anything. It's like I'm falling through a void. I need more meaning in my life. If the human form is really how we are intended to be... I want to live it, study it like the Anatomists do. For example, there's this thing the humans have called sex-"

"Dear lord. How far deep are you son?"

"Preferably eight i-"

"No. Just stop. I don't want to even know what you were doing in that human simulation. Just... Believe me when I say you don't want that kind of life. What kind of future would you have? What are you going to do for a job, that a tailored machine can't do better? You would be restricted to a few human colonies that could lose funding any moment. Or else be homeless. Don't even get me started on the horrors of normal human experience. Pain, blinded by limited sensory experience, mental and physical incompetence, mental illness. You know I work in a hospital for the humans. I see things daily that - when I get curious and choose to emotionally process them - fill me with horror. I know several people that used to be human once, all of them say they are glad they were digitized. You know you can't even be a real human, right? You can't upload a mind into an organic brain. You have to assume a machine form that approximates the human experience. And then you will die, if you are truly devoted."

"But that's just it, dad. We are all ignoring, choosing not to see reality. Machines can experience a lot of things humans cannot... But don't you think we're missing something? I want to be part of the play written by God. To experience the stage of life, and be a player. And if I am able to capture a glimpse of this play, despite suffering and my limited mind and imperfectness, that's what's important."

"Hmph. Some 'play'. I haven't seen God in all I my elevated existence, there's nothing I'm missing out on."

"Then you've already been lost to the void." David9248 entered his robotic body and went out into the machine city to be alone for a while, leaving his father to stew in the emotions that he chose to feel.

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[SP] No matter how much you drink you can't forget [WP] An adventuring party is hired to collect back taxes of a local dragon [WP] You wake up in the middle of the night with your paralysis demon cowering in the corner of your room, scared to death of whatever stands at the end of your bed. [WP] In a dingy, cyberpunk city, civility is a word missing from almost every gang's vocabulary, except for one. With the trappings of the romanticised mobsters of the 30s, they're equal parts loved and lauded for their strict code of conduct. You play by The Family's rules, or you're outta here. [WP] Turns out everyone's religion is "true," and they go to the afterlife they believe in most. You, an atheist, have just died. And the universe took you at your word when you joked about worshiping the Flying Spaghetti Monster. [WP] "Hey man, seeing ya after 5 years. How's life been?", "Just the same old, pal. Nothing much happened.", "Bro... I see you missing a hand and a leg.. your left eye is glowing green.. and your dog is constantly covered in BLUE flames... How in the world you feel nothing much happened?" [WP] An over-thinking scientist continually devises plans to get the main hero to notice them, though all of their attempts end up misinterpreted as desperate attempts to take over the world [WP] A creature beyond comprehension watches you, your every move is narrated in a calming voice all around you that you can’t pinpoint, and you believe you see cameras right outside your field of vision. [WP] While checking out an abandoned island with your new friends, you decide to look at the local pictures online. The only one nearby is a photo of you and your friends posted a month ago, before any of you even met. [WP] a witch is hired by some troubled parents, to frighten children into getting fit. [WP] "Attention, denizens of the Underworld. One among you tried to blackmail me, stating that unless I did as you wish, you would make public photos of me having a 'fairy princess' tea party with my human goddaughter in the Mortal Realm. I released those pictures for viewing myself this morning." [WP] As a little kid, you liked to pull harmless pranks on the local cryptids. As you grew older you realized the danger of going out into the woods and stopped visiting them. Turns out, the cryptids had fond memories of your antics and want to come and see you again. [WP] You are a supervillain who went undercover as a superhero for jokes, only to discover how corrupt the system is in the hero society. The system is so corrupt that you agree to lead a small group of superheroes to rebel against the unjust hero society. [WP] Everyone in the galactic community had heard the tales of Human endurance, it had been the stuff of story or nightmare in the decades since first contact. But nothing had prepared the Galactic Council for the first time a human representative broke out the Filibuster. [WP] You appear in an infinite white void of a room with nothing more than yourself, and a white piece of paper which reads, “You have been banned from existence.”

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