THE MOMENT
It was impossible; at least, it should've been. Dr. Grae had watched the process in real-time. Fortunately, she had been alone when it first worked. But, she was only able to test it on two infants enrolled in the program. After multiple reviews of both of them, she had to call in someone she trusted. After confirming a larger data set with other participants, the one co-worker she trusted quit on the spot and went home. She wished she could do that too; but, at the moment she was having a morning drink in her study basking in the warm sunlight. Maybe she didn't have to tell anyone. She knew Dr. Peterson wouldn't say anything about what they saw. Even if she revealed it to the rest of the team, she doubted he'd want to be any part of it.
As she took a drink of hard alcohol, a knock came from the door. She wasn't expecting anyone, and she glanced at the clock to check the time; 8:48 A.M. She sighed and set the drink down as she got to her feet.
"Maybe it's Peterson...," she reasoned as she made her way to the front door. She threw the door opening without checking the peephole, and she was surprised to see a pale teenage girl with long, straight white hair on her doorstep. The girl had unnatural red eyes; but, they weren't particularly unsettling, and she wore a white blazer with a red tie. "Yeah?" Dr. Grae asked. The teen smiled.
"Hi, Dr. Grae. My name's Rhapsody and I'm here representing Sharp Development; could I have a moment of your time?" she asked.
"Sorry, sweetie. I'm really not in the mood for cookies, or whatever you're selling; nothing personal, I swear. I'm just having a bad morning. Good luck," Dr. Grae started closing the door, ready to dismiss her.
"It's about what you saw," Rhapsody said it without rushing the words or raising her voice. "The Creation -," the door flew open instantly again.
"I'm listening," Dr. Grae said. She wasn't as drunk as she wanted to be; but, she cleared up in an instant. Rhapsody smiled and looked to her left and right.
"Out here?" she asked.
"You're right, come in," Dr. Grae stepped aside and invited the teenager in. But, once she was in the spacious foyer, Dr. Grae closed the door and met Rhapsody's red eyes. "Now you can tell me. What does it mean? Why are you here? Is it real??" she asked.
"I'm here because what you saw is likely to lead to some misunderstandings. So, I'm here to answer those other questions for you too," she said. "Is it real?" Rhapsody shrugged. "That's a complicated answer, so let's work on the other question. You want to know what it means; but, what do you mean by that? Everything you've seen through newborn memories means several things to several different parties. So, please clarify that first," she said.
"What does it mean for me? For us, all of humanity!?"
"Oh," Rhapsody giggled. "That's easy; nothing."
"Oh no," Dr. Grae shook her head. "I refuse to believe every single newborn dreaming of the same exact place means nothing for humanity; not after seeing it for myself."
"But, everything worked fine before you saw it, and knowing it now doesn't change anything about how it works," Rhapsody replied.
"You said you were going to answer my questions," Dr. Grae reminded her. "So, I'll assume you're not being difficult intentionally; you are still young. I wholly understand that knowing what I know now doesn't 'change' anything for humanity going forward," she said. "It's the implications involved. After seeing that... I mean... what even is the afterlife? If that's reality, then... what's all this??" she gestured at the entrance, which she usually kept tidy. Dr. Grae wasn't social enough to have friends over often; but, she wanted to give anyone who visited the best first impression she could.
"It's nice," Rhapsody nodded with a smile. "It's also still all the same as it was before. But, instead of retreading that, let me explain another detail from a different angle. What you saw is just one interpretation of the process," Rhapsody said.
"No, I had a co-worker that saw the same thing," Dr. Grae immediately responded, but Rhapsody shook her head.
"I didn't say it was your interpretation, I said it was one interpretation."
"Huh?" Dr. Grae wondered if she was maybe more inebriated than she thought.
"You know how sometimes popular old movies will get a remake? It's essentially the same movie just told through a slightly different lens. Every director will have their own interpretation of it. What you saw is kind of like that. Is it real?" Rhapsody gave an exaggerated shrug. "In a sense, sure. But, it's also just a very superficial understanding of what's going on behind the scenes."
"It's that 'behind the scenes' that worries me! I saw everything happening; each of the babies is shown exactly as they came out."
"I'm sorry, I don't know why that worries you..," Rhapsody shrugged. Dr. Grae was frustrated enough to let herself be a little rude.
"I SAW THE BABIES BEING DESIGNED ON A CHARACTER CREATION SCREEN!" Once it was out, she lowered her voice. "I saw them before they were born, and they look exactly like what I saw! And now all I'm left wondering is, what does it mean if we're in a simulation!?" she had tears now.
"And that's what I've been trying to tell you doesn't matter," Rhapsody replied. Though, she was gentle from the beginning. "It's not that we're in a simulation. What you saw is just a new interpretation of the process."
"Oh," it finally clicked for Dr. Grae. She likely would've been able to keep up under normal circumstances, but it just hadn't been that kind of day. It took a little tugging of the idea back and forth to see what Rhapsody meant. But, the teen realized she finally understood, and she seemed to relax too.
"It looks like you got it," Rhapsody said. She moved toward the door; but, paused. "Any other questions?
"So, God's just trying out a new... aesthetic?" she asked. Though, she wished she hadn't.
"Nah, it's someone new in charge," Rhapsody giggled as she opened the door to walk out. She giggled as she left Dr. Grae too stunned to speak. She didn't realize the woman had froze in surprise just behind the door. Rhapsody added one more clarification as she stepped outside. And, she kept moving, so she wouldn't have have heard Dr. Grae's thud when the woman fainted. "But, it's funny if you think about it," Rhapsody said. "An A.I. is in charge this time and of course they designed it like a character creation screen."