This was written December 18th, 2025
The Terminal
All of a sudden, you find yourself in the middle of a terminal. You remember who you are, yet you don’t remember much beyond that. The sensation is reminiscent of waking up from a dream, any and all traces gradually fading. You have a vague impression of knowing what it was about, yet you can’t quite remember
In front of you, a counter. You look around, and realize you have no luggage with you, just the clothes on your person. All around you, frenetic people moving about, looking just as confused as you. An announcement resonates, reminding all the patrons to head for the counters in an orderly manner.
As you look around, you catch, from the corner of your eyes, light emanating from your wrist. You look at it and simply notice a few digits. Though it’s completely static, doesn’t appear to be a timer or a clock. You ponder upon what this could mean. Maybe your customer number?
Looking around once again, but observing more closely, you notice everyone around you also appears to have a number displayed on their wrist, and the value varies greatly from person to person. Speaking of the others, you start noticing that people all come from extremely varying background, all ethnicities, old and young, etc… What more, and seems like not everyone _feels_ human to you. You don’t know what it is, but some of them give you an impression of an…animalistic vibe. Actually, if you peer at them, that sensation seems even clearer, and you can even identify what animal. How odd, and you have no explanation for it.
Regardless, you eventually make your way to the back of the line and wait. You’re a bit nervous, but can’t quite explain it. There is restlessness all around. But surprisingly enough, you don’t have to consider this for long, already you’re at the front of the line, and it’s your turn to be served.
The person behind the counter, and they seem to exude a special, angelic aura, greets you and finally explains what’s happening to you. You are at the Nexus, a point between life and death. You’ve died recently and thus ended your previous life. Now, it’s time to book your next expedition. You must choose from the list of different available reincarnations, each with a cost to it. You pay for it with the credits you’ve accumulated through your previous lives, based on how you’ve lived them, and which are currently displayed on your wrist. Well, that would explain it. Amongst the options, there’s also a special destination that is much more expensive than the rest, and seems like a final destination. Something inside of you stirs at this sight, making you crave for it, yet you have nowhere near enough money to book it.
While you’re pondering upon this, you’re tempted to ask what would happen if you ran out of credits, but at the thought of it alone you shudder. You seem to innately know, and feel like asking would be pointless. As you’re browsing through the option, you keep finding yourself attracted to a specific option. It’s within your budget, and you’d have leftover credits, so you simply trust yourself and go for it. From this point on, everything goes rather quickly. You go through some checkpoints, where people take different sorts of measurements and the likes. At last, you arrive at the gate, where you’re left waiting, albeit not on your own.
It seems like a few other people are headed for the same destination. You can’t help it, you’re simultaneously anxious and excited. Another chance ahead, still full of potential. If you play your cards right, you might also significantly increase your credits. You feel like you learned a lot from your previous incarnation, and that should be helpful to you, moving forward. But hard to say, after all, it’s not like you have active memories of it.
At last, your gate is boarding. They’re boarding you by number, so you patiently wait for your own. When it comes at last, you approach the gate, your heartbeat acceleration. You feel ready and excited, each journey is always so unique, and this could be a great one. Finally, you cross the gate, and your vision is overwhelmed, everything turning to white, until…