Scary Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep - Click Here to End Simulation #115516518

Episode Date: October 19, 2021

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Talk to nicely. Click here to end simulation number 181525-1820. That was the subject of the email I just received. No message, no joke, just a link to click. I peeked around the room, looking for the culprit of yet another practical joke. Our floor was massive, just about big enough to house about 300 cubicles. But Robert, who'd sent me the message, was nowhere in sight. One of my neighbors chuckled.

I diverted my attention towards this sound. Maybe they were in on it too. It wasn't uncommon for us to make our own fun, as our boss hardly paid attention, and the work was fairly monotonous. Just as I was about to trash the email, Robert returned to the floor. He gave me a glance and smiled,

the same mischievous look I'd seen a hundred times before. He was a funny guy, always inventing his own armless pranks for a cheap laugh. So once I'd practically confirm that the email was his doing, and not some malicious virus? I clicked the link. Do you confirm the termination of number 181-525-1820? I sighed, a tired smile stretching across my face.

What ridiculous prank could it be? I clicked yes and looked over at his cubicle. Robert had frozen in place. His smile had vanished, and he just stared in my general direction, not moving a muscle. Rob, what are you doing? I asked, still awaiting the punchline of the joke. Then he simply vanished.

He didn't leave. He didn't duck down behind his desk. No, he simply disappeared without a trace. I stood up from my chair and walked over, confused and mildly terrified. None of my coworkers had flinched at the event. All of them just sat in their cubicles, diligently typing away, filling the office with background noise. What are you doing?

Our break hasn't started yet, Jennifer said as she noticed me pacing around. You didn't see that? I asked. See what? Robert, he just vanished into thin air. Who? It could have been an elaborate prank. But even if the whole office was in on it, I couldn't logically explain how an office worker

just seemed to be erased from existence. While I contemplated different theories, I checked under his desk and looked around for suspicious-looking colleagues. In the midst of my search for answers, a ping sounded from my computer, alerting me to yet another email. I rushed back and opened my inbox,

hoping Robert had sent me something, Even if nothing more than laughing at how easily he had tricked me. But instead of Robert, Jennifer was marked as the sender. Click here to end simulation number 10514. All right, Jen, very funny, but please stop, I said, a bit too loud. I'd garnered the attention of my neighboring coworkers, who asked me to keep quiet. Jennifer came over with an annoyed look on her face. We'd never been particularly close, but she wasn't one to shy away from a good prank,

though she could never contain her emotions enough to go through with it without laughing. This was the first time I'd seen her genuinely annoyed. Look, I don't have time for this. What's the deal with you today? I pointed to the email, demanding an explanation, but she kept her facade going. I didn't send that, she claimed. Then why does it mark you as the sender? She sat down on my chair to take a closer look. Huh, that's weird.

She said as she clicked on the link. No, wait! I tried to stop her, but she'd already confirmed the termination, And just like Robert, she disappeared without a trace. I stumbled back in shock. In the span of a minute, two of my colleagues had simply ceased to exist. I stared at my suddenly empty chair with a horrified expression on my face. By then, my other co-workers had started to look at me with concerned eyes,

oblivious to what had just happened. Before I got a chance to explain myself, another three pings were heard from my computer. Three new emails, three new numbers. Click here to end simulation number 41225 from Dave. Click here to end simulation number 112935 from Alice. Click here to end simulation number 112524 from Alex. They had come from three of my coworkers, all of them unaware. Their heads still glued to their computer screens,

diligently tapping away at their keyboards. James, my office, please. I turned around to see my boss. He'd taken note of my frantic behavior and wanted to check up on me. You want to tell me what's going on? He asked as he closed the door. Sir, sir. Robert and Jenny. They just disappeared. I stuttered. He sighed. Sit down, please. In my agitated state,

I wanted to refuse. I wanted to run out and prove to him that I hadn't gone crazy. But suddenly, I just found myself sitting, obeying him without even thinking. So they're gone, huh? I take it you saw their numbers? Their numbers? You know about this? I asked. James, this is the end of phase one. That's why they sent you the numbers. They're shutting them down, he said matter-of-factly. I looked at my boss. He still smiled, unfazed by the idea that two of his employees had just been erased, and that three would soon follow. Sir, what the hell is going on here? What is phase one? Why are they being shut down? Are they being fired? He chuckled in response. Fired is a nice

way of putting it, but it's not entirely how it works here. James, why don't you tell me what we do at this company? He asked. The question was bizarre considering the situation. We're a, we're We type into the computers. We... I couldn't give a straight answer. I thought back. Firm memories of typing at my keyboard, but no memory as to why. It had always been something I did on autopilot.

I never actually thought about the task at hand. He noticed my confusion. Exactly, James. And how long have you been with us? How long? I've been here for... I didn't know. I'd never thought about the time passed.

It could have been years. Or it could have been a week. I don't understand. And I finally said with terror in my voice. My boss put a comforting hand on my shoulder. He'd been sitting in the chair just in front of me, but now suddenly he stood behind me. We couldn't perfectly keep your mind healthy, at least not here. But you're a great start, a perfect way to prove that our company has a great future. What the hell are you talking about? Think back, James. What brought you here? How did we meet? What's my name?

The barrage of questions rendered me speechless for a moment. I couldn't recall even the most basic information. You're my boss. Your name is, it's... I didn't know. He went to grab me a glass of water to calm me down. I grabbed it with trembling hands and realized I couldn't remember the last time I'd drank anything, or ate for that matter. You remember going to the hospital. You had a malignant brain tumor. You came to us for help, he said calmly. I, I don't remember. We couldn't fix you, James. We didn't have the tools yet. But we did our best to put your mind in a place where he could keep living while we developed the cure. You did say you wanted to keep living. I stared at the window behind my boss's desk. Its curtains were bright from the sun shining inside, but that was just it.

Beyond the light, I couldn't see anything. No streets outside. No sky. Nothing. My mind slowly started to settle on the idea that everything around me had been specifically made, only to distract me from the truth that nothing existed beyond the boundaries of our office. My co-workers, They're not. They're not real? I'm not real either. I basically screamed in panic as reality set in. No, no, no, James, of course you're real. You're just as real as myself. But your body is in stasis. It takes some time for the mind to accept the transition. But don't worry, we're still working out the kinks. Stasis? What did that even mean? I looked down, still seeing my hands, my legs, everything where it was supposed to be. Yet the messages I'd received end simulation had been firmly locked in my mind.

I know it's a lot to take in, but you signed the contract. You said you wanted to take part in the trials, and although they weren't as successful as we'd hoped, we still made progress. The thing is, James, adults have lost all their plasticity. Their brains just won't adapt to a new environment, which is why we've moved on to, well, younger subjects, people with more malleable minds. What the fuck are you talking about?

You were in phase one, but it's time to move on. Wait, am I going to die? Not yet. We couldn't remove the tumor, but we did halt it. Actually, think of it as a metabolic pause. We managed to stop the tumor from growing by essentially freezing all neurological functions, and while your brain is still operating at minimum capacity,

it's simply not enough to wake up, and thus you remain in this place. What about my coworkers? Are they real? he looked at me and smirked. They were real at some point, prototypes for our project, but their bodies gave out fairly quickly, leaving their minds a little more than barren husks of what they used to be, memories essentially. You should be proud of yourself, though. You're the only one left who's legally still alive. So, how long do I stay here? Can you wake me up?

No, you'll remain here until your body finally gives out. No, no, give me the fuck out of here. I can't do that, James. If we wake you up, the cancer keeps spreading, and you'll be gone in about five weeks. In anger, I grabbed my boss and pushed him against the wall. He hardly reacted. I don't care. This isn't what I asked for.

He pulled me away with an impossible strength, not even breaking the sweat as he pushed me back down into the chair. I'm sorry, James, but we still need you. Phase two is about to begin, and for the time being, you're the only thing keeping this place intact. He didn't give me the chance to ask any more questions. I simply found myself standing outside the office door. I pulled it open in anger, ready to unleash on my boss.

But behind the door, I found nothing but a brick wall. My co-workers still sat in their cubicles, ignoring the commotion going on around them. They weren't real. They never had been. They were just trapped in a bizarre simulation alongside myself. But whether or not they were human ones, I didn't know. I heard more pings emitting from my computer. Dozens, if not hundreds of emails flowing in by the second.

emails, numbers, all asking me to terminate various simulations. I started clicking on each, desperately looking for my own number, trying to figure out a way to end the nightmare. After a few moments of manic clicking, I looked up from my cubicle. I was alone. Yet, the emails kept coming. Thousands of numbers, none of them mine, but I kept clicking. I kept terminating simulation after simulation, never finding my own.

Then I stopped. I realized that all of the emails had been sent from the people whose simulation I had. it ended, which meant maybe I'd send out my own number to someone, even if I couldn't remember it. I clicked on the sent tab of my email to find only a single message. Click here to end simulation number 10113519. Without hesitation, I clicked the link. Any risk of death was worth it. As long as escape remained a possibility. A white light surrounded me and felt myself being dragged away from the office building. I laughed in joy as the world around me disappeared. Memories came flooding back, my wife, my daughter, the disease that slowly tried to kill me, but I didn't care. I just

felt happy to be real. The next thing I knew, I jolted away. After an uncertain amount of time, I had returned to my own body. The walls around me were white and sterile, with cable stretching from various machines to my head and limbs. The end of a horrible dream only marked the beginning of another nightmare. My eyes burned from the bright light. I tried to move, but my body felt too weak, as if my muscles had been stripped off my bones, leaving me unable to carry myself. I tried to push myself up, using my arms, but they had withered away, wrinkly, and atrophied from being unused for what must have been years. The only thing that hadn't aged was my brain. Using all that remained of my diminished strength, I pushed myself out of bed and fell onto the cold floor.

I winced in agony as I felt my shoulder break. My bones were so brittle, unable to handle even the most minute strain. While my eyes adapted to the light, I ripped out the IV lines and cables attached to me, a small alarm sounding as the machines finally lost contact with my vitals. Slowly, but with undying determination, I got myself up on my feet, once again learning how to walk, using the walls around me as support, and slowly moving towards the door. I stumbled into an empty, long hallway with doors on both sides, each marked with numbers, not in numerical order. My door read, number one zero one one three five one nine.

At the end of the hallway stood a double set of doors, both with small windows. I figured it had to be the exit, so I made my way towards it while reading the numbers on the doors I passed. As I got close, I noticed movement on the other side of the exit. I quickly ducked into room number 615-184, just in time to see three men in lab coats rushed into the hallway. I held my breath and begged that they hadn't seen me, but they quickly passed, and I let out a relieved sigh. Inside the room lay a man roughly 70 years old, chronically emaciated with legs so skinny it looked like they'd never been used. He was hooked up to an overabundance of cables, just like I had been, but his condition was more dire than my own. As I stood there, studying the

poor man, I heard angry voices shouting from down the hall, demanding that the entire sector be searched for a missing subject. Me. Before they could get a chance to chase me, I left the patient room and dove in through the double doors leading to yet another hallway, one filled with offices and a break room. In my fragile state, I knew I couldn't make it far, so instead of running, I decided to take my chances by barricading myself up in one of the offices. I entered one belonging to Richard Burke, advisor. I instantly recognized the name. He had been the recruiter for the AP company, the man that admitted me for the treatment, my own fucking captor. At the very least, I figure they wouldn't start looking for me there. And seeing as the room was empty, I could, with

some struggle, cover the door with different pieces of furniture, slowing them down just a bit more. I opened the laptop on Burke's desk, hoping to call for help, or at least to let people know that I hadn't died. That was the first time I could see myself in the reflection of the black computer monitor. An ancient man stared back at me, one I hardly recognized as myself, old, tired, definitely not the same person that had been admitted to the hospital. And by my estimate, About 15 years must have passed since they put me to sleep. I clicked the on button, and the screen turned on, not even prompting a password, nor requiring a login of any kind.

A program was already open on the desktop. It contained a list of people, all forcefully put to sleep, doomed to live out their lives in a virtual reality. Next to their names, I saw the termination protocols. My heart sank. I wanted to end their pain, each and every one of them. But I knew that as soon as I clicked, terminate,

the guards would figure out where I was. So instead, I opened a browser and started typing, knowing that any minute, they'd come barging into the office and take me back to my room. But as long as I still have time, I need to let people know that I'm alive, that I need help. I don't want to be here anymore. Lazzang sur-goled,

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