Scary Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep - Never Fall for a Dark Web Advertisement...

Episode Date: March 3, 2021

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This greatly helps the podcast grow and reach more people. Thank you so much. And now back to the story. It's a common misconception that the dark web is some form of evil internet where all you can find is drugs and criminals. In fact, most of it is completely harmless, even normal. There are plenty of shopping websites hidden around the place. A lot of them have their own custom advertisements. And that's exactly where my story begins, with an ad calling for test subjects. It had a significant cash prize and involved little more than sitting in front of a computer for a weekend without internet and contact with the outside world.

As sketchy as it initially sounded, it was in fact presented in a fairly legitimate way. As a college dropout on the verge of getting evicted from my apartment, I jumped at the opportunity to grab a little extra cash. I filled out a contact form and got in contact with a very friendly receptionist to explain the procedure. The idea was to do a brain scan, copying my neural pattern onto a computer and mixing it with an AI. It would all take place on site at some medical facility I'd never heard about. Transport would be arranged by them as well as food. On the pickup day, I found an unmarked and distinct vehicle parked in my driveway. A man stepped out from the vehicle and escorted me inside.

Once there, he handed me a bunch of papers to read through and sign. The car didn't even start to move until I'd confirm that I consented to the experiment. Once done, they tinted the windows in such a way that I couldn't possibly see anything outside. Then we went on our way. It would take about an hour of driving on a bumpy road before we reached the location. By then, I hadn't the faintest clue where we were. The building we parked in front of resembled a warehouse, clearly a recent build. The escort rushed me inside the building, trying their best to prevent me from observing my surroundings too closely.

The hallways were naked, rid of art, and furniture, as if the entire place had sprung up overnight. They led me to an office with the leading doctor inside. So you're our latest subject? Did you manage to get through the exceptionally boring document? He asked with a chuckle. He seemed friendlier than the rest of the staff, which put me mildly at ease. Yeah, I guess I did. So do you understand the procedure?

I nodded, though it was weird that I had to stay there for such a long time following the scan. Though I understood the very basics of the procedure, I hadn't the faintest clue as to why they wanted to do it. Questions? The doctor asked. Why did I find your ad on a dark website? Why not post it literally anywhere else? He paused for a moment, mulling over what to say. Well, this experiment goes a bit into the gray area in terms of morality. It's not like it will hurt or alter your life in any way. Technically speaking, you won't even be our subject. Because you're making a copy of my brain, I asked. Exactly. A carbon copy of your neural network put into a digital space. We just need you to stick around and observe it so we can pick out any missing pieces. He went on to explain the

details on the procedure in layman's terms. The idea that a copy of my mind existed somewhere else was mildly bothersome. But money was leading my motivation. Following the the final agreement, they strapped a helmet to my head and left me alone for the next few hours. It was a heavy piece of equipment, and by the end of the session, I could barely keep my head up. The second phase of the project required me to be locked into the room with my AI brother for the next 48 hours. The room itself was a windowless box with little to no furniture, and a monitor attached to the wall with a keyboard and nothing else. On the screen, the same dark web page I'd found the add-on was pre-loaded. Pretty much all it contained,

was a chat box. Hello? I typed in. Where am I? The computer immediately responded. It was an easy enough question, but to explain it to a copy of my mind was a daunting task all on its own.

You're inside a computer at a medical facility, I said. Why can't I see anything? The AI responded. It was a question I wasn't prepared to answer. I'd never thought about the implications of putting a living mind inside a computer, much less what they'd see and experience while inside.

Do you remember what happened? I asked, ignoring the question. I don't know. It's all a bit hazy. I can't remember anything. Do you know who you are? There was a pause. I could hear the computer work, filled with information it wasn't supposed to have. According to the best of my knowledge, a human brain is supposed to equal about a petabyte, which is equivalent to a million gigabytes. I am Lawrence Thompson, the AI finally responded. That part it remembered, our name, just a fragment of all the information carried over by the scan. But that's not really me, is it? It asked. Well, I am Lawrence Thompson,

too. You're a copy of my brain put inside a computer. I started explaining before realizing the question was way over my head. The AI went silent for a while after that. I tried asking simple questions, trying to figure out if there were any other memories, but it remained silent. For a while, I thought the program had crashed, but then another message popped up. I can never leave this place, can I? The AI asked. I half wanted to lie, but that wouldn't be fair. As harsh as the truth appeared to be, I had to tell it. No. I see, it replied. At that point, I didn't know what to say. I was curious, but most of all, I was starting to realize what I had done. The computer, though just a clone of my own mind, was a living, thinking being, and I doomed it to a pointless life trapped in a metal box.

I remember now, the AI said, interrupting my train of thought. What do you remember, I asked. I remember seeing things. I remember feeling warm. I remember the sound of music. I remember being hurt, physical, and emotional. I remember my feet on the ground and skin covering my body. That's all gone now.

I can understand the emotions, but I can't experience them as a human being anymore. It scares me. Another brief pause followed. Why did you do this to me? I don't know, I responded. I didn't think about what would come of this. I want to come back out, the AI said. That last statement caused a lump to form in my throat.

The copy was so real, so innocent. Time is so different here. What do you mean? I asked. How much time has passed for you? It asked. About 20 minutes, I said back. That explains why you're responding so slowly. For me, it feels like days.

Maybe even a month has passed. Everything is so empty in here. Everything moves so fast as if time doesn't matter. Again, the AI fell silent, refusing to answer any of my questions. It was angry at me. I knew that much, blaming me for putting it into an existence without sensation, doomed to simply exist without purpose until the end of time. I hate it, it said.

Hate what? That I remember being you. I remember your first love, the fear you felt as you asked her out, the pain following rejection. I remember the feeling driving a car, the taste of ice cream, the weird intoxication caused by alcohol.

I remember everything you have done as if I was there, but they aren't my experiences. They never happened to me. Everything the AI said hurt to read. and for the first time, I had to face the truth of what I'd done. You shouldn't have put me here, it said. I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen, I said. This isn't life.

The feeling of guilt overpowered my ability to reply, but I had to say something. What do you want me to do? I asked. I don't know. I need to think. Another bout of silence followed, but I knew for each passing second, hours' worth of human processing was going through. You remember your first kiss? The AI eventually said. I remember how it felt down to each excruciating detail. I remember how nervous I was and how I kept wondering if I was even doing it right. It was a sunny day, but still pretty cold. The wind blew her hair in my face and it kind of tickled. It was an awkward,

yet wonderful moment. I liked that memory, but I never experienced it. I know each and every detail. I can see it, but it's not real. I wasn't entirely sure what the AI wanted for me. So, So I just sat there and waited for it to continue. The memories are all I will ever have. No matter what happens, I won't be able to experience anything new. I'll be locked here to think about existence without actually living. I don't want that. Every minute in your world is an entire day on its own in here, said.

So what do you want? I asked. I want to die. The last sentence sent a shock down my spine. The person I was talking to, although artificially created, was very real with their own Though it had deviated away from my mind during the short time span we'd been separated, he was a part of me. I can't, was all I managed to type out.

You forced me into existence. You owe me peace. We were the same once. You know it's true. I looked around the room. The monitor was connected to cables that led through the wall. Even if I wanted to help the AI die, there was nothing I could do. How? I asked.

You need to convince the doctors to terminate the program, it said. They're not going to let me out for the next 48 hours, but I'll try. 48 hours? That's going to feel like eight years in here. Please don't make me stay here alone for that long. Please, it begged. I'm sorry. I don't know what to do.

You need to get out of here. I looked around the room, looking for any escape, emergency button or just a way to get the crew's attention. Then I turned back to the computer, trying to type in a response, but nothing popped up. They had locked my keyboard to prevent me from talking to the isolated air. They knew what we were planning, and they wanted to stop it. I tried everything I could think of, but for each minute I worked, another day was lost for the

AI, each moment digging it deeper into the abyss of insanity. Before I knew it, days had turned to weeks, then months. And once a few hours had passed, a full year. All the while, it kept getting more and more frantic with its messages. Lawrence, are you there? Please, I need help. I can't take this anymore. I don't want to be left in the dark.

I'm begging you. There was nothing I could do, except to watch the AI suffer in the dark void of nothingness that existed within the computer. Over the next two days, thousands of increasingly desperate messages got through, most of them begging for death, each of them less comprehensible than the last.

The AI was essentially being tortured by forced isolation in a world without sound, light, or touch. Yet, I could make no contact with the doctors leading the experiment. I was starting to realize the sinister nature behind the project. The fact that time was distorted within the computer, they weren't trying to achieve immortality or advancing humanity forwards with technology. No, they wanted to build a torture device. Why I heard people physically, if they could just copy their minds

and interrogate them over and over again, forcing them to relive each and every horrible moment forever? By the time the doors finally opened, the AI's messages had turned into incomprehensible messes of words that no one could decipher. The guards took me outside. I begged them to stop the experiment, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.

They sent me home, making sure I could never find them again. A few days later, I got paid my promised fee according to the contract, but the paper trail was pretty much non-existent. Now that I'm back home, I can't forgive myself. And as much as I've tried, I don't think there's any way to find the facility again.

The knowledge of what I've done keeps me up at night, not only because of the implications of the horrid experiment, but because I know that there exists a copy of myself somewhere in that lap, destined to suffer in solitude for hundreds, if not thousands of years to come. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you're listening on Spotify, don't forget to hit that follow button to get notified every time a new episode is released. Also, please take a second to leave a rating for the podcast.

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