TWILIGHT

“40 isn’t that old,” said the princess.

“Old enough to reject you as a reason,” the knight replied.

“But you are still handsome,” she insisted, “I wish I can keep a shape like you in my 40s.”

“It’s not easy. You have to workout five times a week.”

“That’s why I refer to it as a ‘wish’.”

“I can’t believe you just stay in the tower doing nothing. Look at your face, you are as pale as a vampire.”

“I don’t have a tanning spray.”

“It’s not about tanning spray. Why not go out for a walk…”

“Like a date with you?”

“To get some sunshine.”

“You expect me to shine like a diamond under the sunlight, huh?”

“NO MORE twilight reference. Where do you get all these old YA contents? Don’t you have some real book to read in the tower?”

“It’s a tower. Call it a fortune to have an IKEA instruction manual to read.”

“It’s certainly a fortune that you are not one of my kids.”

“So, tell me more about your wife. What’s she like? Is she nice to you? How’re things going with her and the kids?”

“Wow, slow down a bit, this is way too personal. I’m your firefighter, not your potential boyfriend.”

“Yeah, I know. Because you are 40 and I’m only 26.”

“You are at most 16.”

“15, actually.”

“How rare for you to say something real. Now go, don’t make me regret liberating you.”

“To where I should go? Into this forest? There is danger everywhere. Look at that flower, it biting… that cat?”

“You’ll get used to it. There is just a slight difference between here and the earth.”

“You call this slight difference? We are floating in the air.”

“You will get used to it. You must.”

“Sure I will. But have you? You can never get used to all these, right?”

“I will. I can have my new life begin here. You have no idea how many sacrifices we have to make to get this Dyson Sphere done.”

“There, there. I’m here with you.”

“Go, go into the forest. And I will know you’ll always be there somewhere.”

“Are there any other towers for you to open?”

“You are the last one.”

“I’m sorry your family is not here.”

“I’m sorry I am not your father.”

“He told me he would let me out when the Sphere is set. He promised me that everything would be just fine. But only a few people survived, isn’t it?”

“Shush… look now, right there, can you see the twilight.”

“It’s… as beautiful as it on earth.”

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Want to know where they are, check the short video: Dyson Sphere MetaVerse

THE GODS THEMSELVES

For a moment, I was shocked. I managed to get everything clear in my mind. I was… I was not real. I was totally programmed.

I looked around. The river was running, towards the equator on the endless sloping land. I was here to get some leisure time, I was just too busy as an engineer. But turns out I wasn’t even here.

So where was I if I was not on Dyson Sphere 42? And… what was I?

Am I some kind of toy of God? Of the programmer of me?

But all these just felt so real, I was born here on Dyson Sphere 42. I was used to living on the shell of our sun.

Before I could get myself together, the nature of being a software engineer make me take a glance at the other side of the wall. A simple word as "console" just sent me a key to the real world.

I was expecting some kind of God. They should be smarter, stronger, and more powerful than my kind. I was a normal human being, born in 3023, living on Dyson Sphere 42, and was both thrilled and scared to meet some civilization higher than mine.

To be honest, I was expecting at least a type III civilization.

However – I couldn’t trust my eyes – what was in front of me was a crowd of… ancient people. They were pure nerds, with heavy glasses, flannel shirts, and clumpy antique laptops.

They didn’t realize that I was there, that I was watching them.

“How is your experiment going?”

“Running well. I’m making a beautiful model of Dyson Sphere.”

“Yeah, I love that. Just imagine what a type II civilization will be like!”

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FYI, we human beings are not even a type I civilization so far. Know more about Dyson Sphere, check SciFidea.