LifeNet: The Price of Immortality

Chapter 2. The Stranger in the Shadow

"Are you sure about this?" Isla’s voice was barely a whisper as she followed Elara down the quiet street, her eyes darting around them.

Elara pulled her coat tighter against the night chill. "I have to be. Whoever that was, they know something. Something LifeNet doesn’t want me to find."

"And you think meeting a total stranger in a dark alley at midnight is the answer?" Isla shot her a look that was part worry, part exasperation. "Elara, this sounds like a trap."

Elara didn’t answer right away. Deep down, she knew Isla had a point. But she was too close to walk away now. Every fiber of her being screamed that there was something dark lurking beneath LifeNet's promise of eternal life. And if someone else had answers, she couldn’t just ignore it.

"Maybe it’s a risk," Elara said finally. "But I’d rather risk something than live with secrets and lies. Don’t you feel it too, Isla? That we’re all just… puppets, being led around by promises that are too good to be true?"

Isla hugged herself, looking at the ground. "I don’t know. I mean, sure, LifeNet has its flaws, but maybe it's just that—flaws. Maybe it’s not some big, sinister conspiracy."

Elara reached for Isla’s hand, squeezing it. "I need to know, Isla. Just give me this one night, and I promise I’ll be careful. If anything seems wrong, I’ll leave."

Isla’s eyes searched Elara’s face, as if looking for any sign of doubt. But Elara’s expression was determined, and Isla finally sighed. "Fine. But if anything happens, I’m coming after you."

Elara smiled, touched by her friend’s loyalty. "I know you would. Now go home, Isla. I don’t want you getting mixed up in this."

"Promise you’ll call me as soon as you’re done," Isla said, her voice firm.

"I promise."

Isla hesitated, then gave a quick nod, turning and disappearing into the shadows, casting one last worried glance over her shoulder. Elara took a deep breath, steeling herself, and walked toward the old subway station, her footsteps echoing softly on the empty street.

The alleyway was silent, cloaked in darkness. Elara’s heart raced as she stepped into the shadows, every instinct telling her to turn back. But she pushed forward, forcing herself to stay calm, her gaze darting around for any sign of movement.

"Elara."                                                 

She spun around at the sound of her name, barely making out a figure leaning against the wall, face hidden beneath a hood.

"You came," the stranger murmured, voice still distorted, masking any trace of identity. "Curious girl."

Elara swallowed hard. "Who are you? And why should I trust you?"

The figure chuckled, a low, unsettling sound. "Trust… now there’s an interesting word. Let’s just say I know things that LifeNet would rather keep buried. Things that you’ve already started to uncover, haven’t you?"

Elara’s eyes narrowed. "You mean the data anomalies? The missing memories?"

The stranger nodded slowly. "They’re more than anomalies, Elara. They’re evidence. LifeNet’s promises of eternity? All a lie. People who trust them with their lives… many don’t come back."

Elara’s heart clenched, a cold dread settling over her. "What do you mean they don’t come back? LifeNet’s supposed to be safe. They transfer minds to a secure network, right?"

The stranger leaned closer, just enough for Elara to see the glint of their eyes beneath the hood. "That’s what they tell you. But ask yourself, Elara, why are there data gaps in the memories? Why are there traces of people who… disappear?"

A shiver ran down her spine, but she forced herself to stay steady. "So what happens to them?"

The stranger’s voice dropped to a whisper. "Their minds, their memories… are deleted. Wiped from existence without a trace. LifeNet keeps it hidden, buries the truth. But if people knew—if they really understood—they would never step into one of those pods."

Elara stared at the figure, anger and horror twisting inside her. "But why? Why would they do this?"

The stranger let out a harsh laugh. "Why does anyone do anything in this world? Power. Money. Control. LifeNet sells a dream that only the wealthy can afford. But they need a system to keep their data fresh, their own memories untouched. So they feed off the poor, letting them believe they’re immortal when, in reality, they’re erased to sustain the lives of the elite."

The words hit Elara like a punch, and she struggled to process them, her mind reeling. Everything she had believed, every trust she’d placed in LifeNet… all crumbling.

"So you’re saying," she whispered, "that LifeNet is just… harvesting people? Using them to keep their own memories intact?"

The stranger nodded, their gaze dark. "It’s all a game, Elara. And the ones with the power hold all the cards."

She clenched her fists, fury burning through her shock. "How can you just stand here, knowing all this? Why don’t you do something?"

"Why do you think I called you?" the stranger shot back. "You’re not just some scientist, Elara. You have the access, the skills to bring this system down. But it’ll come at a price."

Elara took a shaky breath, her heart pounding. "What kind of price?"

The stranger leaned in, their voice a harsh whisper. "Your life. If you expose them, they’ll come after you. They’ll destroy everything you have, everyone you love. You’d be a fool to think otherwise."

The fear twisted inside her, and for a moment, she wanted to run, to pretend she had never heard any of this. But a stronger feeling—one she couldn’t ignore—kept her rooted in place. She couldn’t just turn away, not now.

"What do I have to do?" she asked quietly.

The stranger hesitated, as if weighing her resolve. Then they reached into their pocket, pulling out a small, silver device. "This is a key to one of LifeNet’s hidden servers. It holds records—raw, unfiltered data that they’ve tried to erase. But be warned: once you start, there’s no going back."

Elara took the device, its weight cold and heavy in her hand. "And who are you? Why are you helping me?"

The stranger tilted their head, a trace of a smile just visible beneath the hood. "I’m just someone who once believed in their lies. Someone who lost everything to the system. If you’re smart, you’ll stay hidden. If you’re brave, you’ll fight. Either way, LifeNet won’t ignore you now."

Without another word, the stranger stepped back into the shadows, disappearing as if they had never been there. Elara stood alone, clutching the device tightly, her mind spinning with the information she had just learned.

For a moment, she almost felt like laughing. Here she was, a scientist, caught in a battle against the very system she’d trusted to preserve humanity. How could she, one person, even hope to take on something as powerful as LifeNet?

But when she thought of all the people trapped in LifeNet’s promises, of all the innocent lives erased without a trace, she knew she couldn’t walk away.

She turned back toward the city, her heart pounding with a new sense of purpose—and a growing fear that she had just signed her own death warrant.