This Is Not the Life That I Imagined

After a few seconds of checking for any abnormality in John's reading, Professor Ada's voice crackled through the intercom. "Great job, John. You've done well with the Night Vision and AR displays. Now it's time to move on to the next set of functions. Ready?"

John took a deep breath, feeling a mix of anticipation and fatigue. "Ready, Professor. What's next?"

"Let's start with the Data Harvesting function," Professor Ada instructed. "This one will be crucial when you need to gather information from various sources quickly. You'll be tested on your ability to extract and process data under pressure. Pay attention to detail."

John focused on the Data Harvesting icon, blinking twice to activate it. Immediately, his vision filled with streams of raw data flowing from various sources around the room—computer terminals, electronic devices, even the air vents seemed to emit streams of information.

"Ugh, that is just too much!" John massages his forehead with his thumb as he was trying to adjust to the sudden influx of data.

"I know it is overwhelming trying to manage and understand all these functions, so take your time. When you are ready, tell me to start the simulation." Professor Ada's understanding gained John's appreciation.

John took a moment to steady his breathing, his eyes scanning the overwhelming streams of data that flooded his vision. He could see text strings, fragments of conversations, and digital pings from various devices in the room.

It was a chaotic mess, a torrent of information that made his head spin. But he knew this was just the beginning.

"Alright, Professor," John finally said, dropping his hand from his forehead. "I think I'm ready."

"Good," Professor Ada replied, her tone steady and encouraging. "The simulation is going to place you in an environment where a threat is suspected, but nothing has been confirmed.

Your task is to sift through the digital noise—texts, calls, camera feeds—and pinpoint anything unusual that might help us locate the danger. Remember, you're looking for anything out of the ordinary."

John nodded, feeling a surge of determination. "I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask," Ada said with a slight smile. "The environment you're about to enter is a busy urban area, filled with people going about their daily lives. However, somewhere within that chaos lies a potential threat.

Your job is to use the Data Harvesting function to filter through the data and identify the source of danger. The simulation will begin in three... two... one."

The room around John shifted and faded into the background as a new scene materialized before his eyes.

He found himself standing on a bustling city street, surrounded by towering buildings and a steady flow of pedestrians. Cars honked in the distance, and snippets of conversations floated past him.

But more pressing than the physical scene was the digital overlay now dominating his vision. Streams of data poured in from every direction—text messages popping up on his left, call logs appearing to his right, and camera feeds superimposed on the buildings in front of him.

 "She married last week, didn't you know?" "Let's meet at 9, bro." "How is your day, honey?" "How could this happen to me?" "Where were you yesterday? You cheater"," did you hear? ****"

It was a dizzying array of information, but John focused, remembering Ada's words. "Let's start by filtering out the noise," he muttered to himself.

With a blink, he began to adjust the Data-Harvesting function, setting parameters to highlight anything that stood out from the usual flow of city life.

Immediately, the chaotic streams of data started to thin, reducing to more manageable patterns.

A message caught his attention: "Did you hear? The building that had an accident last week, someone vanished again in it." "Maybe he just moved out because of that accident. Stop scaring yourself."

He tried to get any data on what the accident was and who vanished as he moved to the message location.

He got more information as he got closer: someone killed his wife and child in anger because they asked for money for the home, while he spent most of his money on alcohol. He has a drinking problem. He got arrested by the police. As for the one who 'vanished,' he just went on a business trip.

"Shoot! This is not what I'm looking for." John clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Let's see if I can find something more relevant."

He adjusted the parameters of the Data-Harvesting function, refining his search criteria. This time, he focused on filtering out any mentions of disappearances, strange animal sightings, or unusual patterns in the local wildlife.

The chaotic data flow thinned even further, leaving only a handful of messages and reports that might lead to something useful.

A headline from a local news feed caught his eye: "Another Pet Goes Missing Near the Old Factory—Third Case This Month." John's pulse quickened as he tapped into the feed, pulling up more details.

"Authorities are baffled by a series of mysterious pet disappearances in the vicinity of the abandoned factory on the edge of town. Despite extensive searches, no trace of the animals has been found, leading to fears that something sinister may be at play."

John frowned as he scanned the report. "Missing pets near an old factory... That's suspicious, but it could just be a stray predator. Still, it's worth looking into."

He marked the location on his map and began searching for any additional information connected to the area. As he delved deeper, he found several references to unusual behavior among the local wildlife.

One message from a local resident stood out: "Saw something strange near the factory last night. I thought it was a dog at first, but it moved weird, almost like it was sick or injured. It just disappeared into the shadows."

John's brow furrowed as he processed the information. "This could be it... Could be a mutated animal causing these disappearances."

He decided to follow up on this lead, his virtual map now guiding him toward the factory. As he approached the area in the simulation, the data streams shifted once more, bringing up nearby camera feeds.

John cycled through them quickly, looking for anything that might confirm his suspicions. One of the cameras, positioned near the entrance to the factory, showed something moving in the shadows.

It was low to the ground, hunched over, and its movements were jerky, unnatural. John zoomed in, trying to get a clearer view, but the figure disappeared just as he did.

"Damn it, missed it," he muttered, but he didn't give up. He drew possible routes that could be taken. After that, he searched for the route that needed to travel to kill the pets.

 John narrowed his search to a small area within the shadow scope of movement. "There," John said aloud, marking the location on his map.

"Excellent," Professor Ada responded. "In less than ten minutes, you identify a suspicious area. That it for data harvesting for now." She stopped the simulation as John returned to the small room.

The stream of data vanished as he closed the data harvesting function.

After completing the Data Harvesting exercise, John's confidence grew. However, Professor Ada quickly moved on to the next challenge.

"Now, John, let's test the Chemical Analysis Sensors," she said. "This function will help you identify and analyze chemical compounds in your environment. It's particularly useful when dealing with unknown substances, whether they're toxic, organic, or anything in between."

John nodded, ready to take on the next task. "What's the scenario this time?"

"You'll be placed in a wilderness environment, where we suspect a mutated animal has been active. Your objective is to track the creature by analyzing traces it's left behind—such as saliva, blood, or other materials. This will give you a practical sense of how the sensors can detect and interpret chemical signatures."

"Understood," John replied, mentally preparing himself for the challenge.

"The simulation will begin in three... two... one."

Once again, the room around John dissolved, and he found himself standing in the middle of a dense forest. Tall trees surrounded him, their leaves rustling in the wind, and the faint sound of running water echoed in the distance.

John immediately activated the Chemical Analysis Sensors, watching as his HUD displayed various indicators and options. His vision adjusted to show a range of chemical signatures in the environment, marked by different colors and icons.

First things first," he muttered to himself, "let's see if I can find any tracks."

He began to move cautiously through the forest, scanning the ground for any signs of the mutated animal. It wasn't long before he noticed something—a small patch of grass stained with a dark, oily substance.

Kneeling down, John focused the sensors on the substance, and within seconds, the analysis results began to appear on his display. The substance was identified as blood, but it was unlike anything he'd seen before. The chemical composition was abnormal, with traces of toxins and mutated proteins.

"Looks like I'm on the right track," John murmured, feeling a mixture of excitement and apprehension.

As he continued deeper into the forest, he encountered more signs of the creature's presence—a half-eaten animal carcass, contaminated water in a nearby stream, and even claw marks etched into the bark of a tree. Each time, John used the Chemical Analysis Sensors to gather data, piecing together the nature of the mutated animal.

At one point, he discovered a pool of saliva near the carcass. The sensors quickly identified it as containing high levels of toxins, suggesting that the creature's bite was potentially lethal.

"Not something I want to get too close to," John noted, feeling the weight of the situation even though it was just a simulation.

Finally, the sensors detected a faint chemical trail leading toward a rocky outcrop. John followed the trail carefully, aware that he was nearing the creature's likely hideout. The closer he got, the more pronounced the chemical readings became—indicating that the mutant was not far.

Before he could advance further, the simulation paused, and the forest faded away, returning him to the small room.

"Excellent work, John," Professor Ada's voice came through. "You successfully identified and tracked the mutated animal using the Chemical Analysis Sensors. Your attention to detail and careful approach were spot-on."

John took a deep breath, allowing himself a moment of relief. "Thanks, Professor. That was intense, but I feel like I'm getting the hang of it."

"Good to hear," Ada replied with a smile in her voice. "We're making great progress. Now, let's move on to the next exercise."