Archive Internet Library Novels & Stories

The internet didn’t so much filter information; rather, it added more ingredients to concoct a story people found interesting. “Our library is the best in the kingdom—and perhaps even the world. We have documents dating back thousands of years,” he replied, pride in his voice. Now that sounded like a place I could spend some serious time in! I tried not to show how excited I was, but Mac could read me like a book (pun intended). He knew I was secretly a nerd. A badass nerd—but a nerd nonetheless. “Can we go there tomorrow? I really want to look into this, for peace of mind and curiosity’s sake.”

We weren't falling; we were being Uploaded. The sensation was like being shredded by a million diamond needles. I felt my memories being categorized, my emotions being assigned a numerical value, and my "Rejection" being labeled as a System Error. We hit a floor of solid, white glass. This was the Archive of the Moon. It was a vertical library that seemed to stretch into infinity, filled with millions of translucent, glowing orbs. Each orb contained a "Backup" of a life, a pack, or a timeline. The air was sterile, smelling of ozone and the dry, ancient cold of the Ninth Cycle.

That evening, rain returned. Not the heavy storms of early summer. Just a steady drizzle against the windows. Valeria wandered into the library. The room calmed her. Books didn't lie. People did. She searched the history shelves, hoping to distract herself, but another book caught her attention instead. Sterling Holdings: Internal Archive Index. It wasn't a history book. More like a catalogue. An inventory listing archived records kept by the company over several decades. She carried it to a reading table. Most entries were mundane.