A monitor beeped beside me. The room smelled of clean linen and antiseptic, the same hospital smell I had known for years.
Sunlight warmed one side of my face.
The System spoke inside my head one last time.
[Return Protocol complete. Host’s consciousness has been successfully reintegrated with original body.]
[Terminal illness has been fully eradicated from the host’s cellular structure.]
[Reward of 10 billion has been successfully deposited. Please check your designated accounts.]
I opened my eyes to a plain white ceiling. The mattress under me was soft. Nothing hurt.
[Final system service: In light of the extreme psychological trauma incurred, the System offers a complete memory erasure of the mission world. All experiences, emotions, and attachments will be permanently removed, l
