“Unlike the rest of the Oshos, I know who I am. My creator had called me an Easter egg– hiding in plain sight, waiting to be claimed. He has kept them just for explorers like you.”

An Osho that was aware of his true existence.

Eren stopped eating when he heard Bruce’s statement. Watching the guy with his mouth open in surprise, Eren continued to listen to what he had to say.

Bruce looked at Eren with keen eyes before asking.

“Eren, how much do you know about Oasis?”

Eren took a long breath after he was snapped out of his shock by Bruce’s question. Up until now, there was a part of him that still treated Bruce as an Osho– an NPC as people of the past would like to call it. But not anymore.

This was no ASI-driven ego. This was consciousness. However natural or artificial it might be.

Bruce smiled slightly as he listened to Eren’s explanations. The hustler didn’t try to hustle the man in front of him. He could feel that Bruce would be able to catch his lies. So he came clean and told him everything he knew about Oasis, which wasn’t much from the general populace.

It was just that he had two perspectives on his side. One perspective belonged to his life as a so-called Bourgy. The other is related to Eren’s experiences living as a citizen of Elysian cities.

Bruce nodded at Eren after he heard the latter’s speech. He pursed his lips and pondered a bit. As if thinking about whether to tell Eren something or not. He then tapped his fingers over the surface of the table in a rhythmic manner before snapping his fingers.

In the next moment, an energy shield was created around Eren and Bruce, isolating them from their surroundings immediately. The ground beneath was now exuding runic lines that were part of the circular array the energy shield was built on.

Eren was confused at first. Then he was surprised. Surprised that a normal Osho like Bruce could control Oasis’ environment this much. And this was Bourgy’s Oasis where all things related to magic and mana were extremely restricted.

Bruce stayed in his seat but he hunched forward and stared deep into Eren’s eyes before replying.

“My creator had told me that I’d have full autonomy over who I allow digesting the experiences and memories that are part of me. But he had told me I should make that person aware of the real truth of Oasis.

So that he could stay prepared and make the most of these Easter Eggs. Otherwise, these experiences would be a waste. Do you still wish to proceed?”

Bruce asked with a stoic expression on his face. Eren didn’t take long to answer either.

“Whatever it is just give it to me straight, sir Bruce. I want the experiences you can offer me. So I’m ready to listen.”

Bruce chuckled and patted Eren’s right arm in a friendly manner before getting up from his seat. He started walking in circles around the table as he spoke about Oasis.

“Eren, the idea of Oasis is to find something humanity is in dire need of– a place where it could feel secure. I mean we are safe now. But let’s just say we won’t stay safe forever.

From your talks, it looks like you know a few things about Oasis from both sides of the coin. So let me just fill in the gaps.”

By now, Eren has straightened his posture after hearing Bruce’s words. Then he just nodded, waiting for Bruce to speak further.

“You know why people living in Elysian cities are kept from entering Bourgys’ Oasis and vice versa?”

This was the question Eren wanted to know the most. He didn’t know that meeting a digital construct, or an easter egg as Bruce said his creator had called him, would enable him to unravel the mystery.

“That’s because people living in Bourgys’ Oasis had been chosen to remain here on this planet. They are not meant to travel through the warp gates humanity has opened to other worlds we call Numbered Oases.”

Bruce said and watched Eren’s reaction. Sure enough, the guy was stunned. He was so stunned that he forgot to reflect those emotions on his face.

Bruce took a long breath as he walked around the dining table Eren was sitting on and continued forward.

“The so-called Bourgys’ are not meant to fight for humanity. They are not meant to explore the numbered Oasis. They are just here to live their 50 years of relatively peaceful life before the rest of the lifespan gets robbed from them.”

Bruce said and paused. He then pulled up a nearby chair, placed it beside Eren, and said to him while sitting on it. Bruce had done it so fluidly that it looked like magic.

“In a way, Bourgys are lucky. They don’t have to struggle in foreign worlds, away from this place we call home. The only tax they have to pay is their lifespan tax. It is a tax that enables them to have a worry-free life inside or outside the Oasis.

A tax to pay for a normal life. At least as normal as it could get these days. A tax that keeps the Numbered Oasis running in foreign worlds.”

Eren’s expressions of unbelief were more prominent this time. He looked at Bruce and wanted to ask him many things all at once. But ended up asking him something that was already a foregone conclusion at this point.

“Sir Bruce, do you mean numbered Oasis work on the lifespan mortals are robbed of after they turn 50?”

Bruce sighed and nodded affirmatively before commenting.

“That’s right. But instead of lifespan, what gets robbed is mortals’ life essence. And robbing them of their life essence expedites their aging process until they finally die.

They decided that the age of 50 is an ideal balance between enabling Bourgys to live a peaceful life and their need to extract their life essence. This will ensure the survival of humanity. It will ensure a new generation of offspring that could be used to continue the cycle.

Bourgys that turn 50 years old have to move to government facilities or die in a ditch. But their fate doesn’t change much even if they do visit the facilities. That is the case for most of them at least.”

Eren was slowly coming to terms with the new information he was receiving. Then he thought about the cruelty of the world he had already faced.

Human emotions and the range of their manifestations were too astounding to adequately summarize in a few words. Some humans would sacrifice themselves for others. Others would stop at nothing to cause massacres for the most mediocre of gains.

Eren’s mental fortitude had taken a new leap after he had his death-like experience and talked with that unknown entity. As long as he kept that truth repeating itself in his mind like a broken record, he was able to remain calm.

“How can life essence be extracted by a chip? Wasn’t that chip supposed to allow us to better interact with the hardware that was available to them?”

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