'I'm walking among aliens in another world. I'm the first human to ever make contact with them… but wait, am I the alien now?' Caspian thought as he walked along the slippery cobblestone streets.
Despite the cloudy weather, people were walking cheerfully through the streets, shopping, and sitting in restaurants. No matter how much he thought about it, this civilization looked exactly like the one on Earth.
The city they were in resembled the videos of Edinburgh he had seen on Yutube so much that he wasn't sure for a moment if he was actually there. However, the language people spoke certainly didn't belong to his world.
When they arrived in front of a bakery, he compared his coins with the prices in the window. From what he could see, he could afford two loaves of bread for today. He went inside and spoke hesitantly in the language that felt foreign.
"Two loaves of bread, please."
"Ah... Good morning, Detective Mortis. You haven't stopped by for a few days. Here you go."
"Thank you," Caspian said, handing over the money.
When he returned to Palm, who was waiting by the door, sweat was pouring down his face despite the cold air.
"Did I act well?"
"Why are you even trying to act? You looked like a robot in there. Just be natural."
"You try it if it's so easy! This is my first time talking to aliens."
"As if you've spent your whole life talking to Death Clerks. You were perfectly natural back at the office."
"Fine... you buy the next thing then," Caspian muttered.
"No problem," Palm said, taking the remaining coins from Caspian's hand.
They stopped in front of a dairy shop.
"Should we buy some cheese? We don't have much money," Caspian said.
"Are we just going to eat dry bread?" Palm replied and walked inside.
The man behind the counter took the money Palm offered, weighed a block of cheese, and put it in a paper bag.
"You must be new here. I haven't seen you before."
"Yes, I'll be staying around for a while. Do you know Detective Mortis? I'm a friend of his."
"Oh, is that so? He helped me with a case recently. Please, take this small gift as well," the shopkeeper said, tossing an apple into the bag.
"Thank you, have a good day," Palm said as he walked out.
Together with Caspian, who had been listening from outside the door, they headed back to their home-office, which was converted from a castle.
Looking at the remaining change, Caspian realized they only had enough money for three more loaves of bread. Each loaf was 50 Juvelle, and the cheese had cost them 2 Juvel. He had no idea how he would feed them after tomorrow.
'Did they not hear me when I said don't make me poor, or did they just ignore me?' he wondered.
There were times he had been broke in his previous life, but it had never come to the point where he couldn't even afford a meal. This was a first, and he wasn't sure how to make money in this foreign world. Caspian Mortis's job was private investigation, but he had no idea how to be a private detective. The only detective he knew was Sherlock.
When they got home, Caspian put water on the stove and brewed some coffee they had found in a jar. They also found a bit of jam. He sliced half of the cheese and one of the apples and put them on the table. Before he could even sit down, Palm had already started gnawing on the bread.
"I was starving," Palm said after a few bites.
"But... you're not even alive," Caspian said hesitantly. "I mean, why are you even eating food? You're not alive, right?"
"That's hard to answer. I have consciousness. But I don't have a fixed lifespan like you. As long as I'm not disposed of, I will continue to live. But I heard that we didn't use to eat or sleep. They were features added later to us… Apparently, it's good for motivation. So now, we have to eat and sleep every day, which means we have to work to afford it. Just like any other living being. But honestly, they were right; the thought of eating or sleeping always motivates me," Palm said before taking a big gulp from his coffee.
'You have no idea what they've thrown you into, do you?' Caspian thought.
These beings didn't even need to eat. But the system had created a non-existent need and forced them to work to satisfy it. And now, because they were switching to AI, they were being discarded.
Caspian's belief in divine justice, sin, good, and evil was vanishing the more he talked to this man.
"What is the meaning of this life, anyway?" he muttered to himself.
"42" Palm said, nibbling on an apple slice.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course I am. A man randomly found the meaning of life, the universe, and everything… don't be ridiculous. I have never met anyone who knows the meaning of all this sh*t."
"Is there no one up there who knows the meaning of life?"
"I doubt it… You shouldn't look for meaning… never. That's the first thing they teach us."
"What kind of dystopia did you live in until now?" Caspian said, taking a bite of his bread topped with cheese.
In this meaningless world, one had to live even if it felt pointless. Since they were condemned to live again and again even if they died, they might as well try to live well.