Verified!

 “Wake up! Wake up!” I heard the thunderous voice of my younger brother, Caleb. “Ugh! Let me sleep, Caleb,” I groaned and buried my head under the soft pillow. “This is super important! You’re on TV. Wake up, Aldora!” Caleb screamed. It took me a solid second to be conscious. I grabbed my blanket and threw it away as I ran towards the television in the hall. As I was running down the stairs, I lunged out, “You better be not kidding!” I grabbed the remote and increased the volume. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I saw my face on television. “No jokes, sissy,” he said with sass. “Shhhhhh… I want to listen,” I shooed him.

“This famous YouTuber is today’s teenagers’ role model. She has been giving motivational tips for students to cope with stress and life. Unfortunately,” The television went off. “WHAT!!!” I roared. “What happened? Who turned off the TV?” Caleb asked as he served me a cup of coffee. “I don’t know by the way I needed this coffee. How long was this news about me was going on?” I asked as I took a sip. “The moment they mentioned Aldora Fiona Triton, I rushed to your room,” Caleb said as it was something usual. “Why don’t you check your phone? That was not live telecast,” He said as he sat on the cosy couch. He was right. I walked like a sloth towards my room. I heard, “Unfortunately,” repeatedly which was haunting in my head. I realized that my room was in mess.

  “Mom’s might kill you,” I heard Caleb from downstairs. “I know,” I lunged out louder. “Hey, do you want breakfast? I am going to Taco Bell. I have a date,” Caleb’s voice was nearer. As I turned around, he was standing on the stairs. “Buy me tacos and you can date whoever you want,” I smirked. “And if mom asks?” Caleb looked at me furiously. “Tacos will save your life,” I said. We ended up giggling. I grabbed my phone and clicked the home button. I noticed that my phone was dead. I plugged it and went to take shower. A few moments later, I got ready and sat at my window watching my neighbour (crush)’s window. He was clearly waiting for me which was uncanny. He never gave attention to me but it was certainly different. “You’re Aldora Fiona Triton?” He asked. I was embarrassed. I nodded unwillingly and left my room. Suddenly, I heard a beep on my phone. I went near and had a closer look at it.

“Software Update,” the virtual assistant said loudly. I pressed ‘OK’ to proceed with the new software update. Usually, my phone will shut down and will have a white background but this time it had a green background. “Ding Dong! Your tacos are here,” Caleb sent me a voice note from the front door to my room door. “Bring some of your books. It would be easier to lie to mom, Caleb,” I replied to him. He liked my voice note and deleted it after I heard it. We usually delete our messages so that mom doesn’t know about our sneaky works. The best brother and sister, I guess. So, I went downstairs to have breakfast. Taco Bell never disappoints me. As I was having an aggressive bite, I heard a voice note from the front door to the kitchen door. “We need to talk. Meet me at VT (Virtual Town) at 5 o'clock,” He said. It was my neighbour. Virtual Town was illegal for kids. People above 21 years old use to date virtually before meeting in person. I didn’t reply to him.

 I headed back to my room. The moment the door opened, I heard a notification from my phone. “This is your Virtual Assistant! The Software Update is complete. Proceed with your fingerprint to unlock your phone!” The voice was not my usual virtual assistant’s voice. I proceed with the instructions on my phone. I was stunned to see that all my social media accounts were verified. My phone upgraded to a celebrity device. I wanted to contact my friends but my friends were not verified and their contacts were deleted. I was not allowed to meet them via Virtual Town too. “Seriously! I want to call Elle to tell her the overwhelming news! Ugh,” I groaned. All of sudden, my phone flashed in purple. I was so confused about upgrading to a celebrity device. “Dear Virtual Assistant, I want to contact any verified user,” I commanded. “Sorry I can’t. You’re the only verified human celebrity. You cannot contact non-human celebrities. You have to become a cyborg in order to proceed with your celebrity status,” It said. I was stumbled for a moment. I immediately called Caleb. “Hey, I’m on my date right now!” He hissed through his gritted teeth.

  “Listen, I am verified! I am a celebrity now,” I said as I took a deep breath. “NO!!! You can’t,” the call ended. “Speaking duration with humans is limited. It is your limit!” I heard the robot’s voice as it hung up the call. I was equally irked and startled. The authorities might be searching for me. They will convert my memories and my intelligence from my brain into data and insert them into microchips of cyborg’s body. Which means, my heart pump will stop. (They are going to kill me) I wanted to run away far from technology. The year 3220 was the worse. Most of the cyborg celebrities are dead after ten years because of the rare wire shock between the viruses. I had tears which my phone detected. “No more emotions. Destroying emotions in 10, 9, 8…” I threw my phone away the moment I heard the robot voice.

  I went towards my window, “Hey! Chris, are you there?” I waved and called him. He peaked. “Hey!” He waved at me awkwardly. “Are you alone?” I asked him. He nodded. I climbed on my windows and jumped into his room. Luckily, I fell on his bed. He gave me his hand, “Woah! That was cool,” He said. All of sudden, his phone beeped loudly, “Human Celebrity detected. Authorities are on their way to the location,” as the robotic voice said his address loudly. Both of us were thrilled. “So, it’s true? You have to sell your soul for fame?” He asked worriedly. “I would never do that!” I cried. “If you don’t, the cyborgs will hunt you and force you to be one of them!!!” He said slower than a whisper. “It was all because of the unknown virus. They will find me,” I said hopelessly.

  “I have an idea! Run far from technology! It will be impossible for them to track you because you’re the only one they are searching for,” He said firmly. I guess you’re right. Chris and I went to his hall. “Hey, look there!” He showed me around my house entrance. The cops were there as they were standing on their hoverboards. “I guess they came to your house because they might have tracked your phone. You stay here!” He pushed me towards his dusty old storeroom with piles of unused old devices. I heard as someone was sending a voice note to his door. “We suspect the arrival of Ms Aldora. Have you seen her, sir?” One of the cops asked him. Chris replied as he didn’t know me. “Sorry for disturbing you. If you find her, let us know. Whoever finds her will get a reward of a billion free data space,” he sent the voice note and left. 

 “You can’t stay here. You’re in danger. The technology is against you!” He whispered. To my horror, the cops broke the door. “Seize her!” One commanded. I was in a panic and had nowhere to run. One grabbed my right hand and another grabbed my left hand. They locked me in a cell and brought me to their headquarters. I saw Chris. His eyes portrayed disappointment. He tried his best to save me. The cops called my parents and informed them. They hurried to the headquarters too. I was put in a glass room with a layer of cyanide gas so that if I won’t try to break the glass and escape. Mom and dad were allowed to send me voice messages but I was restricted from replying. “Darling, we can’t lose you! Just agree to turn yourself into a cyborg,” Mom said as she didn’t know about cyborgs well. Dad came forward, “Bye Honey!” and left with tears. They knew it was my end. One cannot switch into a cyborg without losing an individual's original human body unless one is born to a human and cyborg. Both of my parents are human.

 After turning me into a cyborg, they will send me to wars and never let me meet my family again. I was left with no choice. We had tears in our eyes. The moment of realization that technology was totally against me…