The Omniscrolls

Life always seemed to show me two choices since I was a child, appearing before me as blue and red streaks of light that diverged from where I stood. They were nothing but a haze at first and only became clear when I became ten years old. I asked Mom what it meant, and she said it was a gift that was unique to our family—one that very few inherited. Mom herself did not possess the gift, but she said that Grandma did. If only she were still around… Grandma passed away when Mom was a teen. Making decisions was simple: stepping on the blue streak allowed me to see into the future and learn all the steps I needed to take to succeed in everything I do. I always went with blue as it seemed the safest choice. I dared not take the red path, but I always wondered whether it was truly the wrong path. Perhaps it was just a bolder choice? My curiosity lingered, and it grew as the years passed by. In time, I studied hard and aced all my exams. Soon, I was in one of the best universities in the coun...

I lost my mom in a car crash last year when I was just twelve, and I’ve been living with my grandma ever since. The last thing I remembered was laughing at one of Mom’s jokes before our car veered off the road; that was before I woke up at Grandma’s house a week later. She said I was briefly conscious before being discharged from the hospital, but I couldn’t remember anything in between. I wished I could’ve said Grandma’s house had seen better days, but even when I was six, I remember the place needing more care. She was in her late seventies and barely had the energy to move around, let alone clean. I never knew why Mom and I never lived with Grandma, given that we were all she had. It was a topic that was avoided a couple of times when I brought it up. I didn’t even feel a year pass after the accident. Grandma made sure I had everything I needed, and for some reason, I always felt like Mom was also with us, as if she never really left. Meanwhile, school was always tough. I found it d...

After years of saving up money, I finally managed to buy a house for myself. Fully furnished, and with cutting-edge AI, it was worth every penny. What rivalled the house’s ingenuity was its location: placed atop a hill overlooking a river, it was a magnificent sight to wake up to every day. I barely had to lift a finger from that day onward: the AI took care of all my chores and even offered to help me with my work. I allowed it to take full control of everything, and at the time, it felt like the best decision I could’ve ever made. All functions that I wanted to hold at my house were organised by the AI; it took care of everything, from food and drink preferences to available transport options for attendees. My peers were baffled by the accuracy and efficiency of the AI’s operations, and some even asked if I’d be willing to sell them the house. I couldn’t even dream of doing such a thing. In the year that followed, I left my job at the time and started a business with a group of frien...