The Man steps out of his house and goes to the grocery store to get his daily dose of the e-pple. He steps into the store and finds an empty chair - a big reclining chair. He makes himself comfortable in it and waits. A guy comes near him and fixes a hemisphere-shaped device (the one we see in today's beauty parlours) on the Man's head. The guy asks, "Ready Sir?" The Man gives the thumbs-up sign and closes his eyes. The guy presses the ON button on the device.
As soon as the ON button is pressed, the Man "sees" a solitary apple tree on top of a small hill. It looks beautiful against the bright blue background of the sky. He sees a lot of apples hanging on its branches. Then an apple detaches itself from the tree and gently floats towards the Man. The apple is bright red and looks juicy and succulent. The perfect apple possible in a perfect world. As the apple comes closer, the Man "opens" his mouth and takes a bite. He can "feel" the juices flowing into his mouth and the smooth flesh of the apple tickling his tongue. He "hears" the all familiar sound of his teeth digging into the apple. The Man finds the taste of the apple good – "real" good. After the first bite, the apple gently rotates a little and gets ready for the Man’s second bite. He takes a bite. And then another, till nothing edible is left in the what-was-once a nice juicy apple. The Man opens his eyes and the guy asks "One more sir?" The Man replies "It’s enough. Just to keep the e-doctor away". He stands up on his feet and steps out of the store - into the wide concrete and glass treeless jungle. The gentle apple had come a long way since Eve first took a bite - to become the e-pple.
The Motivation
"Real? How do you define real? If real is what you see, touch or hear, then real is just electric pulses interpreted by your brain."
- Morpheus in "The Matrix"
*** This was my entry for a competition 2 years back and it gave me the second prize ***
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