Piracy? Unchanging facade in a new world!

The soothing back and forth of the ocean currents rudely awaken me from the no-doubt long intoxicating slumber embracing my body. Given my restfulness I could've easily been sleeping for the past year or so, at least that's how my rejuvenated body felt at this moment. As if that statement were at all possible, I push my arms off the ground to lift my upper body off the floor. Noticing the grainy soft texture of the sand beneath me I also now open my eyes to the serene surroundings encompassing my view. The deep blue waters of the ocean stretched as far as the horizon in view where it met with the smooth baby-blue colour of the morning sky and few clouds dotted the canvas. I don't remember sleeping on the beach, in fact this is one of the few times I've stepped on a beach, one of a few times sand graced the contours of this body. In the moment I relished the feeling of lying down and enjoying nature's embrace. Alas, some things are more important at the moment, such as where am I?

It isn't night so I can't use the positions of stars to grasp an accurate location, the air and atmosphere is also incredibly different to the pollution of the city even the mountainous regions of Japan where I spent so many years. Perhaps its due to the remote location, but something feels very different here. How did I even get here for starters? I mean it's possible I was drugged and transported but I like to think I'm vigilant enough to stop those attempts, most sleep-inducing drugs are also inhibited by my body due to excess exposure over time.

Turning back from the mesmerizing scenery to grasp the current situation. A small forest inhabits the island. Quite fortunate, so long as greenery exists on the island I can survive. Life provides all of the necessities for survival; water, food, and shelter. All of which are essential for survival until finding escape from this place.

I could do with investigating the forest. As that thought stuck in my mind my composure almost cracked.

What is that?

Some strange creature followed by other odd animals all corralled around me stranded on the beach. At the head was a hybrid between a wolf and rooster, it began clucking whilst slowly making its way towards me. Until finally the "Rolf?" "Wolfster?" "Dock?" made its signature cry immediately in my face, not knowing how to respond I just opt for silence. Honestly, I'm having a hard time taking all this in. These animals by all means shouldn't exist, hybrids are real things, but this is completely different. These animals should be completely incapable of depicting such characteristics biologically, these are more like the mythological depictions of chimera or creatures from fiction. Not only that some of these animals should be aggressive to one another due to the food pyramid which should be limited on such a small island instead they all cooperate and show no such intentions. This can only point to a single conclusion these animals are domesticated in some way. Right now, they seem harmless enough, but I should remain vigilant in the worst-case scenario. Animals are dangerous due to the amount of muscle they hold and the denseness of their bones when compared to the fragile frame of a human being.

Many of the animals hold a strange juxtaposition in characteristics such as a tiger and elephant hybrid and a boar and lion hybrid etc. It's as if someone were playing God as a joke creating these creatures which by all means do not belong in nature. Most seem to be a mix between a carnivore and prey for some odd reason as well, perhaps the mixture of docile traits allows the animals to work together more closely and become domesticated with less effort.

That poses an interesting question though. If the opposite were done instead and the animals weren't domesticated and instead competition for survival were encouraged, would they more readily become violent. I was interested in such an occurrence to be honest.

I could gather more information by investigating the animals further through their behaviour and physiology. It'd be more prudent to simply go to the owner of these creatures. Luckily the docile creatures are agreeable enough and are likely trying to lead me to them. Of course, this could be a trap, but I'll deal with that should the need arise.

Slowly ascending from the picturesque shore, the animals beckon me to follow after their collective. Passing the entrance to the lush forest, I'm greeted with dense greenery and vegetation. Marvelling at the sights and smells, everything stimulates the senses. This again is one of the few times that such experiences have been ingrained into the body. Knowledge of the world and applications of theory have been ingrained into my mind since conception, however, experiences in the flesh have been void for so long. Can I cherish these moments? Can I live life vicariously through my own eyes now? Or must I once again settle with living life through the descriptions placed in books? To become the audience for an author's insertions of the world, content with second-hand information without trying to understand the world once thrown away? Being given this opportunity and then resorting to living through characters on a page would be naught but a shame. Slightly hardening my resolve, I proceed with searching for the elusive mastermind of the island.

Foliage completely restricting the vision meets my frame, the animals at the forefront seem to have passed through here. Using my hands to separate the bush and gain an insight to this hidden garden. A surprising sight greets the eyes, I feel like almost everything here is nonsensical. Expecting to see some shady figure cloaked in strange fabrics or some inhuman monster as the harbinger of these animals. Instead, a short stumpy middle-aged man wearing a treasure chest and bush as apparel is talking with and caring for the strange creatures. Isn't this apparel completely ridiculous, uncomfortable, and restricting? Surely that isn't a conscious fashion choice? if so, I might have to revisit some previous hypotheses.

The strange man noticed the rustling of the shrubbery and slowly turned towards me, he must have been assuming I was another of the strange animals as the expression of his face shifted from jovial to worry and then frustration. His hand quickly descended into the treasure box he called home. Not good, that might be a weapon. Prepared to face his and the animals ire for this decision I quickly close the distance between us and disarm the man. Using my grip on his outstretched arm and the fulcrum of my body to act as a lever to throw him over my shoulder and immediately subdue the aggressor.

"Ouch... that hurt, I give, I give. Apologies, please leave the animals be."

More questions arise by the second, especially due to the object found in my grasp. There lay a flintlock pistol the stereotypical swashbuckling-pirate type of firearm. These were produced during the early 16th century and whilst the methods of production and procuring such weapons is simple now, there are plenty other options which are more suitable for protection. Thus, the question remains; why does he have this? Automatic or semi-automatic modern weaponry is quite affordable given the time and much more efficient in function. Perhaps due to weaponry laws, but why worry about that where we are, hell why not just carry a decent knife or the like. The efficacy of flintlock weaponry is incredibly low with accuracy, reload time, maintenance and the like incurring heavy costs of time and resources. He also doesn't seem to think anything out of the ordinary with such a weapon brandished.

Given the current situation I find myself in along with the weapon kept by the chest wielding troll(?) as well as these strange creatures roaming the island. It might be better to assume the situation is much more strange and dire than even my immediate hypotheses.

"I was only protecting myself; I have no intention of harming anyone or anything here. That being said I'll hold onto this for now." That was the truth for the time being, I held a firm belief in non-aggression unless necessary after all. I wouldn't hurt you so long as you didn't hurt me.

Surprisingly the animals also didn't have a negative reaction to the scuffle, perhaps they were less of a hazard than originally assumed. If his domestication caused such a docile nature, then he isn't using them for combat. Experimentation perhaps? There are no clear signs of tampering with the bodies when observing them closely, these creatures look as if they were born this way and left to roam. Which to reiterate, shouldn't be possible with current technology. Are these animals natural entities then? Have they differentiated and adapted in such ways to survive selection pressures? Perhaps they were collected from different environments and congregated here. This is unlikely due to the niche each animal fits and its unlikely this climate is the most optimal for each of the creatures. The chance of these animals being natural reduces as there are less than a few of each unique species, making this island seem more akin to some bastardised version of Noah's ark.

"I suppose introductions are in order, huh? My name is Gaimon, I've been surviving on this island for decades now as a castaway. It's not too lonely though, because I've got these guys with me!"

For Decades? How hasn't he gone insane? No, maybe he lost count due to being isolated so long. Very few people could handle the pressure of no socialization for years on end whilst also retaining their mentality. Unless the animals act as the social group then this is impossible. But can animals really act as a sufficient substitute for this? Psychologists often estimate a large proponent of communication is the non-verbal section of which animals could also contribute, looking at it from this angle means they could pose as substitutes. However, the sample size that could still survive and be sane surely can't be large. In that case maybe other characteristics have a large bearing on the outcome such as; the persons inherent behaviour e.g., introvert/extrovert, their love for animals etc. In which case Gaimon may be more impressive than initial judgements call for, they do say not to judge a book by its cover.

"So, what's your name young man? And how did you get here? I don't see a ship or any vessel near here after all."

Enraptured by cascading thoughts whisked my conscious from the ongoing conversation in front of me. I forgot the number one rule of conversations is the interactions between both parties. That last question is a bit of a problem though. How did I get here? Where even is here? I was nowhere near the sea previously and I've never seen such animals through pictures or other media, Gaimon here is acting as if they are completely normal though. Perhaps that's due to the many years he spent on the island with them as companions. Would it be weird to point them out or stranger to make a big deal of their characteristics? Drowning out an internal sigh, I lack too much information to make a judgement for now. I'll just deal with this if the matter comes up in conversation later.

"My name's Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. As for how I got here... I'm not sure to be honest, my memory is foggy to say the least." The name shouldn't be useful information for him, in fact it may even prompt a useful reaction on his part. As for my predicament getting here, I'll opt for a half truth. I don't have memory loss as far as I know, but I certainly don't know how I got here. The only information that may have been tampered was travel here, otherwise I remember the actions of previous days very clearly. This isn't VR again, is it? No that's probably impossible, That Man doesn't have the means to completely shift consciousness unless we have some sort of technological breakthrough. That's decades off from where we are currently.

"That's a mouthful, I haven't heard a name like that before! I'll just call you Taka if that's alright!"

Seeing no reason to disagree I simply nod my head in approval.

"Well then Taka, sounds like you have a good ol' fashioned case of amnesia. Apparently, it happens pretty often when you roam the seas! I wonder were you also a pirate before washing away here? Or perhaps you were some sort of merchant? I mean you seem pretty strong, and calm how bizarre! Hahaha!"

Jeez what a talkative guy, makes me feel bad knowing I can't match that energy. At least he filled in the gaps himself. I never said I had amnesia, but I certainly am clueless as to how I got here so it wasn't exactly a lie. But still, what's this about being a pirate?

Maybe he is actually insane after all he said that with a straight face, completely seriously even saying "also" as if to refer to himself as one of those rogues on the sea.

However, if I rid myself of any preconceived notions then what he claims isn't impossible. That flintlock pistol couldn't be procured from anywhere else. There are no man-made structures on the island or as far as the horizon stretches. Meaning he had that weapon before washing up here and also was likely on a boat. There are no wreckages nearby, other survivors' and the likelihood of surviving an aircraft crash are far less likely than simply drifting overboard a ship. Then factor in the strange animals which would by no means be possible when regarding my knowledge of Biology and History. If that's the case, could I have been thrust back in time? Is that even possible? I mean that might explain the pirates and weaponry, but it doesn't at all explain the existence of the hybrid creatures on the island.

The only conclusions left then would be one of the three:

This is some strange fever dream or Virtual experience that is incredibly vivid. The knowledge taught to me and retained in this brain over the past 15 years has all been wrong or partially inaccurate. This is a completely different world where all these different factors are possible and now make sense.

I have difficulty believing in the possibility of the first option. The first by all accounts shouldn't be possible. I've had vivid and lucid dreams before, but they feel inherently different from this scenario. Virtual reality is breath-taking technology and has a great potential in the future, but this would be years in the future if we could induce coma and transfer the consciousness of humans into virtual space. Which we currently don't have the abilities or engineering for at the moment.

The second is even more impossible in my eyes, the entire point of my perceived existence is maintaining excellence as the fore-front vigilant individual of the Japanese population. My existence is the result of impossible ideals being brought to fruition. To create a curriculum that advanced, interlaced but is also completely inaccurate would be a waste of time and the equivalent of shooting your own foot.

The third as ridiculous as it sounds is the most laudable by far, although I suppose it'd be the same as ending a book with "It was all a dream." Yes, everything would make sense if this were a different world, but it's akin to saying, "People die when they are killed." A foregone conclusion which anyone could make. The unacceptability of such a statement is accompanied by the impossibility of such a thing coming to fruition. Stories of reincarnation or even transmigration may exist, but they are rarely ever explained. Whilst string theory accepts the existence of other worlds and parallel universes, we haven't even come close to a satisfying answer as to how we could communicate with them let alone travel between them. I suppose that is the nature of such inconceivable things, if some higher powers were to descend and simply reply "I brought you here." Then there would be little we insignificant ants could do but accept such a solution. Unfortunately, the ruler of this realm didn't take such bait from my thoughts and here I am all alone conjuring up any satisfying explanation as to the current predicament. Well, I suppose not all alone, at least Gaimon is here to bounce ideas off. I could also try and uncover some information using the guise of amnesia to get a leg up.

I should take everything with a grain of salt though, he seems harmless enough despite brandishing a weapon. I have no doubt I could restrain him and make my escape if need be. The main problem is the veracity of any information coming from his mouth. Gaimon's sanity may be further removed than initial expectations, his face and eyes especially don't betray his words though. Usually hysteria and wicked looks, glazed eyes and the like can be seen from hysterical individuals. I'm not unfamiliar with such subjects after all...

Yet no signs of such behaviour emanate from this man, despite all other strange tendencies he may have.

"That seems to be the case, unfortunately any other thoughts escape me. Where exactly are we Gaimon?"

"We're in the East Blue somewhere, it must be pretty remote as well. After all the years I've spent here only eight or so crews have passed through usually I scare them off though! Hahaha!"

Well, that doesn't bode well for me. I'd rather get off this island sooner rather than later. Apparently, the frequency of visitors is rather low meaning other large settlements aren't particularly close by to this island.

His words also contained some vital information giving further credibility to my third hypothesis.

East Blue huh?

That isn't a phrase I'm familiar with at all. As far as I can search in History the residents of the time always referred to the portion of the sea with respect to a certain location e.g., The East Indies etc. The Seas as we know them modernly were only given boundaries and names in the early 19th century. Rather than referring to a specific landmark he refers to the sea as just the East Blue, further indicating this could be a different world. This is all conjecture at the moment so I should be careful with suppositions.

"East Blue? East of what exactly?"

"You must have a pretty bad case then... East of the Red line, Taka! You know the huge mountain barring access to the other seas of the world!"

No landmarks have had that name at least in memory never mind that there isn't a land mass on the Earth that restricts access to all other seas by simply being present. This could just be conjecture on Gaimon's part though. The same way the Vikings believed that the world had an edge. Nonetheless this is quite disconcerting.

Hahhh... that means the worst has come to pass. This might take a while to get caught up on then.

Oh well. At least now I can act as I please. No need to worry about That man or the facility. Instead, I can ponder about the questions plaguing my heart all these years. What does it mean to be human? Are people equal? What is the meaning of my existence? What is my aspiration?

Not just some prescribed meaning given by another person. Instead, I must find a goal an objective to strive towards for my life without the input of others. This is the perfect opportunity, this world is but a stepping stone. So long as I can answer the questions in my heart, so long as I satisfy the insatiable curiosity for even a moment longer. That's all that matters.