A single shanty kneels on the side of the shore. It is the only one in sight. The light blue paint is chipped from years of salty wind. A steep cliff surrounds the back with assorted grasses that sway in the wind.

The mountainous cliff is white, smooth stone for a few feet before it juts out on ragged edges. A wooden path lies down below, with splinters that prick your feet.

Seashells and seaweed lie on the very edge of the dark sand, swaying back and forth on the crest of the waves. The waves come to the shore continuously, endlessly.

*  *  *
I wake to the sound of the quiet chime near the window. The sky is accompanied by gray clouds, reflecting on the waters. The screen door creaks open as I step on to the sandy grass.

A single streak of gold appears on the horizon. I walk quickly in anticipation, surrounded by tall grasses. The sea is half a mile away.
I set on my regular brisk pace along the sea, feeling comfortable. Everyday, I take a walk to see the sunrise. No matter how icy the wind is, I take a walk to see the sunrise.

It is time for the sun’s grand opening. There are no stars, they have all ran away for the night show. At last, streaks of pink and orange stretch across the sky. Moments later, a great big yolk is cracked in the right side of the ocean. There is color galore. 

“Wow,” I whisper, feeling overwhelmed. It is different everytime, and its magic never fails to put a serene smile on my face.
I sigh, feeling the sun on my back. It is a bright day today. There is wind, of course, pulling grains of sand along with it. Suddenly, I see a sudden comet of light soaring over my head. What is this disturbance?

The ground is shaking, I can feel it under my feet. A loud, ear-splitting noise comes over me, and I sink to my knees, with my head in the sand. I lumber over to the mountain, a mere five feet away. The smell hits me before the explosion does, raw and acrid, and my nose burns. The mountain tears itself apart like marble cake, every layer destroyed.

White rock flies towards the shanty which is demolished right through the center. A mass of white comes over me, I cannot move, I cannot scream-
*  *  *
#237 Printed Lab Report; Dr. Markow 
March 21st, 2071
Test Subject; A. Stephen, Male, 38 yrs.
Simulation Room 058B; Kuinoa Island, Hawaii
Bell Atlantic Company

Summary:
In late February, an accidental detonation of three hundred and fifty seven kt. destroyed Kuinoa Island. In the center of Kuinoa, the magnitude of the explosion was one level higher than the magnitude of the explosion on the coast. The entire radius was coated in ash and radioactive material.

The general population in the center died from radiation illnesses and severe burns. The population on the coast had some survivors, most currently suffering from minor radiation illnesses. A select group of about six hundred suffered brain damage, most being unable to function.
A group of engineers called Bell Atlantic Company created the Beach Walk simulation using Sim Edit 5 software which was finalized in early March.

The test subject will receive the briefing of the setting, wake up at a typical Kuinoa shanty, walk outside, view the sunset, and witness the nuclear explosion, which ends the simulation. The brain’s emotional processor (Limbic System) could not handle the shock (in the original explosion) when they saw their homes being destroyed after the consistent peace of the beach. This series of events in the simulation mimics the explosion at lower levels.
The simulations are held on Kuinoa Island to keep the matter private. Members of Bell Atlantic are testing to make sure that the simulation software is in working order. Each one of the six hundred clears their memories and applies the simulation. After effects in simulation room will be extreme misery and anger from the peace of the sunrise and the beach.
**This information has been shared with the government of the U.S., who have accidentally destroyed Kuinoa. Security agents are protecting the media and deleting all information on the labeled “Kuinoa Mystery.” This information must be destroyed after use.
*  *  *
White light blinds me, as I come into focus. Plain white walls surround me. Thin wires are running up and down my body, attached to patches of metal colored fabric. A silver machine constantly beeps on my left.

“How was it?” A calm voice says. A bald man in a pristine lab coat walks towards me, his head almost scraping the ceiling. Who is he?
“Where am I?” I ask quietly. Where is the beach? Where is the sunrise? Where is the gray cliff? I turn to the man, who grimaces when he sees my face. He writes furious notes on the clipboard.
“Where is the beach?”
“That,” he points at the silver machine, “is a simulator.” I shrink in my chair, unable to register his words. I see his eyes become darker, hazelnut changing to a dark brown.

“The beach,” he shrugs with a small smile, “is not real. Simply, a simulation.”
My eyes widen and my breath catches as I finally register his words. He turns away, letting me react to the information. The peace that has been continuous when I walked on the beach- has all disappeared. Rage overcomes me, terrible, terrible waves of anger.
“No, no, no.” I can feel my heart pounding, my pulse increasing. The simulator beside me, beeps uncontrollably. I want to run. I want to destroy this man. I try to get out of the white bed, seeing that I am strapped down by thick buckles.
“Of course,” he lets out a condescending sigh, “I have to deal with every single patient, of course.” He looks down on me, straightening out his lab coat.

I glare at him, anger burning through my eyes.

“Each patient has to be let down easily, because it was an accidental detonation. It left the simulation as the only option, and all your brain dead friends in a radioactive free hospital.”
I can feel anger ripping at my core, but I refuse to unleash it in front of this terrible man. My face is red, burning red with anger that is taking over my mind.
“Oh, look at you.” He glances at me, then walks away to a table in the corner. “What a pity, bitter anger, and despair all trapped inside. I have to deal with reactions from all of you. You’re just like the others.”
I can feel myself slipping away to reminisce the sunrises, that have been mimicked- and a powerful wave of grief takes over.
“Such fragile, fragile things you are- it’s like this glass, you see.” He holds up a glass cup filled halfway with water. Then, he turns it in his hand, rubbing it with his thumb. He looks at me again, staring with dark eyes.

“We kept some memories, of course. Motor skills. Some were damaged beyond repair. But the brain damage- it was inevitable. The bomb detonated a virus for brain damage, we needed a large population to be tested on. Kuinoa, was perfect.”
The man’s words are falling out of his mouth, but it is so hard to listen. I sob uncontrollably, knowing fully that my whole world was fake.
“Look,” he says, the front of my shirt, lifting me off of the chair. Now, the words are spitting out of his mouth, almost impossible to decipher. “I did it. I did it! I created that terrible world, all that ash and nuclear radiation- I bombed it! You’re never going to see that beach again! Never!” 
He walks away, and I think he is finished for a moment. He did it? He blew up my world? He unleashed a bomb? I see him pick up the small glass cup through my blurry tears. He raises it high above his head, and he lets it fall with a vehement smash. The glass pieces go everywhere, under the white bed, all over the floor. The pieces coat the white floor.
They sparkle like diamonds.
“It was the press of a button! That’s all it was! And I did it!” He lets go, and I flop back on the chair, still sobbing.

“Fragile! That’s what you people are.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see him sit down in a chair with his head in his hands.
I expect him to be mad with anger, his dark eyes steaming, but all I can see is sadness.
“Alas, I thought you would understand. I’ll have to wipe your memory again. No one could ever know.” I looked up at the man before me with the medicine in hand. Pangs of longing for the simulator came continuously, endlessly.
*  *  *
A middle aged man walks out of a white room with a smile on his face, walking down the glass tunnel with a spring in his step. He bids a hello to a lady waiting for him, who takes him to his ward. He would never know, that his own thoughts had once destroyed him.