Chicken Number 9527

Chicken number 9527 opened its eyes.

To be precise, it didn't know if it had "opened" its eyes, because there was no light. There was only the endless sound of clashing metal, and an indescribable, humid, nauseating smell. It instinctively felt that it was in a narrow space, surrounded by beings like itself – crowded, trembling, exuding the same fear.

It didn't know when it had come into existence. Its memory was like a crumpled piece of white paper, with only a few blurry ink spots: warmth, softness, the feeling of being wrapped up... and then, the present reality of cold, hardness, and suffocation.

It tried to move, but its body wouldn't obey. It could only feel its heart beating violently, each beat accompanied by a helpless despair. It didn't know where it was going, nor what it would face.

Suddenly, a violent tremor came. 9527 felt itself being thrown up and then falling heavily. It heard terrified cries around it, but they quickly faded away.

9527 didn't know how long it was unconscious. When it "woke up" again, it found itself fixed on a cold metal rack. Its body was stretched into a strange shape, unable to move. It felt a sharp pain, but couldn't make any sound.

Then, it saw a light.

It was a white, blinding light. In the light, a huge, metallic, gleaming object approached it. 9527 felt a strong surge of fear. It wanted to escape, but it was powerless.

The metal object came closer and closer...

9527 felt a sharp pain, and then everything went dark.

......

9527 regained consciousness. It found itself lying in a soft, warm place. It felt comfortable, safe. It thought, this must be "home."

It heard a voice, a gentle, kind voice: "9527, time to eat."

9527 struggled to open its eyes. It saw a blurry figure, a tall, warm, loving figure. It thought, this must be "mother."

It struggled to stand up and walked towards "mother." "Mother" held a bowl filled with food. 9527 felt a pang of hunger. It lowered its head and began to gobble down the food.

It ate until it was full, satisfied. It thought, this must be "happiness."

Full, it lay in "mother's" arms and fell asleep. It had a dream, a very long dream. In the dream, it returned to that cold metal cage, to that blinding white light, to that huge, metallic, gleaming object...

It woke up with a start, finding itself still lying in "mother's" arms. It felt a lingering fear. It hugged "mother" tightly, afraid of losing this warm embrace again.

"Mother" gently stroked its head and said softly, "9527, don't be afraid, I'm here."

9527 felt a sense of relief. It closed its eyes again and fell asleep.

......

Days passed, and 9527 slowly grew up. It discovered that "home" was actually a large room, filled with many beings like itself. They ate the same food every day, slept the same sleep, and had the same dreams.

9527 began to feel confused. It didn't know why it was here, or what it should do. It began to think, to think about the meaning of its existence.

It asked "mother": "Mother, why are we here?"

"Mother" said: "Because it is your destiny."

"Destiny?" 9527 didn't understand.

"Yes, destiny," "mother" said. "Your destiny is to be eaten."

9527 was shocked. It didn't believe "mother's" words. It didn't believe its destiny was to be eaten.

It began to rebel. It refused to eat, refused to sleep, refused to dream. It only wanted to escape this place, escape this terrible fate.

But it soon discovered that its rebellion was futile. It couldn't change its destiny. It could only watch itself grow bigger day by day, getting closer and closer to that terrible end.

Finally, that day arrived.

9527 was taken to an unfamiliar place. There was no warm embrace, no gentle voice, only cold machines and the pungent smell of disinfectant.

It saw a huge, metallic, gleaming object approaching it. It knew, this was its destiny.

It closed its eyes, waiting for that moment to arrive.

......

9527 never woke up again.

It became a piece of meat, a packaged, labeled piece of meat, waiting to be sold.

Its life ended just like that.

But its number, 9527, remained forever in that cold metal cage, on that huge, metallic, gleaming object, in the memory of every eaten being like itself.

They were all 9527.