"Finally done."
I stared at the screen, seeing the code pass the test scenarios one by one as the last test passed successfully, my hands moved instinctively on my face, rubbing my nasal bridge in relief as I slowly slumped into the chair, my back cracking.
I kicked the table and my chair rolled out of the cubicle, my head turned to see the sun already out and I couldn't help, but feel irritated.
Another night gone cleaning up after stupid juniors.
Pushing myself up, I took in the spaciousness of the empty office, usually a comfort, felt more like a lonely emptiness today.
I moved through the building towards the break room. I made myself some coffee to wash away the sleep, eating at my mind. I took the mug and stood in front of the large pane windows seeing the sunrise. For some reason this gave one those rich guy feelings, I couldn't help but scoff at the thought.
After an hour or so, I started going back towards my desk as I saw elevator doors open.
"Oh good morning, TL. Did you not go home again?"
TL… For some reason, ever since I got promoted to Team leader everyone started referring to me as such, I wonder if it's some new type of bullying.
I sighed dramatically, "What can I say, I have some lazy coworkers."
At that his face turned rueful.
"Right. My bad. But don't worry…"
He slipped closer and started whispering "I got a really nice bottle. How about we open it today, since tomorrow is Saturday."
"That's a hard offer to refuse." I said with a smile
"Great. Let's meet at my place tonight."
"Sure."
Work as usual is a mind-numbing affair. Meetings with all my team members in the morning, checking their progress… tidying up after them.
I let out a scoff in frustration as I continued typing when I heard the sound of tapping on my cubicle's wall, I lifted my eyes slightly from the screen, there I saw a beautiful junior peeking awkwardly.
"Can I help you with something, Alisa?" I asked, not hiding my frustration while continuing to work.
She walked in, hesitating for a second before speaking.
"I… uh, wanted to say thanks. For the issue last week. I was completely stuck."
I didn't look up immediately, finishing the line I was typing before leaning back slightly.
"The data sync one?"
"Yeah. The duplication bug. I thought it was just a race condition, but nothing I tried worked."
I offered a faint nod.
"It was a race condition. Just not where you were looking."
She frowned slightly. "But I had locks on the write operation."
"You did," I said. "But the problem wasn't the write. It was everything before that."
"Before?" She asked in confusion.
I sighed in exasperation, not trying to hide it at all, "Not right now. I'm in the middle of something. Ping me later and I'll walk you through it, if I have time." I said, trying to drop the topic and shoo her away.
She stepped closer, placing both hands on the desk which took me by surprise, "Please, I need to know where I was wrong." She said leaning in with a pleading look.
I was taken aback not by her boldness, but by how easily she pulled my attention. I'd noticed before that she was attractive, but right now, with her leaning in like that… It was particularly inconvenient.
I closed my eyes for a second, collecting myself, Alisa Karpova, from what I remember she is from the Neo Soviet Union, she is a hard worker unlike other lazy ones who might get laid off. To avoid an employee like her will harm me in the end.
"...You want me to walk you through it now? We're still on the clock." I said, giving in.
"A-Actually, We're heading out for lunch to a new place nearby. It's just around the corner... Would you like to join us? O-of course, it will be my treat." She said, her cheeks getting slightly red, for some reason she looked more nervous than before.
Mmm... It's not the first time I have been invited for lunch but it's the first time I have been invited by her like this and people don't offer lunch over a bug fix.
Lunch now, request later. Push more work on me or it could be wanting to take a leave? If I remember correctly she hasn't taken one in months… Hmm.
... No point speculating let's go and see what this is about.
"Very well. Go ahead, I will join you shortly."
"T-then I will send the location to your number."
As she said she hopped out of the cubicle in excitement.
She must badly want a leave to be this happy.
Can't blame her in this era of Artificial intelligence humans hardly get jobs and those who get really have their hands full.
A few hours later, lunchtime arrived, a brief respite in the day's drudgery as I was wrapping up, a notification popped up on my phone. A message.
Is it her?
The screen lit up and I couldn't help but massage my temples on seeing the content. I began to move, I slipped through the back door, unnoticed by my preoccupied colleagues and found myself in a narrow hallway leading to the fire exit. The red sign glowed faintly, a beacon in the dim light. I pushed the door open and descended the metal stair.
At the bottom of the stairs, a man stood waiting. He was dressed impeccably in a black suit, the crisp lines accentuating his lean frame. Black glasses hid his eyes, and his short cropped blonde hair was perfectly styled. He exuded an air of quiet professionalism, a stark contrast to the employees I'd just left.
I frowned. "According to the contract," I said, my voice hardening, "you're not supposed to bother me during my day-to-day life."
The man's expression didn't change. "It's an urgent job," he replied, his voice devoid of emotion.
I sighed. Arguing was pointless. I'd learned that a long time ago. "Go ahead," I conceded, the weariness creeping back into my voice.
Without a word, the man pulled a pristine white handkerchief from his pocket. With surprising gentleness, he wrapped it around my eyes, carefully securing it. He then took my arm, guiding me towards what I assumed was a vehicle.
The car was luxurious, the leather seats soft and comfortable. As soon as I was seated, the man placed a pair of headphones over my ears. A soothing melody began to play, a calming counterpoint to the unease that was within me. The world outside faded away, replaced by the gentle rhythm of the music.
The ride was smooth, and I lost track of time, my mind drifting along with the melody.
When the car finally came to a stop, the man helped me out. My feet touched solid ground, and I was guided by the man.
The sound of a key card being swiped, and a door opening. The man in the black suit guided me through what felt like a long corridor. The air was cool and dry, conditioned to an almost clinical temperature. I knew where I was, or at least, I had a pretty good idea. This was one of their... facilities. A place where I performed my other job, the one no one else knew about, the one I kept carefully compartmentalized from my IT existence. My secret life as a… hacker.
Once again a swiping sound came and I was pushed in and then, finally, the handkerchief was removed. I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the sudden change in light, not to a bright light, but to the cool, artificial illumination of a long, windowless nondescript room.
It was sparsely furnished: a desk, a chair, and a high end computer setup humming quietly in the corner. No windows, of course. Just the sterile glow of the monitor and the hum of the machines. This was my workspace, a place where I could lose myself in the intricate dance of code and data.
I turned towards the man in black, the question already forming on my lips. "What do you want me to do today?" I asked not showing any real curiosity.
He pulled a tablet from the inner pocket of his suit jacket, his gaze fixed on the screen. "Some unnatural seismic activities were detected in the southern part of Asia," he said, his voice as monotone as ever. "Look into it. See if you can determine whether it's some sort of new weapon."
I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. This was a new one. Usually, my tasks involved data breaches, corporate espionage, the occasional bit of discreet information retrieval. Seismic activity? "Are we sure they're not just bombing each other like usual?" I asked, a hint of sarcasm creeping into my voice. Southern Asia wasn't exactly known for its peaceful political landscape.
The man in black didn't look up from his tablet. "No explosions were detected through satellite imagery," he replied, his voice clipped. "The seismic readings are... unusual. They don't match any known natural phenomena or conventional explosive signatures."
Well, that was something, at least. If the world was ending, he'd probably tell me.
I shrugged, moving towards the computer setup. The sooner I got started, the sooner this would be over.
"Fine," I said, taking a seat and beginning the familiar routine. "I'll see what I can find."
The man in black nodded, leaving the room with a quiet click of the door.
The computer whirred to life with a blaze of white. My fingers moved across the keyboard, the keys clicking under the pressure. My mind was focused, the task at hand all that mattered. The world outside melted away, my consciousness lost in the flow of information.
It took some time, but after slipping through a FortiGate 9000F firewall and many others, I eventually found something. Interspersed among the hidden scientific reports were snippets of eyewitness accounts, translated from various local dialects. Apparently, the seismic events weren't just tremors. According to these accounts, each tremor was accompanied by… a tear. A tear in the ground, from which a strange light radiated.
"A light?" I whispered to myself, my eyes narrowed in concentration. A light... My rational mind immediately dismissed it. Must be some religious mumbo jumbo, local folklore, mass hysteria. But… why was all of this hidden behind such security, it doesn't make sense…
I dug deeper, there was something hidden beneath the layers of scientific jargon and bureaucratic obfuscation. The hidden reports stated that when scientific teams were dispatched to the sites of the seismic activity, they found nothing. No fissures, no unusual geological formations, nothing of the sort. But at each site, within a radius of the reported light, electronic devices went haywire and malfunctioned all over.
"Malfunctioned?" A magnetic field, or some kind of electromagnetic pulse? That would explain the equipment failures, but not the light, not the tear.
If the electronics on site had been failing, the readings themselves might be compromised. Chances are the data they collected could be corrupted, that would explain why the on-field experts didn't find anything.
I pulled up the raw files containing all the information that had been collected and checked the integrity first.
The checksum came back clean.
That ruled out simple corruption.
I ran a match against every available dataset I could access—geological surveys, atmospheric readings, even classified military signatures.
The result: No Match.
"That was expected," I sighed quietly. The scientists on site had likely already tried the same comparisons. But it was still strange. Even flawed data should show some partial overlap with known spectra, some resonance, some recognizable pattern.
This… showed no match at all.
With nothing else to compare it against, I compiled everything into a report—the seismic readings, the eyewitness accounts, the reports of electronic malfunctions, recovered spectral data, and organized it into a coherent file.
The door to the room hissed open, and the man in black re-entered. "What have you found?" he asked, his voice as devoid of inflection as ever.
"I've checked the military systems of all the surrounding countries," I explained, ticking off the points on my mental checklist. "No unusual troop movements, no testing of new weapons systems, no increased military activity of any kind. I even cross-referenced the seismic events with known geological fault lines and tectonic plate activity. The tremors themselves are minor, almost insignificant, but their location… they're occurring in areas with no history of significant seismic activity."
I hesitated for a moment, then decided to include more… esoteric findings. "There's also the matter of the light," I continued. "Eyewitnesses report seeing a bright light emanating from the ground during each tremor."
The man in black's expression didn't change, but I could sense a flicker of… something. Disinterest? Dismissal? "We are not interested in the religious beliefs of the natives," he said, his tone flat.
"It is through science that we prove, but through intuition that we discover," the quote from Poincaré echoed in my mind. I bit back the urge to say it aloud. What was the point? He wouldn't understand. I simply pulled the drive containing all the gathered data from the computer and handed it to him.
The man in black took the drive without a word. He then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the familiar white handkerchief. I sighed. He efficiently wrapped the handkerchief around my eyes, effectively blinding me. He guided me out of the room, down the long corridor, and eventually out of the building. I was led to the waiting car. The headphones were placed over my ears, the soothing music a comforting blanket against the unsettling silence that had fallen between us.
The drive back felt longer this time, or perhaps it was just my own impatience. I tried to focus on the music, to let it lull me into a state of relaxation, but my mind kept replaying the images of the data, the fragmented spectral readings, the whispered accounts of the light. Something about it felt… off.
The car slowed, coming to a stop. The engine cut out, the door was opened, and I was guided out. I was led a little farther for a few minutes, and then the handkerchief was finally removed. I found myself standing in a dimly lit alleyway, the back entrance to my office building.
No words were exchanged. The man in black simply gave a curt nod, a silent acknowledgment of our unspoken agreement. He then turned and disappeared into the night, leaving me alone in the shadows.
By the time I came back it was already dark, the city lights twinkling like a distant constellation. I sighed, a deep, weary sigh that seemed to resonate through my entire body. My stomach rumbled, a sudden and insistent reminder of the hours I had spent cooped up in that room. I was famished.
Ah… I was supposed to meet Alisa for lunch. I checked my phone and saw the location she had sent, along with several messages that followed.
"Damn it…"
I walked into the office and glanced around for Alisa, but she was nowhere to be seen. I grabbed my bag, my coat, and the rest of my things. There was no point in staying. The day was over.
As I walked towards the exit, I noticed some female employees frowning at me, I didn't know why even if I did it's not like I can explain the events that had unfolded just a few hours ago. A wave of detachment washed over me. They lived in their own bubble, unaware of the entities that lurked just beneath the surface of their everyday lives… And in a way, I envied them. Their ignorance was a kind of bliss.
I simply decided to slip out, merging into the throng of people leaving the office for the day becoming another face in the crowd.
As I walked toward the bus stop, the question lingered in my mind: Is it possible for me to live a normal life? A life of quiet contentment, filled with simple joys and genuine human connection. Memories of the past resurfaced, the moment my path was irrevocably altered, when I truly felt alive, when I believed I was doing something meaningful for the world. When… I had all the freedom in the world. Then came the day the organization took notice of me. The flashing lights of police sirens, the cold bite of handcuffs, the fear that seized me as they led me away, all of it returned in vivid fragments.
I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling that tiny bump where they'd planted the chip.
I heard someone call my name… It was Alisa's voice. I turned, but there was only a sea of people moving past me.
Was I mistaken?
Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet lurched violently. I stumbled, losing my balance. "What the…?" I said, fear gripping me. It wasn't just a stumble. The entire world seemed to be shaking, the buildings swaying precariously.
"What's going on?!" I yelled, my voice swallowed by the sudden cacophony of screams and shattering glass.
The earthquake intensified. The ground buckled beneath me, throwing me off balance again. Cracks formed in the sidewalk, widening ominously. Debris rained down from the buildings, plaster and shattered glass raining down around me. People screamed, running for cover, but there was nowhere to hide.
I started to run, instinct taking over. I needed to get away from the falling debris, to find some semblance of safety. But then I heard a scream, a desperate, terrified cry. I turned to see a pair of teenagers, a boy and a girl, huddled together near a building. A large chunk of masonry had fallen, pinning the boy's leg beneath it.
I hesitated. They were strangers. I had no obligation to help them. I could just keep running, escape the chaos, and pretend I hadn't seen anything. But… I… I…
"Damn it!!!" I cursed, adrenaline surging through me. I ran towards them. "Are you still alive?" I yelled over the din of the earthquake.
The boy groaned, his face pale. The girl, her face streaked with tears, managed to whisper, "Please help… he's hurt…"
"Pull him when I pick it up," I shouted to the girl, not waiting for her reply. I turned my attention to the debris. It was heavy, impossibly heavy. And the ground was still shaking, making it even harder to exert myself. "We need to get this done and move," I muttered to myself. Time to show that hitting the gym during my university days wasn't a complete waste.
I braced myself, taking a deep breath. Then, with a grunt of effort, I leaned into it, pulling with every muscle in my body. But the debris didn't budge. Not even an inch.
I gritted my teeth. I wasn't going to give up. I couldn't. The boy's life depended on me.
The ground shook again, a violent tremor sending a jolt of fear through me. "Shit, this is a big one," I thought, fighting to keep my footing.
A flash of inspiration hit me.
"Push! We need to push it to the side," I yelled, hoping the girl could hear me.
She nodded, her face filled with terror, but also determination.
"On three," I shouted. "One, two, three!"
We pushed with all our might, the ground trembling beneath our feet. To my surprise, the debris began to move, sliding across the uneven surface of the broken pavement. The girl gave a cry of relief, helping her injured friend to his feet.
I was about to congratulate them, to tell them to find cover, but our relief was short-lived. Above us, a sickening groan echoed from the multi storey car park. My eyes instinctively followed the sound. A truck, parked on one of the upper levels of the car park, was teetering on the edge, its wheels inches from the precipice. Then, with a deafening roar, it toppled over, plunging towards the ground.
It was instinctive, a primal reaction. My hands shot out, grabbing the teenagers, pushing them away from the impending doom. I felt the ground erupt beneath us, the impact of the falling truck sending a shockwave through the earth. Then, a crushing weight slammed into my back, a wall of metal and concrete engulfing me, the world exploding into a kaleidoscope of pain and darkness.
The last thing I saw was the horrified face of the girl, her eyes wide with terror, before the world plunged into an abyss of oblivion.
A blinding white light.
A searing pain, accompanied by a woman's unfamiliar voice.
"Ah, there you are."