The next morning I had to fight all the phases of work: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. I could call off for the day or pretend I'm sick to skip work. But why would I need to do something like that after they pressured me into accepting this position? The pay is good, though and I could really use it. Life is hard sometimes, especially when a man wants to work from a desk but they send him to other worlds. I had to sort through all those feelings just to get myself to the office and the reason for that was already waiting for me.
"Good morning, Sir." Thompson said.
"No need to be formal, just call me Bob." I nod.
"Understood, Sir."
They made me choose an assistant from all the candidates and the one I chose was obviously Thompson. He may not be as fit as Ericssen, but he passed the physical test all the same. I can't say much about the other candidates, but Thompson's work ethic always impressed me and we shared a mutual respect difficult to reproduce. He was really grateful for the opportunity, but acting like a boss in such a small division is really awkward.
"Any mission today?" I ask the system, but Thompson thought I was asking him.
"Nothing as of yet." And the same answer came from the system.
I received a pay bump and an assistant to do a job and there was nothing to do. That was the root of my morning grief routine. There are only so many trips to the break room a person can take without making it clear for everyone that I was just pretending to work.
"Let me know if anything happens, please." I say to Thompson.
"Yes, sir!" He almost stood up in a salute. Is this what they call cringe? It feels bad.
I wandered around the building trying to act busy when I stumbled upon Tasha. I said hi in passing then she turned around and asked me for a minute with her shy act of hers that disappeared the moment we were alone.
"I need you to cover for me tonight. I'll pull out extra hours and Maggie can't know anything about it."
"I won't lecture you about friendship since it's none of my business..."
"Good, let's keep it that way." She cut me off and disappeared.
"That's no way to ask a favor from someone," I say to myself as I shake my head. Then I open the system and activate comms. "system manager, are you there?"
"Yes."
"I'm thinking on practicing my skills. Do you think it's possible to arrange a secure location?"
"Green thumb is your only skill for the time being and it's not worth leveling up."
"Didn't you mention it was also capable of rejuvenating someone?"
"It can be used for that and that is precisely why you can't use it. Short term is not a problem, but in the long run people will start to wonder why you don't age like others." That is something I didn't think before. Good thing I asked.
"Now that I think about it, what happened to the people we rescued the other day?"
"They were put in the witness protection system, at least that's what the official papers say. In reality they're being quarantined and evaluated on a case to case basis."
"Got it." I nod as I mindlessly end up returning to the new office where only Thompson awaits. Just as I walked in I found him carefully adjusting a stapler to the perfect angle for picking it. Exactly the way I do it.
"Just to make it clear. The existence of the system is a top secret that needs field agent level of clearance of higher. You must not reveal it to your new team mate."
"I see." I speak out loud without realizing it.
"I'm not copying you, I'm just being efficient."
"I like efficient," I fake a cough to wash away the awkwardness. It didn't work. "I wish I could have brought Ericssen too."
"I don't particularly like him. He's rude, messy and chatty."
'We could use chatty right now.' I think to myself, but instead go with something different. "He's a nice guy pretending to be tough."
"Will you still say that if I told you he tried every trick in the book to disqualify you and get your position? He said you were only good as a desk agent."
"I would stand by my words," That sounds exactly like the kind of thing Ericssen would say and I absolutely believe him, but Thompson can't read people. "he knows I like working at a desk and I bet the only reason why he tried to get me out of here was because he worried about me."
"That is one way to see it." Thompson didn't rebuke, but he also didn't agree. Just as I was pondering whether or not I made the right choice a new assignment came in and Thompson read it out loud.
"A ten year old traveler in a world classified as an ecumenopolis is having trouble adapting to her new life."
"Interesting..." I nod then head to the white room. "make yourself useful while I'm out."
The moment I was sent into the other world I understood what an ecumenopolis was without the system needing to explain it to me, but the system went ahead and explained it while I puked my guts out.
"This world is extensively populated and every inch of it has been built upon. They are currently working on a planet sized solar array that will gather enough energy to feed its entirety. The air is polluted, but both food and water are clean. Your mission is to find the traveler and teach her the basics to survive in this world."
I stay silent as I look around to look for a secure place where I could speak to the system, but anywhere I looked there was people. Upon closer inspection I noticed that it wasn't just ordinary people, there were also androids. Just standing still on my own feet felt dizzying and at first I thought it was because of the people crowding the place, but it turned out to be the second wave of the summoning sickness.
"Will this ever get better?" I wonder out loud.
"Yes." The system answered coldly in that snarky monotone. Thankfully, the system wasn't just there to sour my day but it was also a convenient tool. I followed the yellow path that guided me to an elevator that led me to another elevator which ended on an escalator that led directly to... you guessed it, another elevator.
Following the yellow path as I pushed past people was numbing. It was like being stuck on peak hour subway all day. My torment finally ended when I entered an impossibly high building where I could finally breathe. It was weird that being outside it was crowded and only indoors I could move freely.
The yellow highlight disappeared from my path and shifted towards a kid that was crying in a corner. I knew some of the voices belonged to children, but seeing it with my own eyes was painful. She not only left our world, but was also sent into a kafkian nightmare that could turn people crazy.
"Are you alright?" I started, but instead of speaking the me the kid just burst out crying louder.
"You can't just approach a kid like that."
"Didn't you fix my appearance or something?" I ask after taking some distance, but the system remained in silence. All I got as a reply was a yellow path guiding me outside the building then back inside.
"Now you look like an android, try not to make her cry."
"Hold on, before I meet her I need to check her file." The system popped up a holographic screen in front of me displaying the entire file. She was told she was in a video game and that was all I needed to know.
"Hello, I am a helping android designed to... help."
"I need help." Of course she does, but how can I get her to follow the system instructions without raising suspicions. There's no way I'm telling her to listen to the voices in her head.
"Did you finish the tutorial?" It worked like a charm. The girl stopped crying long enough to pay attention to the system's instructions. Contrary to Agents, travelers do not have a system manager. It's just the automated version that works pretty much like a built in smartphone. It's usually easy for people to get the hang of it, but when you're a ten year old without parents, hungry and thirsty, it's not hard to see how she got stuck.
Soon enough she learned the basics. This world might seem hostile at a first glance, but it's actually quite welcoming. All humans have their needs covered and have the right to a universal pension that's enough to live a lavish life. The system explained me that it was probably thanks to the existence of androids that performed all the work, but there was more.
"You can earn more credits if you engage in social activities. You can try meet people your own age." I say before leaving.
It felt good to help a kid in a safe environment for a change.