The commonly referred to ‘fight or flight’ response describes how one’s brain and body respond to an influx of adrenaline and several other hormones. While it is commonly called ‘fight or flight’ there are actually four common fear responses, all appropriately starting with the letter ‘f.’ Fight and flight need little explanation, as someone who responds with fighting prepares to fight and someone who responds with flight prepares to run. A less well-known response is called ‘freeze’ in which one’s muscles tense up, often for the sake of either remaining inconsequential or to avoid triggering predatorial physiological responses to fight back or chase whatever runs away. The final response is called ‘fawn’ in which one attempts to ingratiate themselves to the source of danger.
Astrid was frozen, not because of some moral failing or lack of courage, but because her physiological response to this particular circumstance of being stuck in a room with the creak of a door and footsteps approaching was to freeze.
As the footsteps got closer and closer, Astrid began screaming in her own mind. *Please go away, please be a dream, please just go away! I’m gonna wake up and be in my bed, this will all be a nightmare and I’ll forget it like I’ve forgotten everything else! STOP COMING CLOSER!*
Then the world froze.
Syntax Error…
Unable to Parse “Stop coming closer”
Urgency Detected…
Generating Support Ticket…
Admin4 “Ronald”
Alright, so I’m looking over some notes from Stephen, and it looks like he’s handling your situation personally. He’s probably gonna be pretty upset that you wasted your last auth token though. He’s pretty big into avoiding waste.
Since you set the urgency so high, the system won’t let me close the ticket without checking a few boxes…
Alright, looks like I don’t have the authority to do what it is you’re asking of me because the person behind you is Stephen. I’m gonna connect you to him real quick. Hope he doesn’t chew you out too badly Astrid. See you on the other side!
Connecting…
Admin5 “Stephen”
Hey there! Didn’t mean to sneak up on you, sorry about that! I both wanted to wake you up and didn’t want to wake you up, and I think I hit a balance that just didn’t quite work out. I’m gonna let the auth token slide, for now. Just try to remember to keep calm and carry on! The system recognizes emotions, and auth tokens can get spent pretty quickly if you’re a little too emotional.
Support Ticket Closed by Admin5 “Stephen”
The world unfroze.
“Howdy!” a voice shouted from behind Astrid. “The name’s Stephen, your friendly neighborhood mid-level administrator!”
Astrid spun around and saw a man standing there, with a blonde mustache and a receding hairline, wearing ornate red robes with gold rings and chains.
“What in the world is going on? How did I get here? Explain it to me, please!” Astrid sat up, pushed herself up against the wall behind her bed, and began to cry.
“Woah there, remember what I told you. Cool your jets. Getting emotional about it is only going to upset the system.”
“How can I not be upset!”
“I don’t know! Think about happier things, like puppies, rainbows, and the wonderful organization you are now a part of!”
Astrid looked at Stephen absolutely dumbfounded, lost for words.
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“Look,” Stephen continued, “To answer your question I don’t know how you got here. I don’t know why you’re an administrator. That usually requires a vetting process, and being a level 0 admin is quite literally reserved for someone during orientation, so it’s a little weird that you’re out here in the real world with level 0 admin privileges.”
“So, the magic I’ve bonded to, admin privileges, has some strings attached that I’ve dodged? You know, this is only a problem if you don’t send me back to my world.”
Stephen’s eyes became wide. “You’re from another world, and administrator privileges are the ‘magic’ you’ve bonded to?”
Astrid was concerned by Stephen’s tone. “Yes?”
“Huh. That’s a new one. I’m gonna request some information about you real quick, now that I know the right questions to ask.”
Stephen looked like he teleported, as he went from standing in one spot to pacing on the other side of the room in an instant.
“Hey Astrid, I’m back. Looks like you’re connected to a series of glitches and exploits I’ve been tasked with patching, which is super helpful. What’s more concerning though is that some things are above MY authorization level.”
Stephen stopped pacing and looked straight at Astrid.
“How would you like a job?”
“I'm already an administrator though, aren't I?”
“Technically yes, but without access to the organization you'll be pretty limited.”
“Can I go home?”
“In theory, yes. Might take a while though. Lots of red tape surrounds inter-dimensional travel. Why would you want to though? If you stay with the organization long enough you'll get access to some really nice benefits and a comfy retirement package!”
Astrid was conflicted. She had vague memories of struggle, and it was nice to imagine the possibility of a better future and cool powers. At the same time, she couldn’t remember who she had left behind. Maybe she hadn't left anyone behind? Maybe she had a mother out there looking for her with no evidence to go on? Maybe, maybe, maybe. Astrid decided she needed information.
“Could I get my memories back before I decide to go home or not?”
“With enough auth tokens and authority you can do pretty much anything! The organization might have something to say about that, but there are also approval processes and paperwork for pretty much anything as well!”
“If I say yes?”
“If you say yes, I will requisition you a new handbook, give you an auth token allowance since you are now out and level 0 Admins don’t get more, and you are going to start helping me learn more information about what’s going wrong in this country! Exciting, isn’t it?”
“And if I say no?”
“Mind wipe, admin privileges revoked, and you'll probably end up just being a servant girl here forever” Stephen said with a curt tone while looking at a gold watch on his wrist that looked peculiarly out of place in a fantasy world.
“That doesn't sound like much of a choice.”
“Well, they are admin privileges, not admin rights” Stephen chuckled to himself, “They can be earned, and they can be lost. Plus, there's plenty of people who have it worse than you. You have a whole room all to yourself, plus a great view!”
Astrid looked at the hole in the wall that served as her window. “What do I need to do?”
“Well, first there’s the paperwork. Once we get those done the process will have started, and that means that I can give you some pre-emptive benefits, like an auth token allowance and access to the admin suite. After it finishes getting processed it will be a lot easier to get you your own copy of the handbook, and maybe even request orientation. In the meantime you’ll be expected to use your authority to help me out personally, which will look great on your record! All I really want you to do is keep playing your part, and maybe suss out any extra information on other worlds and magic bonding that you can.”
“So I have to keep living here as a servant either way?”
“Temporarily. I don’t have the authority to give you certain key pieces of information, so you should also realize that you definitely don’t have the authority to share anything about being an administrator with anyone who isn’t an administrator! There are certain hard and fast rules that can get you fired pretty quick around here, and I personally have a zero tolerance policy about this. I don’t care how important you think it is, and I don’t care if you’ve found some clever workaround to get past the system interference, you are one-hundred-and-eleven percent wrong to do so. Do I make myself clear?”
“Where do I sign?”
—--
Stephen had promptly left after Astrid signed her new contract, with a notification telling her that she was no longer being audited, and another letting her know that she would get an allowance of 15 auth tokens a month.
Astrid first went to look at the admin suite. It looked like a modern dorm room, except everything was colored gray. The bed was gray, the walls were gray, the desk was gray, the ceiling fan was gray, everything was gray. It was smaller than her servant’s quarters, she had no ‘window’ to peer out of, but the room was blessed with several necessities that caused Astrid to nearly weep. She had a working toilet, a bathtub, running water of both the hot and cold varieties, a spring mattress, a feather pillow, a coarse but serviceable blanket, and a ceiling fan with an electric light.
Astrid was filled with a mixture of excitement and nervousness, but she reminded herself to not be content with what she now had. She was grateful, but she couldn’t allow her gratefulness to cloud her reason. Stephen seemed like the kind of person who would dangle basic needs in front of her as though they were some great gift. Basic human dignity is a right, not a privilege.