On Monday, January 5, I got to the Lab at noon. I was in excellent spirits. Kate opened the door for me.

“Hey, Happy New Year! How was your break, Rodion?”

“It was good.” I said. “How about yours?” This was a little strange, since Kate and I spoke on Friday, but whatever.

“Oh, nice. I was visiting my parents in Baltimore for Christmas.” Kate said. “Just got back last night.”

“What?” I opened my eyes wide.

“Yeah, I know. Baltimore isn’t the best. But I love my city.” She smiled. “It’s nothing like the Wire. I promise.”

“Ummm.” I felt the tips of my fingers turn cold and gulped.

“Hey, man!” Ben walked up to me, patting me on the back. “Looking good, Rodion. Ready for the new year?”

“Yeah. I am.” I mumbled.

Was Kate not there on Friday? But we saw each other.

“It’s all these New Year’s Resolution people.” Kate said, turning to Ben. “I tried to sign up for my favorite hot yoga class, and my studio is crazy full now.” She rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. My gym is running a promo right now, so lots of people sign up. But they usually fall off by early February.” Ben shrugged. “So maybe wait a month?”

“I can’t! I’m totally addicted. If I don’t go for a few days, my whole body aches.” Kate stretched. She was about to say something else, but Ben turned to me, cutting her off.

“By the way, Rodion, do you work out at all?”

“Umm, not really.”

“You should. Why don’t you sign up for my gym? I can take you.”

“Your gym?” I’d never gone to the gym before. Never played sports, never been on any team. I only ran, but every once in a while.

“Yeah. I can get a referral bonus.” A sly smile crossed Ben’s face.

“Ben, that’s not right.” Kate protested.

“Why not? It’ll be good for Rodion. Right?” Ben clapped. “A win-win. So, what do you say, man?”

“Yes!” I said. I liked Ben. Getting stronger wouldn’t hurt. I decided.

“Alright, I’ll text you the address. We can go tomorrow, before work. I usually go at 7.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but we gotta get started with testing.” Kate said and pursed her lips.

“What?” Ben opened his eyes wide. “Alright, alright. Come on, Rodion, let’s go.”

He punched in the code and we went downstairs. The Lab looked the same, exactly like how I left it. When? When was I last here? I looked at Kate, trying to find a clue, but she looked completely normal. Was Friday a dream?

Then I remembered the source code. Of course! The source code. If it’s there, I was here and didn’t dream the whole thing.

I sat in front of the screen and waited while Kate set up the finger monitor. I turned on the screen and my digital double appeared. Ben, arms crossed, examined me in satisfaction.

“You know, this project is really moving super well.”

“Knock on wood.” Kate said and knocked on the table.

“You’re so superstitious!” Ben shook his head.

“Irish mom…runs in the family.” Kate shrugged.

“If you’re so superstitious, you shouldn’t be working with AI.” Ben said.

“And why not?”

“Because AI is about the new frontier. Breaking with the past. Your beliefs will hold you back.”

“Ben, I think we’ve had this conversation before. You’re not going to convince me otherwise.”

“Alright, whatever. Listen, Rodion, you know the drill, right?” Ben turned to me.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

The two of them walked upstairs, leaving me with Ryder. I stared at my digital double and clicked twice, summoning CM.

The count’s face appeared on the screen.

Hello, Rodion.

“Listen, CM, was I here on Friday? Did you change the source code?”

What do you think?

“I can’t tell. Kate doesn’t remember anything.”

That sounds like a Kate problem to me. Don’t doubt yourself, Rodion.

“So it actually happened?”

Time is a construct, Rodion. Remember that. Things happen in parallel.

“I don’t get it. How could Kate be in Baltimore and here at the same time?”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Easy! Different time branches, that’s all. The Count smirked. Ready for your training? I have a surprise for you.

I started the oxygenation program first, and then a pop-up screen appeared with Ryder. I expected Ryder to produce a hunting knife. Instead, my double was holding a long leather case. He placed it on the ground and opened it. Inside, there were about thirty different knives. Long blade, short blade, daggers, some resembling swords. I recognized some from video games. Some had dragon blades, some looked like ice picks.

“What’s this?” I gasped.

A little upgrade.

I wasn’t sure if it was the Count or Ryder communicating with me.

I watched as Ryder took each knife, and within seconds, mastered its use. It was instant, mere moments. What had taken us several days with the hunting knife took no time at all. I twitched and felt my hands burning. Was this affecting me, too? I tried to move, but couldn’t. By the time it was over and Ryder closed the case, I was out of breath, sweat pouring down my face. The oxygenation program was running the whole time, and I wasn’t sure whether it was its impact or the knife training, but I could barely move. I didn’t care if Kate or Ben noticed I was running a parallel program any more.

I ripped off the headphones and the finger monitor and pushed my chair back. Leaning on the desk, I gasped for air. I opened my mouth, trying to fill my lungs, but something was constricting them. Black circles floated in front of my eyes.

“Time is a construct.” Was my last thought as I floated into a void.

When I came to, I was in my bed. The alarm was going off.

Tuesday, January 6.

6:00AM

Why did I set the alarm for 6am? I stared at my phone when a text from Ben popped up on the screen.

“See you at 7!”

The gym! I remembered agreeing to meet him and to work out, and his referral bonus, but I had no memory of leaving work or getting home. I could not recall setting the alarm and going to bed. I stared at my phone for another minute, and was about to text Ben back to let him know I’d changed my mind, but then paused.

Getting stronger wasn’t a bad idea. It occurred to me. What if Philip struggles? What if I have to hold him down? I wasn’t sure I could overpower him.

Getting stronger wasn’t such a bad idea.

And so exactly at 7am I parked in front of a squat building that looked like a warehouse. I wasn’t sure what to wear and put on sweatpants and a t-shirt. Ben ran up to me. He patted me on the back.

“Hey there, buddy. Great of you to show up. Let me get you set up.” Without waiting for an answer, Ben led me to the metal door.

It opened, and right away I heard metal clanking, voices, the hollow echo of grunting. I could smell Clorox in the air, the familiar tang of it reminding me of Vlada’s house. While we lived with her, I regularly saw her douse the bathrooms and the kitchen with Clorox, claiming it was the only thing keeping her family healthy.

A receptionist sat behind the counter, his face round and earnest. He gave us an uncomplicated smile.

“This is Rodion.” Ben stepped back, and I was now face-to-face with the uncomplicated young man.

“Matt.” He rose from his desk. “Nice to meet you.” He extended his hand. His handshake felt firm and pleasant.

“Listen, Matt, could you give Rodion a quick tour of the space? He’s going to join the gym, wants to work out.” Ben said, and I forced my face to remain expressionless. “New Year’s Resolution.”

“Of course! We can do a tour right now! If you join today, you get your first month for $50 off, and Ben here also gets a break.” Matt announced. “Just follow me.” We walked into the gym. Matt was shorter than me, but probably twice as wide. He was built like a tank. I wondered how long it would take me to get to the same level of muscle mass as Matt made a sweeping gesture.

“So, this is where everyone works out. So when you come in, you just have to check in at the front desk, and then every day you’ll do a routine. It’s about thirty minutes to get through all the sets. And we got group sessions starting on the hour in the morning from 5 to 10 and then in the evening, from 5 to 10. Makes it easy to remember.” He looked at me expectantly.

“Yeah. Great.” I nodded.

“Don’t worry, there are always people to help you out in the beginning. And each session is led by an instructor, who can help you with form. So you don’t hurt yourself.”

That day, I worked out for the full hour. I liked it, the instructor was friendly, showed me everything, and I felt like I was becoming part of something. I barely had time to shower at home to make it back to the lab on time for my shift. At the lab, I saw Ben.

“Hey, Rodion, nice workout, ha?” He gave me a high-five. I wondered if we were becoming friends.

Downstairs, I sat behind the screen and thought of the great way 2009 started out. I was getting fitter, I’d mastered a whole knife routine, and I was one step closer to my goal of avenging Mama’s death. And, to top it off, I had what probably was the coolest job in the world, testing a digital double. Most people had not even heard of this technology, and here I was, getting to test it out.

I put on the heart rate monitor, adjusted my headphones and clicked ‘start.’ I saw Ryder. He was in the gym. The very same gym where I just was, doing the same routine I had just finished. Except he was lifting much heavier weights. Where I’d benched 100lb, Ryder had 250lb. His muscles flexed, and I felt mine tense at the same time. I gulped and moved the mouse. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. But Ryder continued training.

I pushed my chair back. That’s it, I’m calling Ben. I was about to run upstairs, but the Count emerged on the screen.

Hello, Rodion. He took off his hat and winked at me. Time is a construct, Rodion. Remember that. Green on black. The letters flashed on the screen before it went dark.

And then I saw Ryder in the usual spot. Back in the white desert, about to do oxygenation training. It must have been a glitch. I thought of Ryder at the gym. Whatever. The oxygen levels were still at five percent, and I decided it wouldn’t hurt to lower it to four. I did it to prove Dawn wrong. And April. There was nothing dangerous about the Lab.

Ryder and I trained at four percent. The rarefied air was like breathing nothing. Ryder was on the screen, exercising, and I felt my head spin. The screen suddenly split into two and I saw the Count’s face, nodding at me in approval.

I woke up in a dark room.

For a moment, I didn’t know where I was, but then I noticed the tapestries on the walls. Yellow, red. I was in Maria Matucci’s office upstairs. I had no recollection of getting there. I heard a beeping noise and realized I was wearing an oxygen mask. Behind me, I saw a machine beeping. An oxygen tank. The numbers on it read 4.0.

Right away, the door opened and Maria Matucci walked in. She was wearing knee-high platform boots and a handmade shawl, which reminded me of the throws Vlada knitted for her couch.

“Rodion. How do you feel?” Maria asked in her throaty voice.

I blinked, not taking my mask off.

“Do you remember what happened?” She pulled up a chair next to the couch. I tried to take off the oxygen mask to speak, but she pushed my hand away. “That needs to stay.” Then, without waiting, she said, her voice soft.

“Rodion. Kate told me she’d warned you to stay at five percent. But when we found you, the setting was at four. Why did you not listen to Kate?”

I stared at Dr. Matucci in confusion. Kate never told me to stay at five percent.

“Why did you lower the setting, Rodion?” I shook my head and tried to lift the mask to protest. “Now, you do understand your behavior could compromise the whole experiment. And we would have to let you go.” She paused for effect. I clenched my fists. I couldn’t afford to lose this job now. Not before I finished with my plan. “But because of your achievements, and because we value your contributions to the Lab, we’re allowing you to stay. Consider this as your first and last warning. We don’t want you to become a liability.” Maria rose and walked away.

I stayed on the couch for a few more minutes, then ripped the mask off.

Kate never told me about staying at five percent. I was certain. She told me on Friday, but that never happened. Or did it?