That day was bright and sunny, the sun shining brightly, the sky empty without any annoying white clouds, revealing the beauty of the refreshing blue sky.
Birds chirped, decorating the peaceful morning, fluttering here and there across the blue sky.
People started waking up to begin their activities, and so did Alice.
Alice is a tall, slim woman with beautiful white skin, blonde hair, and thin black eyebrows. She might catch the eye of many people in town because of her looks, but apart from that, her communication skills are something to admire too.
Alice isn't super smart, but she's not stupid either because she managed to work at ReTecs, known for its tough selection process. She passed the selection because of her ability to understand others, which is useful for comprehending ReTecs' product users and bridging different divisions or teams at ReTecs. Alice is what you'd call a social butterfly.
Working at one of the world's largest tech companies is Alice's dream, as she loves tech-related things, even though she's not as smart as the experts at ReTecs. At least, being part of the Project Advanced Gaming Alternate Reality (PAGAR) as a Project Communications Manager is a huge pride and honor for Alice. Moreover, she believes that PAGAR can bring significant impact to the world, not just in the video game industry.
###
Alice woke up a bit late that morning. As usual, she had to make sure the communication channels between divisions were secure and check for any leaks about the ongoing project in her division from spreading in public spaces.
Just like her routine, she lay in bed, playing on her smartphone. Checking social media, news sites, and the company's internal communication channels was more of a hobby for her than just work.
Once she fully regained her awareness, she got up from bed and went to her kitchen to cook something simple like a sandwich with bread, ham, some vegetables, her favorite sauce, and of course, making coffee to stay fresh for the day at the office.
She had her breakfast in the kitchen, not because her house lacked a dining room or table, but because she preferred eating there. It saved her the hassle of moving the food to the dining table and then back to the kitchen for washing up.
While having breakfast, Alice also continued her task, given her recent recognition as one of the 100 Best Employees of the Month. This time, she focused more on reading news about PAGAR, which had been making waves in the public after its announcement a few months ago.
While engrossed in reading and enjoying her breakfast, she received a call from Brune. Alice could tell from Brune's voice that something was wrong.
"Still at home, what's up? Is there a problem?" Alice replied to Brune's question.
Alice quickly finished her breakfast and packed up her stuff for the office, while Brune explained what was happening.
"Okay, I'll do what I can. See you soon," replied Alice, locking her house and getting into her car.
Brune continued speaking a few more words, but Alice barely listened as she was busy setting up her car's autopilot. When Alice wanted to respond, the call had already been ended by Brune.
Since the call was cut off by Brune, Alice activated the autopilot and started contacting several people, including her subordinates, to address the issue.
###
Alice finally arrived at the office without any problem. She immediately set her car on auto-pilot for auto-parking in the office while she rushed a bit to enter the office building and head to the lobby.
Once in the lobby, she set up her tablet to check the real-time situation reported by her subordinates.
Not long after she arrived at the office, Axel came as if to greet her, offering a snack in the form of coffee-lemon-flavored candies. It was an odd combination for Alice, but one that Axel liked. However, Alice declined.
"Have you heard the report?" Axel asked.
"Brune already informed me, but you can tell me the updates," replied Alice, still looking at her tablet screen.
"Not much progress. There are still many system and program code errors, some I've fixed and are waiting for processing," said Axel, enjoying his favorite candy. "And for the subjects, they are all upset, but there's one person who stands out. Subject A101."
Alice glanced at Axel still munching on that candy, "Why do you like that candy so much, isn't it weird-tasting?"
"At first, it was. But what can I do? Coffee keeps you from falling asleep, and the lemon keeps you awake because of its acidity. You know, programmers need something like this because we get so sleepy from staying up all night to manage the program."
Alice just smiled seeing Axel's expression while eating the candy, looking like someone forced to take bitter medicine mixed with the face of someone eating a lemon. Doing it out of necessity.
"Thanks. I'll let Brune know as soon as he arrives, which shouldn't be long," said Alice, then sitting on one of the benches in the main lobby.
"Alright, oh... I almost forgot," replied Axel, about to leave but not quite, "Can you come to my office before Brune arrives? I think I found something strange, and for some reason, there's a comment from Brune with random characters, and a few other comments that are even stranger."
Alice looked at Axel's face and asked, "Sure, but is it urgent?"
"Yeah. At least before Brune comes, you need to know about this."
"Okay, I've got less than half an hour."
Axel once again offered his favorite candy to Alice, but Alice still refused it for the hundredth time.
Refused, Axel left. Meanwhile, Alice followed him from behind.
###
When they reached Axel's office, which was empty at that time because Axel's assistant was on duty outside, Axel quickly opened the program he was working on.
The hologram, which was initially empty, was now filled with a screen containing Axel's ongoing program. Axel typed and touched the hologram until a display appeared with comments on Axel's program.
"This morning, I fixed the program because of an error, you already knew that. However, after fixing the program, I checked the comments and found all of this," Axel said, showing some comments he meant on the hologram screen.
Alice carefully looked at the comments Axel showed.
The first comment, with Brune’s ID, only had the writing 'sdghjkl;TAY5SFYHIK'auewsfnl;' without any other explanation.
The second comment, with Axel’s ID, contained a message in the form of binary code. The binary code containing 0s and 1s was understandable to Alice, though it took a moment. But, even though Axel wanted to explain it, Alice raised her hand to ask Axel to be silent and not reveal the answer. It didn't take long for Alice to figure out the message, which was 'Be careful with SAT, they're after you.'
The third comment, with Alice’s and Axel’s ID, contains a message. "If you're reading this, it's from the future. Check the time tracking. Be careful and inform Brune about the problem with special security protocol level 2 before SAT arrives."
Alice glanced at Axel before returning her gaze to the hologram screen to read the fourth comment.
The fourth comment, with Alice’s and Axel’s ID again, but with a different message. "We received a message from the future, but the situation we're facing is different. Check the time tracking."
After thoroughly reading all the comments shown by Axel, Alice looked back at Axel.
Alice just stood there, silent and confused, not knowing what to say. In her mind, she was aware that something was odd, but she couldn't explain the oddity.
While Alice was still in a daze, Axel said, "I followed the instructions in that comment to check the time, and what I found is even more surprising."
"Is the comment's time really from the future?" Alice guessed, now approaching Axel.
Axel nodded, "Yes, you're right. I'm puzzled too, but it's likely an error in the time format program."
"If that's the case, we need to inform Brune. At least, if it's just an error, we can ask Brune for a solution, but if it's not an error and actually the truth, we can prevent Brune from being visited by SAT."
"Alright, if you want to contact him, you can do it outside this floor. Meanwhile, I'll check a few more things, maybe we'll find answers or perhaps more weirdness," Axel suggested.
Alice moved closer to Axel. "Don't eat too many candies," Alice said, winking.
Axel pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to Alice, "Want some?"
Alice just smiled and stifled a laugh, "No, I'm afraid it might mess up your brain, especially with all these oddities."
"Please, I'm fed up with all of this, don't stop me from enjoying this candy."
Alice still smiled and then left. However, just before the door slid closed, she winked and said, "Enjoy."
###
Alice called Brune when she was one floor down from Axel's office, but several times the calls went unanswered by Brune.
On the fifth call, Brune finally answered.
"Sorry to disturb, but there's something important to relay," Alice said.
While listening to Brune, Alice also glanced at her tablet screen, which displayed updated information on several events happening in PAGAR.
"This is from Axel, he showed me comments on his program. The comments are quite strange —there's your ID with random characters, Axel's ID in binary warning to be careful with SAT, and two comments with Axel’s and my ID saying those comments were made from the future," Alice told Brune.
Brune continued speaking through the phone connection while Alice kept an eye on her tablet screen.
"I know this sounds senseless, but the time tracking confirms it. Maybe there's an issue with the time format program, that's what Axel said,'' Alice tried to convince Brune of the information she was sharing.
On her tablet screen, Alice could see that some subjects had been successfully controlled and were ready for the next test, except for one remaining subject.
"Alright, understood. I'll head there right away," Alice replied.
After that, Brune ended the call, and so did Alice.
Alice took a moment to check a few more things on her tablet before walking to the lift.
###
Alice returned to Axel's office as instructed by Brune.
When Alice entered the office, Axel was alone, busy tapping the screen and using a holo-keyboard, surrounded by several holograms.
Noticing Alice, Axel break for a moment after saving every change he had made.
"How? Did you inform Brune?" Axel asked.
"I did. He sent me to ask you to handle this issue on your own first. You're free to decide whether you want to investigate or take action. Meanwhile, I need to deal with the resistant subject."
"Alright, if that's the order."
Looking around, Alice smiled, "Hope you'll still be sane."
Axel could only give back Alice's smile.
After that, Alice left Axel's office and headed straight to the preparation test room to meet Brune and handle the subject.
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###
Right in front of the preparation test room, Brune had just arrived as Alice was about to enter.
"How's it going?" Brune asked, stopping his walk.
"Everything's okay. Some things are under control, just one subject, A101, still protesting. As for the technical side-"
"Let's handle that later. As I said on the call, let's focus on the subject first. I trust our expert team to deal with the technical stuff, but when it comes to the subject, your expertise is unmatched," Brune said, giving Alice a quick wink.
Alice smiled and chuckled softly, "Thank you for the praise. I really appreciate and respect that, especially coming from the best employee around here."
They both then entered their respective rooms. Alice entered the preparation test room, while Brune went into the preparation test observation room.
###
The preparation test room only had two people, Subject A101 and Alice. Meanwhile, in another adjoining room, separated only by a one-way mirror —similar to a police interrogation room— there were Brune, the main warden of Subject A101, and the subject department head.
"Subject A101 is a male who claims he's straight but shows a tendency towards being bisexual. He's 177 cm tall, weighs 65 kg. He volunteered for this in exchange for seven BC..." Alice briefly skimmed through Subject A101's background on the holobase before closing it and gazing at Subject A101, who is bound all over his body.
She then uncovered the subject's mouth and said, "You volunteered... So what's bothering you?"
Subject A101 looked cynically at Alice and, in a serious tone, said, "Fucked with your money! You've been testing us multiple times."
"Sorry about that, but you should have understood that testing would occur multiple times. It's in the contract," Alice replied.
"FUCK YOU! There's no sudden termination in the contract. You know how painful that is, dying multiple times..."
Alice reopened the holobase and looked at the mirror, intending to ask Brune about this. However, she found no sudden termination in the test results on the holobase.
"Could you explain what you mean by sudden termination? Our data doesn't show any sudden termination," Alice said to Subject A101.
Subject A101 remained silent, breathing heavily as if he'd just run around the city before saying, "Fuck!"
Brune then entered the room carrying Subject A101's test result file and placed it on the table in front of Subject A101.
"I'll release you as long as you don't attempt to attack again. Deal?" Brune proposed.
Hearing this, Alice stared disbelievingly at Brune. It wasn't the first time she'd seen this. Brune often disregarded company procedures and rules, it always makes Alice surprised and disbelieving that it was done by someone who is the company's best employee and is even considered on par with the directors.
"Just free me if that's your intention," Subject A101 replied.
Brune then released him, while Alice stepped away. After all, the reason Subject A101 was bound all over his body was due to his violence, which nearly killed his warden.
"Okay, you free, except for your legs," said Brune, moving the subject's chair closer to the table. "You can check this test result list and tell us where you were terminated suddenly."
Subject A101 carefully examined the test result file, consisting of dozens of pages with over a hundred tests conducted solely on him.
Subject A101 looked at Brune. "The last three pages, you terminated the testing suddenly. Now, please release me, I'm done."
Brune signaled toward the mirror and re-tied Subject A101.
Alice then approached, and Brune showed her the file. "Strangely, all the test end times show the same time, not even a second difference. This might be a system error."
The main warden of Subject A101 entered the room and quickly escorted Subject A101 out, leaving Brune and Alice alone.
"You still have time before becoming a spokesperson, right?" Brune asked Alice, who was organizing her stuffs and files.
"Still free now. Anything I can help with?"
"Please ask Axel about the trial program, there might be an issue. If not, launch it immediately. Also, ask about his investigation findings and the actions he took for the oddities you mentioned in the call before."
"Alright. But don't you want to go see him alone?" Alice answered.
"I'll go. But you go first to meet Axel. If everything's okay, you don't need to return. But if there's still an error or something odd, come back immediately. I'll handle a few things first."
"Understood."
Alice then left Brune alone in the room, with only the test result file being seriously stared at by Brune as Alice stepped out.
###
Axel's office is quite far, but not too far because it's still within the same project. The office is equipped with super-advanced computers and the best network connection. Of course, it holds the highest priority status, specifically designed for programming the PAGAR. The office is exclusive to Axel and his two assistants, while the other programmers work in a different room next door.
As the Project Communications Manager, Alice has limited access to enter that office. When Alice entered the office, Axel was alone, busy tapping the screen and using a holo-keyboard, surrounded by several holograms. Obviously, Axel was fixing a program.
Noticing Alice, Axel break for a moment after saving every change he had made.
"Are you done with the subject?" Axel asked.
"I did. And Brune sent me to ask if everything is under control or if he's still needed," replied Alice.
"Some parts of the program are secure, now I'm working on the rest. But still, for the weird comments, I haven't found a definite answer. It seems I need Brune to make sure."
Looking around, Alice smiled. "Just looking at all this makes my head spin. How do you manage to stay sane?"
Axel pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to Alice. "With this candy, of course."
Alice just smiled and stifled a laugh. "But that doesn't help you get a girlfriend, does it?"
"Come on... I'm already stressed with all of this, let's not talk about girlfriends anymore. Please," Axel pleaded.
Alice still smiled and then left. However, just before the door slid closed, she winked and said, "Fighting."
###
Alice walked back to the test preparation room to report to Brune. She could have just called Brune, but all the networks on that floor were locked down, so no network could go in or out. This was Brune and Hector's initiative to ensure PAGAR's security against hacker attempts to steal the source code or other malicious activities.
As she was almost there, she coincidentally found Brune already leaving the room.
"So, how's it going?" asked Brune.
"Everything's safe and some in progress. But Axel seems to need you," replied Alice.
"Before that, is he still munching on his weird candy?"
Alice smiled every time she heard about Axel's favorite candy. "Of course, if he had to choose, he'd pick the candy over me."
"Doesn't seem so. You just need to communicate. It sounds ironic, but try to understand each other."
"Thanks for the advice, but... it's tough, you know. He's always following structures and steps, very inflexible."
"Yeah... Whatever it is, I hope it's the best for you both. By the way, are you heading straight to those kids after this?"
"Not sure, but I'll drop by Lucy's office first. It's her program, so I'll ask her first."
"Alright then, see you later," said Brune, heading straight to Axel's office.
"You too," replied Alice, making her way to Lucy's office.
###
When Alice arrived in Lucy's room, it was already filled with some people from the socialization program led by Lucy. Alice just stayed quiet and followed Lucy's instructions that were going on.
After Lucy finished giving instructions to all her team members, Alice finally approached Lucy, who was organizing some files.
"So, how was it?" Lucy asked.
"I'm in. But only if you want to tell me about that," Alice replied.
"In that case, we're in agreement," Lucy replied while handing some files to Alice. "These are Ghiovani group's files. I don't know why they picked that name for their group. But most importantly, this group will be your responsibility, and their current schedule is to learn about AR and AGAR, which your division is developing."
"It's Giovani, not Ghiovani, just a correction," Alice replied with a smile.
"Whatever."
"So, what should I do?"
"Just do whatever you want. The main thing is you have to tell them about AR and AGAR and answer their questions. It doesn't have to be precise, but don't sound too silly."
"Alright. By the way, what do you want for lunch?"
"I don't know. I'm on a weight gain thing, so maybe a fatty steak, if you're paying."
"Don't be silly... You still owe me."
"Don't be like that. How about I treat you to lunch, and you forget about that debt. Deal?"
"Nope." Alice then walked out of the office with the files given by Lucy. "I might skip lunch today, I have a bad feeling about it."
Lucy laughed sarcastically. "If your feeling is right this time, I'll treat you for a lifetime."
"Just pay your debt. Bye."
###
The Giovani group consists of seven students and one accompanying teacher. Alice approached the group, who had been waiting in the lobby for a while.
As per Lucy's assignment, Alice took on the role of a guide, explaining nearly everything about AR and AGAR and answering a few enthusiastic student's questions, while the rest were busy with their own things.
In the midst of the activity, Brune called Alice.
Alice immediately ended the Q&A session and told the students to take a break, while Alice moved away from them to answer Brune's call.
"What's up?" Alice asked when she was far enough from the others, especially the students.
While listening to Brune's words, Alice's attention focused on finding the lift. After Brune ended the call, Alice quickly walked towards the lift.
###
Axel's office was no longer empty, Brune and Axel were in the room. Both of them were paying attention to the hologram that Alice could guess was the comment she saw earlier.
Realizing Alice's presence, Brune immediately told Alice to sit in the chair near them. Alice then followed Brune's instructions.
"You had seen the comments Axel showed, right? This time there's a new weird thing, which is the record of duplicated source code data and a security warning code level 3 from SIS-PAGAR," Brune informed Alice, though his attention was still on the hologram screen in front of him.
SIS-PAGAR, or Security Integration System of PAGAR, is a security system that integrates all the programming codes being developed by the PAGAR division. It's meant to detect anything related to program errors, including program malfunctions like theft or hacker attacks.
Knowing that a warning code level 3 can only be given by the system if the entire source code has been corrupted or has errors, it's indeed bizarre.
Then Brune looked at Alice and asked, "Can you activate the safe channel in SIS-PAGAR?"
Alice opened her tablet and said, "Sure, but I need your permission for that. Also, are you sure discussing this here is okay?"
"Just do it," said Brune.
Alice then handed her tablet to Brune, and Brune granted permission.
Once the safe channel was open, the three of them could see logs of every activity on SIS-PAGAR, which strangely duplicated all of its own activities and all programs in PAGAR.
They exchanged looks but were thinking the same thing, "SIS-PAGAR error."
Then, they look at SIS-PAGAR intently. Axel checks the code lines in the SIS-PAGAR program, Alice reads the logs in SIS-PAGAR, while Brune looks at all the connected networks in SIS-PAGAR and anticipates the possibility of a cyberattack on SIS-PAGAR from the connected networks.
In the middle of their examination, Brune said, "The last comment mentioned that the situation is different from the third comment. Could that be because of a time distortion?"
"Do you mean they're reading messages from the future that eventually change their timeline? Do you really believe in that?" Axel replied, looking at Brune.
"Maybe. Your attention shouldn't stop at one point, you have to consider all possibilities."
Axel just mumbled disbelief at what Brune said.
"Let's say the future really sends us messages. Why do those who come last still send the same message as the first three comments?" Alice asked.
Brune glanced at Alice, "You have a point. If they say the situation is different, they shouldn't send a warning comment about SAT."
Brune then closed the screen in his hologram and replaced it with a screen showing the times when all the comments were made, along with their history.
While Alice and Axel watched Brune, they went back to their respective tasks.
Not long after, Brune said, "Can you lend me your IDs? There's something I want to try."
"What IDs? What do you want to do?" Axel asked.
Meanwhile, Alice just looked at Brune without answering or asking.
"I want to see what happens if I really mess with SAT by activating special security protocols level 1 and level 2 with a 'prank' message. That way, the situation predicted by the second and third comments will actually happen."
"Are you crazy? That could be dangerous," Axel replied, approaching Brune.
"That's why I'll send you a second message, Axel. You have to call me and warn me before I come to the office."
"Leaving a trace and conducting an investigation. If your theory is correct, maybe in this timeline, you'll be kicked out of ReTecs," Axel replied with a smile. "I'll do it."
Brune then glanced at Alice.
Alice returned Brune's gaze, "No. If you do that alone, SAT might come after you."
"Don't be afraid of SAT, they might just ask a few questions. But once they know it's related to security, they'll actually be very helpful because they'll investigate the company's network thoroughly," Brune emphasized, "So, are you going to do it or not?"
Alice still stared at Brune, "Will you track it later?"
"Of course, I'll track it."
"You're up to something, aren't you?" Axel asked Brune.
"Of course," Brune looked at Axel and then Alice alternately, as if affirming to them to trust him.
"It's up to you all," said Alice.
Axel then wrote his comments as instructed by Brune and saved them.
Shortly after Axel saved his comments, each of their smartphones received a notification that a trial program would be executed without their presence.
Axel quickly checked his program, and it had indeed been run, he tried to stop it. Similarly, Brune used a different hologram. However, unfortunately before they could stop it, a power outage occurred, shutting down all things requiring electricity in the office, including the computers they were using.
Because of the procedure during a power outage that required all employees to leave until the power could return to normal, they just followed along.
Axel, Brune, and Alice left the room to quickly exit the building. Unfortunately, the door to exit Axel's department room was locked.
Axel, Brune, and Alice tried to find a way out.
In the middle of his search, Brune said with a smile, "It seems like the right time to activate it."
Alice and Axel just exchanged glances when Brune activated the special security protocol level 1 and level 2 with a 'prank' message in his report.
After writing the report, Brune then sent the report.
Within a few minutes, the medical team along with SAT came at their room and opened it.
As an emergency handling procedure, they were immediately given oxygen masks and taken to the ambulance.
However, strangely, Alice felt that the more she breathed in oxygen from the mask, the worse her vision became, and her head also felt increasingly dizzy but light.
Alice had a bad feeling as soon as she saw the SAT members staring at her.
It didn't take long for Alice to completely lose consciousness, precisely when she reached the base floor.
####