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 Axel.
Axel was a guy quite short but filled with muscle rather than fat, especially in his arms. His hair is black, but anyone can see a few gray hairs on his head, and his eyebrows are thin and black.
He might be interesting to some people, but the outfit he always wears seem to suggest he never changes them. Not because he never changes his outfit, but it's always the same outfit.
Axel is a pretty smart guy, proven by his achievements like getting through the tough ReTecs selection with the highest score. He's also got experience working at ReTecs on various big projects.
His programming skills are like, no question about it. In fact, all the ReTecs employee have the list of the top 10 developers, and Axel's chilling at number three. However, it aligns with the risk Axel takes by not getting enough rest since he always has to monitor the program he's working on.
Working at one of the world's biggest tech companies is surely Axel's dream, considering his passion for all things tech. Furthermore, being able to join the Project of Advanced Gaming Alternate Reality, or PAGAR, as the Lead Developer is a source of pride and a great honor for Axel.
###
His rare good sleep got disrupted by Frank —his assistant— calling about their program receiving error code and a security warning code level 2 from SIS-PAGAR. Knowing that level 2 security warnings code only happen if most of the source code is messed up or has errors. so, it's an emergency.
Without needing to shower or have breakfast, Axel quickly rushes to his office, which is not far from his sleeping place. As a good developer, Axel has to make sure he's always on standby all the time. That's why he often sleeps in his office or in one of the office rooms, and occasionally stays in a hotel located about a ten-minute walk from the office.
Upon arriving at the office, Axel heads straight to his room and then to his desk. Every time, he never forgets the step-by-step process he needs to follow. People often call him a robot because he is extremely organized; it's impossible for him to miss a single step in his routine.
After arriving at his desk, he always opens the drawer first and grabs a box of 'CanCoff' candies with coffee and lemon flavor, his favorite. He munches on some of those candies before starting work, he believes it helps shake off sleepiness and keeps him focused on the tasks. Not scientifically proven, but at least it works for Axel.
After freshening up with the help of that candy, Axel quickly tackled his error program. His experience and skills might be on par with three other senior developers.
Because it doesn't take him long to spot the issues in each department's program, he immediately tells all his department members to fix those problems in detail so it doesn't leave confusion among them.
This is what makes him liked by his team. Axel is quick and can swiftly spot the source of issues, think of solutions, and explain them in detail for them to execute promptly.
After finishing giving instructions and guidance, Axel then goes back to his own program and starts fixing it. The error code displayed on the program can disappear in just a short while, and the security warning code level 2 quickly turns off once Axel finishes fixing his program.
However, his tasks don't stop there. There's something Frank missed when informing him about the issues in the program. Well, it's not a problem for now since this part of the program won't be run yet, but later when the entire program runs, it's gonna be a big issue. That's why Axel fixes it.
Axel realized that there was something odd about it. A program typically consists of a line of commands, known as syntax, made up of several characters to execute a specific function. However, what Axel found was just random characters that didn't represent any syntax in any programming language at all.
And it gets weirder because Axel is confident that he's a structured person and unlikely to input random characters that could cause errors in his program. Some random characters might accidentally slip in due to human error, but this time, there are way more characters than usual.
Axel carefully looks to see if there's a chance of a specific password, code, or sign in that random set of characters, but unfortunately, no. The random characters just spell out 'sdghjkl;TAY5SFYHIK'auewsfnl;'.
Axel intended to delete it, but because there's one more person who has access to his computer, which is Brune as his boss, he left it for now until he can get confirmation from Brune. Finally, he decided to head to the cafeteria because his stomach was starting to demand food.
###
Axel only grabs simple food like a sandwich and a bottle of soda, and, of course, he doesn't forget to buy his favorite candy as a backup.
Axel is a practical person; he only eats food for the energy, not for enjoying the taste. So, he quickly finishes the sandwich and soda he grabbed.
After getting his energy back, Axel goes to the lobby to check if Brune has arrived or not.
###
Upon arriving in the lobby, Axel noticed that Alice had just arrived at the office. Without much thought, Axel approached her and offered his favorite candy, even though he knew Alice didn't like it. 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 tell Brune to meet me in my office soon? I think I found something strange."
Alice looked at Axel's face and asked, "Sure, but is it urgent?"
"Not really. But at least he should meet me today."
"Okay, I'll pass it on."
Axel once again offered his favorite candy to Alice, but Alice still refused it for the hundredth time.
Refused, Axel left. Meanwhile, Alice was still waiting for Brune.
###
Notifications on his smartphone pop up, saying that the program he ran went smoothly without any errors. Axel gets this message quite often, usually just on the first run of the program. His incredible attention to detail and understanding of programming truly impress many people.
Axel quickly picks up his pace toward his office. As he passes through his department room, he gathers the attention of all his department members and asks about their progress.
Unlike Axel, they are way slower, but it doesn't mean they can't work or are bad at it. Actually, all members of his department are top graduates and experts in their own fields, proven by their performance being ahead of other developers in different divisions or companies. However, it still doesn't match Axel's skills, which are way superior compared to all of them.
Because Axel's next program can't run if his department's program isn't finished yet, Axel finally decides to help them.
Indeed, the skills of his department members are unquestionable, but it doesn't mean they all really love their jobs like Axel does. Each person's motivation varies. Some are motivated just to learn from their jobs, some are motivated just to make money from their jobs. Some intend to do their jobs seriously, some intend to be lazy.
So, they all already know about Axel's behavior because of his stiff routines and personality, and this causes some members of his department to intentionally not do their works or just laze around, waiting for Axel to help with their works.
Axel would surely complain about this, but because of the secrecy of this project, it'll be really tough to find a replacement, especially if there's a chance that information might leak from those who are replaced.
After Axel finishes helping, he quickly goes back to his office and starts fixing his own program.
Just like before, it didn't take Axel long to realize the main issue, find a solution, and, of course, fix it right away.
While busily fixing things by tapping the screen and using a holo-keyboard, while glancing at various holograms around him, Alice suddenly entered the room.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
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 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, there's some weirdness I can't explain for sure, so I need Brune to make sure," Axel explained.
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."
After fixing the program successfully and Axel went back to his department room to make sure all the programs his team was working on had also been finished, Axel then told them to run it.
And the program runs perfectly. So, the next task is to code the next program.
Axel goes back to his program and he sees something strange.
The program did run successfully, but SIS-PAGAR gave it a security warning code at level 3. This warning usually happens if the entire program has some issues like errors or is missing.
Axel then double-checks all the programs that he and his department members have worked on. Axel is quite meticulous, so it takes a bit of time, but even with his attention to detail and the time given, Axel still doesn't find any errors in the program.
"This is really weird," thought Axel.
If there's no error in the program, then it's impossible for SIS-PAGAR to issue a security warning code at level 3 unless the only thing that could make it happen is an error in SIS-PAGAR.
Axel then goes through every line of code in the SIS-PAGAR program that he can access. As the Lead Developer, Axel is certainly involved in building SIS-PAGAR, but his position isn't high enough to get full access, which is only granted to Brune and their top leaders.
Attention to detail behavior plays a crucial role in this search, but even the most meticulous person can get messed up if disrupted by external factors. Just like what happened to Axel, who was concentrating on examining the SIS-PAGAR programming code but got interrupted by Brune, just as Alice did earlier, appearing out of the blue.
Since Brune has arrived, Axel took a break from looking for SIS-PAGAR errors —if any— and started chatting with Brune.
"Finally, you're here. Come quickly," said Axel, closing the SIS-PAGAR hologram program.
Brune observed what Axel was doing and asked, "Are you working on SIS-PAGAR? What's happening?"
Axel opened a few new holograms with his programs. "Later. Let's go one by one, starting from the beginning."
"Okay. What do you have?" Brune agreed and approached Axel, checking out the lines of code in Axel's program.
"You can see the code, right? Everything is fine, all the syntax is also right, nothing strange except," Axel pressed and swiped his hologram, zooming in on the hologram to show it to Brune, "This random character. Strangely, it's not a comment but code, and you know me. I wouldn't write that. So, is this you?"
Brune looks at the hologram, and there are clearly random characters displayed 'sdghjkl;TAY5SFYHIK'auewsfnl;'. Those random characters obviously aren't syntax and make no sense at all. Brune and Axel are well aware of that.
"Are you sure it's not you who typed this?" Brune asked Axel.
"Of course. This character is so random."
"Have you checked the security? Maybe someone's trying to hack into it."
Axel opens a few more holograms, "About security, I'm puzzled too. The entire program has been completed and run successfully without any errors whatsoever. But SIS-PAGAR is giving us a code 3."
"How about the trial program? Is it safe and ready to run?" Brune asked while looking at the lines of code in SIS-PAGAR program.
"Safe. The trial can be carried out soon."
"Alright. Did you check the code earlier?" Brune asked, pointing to the SIS-PAGAR program hologram. "Did you find anything?"
"Nope. You got in too quickly. Did you spot the error?"
"Nope. Not at the moment, at least. Just do this, since the program has to keep going, make that random character a comment. It shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Alright. Do you want to add something to the comment?"
"No, just give my ID, so I know it's commanded by me."
"Alright." Axel then turned those random characters into a comment and gave Brune's ID to the comment.
Meanwhile, Brune looks around, especially at the SIS-PAGAR program hologram.
"Have you made a duplicate of the source code?" Brune asked.
"Yeah, of course, just to be safe. Isn't that written in the SOP?"
"Indeed, but how many duplicates did you make?"
"Only one. One that's original, and one that's a copy." Axel then looked in the direction Brune was looking.
Axel found a bunch of duplicate files of the source code he's working on. It got him thinking similar thoughts to what Brune was thinking.
"Then, why are there hundreds?"
"I don't know either. Is this an error?"
"Maybe, but maybe not. Let's bring Alice into this, she's got a secure communication channel we can use."
"Alright, I'll close it all."
"Don't forget about the comments, they might be clues for us next time."
"Already done."
After Axel finishes closing all the programs, he then locks those programs, as well as the trial programs.
Then, the two of them go to meet Alice.
###
"Have you contacted her?" Axel asked.
"No need, let's just meet her. She's taking care of the kids, you might get some insights on how she handles your future kids."
"Come on... don't always be like that. She doesn't like it, you know that."
"It's not about her disliking it, it's about your stiff behavior, and she also doesn't like your weird favorite candy. Why do you always eat it?"
"Wanna try? I've got some," Axel offered, handing his favorite candy to Brune.
Brune declined, saying, "I've had enough of that candy, my candy-eating days are over."
"Good for you. But, by the way, do you like your days these days?"
"It's quite enjoyable if you can adapt, but I doubt you can," Brune glanced at Axel briefly, "You know, you're a genius, much smarter than me. So, don't waste your genius on something statics, try something new."
"Sounds challenging for me..." Axel smiled and chuckled, "The statics are already troublesome."
###
Brune and Axel have arrived at the place where Alice is explaining something to a group of students.
"How?" Brune asked, starting a conversation with Axel while they observed Alice.
"How, what?"
"Alice. What do you think of her teaching style?"
"I don't know... I've never taught before," Axel replied, munching on some of his favorite candies. "By the way, why did you invite her?"
"The secure communication channel. Didn't I tell you?"
"Yeah, but I mean, what do you mean by a secure communication channel?"
"SIS-PAGAR is built by every department head, including you and Alice. However, I instructed Alice to create a secret communication channel known only to me and her, and to access it, I need Alice."
"You sound like you've planned everything."
"Indeed. Your attention shouldn't stop at one point, you have to consider all possibilities."
"But aren't you overwhelmed? Thinking about all the events and possibilities that are uncertain?"
"What's the point of AI if you have to remember everything."
Alice glanced at both of them and seemed to give instructions to the group of students she was teaching to end the session.
Brune looked at Axel, and so did Axel. "If you want to get close to her, try leading and show that you're not as stiff as she thinks."
Axel just stared at Brune and didn't say anything, except for moving his body slightly as if he was uncomfortable and nervous.
"Relax. By the way, I'll take you to the director's room on underfloor 3, a safe room for us to talk. That's the information you need if Alice asks," Brune continued while patting Axel's back to reassure him.
Axel ate more of his candies, this time in large quantities.
"What's up?" Alice asked as she approached Axel and Brune.
"Please come with me," Axel ordered.
"Axel wants to explain something about the weird things he's encountered," Brune replied.
"So, why not explain it here? Where are we going?" asked Alice, following them.
"A special room, you don't need to know its name," Brune answered.
"A room without any spying devices," Axel added, glancing at Alice.
Alice immediately understood Axel's words. The information Axel was about to share was confidential. Realizing all this, Alice fell silent.
###
The three of them went down from the base floor to underfloor 3, a floor specifically designated for exchanging highly confidential information, accessible only to Brune among the three of them.
Then, they entered a room that also required access available only to Brune. After getting in, they made sure the room's security was tight.
Once they were sure, Axel got straight to the point, saying, "Okay, let's to the point. The weird thing I'm talking about is the record of duplicated source code data and a security warning code level 3 from SIS-PAGAR. And, the weirdest part is the random character sequence in the main program of PAGAR that I have no idea who inputted."
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.
Brune repeatedly asked Axel several questions to ensure he wasn't mistaken or misinterpreting things.
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."
"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 discussion, each of their smartphones received a notification that a trial program would be executed without their presence.
Brune hurriedly went out because he wanted to make sure why the trial program could run without them. Axel and Alice followed.
However, when they tried to open the door, a power outage occurred, shutting down all things requiring electricity in the office, including the door to the room they were in at that moment.
Axel knew for sure about the electrical system and the program to control it, so he knew if they didn't have enough oxygen for long, and that made him panic.
Meanwhile, Alice tried to comfort Axel in various ways, including the most common way by advising him until Alice hugged Axel tightly, kissed his cheek, and slipped Axel's favorite candy into his mouth.
Brune stayed quiet, but his mind was not idle, as evidenced by his quick action to activate special security protocol level 1, signaling the security division about them being trapped.
After activating the level 1 special security protocol. 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, Axel, who already trusted the medical team and the SAT, just gave in and stayed silent when he slowly but surely lost consciousness.
It didn't take long for Axel to completely lose consciousness, precisely when they reached the base floor.
####