*DING!* The toast popped, announcing the end of its toasting cycle. He slathered a generous amount of butter on the two slices of golden-brown toast, letting it melt into the crispy surface. The only thing missing was the coffee – one of Brian’s six passions.
Brian savored the aroma of the light roast Ethiopian beans—his favorite blend. Seeing his reflection in the stainless steel grinder, he measured the perfect amount of beans. With a loud hum, the machine transformed them into coarse, fragrant grinds, redolent of caramel, nuts, and chocolate in seconds.
The espresso machine was up next, a chromatic behemoth that always delivered the ideal cup. He filled the portafilter with the ground coffee, pressing it just right. Water heated to precisely 200 degrees Fahrenheit cascaded over the coffee, extracting the essence. A thin, rich stream flowed from the machine, filling the cup with dark, steaming nectar. Brian savored his creation—his masterpiece—a perfect cup of coffee.
For precisely eight minutes, his fingers danced across his smartphone, dispatching personal emails and instant messages. Finishing off his last sip, he donned his work attire, filled his backpack, and headed to the door.
"Fuck it, another cup of coffee wouldn't hurt," he mused, preparing one more steaming cup for his drive to work.
He put on his Japanese audio lessons and drove off.
Before he knew it, he was pulling into the parking lot. 'God, I love short commutes,' he thought. His brief drive to work was no accident; it was by design.
He saw no drawbacks to starting the day early. Being the first one in the office, he enjoyed peace and quiet, and leaving early granted him a lengthy afternoon for himself. Sure, his early departure resulted in an afternoon work pile-up from his colleagues who weren't early birds, but that was a small price to pay. It allowed him to avoid much of the small talk—a performance he could do without. For some reason, his coworkers were infatuated with discussing the weather every day.
On the way, he'd swing by the breakroom to get the coffee started for his colleagues. It wouldn't compare to the meticulously crafted blend from his home setup, but he made it a point to prepare something decent nonetheless.
Having completed his coffee duties, he navigated towards his cubicle and settled down in front of his computer screen, ready to unveil the previous day's work pileup.
"Good morning, Brian! Nice weather we had this morning, huh?" said John, craning his head over the cubicle wall.
Brian, startled, forced a smile and replied, "Yeah, it's been a good day so far. You're here early too, aren't you?"
"Yep! I've got some system analysis reports to finish for our three PM meeting," John explained, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Gotta make sure I don't miss that deadline."
"Sounds… Astronomically unpleasant. Better get on it then," Brian suggested, trying not to sound too dismissive. He didn't mind John as a person – he was genuine and kind, and he respected that – but they didn't have anything in common. And Brian valued a few meaningful friendships over a sea of uninvested acquaintances.
"True, true," John agreed, before changing the subject. "So how was Aikido last night? You must be sore."
"Wouldn't you know it," Brian replied, massaging his thigh with one hand. Deep down, his achy muscles were a twisted badge of honor, evidence that he had truly pushed himself. Aikido was just a fraction of his routine. His soreness was a collective result of weight lifting, and heart-pounding cardio. The previous night had been leg day—squats, lunges, and deadlifts, the holy trinity of painful exercises.
"Are you a black belt?" John asked, genuinely curious.
"Ah, no," Brian replied, chuckling softly. "My dojo only has white and black belts, and I only recently started. So it’ll be a while.” Aikido was fun, the whole idea of using an opponent's energy against them fascinated Brian.
"Oh, well, keep at it!" John encouraged before walking away and adding, "You know, it's really peaceful talking and working with you in the mornings. Maybe I’ll start coming in early like you."
Brian exhaled, defeated, feeling the morning calm disintegrate with each passing second. Brian shook his head then leaned in, whispering, “okay, just don’t tell anyone else.”
“You got it buddy! Anyhow, I’ll leave you to it.”
Thereafter, Brian blazed through his morning tasks. A good hour went by and his colleagues started to fill the office, which meant that it was time for his 15-minute break. It was strategically timed with the influx of his coworkers to avoid chitchat. As he stood up, securing his phone and earbuds, he heard the frantic, high-pitched tone of Max's distinct voice heading in his direction.
"Hey, hey, hey. John, Brian. Did you catch the news? Now it's irrefutable! They found a DNA sequence that matches earlier evidence of those shapeshifting reptilians. I've been saying it all along - these aliens control Earth by disguising themselves as humans and gaining political power. There are reptilians among many of our world leaders."
Correction, Brian and John had one thing in common: neither of them could stand Max when he started rambling about his conspiracy theories.
John sighed and replied slowly and softly. “For the love of God, Max. Not again with the conspiracies… You know, there's nothing wrong with following them, but stop trying to persuade others into believing them.”
“Especially, if you’re not even interested in listening when people try to explain why they might be wrong. Also, I’m sorry to say, but that… I forgot the name… Youtube channel is not the news,” Brian added.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“I’m only warning you. When you finally realize it it’ll be too late,” Max said.
Brian turned to John. “Well, this is my cue to go on my break. Take it easy, Max.”
During his break, Brian would walk a lap around the building to keep his blood flowing. The chilly morning air ensured that he didn't break into a sweat.
Brian stepped back into the office. With a mental sigh, he prepared to walk past accounting. There, amidst the rows of desks, sat Sophia – an extremely attractive woman who had caught his eye since day one. His breath caught in his chest. He'd never spoken to her, lacking both the courage and a valid excuse to approach her. I wish I could talk to her without sounding like a moron, he thought, stealing a quick glance before continuing on.
He pushed the elevator down button, and in mere seconds he was inside and en route to the basement. "Hold it!" a strained voice called. Raising his arm quickly, Brian stopped the elevator doors just before they closed.
"Hey John, are you heading to the 'Frankenstein lab' as well?" That's what they called it, a silly joke because all their engineering equipment was down there and it had a somewhat depressing atmosphere. Even so, Brian didn’t mind as it was a place where silent minds could focus.
"Um, yeah, but I only need to pick up a few papers. Are you going to continue working on your project?"
"Yeah," Brian replied, a little too excitedly.
Brian hunched over an organized workbench – circuit boards, multimeters, soldering tools, blueprints, copper wire, and silicon chips all had their designated space.
After placing a circuit diagram riddled with complex equations in front of him, he grabbed a soldering iron and set to work on an unfinished circuit board. A world of logic that made sense to him, where every connection had a purpose and every route was predetermined. These circuits didn't judge him. They simply existed to be understood, and Brian was damn good at understanding them.
There was a problem in the circuit – a logic gate misbehaving. His mind quickly scanned the entire circuit, this is no better than an automated Rolodex… He swiftly discarded options. A faulty transistor? No he replaced that. A Programming error? He’s triple-checked the code. Another glance up and down the circuit made his gaze land on the microchip that’s been running hot.
Lifting a pair of tweezers, Brian carefully extracted the offending chip and replaced it with a cooler-running model. Next, he fetched a roll of copper wire and weaved it into a new path that offered less resistance.
After another hour of work, Brian finally flipped the switch on the power supply. The LEDs flickered like a miniature city at night; the system functioned harmoniously. Electrifying!
Satisfied, Brian cleaned his workspace while sketching the next phase of the project in his mind. After his station was in order he went up the elevator and headed toward his desk.
Once he reached the engineering department he became a ninja. Like a shadow he moved silently and deliberately through the maze of cubicles. His steps were careful and inaudible, only the click and clack of keyboards was clearly discernible, any small sound would give away his presence.
Slipping into his chair, he opened his lunchbox and pulled out some hummus to snack on.
The chair in the adjacent cubicle squeaked. "Hey, Brian," John's voice came from above while his head slowly creeped over the cubicle wall. The suddenness of it almost made Brian drop his pita bread. "How's your project coming along?"
"Jesus, John. You trying to give me a heart attack?" Brian asked, trying to sound lighthearted as he steadied his hand.
"Sorry about that," John said with a chuckle.
"Almost done testing the new chip," Brian replied. "It looks promising."
"Oh that's great," John said. “Well, I finished my reports, but I am starving. Wanna grab something to eat?”
"Thanks, but I just had a quick snack, so I can finish up the manual. I might be able to present my project at three. But I’m glad you finished your reports,"
"Thanks," John responded, seemingly pleased with himself. "You know, you're always so confident and clear when presenting your projects to the board. Keep up the good work!" With that, he retreated back into his cubicle.
Brian smirked inwardly, thinking about how much practice he put into his presentations – five hours of preparation and rehearsal to boost his confidence for a mere ten-minute spiel. It’s not like he didn’t know how to navigate a crowd, but he preferred the quiet corners of his own mind.
Once the last remnants of creamy hummus were gone, he, with a sense of reluctance, opened the email from his boss waiting in his inbox. Brian loved hands-on work, but reviewing data reports felt like a chore. His boss would send them periodically, and they ate a good hour.
Brian’s eyes skimmed over the spreadsheet on his computer screen, the endless columns of numbers started to blur and the occasional yawn sure didn’t help. "Line 27... or is it 28?"
Without realizing it, the rhythmic office clatter and muted conversations faded into a soft hum in his ears. His gaze wandered to the clock in the corner of the screen – 11:33 AM.
The LED lights overhead felt like trucks running over his eyelids. With a sigh, he slouched a bit in his chair, resting his elbow on the desk and cradling his chin in his hand. He found himself reading the same line of data over and over. His mouse moved involuntarily, and he accidentally clicked on another window. He lost consciousness momentarily, but promptly came back when his head dipped uncomfortably.
And then he let his eyelids slide shut for a quick moment…
*The Valtite System is compatible with the host.
*Commencing frequency synchronization sequence.
*Synchronizing with the host.
[Valtite System Status: 0/3]
Ability Acquired: [Valtite Resilience (Latent)] – Empowers the user to endure the environment of Valteria. Adaptation to various atmospheres, temperature fluctuations, and increased resistance to valtite energy becomes second nature with this ability.
Ability Acquired: [Valtite Linguistics (Latent)] – Grants the ability to communicate with all species within the Valteria universe, bypassing language barriers and facilitating interspecies dialogue.
Ability Acquired: [Valtite Identification (Latent)] – Enhances the user's comprehension of valtite energy signatures, facilitating the detection, location, and understanding of their nature and spatial distribution.
Catastrophic Event Detected, ‘The Calamity’. Tracking Event.
Time Until Event: 4 Cycles, 4 Tetrads, 6 Lums, 26 Sols, 53 Minutiae, and 53 Nivosecs
Chance of Occurrence: 97%