"Late on the first day," the voice sounded puzzled, "Very uncharacteristic of you."
"Yes, Mr. Haüyuber, I'm so sorry, this morning was just chaotic, my sons were being willful-" she tripped over her feet and her words simultaneously and clumsily tried to push the automatic door while holding the slender band on her wrist close to her mouth. It didn't matter – the technology was nearly flawless, "-and you know better than anyone, I hate excuses, but I'm about to catch the lift up now."
"See you this afternoon," he said cheerfully, and the call ended.
Harper selected her new floor; from thirty-three to seventy-two. A big jump, some people said, with a touch of envy in their voices. She folded her hands at her waist and let her arms hang loosely, trying to accumulate every ounce of calm and collected that she had. She'd fought for this job, and now it was hers, but she almost felt it didn't belong to her.
Almost.
She left the glass lift with confidence.
Once in the lab, she took a moment to briefly familiarize herself. It was lined with machines, most holding a strange brain-like being inside of medium-sized glass tanks. They would have been unsettling to look at if she hadn't known what they were. She noted there were large double doors leading to what looked like the warehouse where they were stored. All of the tanks were connected by thick cables, running to a central machine.
The vaulted ceilings and lengthy windows created a spacious, calming area with enough room and light for the various plants that had been planted and hung in every corner. In the back area next to the largest window was an exposed area of dirt where a surprisingly ample tree grew. Her branches grew out over their workspace, and a stray leaf had already made its way down to Harper. She gently placed the gift in her pocket.
The beauty of the lab was not surprising. Mother Terra provided for them, and in turn, they honored her.
She introduced herself to the two who were not late, and a third who burst in seconds after her.
"Harper," she said, sticking out a friendly hand, "Always nice to not be the latest."
The man took her hand firmly and shook it, then tried to smooth some of the bedhead, "Vaiko Carnerulea," he introduced himself with the charming smile his planet was known for, "No one told me we had a newbie today," he clicked his tongue in disappointment, "If I'd known there was someone to impress, I would have been later."
Harper laughed while she put away her small bag and simple coat in the clean white and chrome lockers. Once she had buttoned up the lab coat they had given her, she washed her hands and sterilized before donning a pair of provided gloves.
She approached the distinct machine in the middle of the room, familiar to her only from diagrams. Her fingers passed over several small and intricate mechanisms, without any labeling. It was dangerous machinery, and she knew the lack of apparent directions was to derail an unqualified individual from using it.
"Please don't-"
"Don't worry," she laughed again, settling the tension, "I'm only supposed to shadow for the first month," she paused, clearly debating a question, then deciding against it. Rookies weren't supposed to make their own shell for six months, but that was the part of this job she was anticipating the most, "I won't get in the way," she took a step away from the three and softly held her wrists behind her back, her heart racing, eager to see what a day in their life looked like.
The other woman and the only planet local, Portia Haüviridis, stepped forward, "We started the day by debriefing with our back-up drivers, which you-"
Vaiko interrupted, "Missed, yes, I did, too though so if you wouldn't mind…"
Annoyed, Portia brought up a holographic screen from the band around her wrist. Hers was a gentle gold with intricate carvings and barely visible, dark sapphire inlay. She maneuvered through several different menus before selecting a specific option and closing the entire screen, "There, now you can watch it later before you watch Souls have sex in Hemi."
The phrase sounded grotesque to Harper, and it showed because they all guffawed, "It's a joke," Vaiko said in between gasps, "Guys, come on, let's get going or we'll be here forever. Holy shit. Oh. I didn't know you were funny," he paused and stared at Harper, "You know I don't actually do that, right?"
Harper felt her face flush, and she brushed it off, turning her attention to Portia and Nirav.
Quiet Nirav Datopiceus approached the same machine Harper had and went through a series of specific tasks. There was a gratifying sound, then the four of them were enveloped in a mostly clear dome. At first, she saw nothing, then slowly a world appeared around them. Color seeped in and Harper suppressed a delighted gasp.
People walked around and through her, going about their day without seeing her. For a minute, she took in the surroundings. The first thing she noted was the lights. Flashing, bright, huge, look at me, look at this – BUY ME – was what it said. Each piece of new technology had a different banner on the street, the neon lights grabbing the eyes of all onlookers. She knitted her eyebrows and looked closer. Stacks of buildings, going into the sky, going on for what she knew was forever. A sprawling wasteland of metal.
"You still here?" Nirav prodded gently, "It can be overwhelming the first time."
"I'm… here," she said, then tried to chuckle. She knew she shouldn't have anticipated doing better than most, "Tell me about it."
He cleared his throat, "This is one small sector of what you know as 'Mirage', the simulation we all watch every day of our lives, even me, who hates it," he stammered awkwardly, clearly not meaning to divulge his distaste, "We can do detailed maintenance in this mode – it allows us to see but not be seen, and we can interact with code directly here," he selected the nearest trash can and its shape broke down to zeroes and ones. The man looked at it happily, like he probably never would at another person, "Souls can't sense us here in any way since we're not technically in their world, but if we were to drastically alter a code-" he used his fingers to swipe at the trash can code, and it suddenly burst into flames. The people, the Souls, around it, moved out of the way, or shouted, "-the surrounding area would respond to it."
Harper blinked, taking in the scene as people moved together to put out the fire. She noticed someone watching from a block away, not helping, but not scurrying away in guilt like the others who weren't participating. She used her wristband to snapshot the moment. Then her surroundings changed suddenly, the whole world moving around her while she stood still.
"Is it unusual that I feel sick?" she asked weakly, suddenly grabbing her mouth.
"Not at all," Vaiko quipped, quickly grabbing the closest wastebasket and handing it to her.
Harper took a deep breath to keep her breakfast down, but failed. She excused herself to the restroom while they carried on morning chores, and she returned feeling better. After apologizing, the three of them showed her their routine before lunch, and once they'd eaten, they let her explore different areas using the dome, which they called the Hemisphere, or, lovingly, Hemi.
The first thing she noted was as before, the advertising. Every inch of space had an ad, but it also didn't seem to bother the inhabitants that their entire eye space was covered. An upgrade for your appearance, a new heads-up-display update, a virtual reality suit that lets you feel, a fridge that never lets you go hungry! The mundane is exciting! Every day monotonies are taken care of by someone other than you! Harper winced against the neon and wondered what type of advertising would tempt her.
The second oddity was that nature only occurred in designated areas, and they were barely maintained. Nearly every person carried a small, inhaler-type mechanism that they occasionally breathed through. She saw that the device also tested for oxygen levels. She marked a few things down, then moved on to a new area.
Towards the end of the day, Nirav approached her.
"We saved the worst for last," he started with caution, his voice tight with anxiety, "Population control is one of the hardest parts of this job, and if you can't stomach it from the start, we'll need to reassign you," he spoke delicately and lowered his voice, "And that's okay."
Harper's heart dropped. On the first day?
There was a knock at the door, and the metal creaked open to reveal Mr. Boren Haüyuber, the large teddy bear of a man. He lumbered in happily and took the large seat in the corner next to a simple desk, "Good afternoon, Harper! It looks like it's been a good day," he said while pulling up a holographic spreadsheet. He scrolled through it and nodded contentedly before waving his hand at them, "Don't mind me."
Portia approached Hemi's center and typed in specific coordinates. Harper saw that the document on Mr. Boren's screen had changed to a list of statistics which Portia also had in front of her. She began to read them off, then added her own words at the end, "In the beginning, the population maintained itself, but as the Soul’s technology grew, so did their average lifespan. We’ve found that in order to maintain fluidity, we must control the population in a natural way. There is a small sea suburb that's physical upkeep has been lacking for years. It's falling apart, and for the past month, Vaiko has worked inside the Hemisphere to bring on its collapse," she looked at Harper, "I'm sure you know, but the floods created a need for more territory. The Souls were living in shacks, or not living anywhere at all. We sent our lead engineer's shell in to push building homes under the ocean. It was difficult at first and there were a lot of causalities, but for us, it was natural population-"
"Okay, that's good, great, let's get on with it, shall we, please?" His tone and face barely matched his words, and Harper struggled to determine his mood. She stood outside of the Hemisphere, watching intently.
Vaiko had disappeared, and now Harper saw him inside the simulation. He walked casually, not interacting with any of his surroundings. Behind him, there was a long dock, with signs flashing over it indicating that 'if you lived here, you'd be home by now!'. At the end of the dock, there was an elevator taking residents down to their underwater paradise.
Before she could see anything else, there was terrified screaming. A specific scream, one Harper had never heard before, one so full of pain and horror that she clutched at her chest. Mr. Boren glanced at her.
In the Hemisphere, she could see the Souls reacting chaotically. They were never graceful in these moments. There were helicopters and sirens, machinery on the water trying to pull up survivors. Men were diving into the water without gear and coming up dead. Women were crying for their babies at the edge of the water. One woman dove down over and over again, shrieking in despair.
Harper's heart burst with empathy, but she made no move to show it. None of it is real, she repeated to herself, reaching into her pocket and thumbing the leaf, we made this. We made everything. Without us, they wouldn't exist.
Finally, it was over, and the Hemisphere powered down automatically. Harper blinked and felt wetness on her cheek, "I'm sorry," she said quietly, "Am I disqualified?"
Mr. Boren burst into laughter. It sounded sinful after what they had witnessed, "The opposite! If you’d shown no heart, then you would’ve been ruled out," he stood and his heavy frame walked to her, patted her so hard on the back she squeaked, then left. His presence left a void.
She walked numbly to her locker, and when she closed it, Portia was standing on the other side.
"Don't pity me," Harper snapped, "I can see it on your face."
Portia shrugged, "Sorry," there was a heavy pause, and Harper could feel herself getting sick again. Maybe this wasn't her calling. She tried to focus on what Portia was saying, "-if you want to come."
"What?"
"We're getting drinks. Wanna come?"
"That's okay. Maybe next time."
Izurich