496 The Flood, Ch. 11


Chapter Eleven

"Good morning Mr. Dale," said the security bot by the elevators. "How are you today sir? It's been a while."

"C-suites," is all I said. Bots are programmed to be courteous, small talk and all of that. But there's really no reason to return the favor. The express elevator to the 49th floor dinged open, and Princess led the way inside. When I stepped in, Dozer refused to follow.

"Come on buddy," I tried coaxing him. "It's just an elevator."

He didn't move. 

Reaching into my pocket, I tried to fake him into thinking I had treats. That didn't work, either.

"Ok then, where do you want to go?"

---

We wound up taking the stairs, twenty flights of them, up to our top role player floor. The higher we got, the harder Dozer pulled, and the more I felt out of breath. That was a big question when we were planning the simulation, what kind of strength to give people. If we were all super human, with unreal power, how real would this world feel? 

To go without death is one thing, but to have zero consequences? That didn't seem enjoyable either. Figuring this balance out was one of the things we were testing for in the tanks with our volunteer students. 

In the end, we decided to start with baseline performance at their normal peak fitness. For me, that was when I was about thirty five, before I got sick. 

But to enhance my performance, I need to work out just like anyone else, day by day increasing my strength. Instead I've been more focused on my mental preoccupation: how to get out of here. Or at least connect with the real world and see what on Earth I have been missing.

"Doesn't anybody work here anymore?" I asked the empty hallway. 

A bot poked it's head out of a lab, "Yes sir, Mr. Dale."

"Any humans?"

"WFH," was the reply.

"Everyone?" I could believe it, but I didn't want to. "They're all working from home?"

"I'm here, sir," the bot replied sheepishly. "How can I help you?"

"We're just taking a walk," I nodded at the dogs. "You can go back to work."

"Thank you, sir," the bot disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.

---

Dozer pulled me into the lab at the end of the hall. This corner office was reserved for our top team, the Sonia Red squad. We really hit a home run with that product, I'll tell you. Sonia Red and her spinoffs are probably still paying to keep the lights on for me.

Although the way the simulation was degrading, first our apartment building emptying out, and now the whole city, it seemed like someone out in the real world was cutting corners. If my guess was true, General Digital was running more simulations on the same server as mine. 

This is one of the complaints I would like known to the current management of GD, whoever that might be. My best guess is I'm dead, and the new board has conveniently forgotten some key language in our corporate mission, namely, keep your founder, CEO, and chairman of the board... Me... happy. 












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