6 The Apple of Knowledge

"So, let me get this straight," Linus begins while looking directly at Michael. "This guy. I mean this kid, who called himself God, tells you that if you don't get everyone to play your game, he is going to take your soul?"

"Not a God, and more or less," Michael answered. It wasn't everyone, but it was close enough. And he wasn't going to debate about the existence of a soul with his best friend either, as that would be a waste of time. "And if I refuse, Deus will send those things to Earth. Or start a zombie apocalypse. I'm really not sure which one he was serious about."

"Those things. You mean the Reapers?" Linus questioned and tilted his head towards the large poster hanging there on the wall.

Michael leered at the poster and nodded repeatedly. "Yeah… I think so. They look the same. Kind of… probably. Look. I know how crazy I must have sounded, but I have to talk to someone, anyone. You're like the first person I run into."

"Crazy? No. No. No. You are perfectly sane. Anyway, the first thing we need to do now is to notify the System Alliance about an incoming interstellar threat. Oh, I think I need to somehow give the Citadel a call to stop all traffics between the Mass Relays," Linus said before hammering his fist into his palm.

"I almost forgot Shepard! We need Shepard! He, she, it will know what to do!" Linus added.

"This is fucking serious!"

"I am serious too," Linus retorted and picked up the apple. He examined it brief. "Looks like a normal apple to me. If you fall into a deep sleep after a bite, I'm not kissing you."

"Who the fuck would want you to?" Michael shouted, getting the reference immediately. "Dude. This is serious. Fucking serious. I mean it. I am not making this shit up."

"Okay. Okay. Calm down. Just take a good rest, man. No need to get agitated since God, Deus, or what ever that kid is did tell you that there will be some sort of grace period, so if I were you, I will just relax and take it easy," Linus advised and dropped the apple onto the table.

Linus then fixed his suit and checked his briefcase, making sure everything was there. "I found a good job. Got an interview this afternoon. They mention that they needed a lot of people for a multi-million dollars project. Would be great if you could apply as well. You're a terrific programmer when you really put your mind into it, but enough of these crazy talks. They might think I'm crazy at well."

Michael frowned since his best friend did not believe him. Honestly, who would in this circumstance, as it did seem like a dream. Of course, Michael could not explain the existence of the apple. How was it even here?

Linus headed off afterwards, and when Linus was gone, Michael decided to take the advice. A nap did clear his mind, but the apple did not disappear.

It was still there, sitting on the table, reminding Michael of what happened. It could have been a dream or a hallucination, and the apple could be just a coincidence. Someone might have forgotten it in the office.

"Maybe I am thinking too much about this," Michael muttered and decided to leave that problem for another time. He had a lot of work to do. Things to pack. Debts to pay.

Thus, for the rest of the day, Michael backed up all the data for safe keeping. It was his life work, and it would not be right to discard them. Perhaps one day, he would be able to resume his vision. Sadly, that day seemed far away.

"You want to be a God," a voice echoed in his mind, causing him to flinch. He shook his head and told himself that he was not insane. He had no allusion of megalomania.

Michael continued to pack things up, disconnecting all the networks and shutting down the server. All the computers and hardware would be sold off at an auction to recoup whatever money to repay the bills.

Once everything of value was packed up and readied to be shipped away, Michael looked at the shiny red apple sitting there on the table for a long moment before taking it with him as well.

Leaving the apple in the office for it to rot wasn't a good thing, and whoever lease the office next will not like that one bit.

But strangely, the apple didn't rot. It remained fresh for weeks on end as reminder to Michael that he did see all of that. It wasn't a dream. Not a dream.