Chapter 2 - The Calm Before The Storm

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"5,048,125,374,258 days recorded."

"Basic simulation concluded."

"Sufficient data collected."

"Begining alpha protocol."

"Initiating pre-recorded introduction version 0.0.1."

"All subjects on standby."

***

Once those words rang out, everything crawled to a standstill. In front of me was Thea, who stood there equally baffled and confused as our eyes lingered.

I could see it in her eyes, I knew there was something she wanted to say. Compared to what I had been through, and the terror I had gone through moments ago, Thea's eyes contained genuine horror.

Worse was when I tried to reach out toward her or try my best to say some corny lines I would rip off of movies and television which I watched. It was then, I realized no matter how much I tried, my body refused to move.

"@#$!#$ #!@&*$ (%^% $#@*U&$#@ #@$#@%." A voice suddenly interrupted.

Everything went silent a moment as bizarre beep and boop continued in its place. The incoherence only intensified as the beep and boop never stopped, it went back and forth, until, eventually, those beeps and boop sound just like another language to me.

"I told you to turn off multi-languages setting..."

"Boss, you told me to make it realistic and I did."

"Not that realistic, you atom head. Now, we have to turn on the translater... Is that thing even on yet?"

"It on, boss."

"Good."

With a screak of a microphone almost shattering our eardrum, the voice continued, "Can you hear me now?"

It was ethereal and cosmic. It echoed in my mind, yet, it was not a language I had heard of. Even so, somehow, it was easier to understand than the language I had been speaking for all of my life.

"I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience I might have caused. Employees, you know... They never get anything right," The voice sighed, "Anyway, there is plenty of things I need to inform all of you."

"I know, I know. What is going on? Who are you? Why can't we move? Why can't we talk? Why can I understand you? I am sure trillions and quintillions of you had plenty of questions to ask. And all of it is complex and difficult to answer. So, I will start with the basics.

"It had been roughly 13.8 billion years, gives or takes a few hundred million, that's for you. But for us, it had only been a few months. A few exhausting months. Nevertheless, it was enough for a hundred simulations of advanced intelligence in different settings to grow and prosper.

"So, it is time for us to continue to our next phase of testing. I know. I know. Testing? Is it humane? Blah blah blah. All you need to know is, for most of you, nothing is going to change. You will get to live your life.

"But, for a few millions of you, it going to get a bit... hectic. It's all random, so you don't have to worry. So, take your time, do what you were doing. While I handled everything on my side, okay?

"I looked toward our achievement."

Then, everything came to life. The noises returned to the city, even the wind began to blow again. However, it did not last long before everything turned into anarchy. It was like every part of the city simultaneously erupted. As the screams filled the once cheerful city.

However, at that moment, neither did Thea nor me move our gaze away from each other. We stood there motionlessly, but even so, the confidence in her eyes was so infectious, I could not help but feel a little bit better.

"So... Um... You want to come over?" I asked subconsciously.

With a nod, Thea bolted out of her door and I headed toward mine. Soon, a knock came from the other side and my heart skipped a beat. It was even clearer the moment I turned that doorknob, I could feel my legs jelly up.

Even so, I gritted my teeth and swung the door open.

And there Thea was, standing in front of my door with an awkward expression on her face. I subconsciously looked up to meet her eyes and boys, how they radiated. It was so mesmerizing, I almost lost myself in them.

"We are standing here all night?" Thea asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah... Come in. Come in."

"I am not saying this in a bad way, but I never know how plain your flat is," Thea said the moment she stepped through the door, as she walked around.

"Plain?" I said as my eyes followed her. And it was as she said, the empty wall with nothing decorated on them, the living which only had the tv and its stands, a coffee table and a really old couch which I brought from a yard sale. "That bad, huh?"

"No, no. I didn't mean it that way. What I mean is that it's you."

"That's not much comforting, knowing my neighbor thinks that I am plain," I said with a chuckle.

"Don't get me wrong, yes, you are plain, but you are warm," Thea said before dropping onto the couch. "For an old couch, it is surprisingly comfortable. I still can't believe you went all the way to New York just to get this couch."

"It was cheap. like really cheap," I, too, sitting quietly on the couch.

Seconds ticked by, yet we did not say a word to each other, there were only a few glances between the two of us.

"So... Are we going to talk about what just happened?"

"I don't even know if I wanted to, Conrad," Thea pushed me toward the other end of the couch and proceed to lay her head on my thigh. "Even if I did, I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"How about starting with your tattoo?"

"I was saying I would show you my tattoo, didn't I?" Thea said as her face turned slightly red.

"What? Where is it that you would be so shy?" I asked curiously.

Her hand shakingly pointed toward the one and only place I did not expect to see while covering her tomato face with the other. And with the voice of a mosquito, she continued, "It was from a rebellious time."

"I didn't think miss Olympic athlete had a tattoo there."

"Shut up."

"And you were planning to show me..." My voice trailed off while my face, too, turned red at the thought.

"Shut up."

"Okay, okay. I am shutting up."

With Thea lying there, still covering her face, a lopsided smile crept onto my face, while my hand unconsciously tucked her hair behind her ears.

However, the moment I realized what I had done, my hand froze. as it was too afraid to even move. But the shocked expression on Thea's face as she looked at me was even more terrifying, as a thousand thoughts that ran through my mind were not enough for a response.

"Did you just do that?" Thea asked.

"Um..." I stuttered before a "Yes" came out of my mouth.

However, what unraveled next was pure awkwardness once we locked gazes. Our eyes lingered there for what seemed like an eternity, yet, not a single word came out.

"So..." I tried my best to break the tension in the air.

"That's your line? So?" Thea burst out laughing. The infectious laughter, so unique, I swore, I could hear it from miles away. "Can't you think of anything better to say?"

"My mind is trying, woman." I poked at her waist.

A simple action, but it was enough for her to bolt upright, her hands raised and her eyebrows wrinkled, "No tickling. I thought we discussed this."

"What's wrong with a little tickling? I thought you liked it," I said mischievously.

"Not after the last time, I don't. Neither you nor I want a black eye," Thea said defensively while inching herself toward the other side of the couch. "And hey, I thought we are here to talk, not to have a tickle fight. We can do that later."

"Okay, okay. Serious mode. You not calling your family?"

"Not that serious, Jesus Christ." Thea sank deeper into the couch, her eyes glazed over. Seeing the same reaction time and time again, I scooted closer to a thumb twirling Thea.

"You know. With the world is coming to an end and all, one last phone call wouldn't hurt," I interjected, "I heard from your conversation before, they really care for you, at least your mom does. Come on. One quick phone call."

"I don't know, Conrad. Would it really help? What if it is like the voice said, nothing is going to happen? Then what? I don't want to deal with that level of stress again..."

I wanted to press on, however, hearing the distress in her voice, I told myself otherwise. That was when my mind kicked back to those disastrous moments. They suddenly played on loops. Again. And again. Once. Tenth times. The hundredth time in that split second. Realization dawn on me, I have not even addressed my problems, let alone hers.

Unable to form a single word, I shook my head in surrender, joining Thea in her sulking state.

"You too, hah?" Thea laughed dejectedly.

"Yeah..."

"You want to talk about it?"

"I did something wrong, my parents ended up hating me. I got kicked out. Everything was fuzzy after that. I drifted from one city to another, eventually, I ended up here." My eyes danced around the empty apartment, "It is not the prettiest. It is not the best. But it's home."

"I never knew that you were poetic," Thea gently patted my messy hair.

"Anyway, you want a beer?"

"You have beers?" Thea astonishment.

"What is that? Why is it surprising that I have beers?" I asked back, feeling a little offended myself.

"Let be honest here, if we were a married couple, I am the one that is going to the bar. You are going to be the one, who stay home and yelled at me for coming home late." Thea shrugged her shoulders as if that was all there was to talk about.

"First of all, I do drink," I answered with my chest puffed out, "Secondly, if we were to get married, then we are going to drink at home, with Close Acquaintances on and we are going to cuddle, then we might fall as sleep on the couch. And lastly, do you want a Genuine or not?"

"Cold one, please."

"Who on earth drink warm beer?"

"Beer isn't exactly in your wheelhouse, I had to make sure." Thea shot me a skeptical look.

"Yes, yes."

Retrieving a pack of beer from the freezer, I placed the can of beer onto her lap, before joining her on the couch again. Same as always, using only her hand, she twisted the bottle cap open, a trick which never ceased to amaze me.

"To a bunch of crappy relationships."

"Crappy relationships," I added, "And the end of the world."

We simply sat there, drinking beer, and stared at the emptiness around us. Almost drowning in whatever sorrow, guilt, or regret we had.

With every bottle, the memories flooded in a little bit more intensely. The tears. The screamings. They edged deep inside my mind, eating my every thought, my every gesture, they compelled me to give up, to let go of everything I once hold dear.

"Did you ever wish for things to end up differently?" I asked.

"I used to, but life, knows you, it pushed you forward no matter what happened. I met new people, new friends, I get to travel, I even get to meet you," Thea laughed. She fell back onto my lap, with a burst of crackling laughter, she continued, "Looking back, things ended not so badly."

With a red face and droopy eyes, she added, "I am glad I met you, Conrad."

A simple sentence, but it was enough to drive my mind crazy, my heart pounding like crazy.

Once the wheel started rolling, the mechanical voice had to interrupt everything.

***

"Initiating pre-recorded introduction version 0.0.2."

"All subjects on standby."

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