Surely this place works like an inn if I lock it.
It took him a few minutes of wandering around to see the whole place, but he eventually settled himself in the bedroom and dropped his bags. The bed welcomed him in its soft folds and he closed his eyes.
Do you wish to log off? Yes/No.
He selected Yes and drifted back to reality.
***
The clink of nails on glass stirred him from his slumber. Atlas opened his eyes to see the Jean’s beautiful face staring at him through the clear top of the pod. She waved and smiled before returning to work on the screen on the side. The tubes and helmet retracting as he waited.
The top popped open, and he slowly climbed from the device.
“How’re you doing?” Atlas asked.
“Been good. How was your time in the game?”
“Productive. Finally gaining some ground. You busy today?”
“It’s been really steady all day. Not too fast-paced, but also no real downtime. I was disappointed I haven’t got to talk to you since our date,” she told him with a frown.
Atlas raked his hand through his hair as he tried to hide his embarrassment, “Yeah. Sorry. Work drug on and I had trouble thinking about anything other than the laundry list of stuff I needed to do. I’m available for the next two evenings. I’d like to see you for one of them if possible.”
She stared at him with a ferocious look as she tapped her foot. Her expression made him think he’d royally screwed up somehow. After a few seconds of rhythmic tapping, she finally sighed.
“Fine. I’ll give you this one pass. If you want to have an actual relationship, you’ll have to like me enough to remember me,” she said in a huff.
Atlas sputtered apologies to her before she smiled and giggled.
“Ah, gamers sure lose track of time. How about tomorrow night? I won’t be working then.”
“Tomorrow night it is,” Atlas agreed.
“Be careful when you head out. The lobby area is absolutely packed with people.”
“Odd. There almost seems to be no one here every time I log out. Why would it be crowded?”
“The first player in the game has earned the right to become the next executive for the company. They are upstairs confirming it.”
“Wow, really? Someone already discovered the secret? That’s amazing. Think I’ll run by and check it out.”
He almost continued the conversation before a rumble in his stomach changed his mind.
“Yikes, got to go. I’ll message you later and see if we can come up with a place.”
He rushed down the steps without so much as a goodbye and dashed for the hallway.
His business taken care of, he took the elevator to the stairs and entered a crowd of people. Making any progress in the room was difficult, but he maneuvered far enough to be within view of the announcement podium on the far end.
He didn’t have to wait long before a group of three walked out. The one in the lead was none other than Leonard Hale, founder and CEO of Gaia Corporation. The room fell silent as the legend himself walked to the microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. I have the extreme pleasure of announcing the first person in Divine Genesis to earn their place as an executive in the company. I considered many speeches for this and contemplated reciting the vaunted history of this company and how it strives to make this place a better world, but decided against all of that. Instead, we’ll make this easy,” he said as he gestured to his right, “I present to you the newest executive of Gaia Corporation, Keenan Hall.”
The crowd cheered and hollered, but Atlas heard none of it. The room felt like it came to a halt as he watched Keenan, his best friend in the world, walk to the center of the small stage and shake hands with the CEO.
Keenan? How did you find the secret?
Sound and motion snapped back into place as the room continued to cheer. Keenan walked to the microphone with hands raised, trying to calm the crowd.
“Thanks for that,” he began as he got the crowd to quiet down, “I am extremely grateful to be given this chance within the company. A stroke of luck led me to this position, but I plan to use my experience in gaming to help this company and the game grow. I believe I officially start in a few days?” he asked as he turned to look at the CEO.
“That’s correct, Mr. Hall. You start in two days.”
“Then I look forward to this new adventure.” Keenan finished to another round of applause. The crowd dispersed as Keenan and the other executives shuffled from the room. Everyone around muttered in disbelief that they actually made someone an executive.
Atlas reflected on his friend. Something didn’t sit right. Keenan would’ve never been that cool and collected. He would’ve been yelling and partying away. He also didn’t speak very formal on most occasions.
I wonder if they gave him a speech to follow. That would make sense. I’ve also never seen him stand without slouching as long as I can remember. They must’ve trained him well for this event.
He immediately pulled out his phone and messaged Keenan.
What the hell, man? They made you an executive and you couldn’t send me a message?
It took a few minutes, but he messaged back. Sorry man, couldn’t tell ya. I’m under an NDA, and I couldn’t tell anyone until the company announced it. It just happened yesterday.
Either way, congrats man. Bet it was an interesting experience. Want to meet up and chat?
I’d
