Sighing, I tell it, “Yes, that is fine.”
The taxi moves into the traffic lane, and I am on my way. Not sure what this is about, but the managers at Paradigm Alpha want to see me, urgently. I have been working for them now for well over twelve years. Earth is going down the toilet; between there being barely any livable places with decent levels of oxygen, the wars going on between China and Russia, and now possibly the USACan coalition getting dragged into it, it isn’t looking good. Folks need an escape, and that is where Paradigm Alpha comes in. Virtual Worlds. Free from war, famines, or even lack of air to breathe.
Looking out the window, I try to remember what the sun looks like. I haven’t seen sunshine in Alaska in over a year. After the devastation of Beijing, when Russia nuked it, the cloud cover has started to envelop much of Earth. Most food is now grown underground, away from any kind of radiation. At least they say that’s the reason, but I think it’s just because we are waiting for the day when all the nukes start to fly. USACan is the last big country that has managed to stay out of it so far.
Europe is defending itself from Russia, which is trying to get a foothold there since they want the land and the resources after the Russian military stripped theirs bare. India is siding with China. The Islamic states have cut off access to all their countries, and nothing is going in or out. Most places on the equator are unlivable, so countries like Mexico, South America, and even the older states like Florida and California are deserted, with barely any breathable oxygen. I mean, there are holdouts, but most of the world now lives near the North and South pole locations. Alaska might be wet, but at least it’s not killer hot. I feel the car stop, and looking up I see that we have made it to Paradigm Alpha Building 4.
“You have reached your destination, Citizen. I have deducted the amount of 32 credits from your account. Thank you, have a good day,” says the Taxi’s AI, and the door opens.
Getting out, I am back in the rain and looking up at the tall building. This is the fourth major building that Paradigm Alpha owns, and it’s one of their newest and biggest. If I remember correctly, it’s over 100 stories high. My meeting is actually on floor 99. At least the power is on, so I don’t need to climb up all those steps. Though knowing Paradigm Alpha, they most likely have underground generators.
Going into the building, I take off my mask and store it in the side pouch that everyone now wears. It’s like wearing a watch. You never leave home without it. Taking a deep breath and getting clean air instead of canned air feels good. Oh, I am sure the air in here is canned too, but it’s also not a mask on your face. Looking around, I see that there are security personnel near the elevators, and force fields cutting off the area in sections.
Walking towards them, I flash my badge and they let me through. I have one of the rare gold passes, meaning I am someone important. Which I am not really. I am an overworked bug reporter. The fact that I am also one of the rare people who can connect to the VR system at a deeper state means I can find bugs easier. Upper management wanted to make sure I could get to work easier and faster. So gold pass it is. Though, if you look at the salary of the gold pass employees of Paradigm Alpha, I am the lowest. By millions and millions of credits. Honestly, the pay for this job is meager, but it’s paid my rent and oxygen fees for the last 12 years.
Once I am past security, I head towards the bank of elevators and press the button. While waiting I wonder, like I have been since I got the call to come in, what this is about. My boss Max didn’t tell me anything, other than that I needed to come in, and that this was urgent. Probably a bug they found and needed my help to narrow down its impact. In the last 12 years, I have learned to be fantastic at what they call Impact Assessment. Telling upper management what the effect of a bug would be. Especially if it had monetary impact in the real world.
One thing that Paradigm Alpha protected fiercely was its ability to make money. Most games that Paradigm Alpha created for VR were moneymakers. Folks would spend in-game credits for items they would not buy in real life here on Earth. Right now, Paradigm Alpha has nine games going that cater to everyone from young kids to older adults. So most likely, they found something that is making them lose credits and they need me to tell them that maybe like the last bug where if someone bought a store item outside the game, and the same item in game, it would give them their credits back but also let them keep the item. Before the bug was fixed Paradigm Alpha had lost over two million credits.
When the elevator arrives, I get in and press the number 99. Some of the folks who get in look at me enviously. Most employees know who I am by now—a poor employee who has access to floor 99. Talk between some of the workers starts up as we start to ascend.
“Did you hear that Russia is thinking of retaliating against us because we refused to send them food?” one girl says.
“I doubt they would do that, USACan would hurt them badly. I mean, we aren’t involved, but that’s because we are too strong to get involved,” says a young male, trying to sound smart. Ah, I think to myself. We
