THE MOMENT
"Really?" Rachel couldn't help but smirk along with the question. She looked the portly teenager up and down; he didn't even look like he was out of high school yet. He wore a white blazer with blue jeans and a red t-shirt. The blazer had a red scissor logo on the front. "Why are you getting fired? Not enough experience?" Aurelio, the name he introduced himself with, shrugged at her.
"God killed my boss about four years ago and the company's been falling apart ever since. They're firing most of the staff to try and keep the company afloat," he chuckled. "It's probably not gonna work. I'm feeling rebellious and you're in the right place at the right time," he said. He offered her a transparent glass card. "Lucky you, have fun," he added. Rachel stared at the card for a moment but did not accept it. It was a piece of glass about the size and thickness of a playing card. In her mind, it was a prop that was easy to get.
"You said that node gives me admin privileges... what does that mean?" she asked. He tried to explain her world was a simulation when he introduced himself. And, she'd heard the term 'admin' tossed around by the more technically minded employees at work. Rachel wasn't completely computer illiterate; but, she was close. She'd never needed to learn how to use a computer for her waitressing job; nor could she afford one with her waitressing job. She did not for a second believe that God actually killed his boss; but, she did not ask any follow-up questions. The last thing she needed was to wade into his made-up backstory for why he was giving her a piece of glass.
"It means...," Aurelio pulled the node back and tapped the screen. The display lit up to show the time, 10:40 a.m., and Rachel was surprised it was more than a piece of glass. Then, he began tapping and swiping at different icons. She could see them through the transparent back; but, she did not recognize anything he touched. "...you're in control of this Earth," he said. He tapped the node once more and the sun vanished.
Aurelio approached Rachel on the sidewalk as she walked home from the diner. It was a busy morning and the downtown area was bustling with activity. When the sun vanished, the streets were suddenly empty, and all the shops around them were closed. He held the node up to her and showed her the time. 1:40 a.m.
"Including the weather," he tapped the node again and it began to snow in the middle of June. "Anything, really," he tapped the node once more and daylight appeared, along with the crowd of shoppers. The snow was gone. Rachel looked around her at the people walking by. Not a single one of them seemed to know what just happened.
"So,.. you're just giving me, a random stranger, control over the whole world??" Rachel asked. Aurelio shrugged.
"Technically, I'm only giving you the ability to control the world. You don't have to use it," he said. "Use it, don't, give it away, I don't care. Not my job anymore," he said.
"Okay!" Rachel snatched the node out of his hand. She believed him more than she wanted to. But, she also reasoned that even if the node did not give her control of the world, it was still a nice piece of technology. It could probably make her rich on its own. She was glad to see the time lit up for her when she touched it. She swiped upward the way she had seen Aurelio do it, and she was greeted by a wall of text. She was amazed at how the text seemed to float in the air as she pretended to read it.
"Well, good luck," Aurelio said.
"Yeah, thanks!" Rachel looked up, but he was gone. She spun around but he was nowhere to be seen. "Wow...," she was in awe for a moment, then she focused on the device again. "I agree," she decided. She scrolled down to the bottom and hit the 'Accept' button.
Elsewhere, Aurelio walked into his garage. His best friend, Jenny, was sitting down waiting for him and she stood as soon as he walked in.
"Hey, doing okay?" she asked. "I didn't get you fired, did I?" she had asked him for a favor with his work credentials recently. She was relieved when he shook his head.
"Nah, I asked" he chuckled. "Melody fired me personally. She knew and didn't care about that, and I could tell she felt bad for firing me. Especially since I was working for free. But, she's restructuring everything and there's no room for me, I guess," he shrugged his white blazer off and held it up. "Here, do something with this for me," he said. Then, he tossed it at her.
Jenny nodded and a black portal opened in front of her to swallow the garment, then it disappeared again.
"So...," Jenny took a few steps closer and bumped against his shoulder. "...about your Admin node...," she said. Aurelio smiled and shook his head.
"Gave it away," he said.
"YOU WHAT!" Jenny grabbed his shoulders and shouted at his face.
"Calm down...," he grinned. "Melody wiped it before I left," he held his hand up with three transparent nodes splayed out. "It was a normal node, I've already got plenty of those. But, giving it away felt kind like a symbolic gesture, you know?"
"YOU WHAT!!!??" Jenny asked again, this time, angrier. "You let Melody wipe your node!?"
"Well, company property...," he said. It was then that Jenny realized he seemed in a surprisingly playful mood. She stepped back and narrowed her eyes at him. Aurelio tended to follow the rules just enough to know how to break them. Returning company property was the rule; but...
"You made a backup, right?" she asked.
"Sure," he smiled and held up a red translucent node. "On my property."