THE MOMENT
If anyone had seen Larry sitting alone in the room, they might have thought he was waiting for something. The lean, greying man was well-dressed. But, there was no one to witness his patience in the house, nor anywhere else on Earth. Once upon a time he firmly believed he would enjoy life much more if he didn't have to deal with the people. He imagined how wonderful it would be if there was no one else around and he could go about his daily life without the stress of responsibility to others. He could do anything he wanted or go stay in any building he wished. Despite that freedom, he was spending this particular day inside.
Larry was the last person on Earth, and after a few months the loneliness hit. It'd lost its novelty and the experience wasn't as carefree as he hoped. At least he had time to question what he really wanted. He preferred not dealing with anyone, but he'd taken for granted the value of just seeing another person existing.
Animals were still around on Earth, he'd decided that easily enough. It was the people that bothered him, not the wildlife. He even took up hunting early on, but it wasn't for him. Through the mechanics of getting what he wanted, he still had access to modern luxuries that should've failed by now. He had running water, electricity, even a working internet full of bots creating new endless content. Food was easy to come by, and he was able to survive comfortably without hunting.
Larry had the life he wanted long enough to think maybe he didn't. He wanted freedom, but he wasn't prepared for the sheer weight of knowledge. If he hadn't arranged it, he never would have thought he was the last person on Earth. It was too big a planet and he'd never really know for sure in any other situation. But, he did know.
He was the only intelligent human on Earth. It was a weighty idea. There were parts of the Earth that he'd never see. Landscapes that would never unfold before human eyes again. As he sat alone and pondered, he was startled out of his thoughts. A sudden sharp knocking came from the front door.
He didn't hesitate to rush over and throw the door open without bothering with the peephole. He was surprised to see a teenager in an orange suit. She wore a translucent purple visor over her orange eyes and she smiled at him.
“Hi, Larry right? I'm Eury from Chroma Corp.!” she said.
“Yes, please come in,” he stood aside and she entered the small home. He was expecting someone, but not a teenager. But, she was from the company, so she had to be there for him.
“You asked for a representative.. What can I do for you?” Eury asked once they reached the living room.
“Uh…,” Larry hesitated for a moment. He'd forgotten how to interact, and he was hoping they would at least send the last agent he worked with. It only complicated matters more if he had to explain the whole situation. He thought up an abbreviatiated version first to see how much she knew about his case. “.. I made an arrangement with another employee, and.. I want to change my mind on a few things. Can I?”
“You don't need us for that,” Eury nodded. “The node we gave you controls the whole Server, you can change anything any time,” she said.
“Yeah, I'm sorry…,” Larry nodded and pulled his node out. It was advanced technology beyond anything he'd seen before he met Chroma Corp. And, technology was never an interest of his. He only used it when he had to and he went out of his way to make sure it was almost never. He'd never even completed the tutorial. “.. I just didn't want to mess anything up. I hope you don't mind…,” he shrugged apologetically.
“Not at all! You didn't specify what you wanted, so they sent an intern. I'll be glad to help, and if you needed something more complex I would've escalated it for you. What changes did you want to make?”
“I don't want to be the last person on Earth anymore. I don't want a lot of people, but some other faces wouldn't be horrible I suppose,” he said.
“Oh! Then it's a good thing you called afterall,” Eury giggled. To make you the last person on Earth, Chroma Corp. brought you to a new Earth. You can add people with you node, but they'd just be NPCs. Does that matter to you?” she asked.
“Yeah, it does,” Larry said. If he wanted to chat with bots, he could've used the internet.
“Okay, that's gonna be a little trickier. I'll have to see what other Earths we have available to move you to. Unfortunately, this is a bad time for that, and I'm going to have to ask you to wait until next week. If that's okay?” she asked.
“Sure, what's another week?” Larry chuckled the question. He hoped it would be as easy as it was going, but he was still surprised. Chroma Corp. was definitely an impressive company. “But, uh, why is it a bad time? Everything okay?”
“Wonderful! “Eury nodded. “There's a big wedding this weekend and the company is diverting all resources to that for now. Next week everything will be back to normal,” she said. “Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.”
“Not a problem,” Larry laughed with a smile as Eury headed back to the door. “I've managed for quite a few months already. And, it's not like the universe is going to end over the weekend.”