2 Chapter 2 - From One Day to the Next

Alpha 7419 stared vacantly at his display, an endless doldrum of data stagnating in front of him. This lull was too long.

Even the ever-perky gamma system at his side had become subdued and quiet over the last few days, the subtle tension disrupting his usually bubbly demeanor. Within the monotony of inactivity, time seemed almost to be at a standstill, the days blending into each other, gradually wearing them down until their patience was at its limit.

Gabby sighed and scratched his scalp in frustration, shoving himself away from his desk. The sudden movement drew Alpha 7419's attention, causing him to look over with an inquisitive expression on his face. 

"I'm going on break," Gabby announced. Forcing a smile, he added, "Try not to miss me too much." 

The alpha system waved a hand dismissively and, ignoring the playful comment, returned his gaze to his terminal. He watched Gabby leave from the corner of his eye before leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose, displacing the round frames that perched there.

Even with his fastidious nature, Alpha 7419 was having a hard time remembering the last time he'd seen an anomaly in the endless sea of information that was constantly streaming through his terminal. Had it been days? A week? Had a month already come and gone?

This job was his life, his passion, and he was proud to be on the front lines. Defending the stability of the multiverse and its denizens' safety was his reason for getting up in the morning. However, the alpha system was slowly teetering toward the edge of what he could bear.

If he could only rest his eyes for a minute…

Suddenly something warm and heavy fell on his shoulder, causing him to let out a high-pitched squeak. He bolted out of his chair so quickly that it bounced and nearly toppled over with the momentum. 

The shock quickly subsided and was immediately replaced with embarrassment and anger. Alpha 7419 spun around, fully expecting to see the gamma system that had come back to torture him.

However, the sight that met his eyes startled him even more, causing him to blush all the way to the tips of his ears. Far from the blue-haired, pink-eyed system he had anticipated seeing, there was instead a rotund middle-aged female system with mousy brown hair and glowing amber eyes.

"B-boss!" he gasped, much to her amusement as was evidenced by her broad smile and twinkling eyes. He cleared his throat and looked away, trying to calm his racing heart.

Letting out a good-natured chuckle, Delta 367, the alpha system's direct supervisor, apologized, "I didn't mean to startle you, dear."

"You didn't," Alpha 7419 protested, despite the clear evidence to the contrary, which elicited another soft laugh from his boss. Embarrassed, he changed the subject, asking, "Was there something you need from me, ma'am?"

"I have some business to discuss with you, is all," she replied, smiling encouragingly. "Please log out of your terminal and come with me to my office."

As the alpha system followed behind his short matronly boss, he marveled at the differences between systems, even ones of the same kind and with the same functions. Apart from the characteristic glowing eyes and humanoid appearance, their avatars were as varied as stars in the sky or sand on the beach. Although they could, to some extent, edit or even exchange their avatar, the basic settings would forever be saved in their core programming until the day they ceased to be. 

One popular theory suggested that the differences were due to the creators' desires to ensure their creations never grew bored of each other. It would be rather dull if every system ran around doing the same thing, in the same way, with the same face, day after day. Even Alpha 7419 could admit that.

Still, he had difficulty believing that the all-powerful creators would base the design of arguably their most vital creation purely on something as frivolous as aesthetics. There had to be another reason, something like promoting growth and ingenuity, allowing them to better serve the needs of the ever-changing multiverse. 

One particularly artistic creator who may or may not have been in charge of system design suddenly sneezed... 

Alpha 7419 was lost in his thoughts and didn't realize that they had already arrived at their destination, causing his boss to clear her throat twice and then nudge him in the ribs to get his attention. She gestured towards the open door, inviting him in, "After you."

Once the alpha system had settled into an available chair, and she had taken her place behind her desk, she donned a severe expression. Leaning forward, she interlaced her fingers and placed her elbows on her desk. She asked, "Do you know why I invited you here?"

The look on Delta 367's face told Alpha 7419 that he was in trouble, but for the life of him, he couldn't think of anything he had done wrong. Panicking, he began to sweat, thinking, 'What if she found out that I skipped one of my breaks and brought me here to make good on her threat?'

As the delta system watched her uptight protege squirm in his seat, unable to come up with an answer, she could feel a hearty laugh bubbling up from her chest. She knew it was cruel to tease the thin-faced system this way, but she couldn't help herself. After today, she didn't know when, or even if, she would have another chance. 

The corners of her mouth twitched as she tried to contain her mirth, but the look of confusion on Alpha 7419's face finally sent her over the edge, laughing outright. She choked out an apology, "Sorry, sorry! I just had to..."

The alpha system cocked his head to the side, puzzled by her sudden outburst, but he wasn't so slow that he missed the fact that he was being teased. The look on his face was incredibly annoyed, but his sense of decorum prevented him from doing anything more than glowering at her. He asked, "Is this the reason you called me here?"

Coughing once to clear her throat, Delta 367 gave him a doting look, apologizing again, "No, that's not it. Sorry. I'm just so proud of you, dear, and I'm really going to miss you."

"Where are you going?" Alpha 7419 asked, instantly perking up his ears. He was curious, but there was also a touch of sadness plaguing his heart at the thought of her leaving. He really liked his boss. She rarely got in his way when it involved work, other than, of course, demanding that he take regular breaks, and she always took his side the rare instance that he had a conflict with another employee. He hated to think of what life would be like if Delta 367 was suddenly replaced by someone who didn't appreciate his work ethic as much as she did.

However, the delta system simply chuckled and corrected him, "Not me, silly. You! You're being promoted!" 

"Why?" the Alpha 7419 blurted out in surprise.

"Listen to you," his boss chuckled. "Why? Because you're the best! What we need is to have our best and brightest out in the field, not languishing behind some desk." 

"In the field?" he asked hesitantly. The alpha system was confident in his abilities, but he had no idea why anyone would think his skill merited a change in profession. He didn't have the social skills to interact with other systems, let alone the people from different dimensions.  

He had never spent any of his upgrade points on improving his physical prowess or anything else that would help him in the field, either, so he was at a total loss as to why they would want him. "No offense, ma'am, but…"

"You're the perfect candidate," Delta 367 interrupted him, knowing exactly what he was about to say. She had been his boss for long enough to know that Alpha 7419 was utterly devoid of ambition. "Don't pretend you're not."

"You're bright, you have a keen eye for detail, and no one is better at spotting anomalies than you. It's honestly surprising that the analysis department hasn't scooped you up already," she smiled indulgently. "It makes perfect sense that the corrections division would want to monopolize your skills."

Alpha 7419 was speechless, but his boss still had more to say, continuing in an affectionate tone, "One of my little systems has finally grown up and is ready to leave the nest. I never in a trillion years would have imagined that I, Delta 367, would raise a case agent!"

"Ca-case agent?!" Alpha 7419 exclaimed in alarm, bolting up out of his seat. "Not just clean up crew? They want me to be an actual case agent?!"

It took a second for him to process what was happening. Sure, it wasn't unheard of for a system to change their career path during their time at the IDMC, and there were even jobs outside of the company that they could do instead. After a certain number of millennia, it was even expected that a system would retire and let the next generation take over. 

But that wasn't him.

Alpha 7419 had planned to stay precisely where he was until they either forced him out or his programming became corrupted to the point that he could no longer perform his duties. He would rather die than leave his current position.

"Can I refuse?" he asked bluntly. 

His boss stared at him, slack-jawed for an interminably long time, uncertain what she had just heard. When it finally clicked that her protege, her baby who she had raised since he was first created, was attempting to decline this prestigious offer, her face practically turned purple.

"No, you can't refuse!" she shouted angrily at him, hating iron for not becoming steel. "Do you think opportunities like this come around every day? Don't you know how many systems would kill to be in your shoes right now? Refuse my ass!"

His head shrinking between his shoulders like a turtle hiding in its shell, Alpha 7419 had no choice but to listen to a ten-minute tirade from his irate boss. She went on and on about how ungrateful he was, how he would be an idiot if he didn't take the job, and how much she wanted to throttle him for not even deigning to consider it. He sank slowly back into his chair like a deflating balloon.

Finally, when Delta 367 calmed down enough that she no longer wanted to throw him off the top of the building, she pulled open the top drawer of her desk and took out a data crystal. She took his hand and closed his fingers firmly around the device, staring him straight in the eyes with a stern expression on her face as she did so.

"Look, if you want to turn it down, that's your right," she told him through gritted teeth. Despite her words, her tone was that of a disapproving parent, and the corners of her mouth turned downward in displeasure. "No one is forcing you to do it if you don't want to."

Alpha 7419 squirmed uncomfortably in his seat while she continued, with a pleading look he had never seen her make before, "But, before you make any rash decisions, please, please, look at the material. Do it for me, even if you won't do it for yourself." 

That look shook him more than he cared to admit. Clearly, this was immensely important to his boss. Out of respect for the woman who was practically a mother to him, he could only comply, nodding his head somberly in agreement.

"Good," she stated firmly, patting his hand that held the data crystal. "Take the rest of the day off, and consider it."

"Ok," Alpha 7419 replied, feeling a heavy weight bearing down on him. "I'll be going then."

"Goodbye, kiddo," Delta 367 bid him farewell and watched as he disappeared into thin air. 

Sitting back down behind her desk with a pensive look, she murmured, "I just hope he makes the right choice."