—— ? ——

  Tuesdays suck.

  Don’t believe me? Just think about it for a moment.

  For most, Wednesday marks the halfway point in a week. Your work week is nearly over and the weekend approaches. Thursday is the prelude to the weekend, and Friday is freedom.

  Then the weekend ends and you find yourself in a Monday. Everyone always talks about how Monday is the worst, but really they are just grumpy about their hangovers.

  Monday brings hopes of a fresh start. This week will be different! This week will pour out satisfaction and accomplishments.

  But that’s when Tuesday strikes.

  Tuesday barrels into the room, proving nothing has changed, and this week will be the same as the rest.

  You look towards the weekend, but it's an eternity away.

  “And all the worst things happen on a Tuesday." Simon said to the empty basement. The dim lights flickered and seemed to mock his words. “Don’t you think?” He said to the glowing screen in front of him.

  The drone of whirling fans was the only response he received. Their frantic pace a consistent drone as they attempted to cool the ancient dusty machine.

  Simon sighed and returned to watching the screen.

  He shouldn’t have bothered. The progress bar displayed sat blinking, its length never growing.

  I mean, it’s not like it would grow. It never grows. It just exists. Simon grumbled to himself.

  There were so many better ways to solve the task he now sat doing. Simon had mentioned all of them to the higher ups. Updates, new hardware, replacement?

  No. Instead Simon sat in a dimly lit basement questioning his existence. Just another Tuesday.

  His mind wandered to the mistake he had made all those months ago.

  —— ? ——

  “I found the problem!” Simon said, shoving the door open. It swung to reveal Matthew’s cluttered office. His heavy-set older manager slowly turned his chair, a frown greeting his excited employee.

  “The…” Matthew asked slowly. “..problem?

  Like a cold bucket of water, Matthew’s unimpressed frown doused Simon’s excitement.

  “Uh...” Simon tried to collect his thoughts. “You know, the reason that patient files keep disappearing every other Tuesday?”

  Matthew merely drummed his fingers on his desk, his frown vanishing. The moments dragged by as Simon stood, and Matthew stared. The manager sighed.

  “Alright, don’t keep me waiting. Spit it out.”

  “Oh.” Simon blinked. “Yeah. Right.” He smoothed his shirt over his toned frame. “So, the issue has to do with an old computer in the server room. I traced the missing files through several links and found everything led to that PC. It starts in the doctors files and then–”

  “I don’t need all the specifics, I just need to know what's causing the problem.” Matthew cut in, looking even more uninterested.

  “Right, right.” Simon replied. “The issue is that the software is ancient. Honestly, I don’t think the company that made it is in business anymore. I checked their website and it’s been for sale for years.” He paused. Matthew shrugged and gestured so Simon continued.

  “Long story short. That computer will try to connect to something at their company for a scheduled update. It will just sit there for hours attempting to get a response until it fails. Then it just displays a prompt that needs input.”

  Matthew seemed to ponder the information, then nodded.

  “That would explain why doing a complete restart on the whole hospital fixes it. That PC must be on the list. Probably reboots and the prompt is gone.”

  “Exactly what I thought.” Simon said with a nod. “So, do you want me to research replacement software or hardware for it?”

  Matthew raised an eyebrow. “Hold on, now.” He turned to his computer and clacked away for a few seconds. “Says here the missing files are back. Whatever you did fixed it.” A satisfied smile crossed Matthew's face. There was more clacking at his keyboard. “I went ahead disabled the hospital wide restart. The night shift is going to be overjoyed. They always complain that the computers take–” Matthew turned back to Simon and made sarcastic air quotes with his fingers. “‘Foreverrrrr to come back online’. I will miss having Cindy coming to my office. Hate it when she walks in, but love to watch her leave.” Matthew said, a grin on his face.

  Simon grimaced internally. It was time to switch the topic before Matthew saying more about Cindy.

  “Right… So, I’m pretty free this week. I could spend the time and find a replacement.”

  Matthew cocked his head. “Why would we do that?”

  “Because.” Simon stared back, uncomprehending. “It needs to be replaced?”

  “But the files are back.”

  Simon blinked. “Right. But this is going to happen again in two weeks.”

  “It will. But now I’m curious.” An innocent smile grew on Matthew’s face. “What did you do to fix it?”

  Simon’s heart dropped in his chest. A small voice in his mind screamed to make something up.

  But, Simon the ‘genius’ just opened his mouth. “Well, I just hit no on the prompt… then waited for several hours and hit no again.”

  The innocent smile on Matthew warped into a grin. Simon’s mouth went dry as he realized what he had just done. He frantically tried to bail out of the situation.

  “But, I don’t know if I.. I mean… we really should replac–”

  “Oh definitely!” Matthew said happily. “I will make sure to put that on the backlog. I will even make it the highest priority.” Matthew shifted to his computer and made a display of clacking in the task to the backlog as he continued speaking. “Until then, do you think you can baby sit it through the process every month?”

  Right. The damned back log. The backlog with thousands of items on it. Simon thought to himself. He tried to think of a way out of this grave he had dug.

  “But Matthew, it takes hours for it to get to the first prompt. Then hours more to get to the second.”

  Matthew paused his clacking. “Well that is unfortunate. Those files are desperately needed sadly. They are only missing for the day before we do a full restart, but I still get emails about it every month.”

  Well shit.

  Simon knew Matthew hated to be bothered. He had unwritten rules within the department that he was not to be messaged or emailed. So if there was a solution that made less people contact him, that was the solution Simon was going to get saddled with.

  Simon sighed. “Alright Matthew, I'll add it to my calendar.”

  “Fantastic!” Matthew said, looking genuinely happy. “Great work Simon. I appreciate you solving this bothersome issue.” Simon’s manager bobbed his head towards the door. “If there is nothing else, I have to get back to my busy workday.”

  Simon couldn’t help but peek at the old man’s screen as he turned away. On the computer’s task bar he saw the unmistakable icon of a minimized card game.

  “Alright, I’ll get back to my stuff.” Simon said, holding back what he actually wanted to say.

  Busy work day my ass.

  Defeat washed over him as the door behind him clicked shut.

  —— ? ——

  So Simon sat in the dusty, dim, and deserted basement. The ancient screen pulsed softly as it’s progress bar never moved. “Attempting to connect. Please wait…” The computer said, its words pulsing.

  Simon glanced down at his phone. He wasn’t sure why he bothered to bring it. No signals made it to this dark place. The only connection to the world above was through the wires traveling the floor and walls.

  Simon hated his time in the basement. Twice a month he sat. Twice a month he stewed. This place left far too much time to think.

  “You’re just like me, you know that.” He said to the computer. “We have both been detached from the world.”

  It wasn’t just the basement. His whole life had become a monotonous drone. His day-to-day ground away at his psyche. As this second year in this dead end position had come and gone, Simon felt like he had lost something.

  Sure, he had tried to find ways to bring joy back to his life. He had picked up hobbies, revisited old stomping grounds, even gone on walks in nice forested areas.

  But with each passing day, these things had all faded to gray. That was the best description Simon could give. He had gone to therapist and voiced this problem. The man’s suggestions had been helpful. Going to the gym and exercising regularly helped to stem some of the dark thoughts.

  When that had helped, Simon had charged forward with the concept. He’d taken any class he could find that was physically based.

  Martial arts? He’d gone for weeks.

  Boxing? Simon punched bags for days. Then when that wasn’t enough, he hit that bag with a wooden sword. Kendo had been pretty fun, he couldn’t disagree with that.

  There were countless others, and Simon started each with gusto. He learned quickly, his body and mind adapting to the things he tried. It was nice to have at least one thing he could control in his life.

  But then the gray would creep in from the shadows. The sinister evil that snuck in and sucked the joy from his life.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Simon would rapidly reach casual mastery in physical hobbies. But then they required ambition, discipline and grueling hours to go further. The colorless fog would descend, and Simon would grow bored.

  Simon definitely believed he was talented. His physical control was a blessing and a ‘curse’. That was totally the reason he got ‘bored’ with those hobbies. He was just far too good and mastered those hobbies too quickly.

  That was totally the problem. Yup.

  Simon did master those hobbies at an accelerated rate, that was true. But he never went further with them. He excused it away, then moved to the next shiny hobby. What else was he to do?

  This horrible habit had started back in college. Simon had done well in his business degree, it hadn’t been a struggle. This had given him a high level of confidence on graduation, He had friends, a good outlook on life, and the delusions to take him to unprecedented heights.

  Then the global economy took a nosedive. Jobs vanished, rent ballooned and the world took a breath. Simon had struggled to find a place to live that didn’t absorb every last penny. That summer was one of maxed out credit cards and despair.

  His friends all moved away, taking jobs in their fields if they were lucky. Most took anything that paid well and didn’t require they sell their kidneys to be on the health plan.

  Simon was left with no one but himself. There was family… but when was the last time he had spoken to them? He hated thinking about that topic. If it was brought up, he would magically find something else he needed to do. Or just go blank and nod. His therapist had nudged him to start tackling that response.

  Simon knew he was right. He also knew that… Oh look! The pulsing progress bar changed… oh. Wait, no it didn’t. False alarm.

  “Why couldn’t you have some game like on the browser?" Simon said to the unmoving PC. “You know, the one that shows up when you have no internet? You should have one like space invaders where I get to blow up the progress bar.”

  He nodded to himself. That would be neat….

  His eyes drifted off the screen to the room around him. Servers, wires, dust and emptiness.

  Where had everything gone wrong? Simon had delusions when he had started this job. With enough time, hard work, and his stubbornness he was going rise through the ranks. He would get a management position then use his knowledge that came with his fancy piece of paper to fix the hospital's inefficiencies.

  Yeah right.

  Simon had to give it to the recruiter from HR, Calvin. From the way that man described the job, this was the first job in a fulfilling career. Instead, Simon had become a glorified gopher. Busy work layered under busy work. Find defunct computers, disconnect, remove, replace, repeat.

  Simon had practically exploded with excitement when a project was presented that wasn’t the soul crushing norm. Lead a team around the hospital to install landline phones in every room. The idea was that all staff would be able to call anyone from anywhere. Felt a bit outdated, but Simon didn’t care. It was different, and it was something he could put his name on.

  “But wouldn’t you know.” Simon grumbled to old PC. “After taking months to install every phone, what does management do?”

  The computer’s fans slowed by a slight amount, as if the computer wanted to know the answer.

  Simon let out a long sigh. “Some doctor with pull didn’t like dealing with the cords, so all the staff got a shiny new smartphone.”

  The computer’s fans spun back to their normal pace.

  “And of course, I got that email on a Tuesday.” Simon ground his fingers together. “They really are the worst.”

  *TING*

  The computer released a chime, the sound echoing through the basement. Simon studied the new text that had appeared.

  “No server detected, update canceled. Would you like to continue? Yes - No”

  Simon was always tempted to hit no. A couple weeks back he had done it, and then immediately regretted it. Saying no just meant the whole process would reset. Everything would go back to square one, and Simon would have to add several hours to his basement pondering.

  Even knowing that, he was still tempted. There was something about the act. Maybe if he said no more he wouldn’t be where he was. He could have said no to this job. No to the situation he was in. But…

  Those were thoughts for someone who didn’t have rent. Someone who wasn’t buried in debt. He pressed yes.

  “Attempting to connect to the backup server. Please wait”

  Simon leaned back, sighing again. Maybe this time, the poor computer would realize its inevitable fate. It wasn’t going to get a response as it helplessly reached into the void. It was truly alone in this world.

  “No one is going to pick up.” Simon said with a sad smile. “Honestly you might be the last computer in the world running that software. I would almost bet money on that.”

  The computer continued to whirl, adamant on completing its task. Simon’s smile fell from his face as he stared at the thing. It just kept going, kept trying, never stopping. Simon had been like that once. Hell, it wasn’t even that long ago. Even when he had been hit with one of the most traumatic events of his life.

  Simon shivered, his hands involuntarily running down his chest. Beneath his polo, a large scar lanced across his skin. If he focused, he could feel the difference in his skin when he moved. It had been horrifying accident. It was a morning like any other, just Simon driving down the highway to get to his role as glorified gopher. He hadn’t felt different that day, it was just like every other day. In fact, all things told, it was a good Tuesday. Simon had gotten up early and nothing had gone wrong despite the day.

  That should have set off alarm bells. No Tuesday could go that smoothly without something happening.

  And what had happened?

  His car’s engine block had exploded.

  That’s right.

  It hadn’t just stopped working. It hadn’t lurched to a stop.

  The damn thing exploded.

  The following seconds after the explosion were a complete mystery to him. The world had slowly come back in pieces. Heat, Pain, and the smell of burning. Scorched rubber and something metallic had scraped along his throat every time he had breathed.

  His ears rang and his entire body felt like it was submerged in wet cement.

  I was going to be early, god damnit. The thought had bubbled into his mind. He tried to do something, anything, yet all he could manage was a sorry attempt at staying awake.

  Ironically, Simon did arrive early to his work. Just in the back of an ambulance.

  That entire experience had been hazy, painfilled and had major gaps, but one memory had stuck out.

  Matthew holding a cup of coffee looking at his phone. The man was slowly making his way through the building when the nurses rolled Simon past. Matthew had stood to the side and given Simon an uninterested glance.

  “Holy shit, Simon?! Are you okay?” His manager had blurted out.

  Simon had given the man a bloody thumbs up. “Yup. But I might be late for our meeting today.” He had coughed out, before losing sight of the man’s horrified face.

  Apparently, Matthew didn’t think it was funny.

  “It's not my fault he has no sense of humor.” Simon muttered to the progress bar. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the uneven scarred texture.

  The months following the accident had been a blur. Ironically, Simon felt more alive during those days then he had in the past years. Recovering from that horrible twist of fate had changed his life. It was a challenge, an unbeatable wall. Simon had taken to it with gusto. The initial diagnosis had been that he would never fully recover.

  For once, Simon had said no. Did it make sense? Of course not.

  But against the odds, Simon had recovered. His physical therapist had been astounded.

  “I don’t know if I would call it grit, stubbornness or stupidity, but I can’t argue with the progress,” Sarah had told him.

  Simon had just smiled, then asked if there were any other exercises he could do. The daily pain had been excruciating. Every exercise, every movement, a test. Simon had just plowed forward. Unlike the feeling of gray, his injury was something he could slam his face against. A challenge he could fight.

  An unexpected bonus was being able to reconnect with people from his past. Old friends, past coworkers, people he hadn’t spoken to in years sent him messages. People always felt good about sending heartwarming messages to those in dire situations.

  Months later, and multiple x-rays, cat scans and dozens of tests, his doctors gave him a big thumbs up. He had made a full recovery.

  Simon went back to work. His co-workers threw him a pizza party. It was nice.

  But then it was back to business as usual. Now with monthly medical bill payments.

  Simon sighed.

  “Same shit, just with less ways to get out.” he muttered, glancing at the computer's non moving progress bar. “Don’t worry Q, I take the bus now. You're stuck with me until I leave this job.”

  The old pc made no changes, its whirling fans a consistent drone.

  Simon leaned back. Shit. Talking to a non-living chunk of hardware is… well… not the best indication of sanity.

  Simon leaned back and rubbed his hands through his dark hair. His dark green eyes scanned the paneless ceiling. Massive bare steel beams spanned the space.

  He needed a break from this place. Time to go get some coffee.

  Simon stood. Despite his worries about growing insanity, he couldn’t help himself.

  “I’ll be right back buddy. Going to get some coffee.”

  His buddy made no change. Simon nodded, and slowly walked towards the elevator.

  *Ding!*

  Simon froze mid step. He whirled around, eyes snapping to the PC. Quick steps brought him back, and he rapidly scanned the screen.

  “Okay buddy. How did you just make that sound?” He asked, then scanned the rest of the room. Simon had never heard a sound like that before. It was strange. Resonant.

  Despite flipping through screens, the sound didn’t repeat.

  “Buddy, am I going insane? I swear there was a sound.” Simon muttered, then blinked as he realized who he had just asked that question.

  Yeah…

  He needed to get out of this basement. It was time for coffee.

  And maybe a reevaluation of his current mental state.

  Simon scanned the room as he moved toward the elevator for the second time. Maybe he was going nuts… But he swore he had heard that ding.

  He reached the ramp that led to the elevator, then looked back at the basement. Nothing had changed, the room still only lit by the dying fluorescent lights and the glow of the old PC. He could just barely see the faintest outline of the never growing progress bar.

  **DING!**

  This time, he knew he hadn’t imagined the sound. It reverberated through his entire body. The sound floated through the air, lingering for an unnatural length. As the note faded, the world went monochrome.

  Simon tried to say “what the fuck?” but his jaw wouldn’t move. His body was frozen solid.

  What the hell was going on? Was his brain shutting down in real time? Was he having a seizure? Simon tried to move his legs, his arms, anything. Nothing worked. His eyes were locked open, the world gray before him.

  Then his vision was overwhelmed by a glowing box. Text started to appear as if typed by an unseen observer.

  —- SYSTEM NOTICE —-

  > STABILIZATION CONFIRMED - CONNECTED TO REALM

  > Attention.

  >> This universe has achieved stabilization.

  >> You are now within the lattice.

  >> Do not be alarmed. Localized time has been halted outside of sentient.

  >> This is not an emergency.

  >> Environmental scans are ongoing.

  >> If you are in mid-transit, assistance protocols have been activated to ensure uninterrupted safety. The Safety of all thinking beings is assured.

  > Scanning for catastrophic states… Negative.

  > Scanning for transit issues…. Negative.

  > Scanning for mental distress…. Adjusted.

  >> All scans indicate the subject is safe and sound.

  [ No additional override necessary.]

  Harmony is offered. Growth is earned. Limits are unknown.

  Welcome to the integrated universe.

  Transferring…

  Please wait…

  [ ||| ____ ]

  ——————————

  At the bottom of the notice, a progress bar appeared and began to fill.

  Simon’s mind was frozen, unthinking.

  The last thing he saw kicked his brain into gear.

  Did it just complete?!

  —— ? ——