The recruits struggled to maintain focus with Kamaras’s unsettling revelation dealing such a devastating blow to what had been a sense of growing optimism. Jayson sat at his desk, working in a fog while his mind drifted back to thoughts of his friends and family back home.
He’d briefly considered packing up his things and leaving the Center to find comfort in familiar surroundings. The only thing stopping him, a few words from Kamaras still offering hope.
“We are considering several extreme alternatives to the present course.”
It felt silly to expect even a man with such wealth could wave a magic wand and fix everything, but at least it offered something to hold on to.
He imagined increasingly fantastical pronouncements by their benefactor, revealing how they would save the world. Maybe he’d arranged an alliance of billionaires to pour all of their resources into a new carbon capture technology. Maybe he’d gone to the United Nations to convince the world’s governments to work together in the face of disaster. Maybe he’d made contact with an advanced race of alien beings that could move the earth’s orbit just enough to buy some time. He shook his head and snorted at the absurd, desperation-fueled imaginings.
***
Increasingly isolated from the team, Andrew looked forward to his lunches with Samaira. Even if she’d been distracted for the last week, it beat eating alone in his office. Often, they’d grab their food from the cafeteria and walk to a bench on the trail, or find a spot in the courtyard where they could talk without distraction.
Hearing the crunch of footsteps on the fine gravel path, Andrew looked up and smiled.
“How’s your day going?” asked Samaira.
“Alright, I guess. You?”
“Good,” she said with a shrug.
A lie. She’d been forcing a smile all week.
“You sure? You seem a bit down.”
“I’m fine.”
“Is it me? I know you’ve been spending more time with Aiden,” he said, wrinkling his brow. “Would you rather be having lunch with him?”
“No. I like our time together.”
He studied her for a moment, looking for tells of another lie.
“Okay.”
“How long have you known Aiden?” she asked, changing the subject.
“I don’t know him at all. We’ve barely spoken.”
“How long has he been here?”
“I don’t know. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him around since I got here, so that’s gotta be at least a year. Why?”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“No reason. Just wondering.”
“Why don’t you ask him?”
“I did.”
“Uh oh. Trouble in paradise? You know I could offer you a shoulder to cry on—or maybe something else, if it would help.”
“Andrew,” she said, narrowing an eye.
He bit his lip.
“Sorry. Old habits.”
“Anyway, it’s nothing.”
“Is he upset you’re spending time with me?”
“He’s never even mentioned it, to be honest.”
Andrew snorted. Of course he hadn’t. What threat could he pose to a guy like that?
“Is that weird? That he wouldn’t be concerned about you hanging out with other guys?”
“I’d call it pretty healthy behavior.”
“I thought women wanted men to be jealous.”
“Some women, maybe. You don’t need anyone who’s going to play games with you, Andrew.”
“Listen, I can’t afford to be picky,” he said with a laugh.
“You shouldn’t sell yourself short.”
Andrew nodded and took a breath.
“Thank you, Samaira—for being my friend.”
“I feel the same way.”
“I don’t understand why. I mean, why did you give an asshole like me the time of day to begin with?”
“There’s no point wasting even a moment of your life on an asshole, if you can avoid it.”
Samaira paused and took his hand.
“But I can tell the difference between a real asshole and somebody who just needs a little help to find themselves.”
He blushed, wishing they could be more than friends. They couldn’t, of course, and trying to change that would ruin everything.
“That means a lot to me.”
“You’ve made good progress. We should get you reconnected with the rest of the group.”
His shoulders sank.
“I’m not sure we need to bother with that.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” he said, casting his eyes to the ground. “More like I won’t have the chance.”
“What am I missing?”
“For the last month, I’ve been training a new guy. I think he’s my replacement.”
“Really? Has Richard said anything?”
“Nothing specific. Just that he’ll be taking on a new project that’s launching soon.”
“What’s his name?”
“Matteus. Matteus Christensen. Danish guy—and a redhead, too. Maybe they’re hoping they can do a hot-swap without anyone noticing,” he said with a laugh.
“I think I’ve seen him.”
“That’s the other thing that has me thinking I’m on the way out. I didn’t get invited to the last all-hands, and I’m not on the list for the one on Friday, either.”
“I hope it’s not true, Andrew.”
“Maybe it’s for the best. It’ll give me a chance to start fresh with a new group of people.”
“A fresh start is nice sometimes—but I’d miss you.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
***
Richard sat on the edge of his desk, looking over Cal’s shoulder at an aggregated view of team sentiment. Denise Bertrand, the recruiter assigned to the women on the team, stood over the other shoulder.
“Click on that one again,” said Richard, pointing to a picture of Hitarthi Srinivasan.
Cal brought up the data showing different aspects of her mental state, as determined by the AI from her browsing habits, text messages, and social media interactions.
Richard shook his head.
“She’s really dropping.”
“Still in the zone,” said Cal.
Denise snorted and rolled her eyes.
“Barely.”
The devastating announcement a couple of days earlier was having the predicted effect. After bombarding the recruits for months with anxiety-inducing stories about environmental crises and climate change, Kamaras had given them hope they could save the world. Then he’d ripped that hope away, replacing it with an apocalyptic view of their future.
Though the overall reaction remained consistent with their models, the speed and intensity varied by individual. Most still had a little farther to go before they’d accept the risks of Gamma, but Hitarthi was falling fast, at risk of being too far gone to take the lifeline when they finally offered it.
“What about Adams?” asked Richard.
“Looking good,” said Denise.
“Let’s see.”
Cal clicked on her picture, and Richard leaned closer to review the data. It did look good.
“How sure are we?” he asked. “You know it’s tough with her.”
“Not anymore,” said Denise. “We’ve got more insight now that we’re piping her chats with Aiden directly into the simulations.”
Richard smiled to himself.
“When do we pull the trigger?” he asked, rubbing his hands together.