Danielle went to bed at 6:00 pm, and slept right through until 8:00 am. Dad, to his credit, left her alone in her basement bedroom, the whole time. Once she awoke, she figured that she should put in an appearance with her dad before reviewing things with the AI.
"I don't know what they did to you at that work place, but it sure must have exhausted you," commented Danielle's dad, as she poured cereal into her bowl. "What work did you do there?"
"I was in the health clinic, interviewing staff as to what their job entails. Virtual Universe thinks they might be able to make some inroads into health clinics. I'm not really supposed to tell much about what I'm doing to anyone else. Sorry, dad." Danielle really hated lying to her father about her new profession, but confessing to being a time agent was not a practical idea. First off, the training modules had made it clear that releasing information on the Time War was a fireable offence. Danielle hadn't had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, (The Arachnid AI wasn't exactly going to be able to sue her for damages), but telling your friends or family about time travel was not acceptable time agent behaviour. This was an uncomfortable situation for Danielle, but she was experienced enough to know that half the workers in Nevada had to keep what they did at work a secret. This was the state which housed Area 51, the gambling industry, legalised prostitution, major defence industry manufacturers, organised crime syndicates, CIA bases, destination hotels, Federal data centres, and nuclear bomb test sites. The list of work places where secrets had to be kept was a long one in Nevada. Her dad couldn't even tell her what he did to sell his slot machines! So the less said to anyone else about being a time agent, the better.
Dad was headed out the door for a game of golf with his work buddies so Danielle would have the house to herself for the whole Sunday. "See you later, dad! Hope you break 90!"
Down to the basement and into her bedroom, Danielle jumped on top of her quilt and donned her magic glasses. "How'd I do, AI glasses?" asked Danielle.
YOUR PERFORMANCE IS DEEMED SATISFACTORY. CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING YOUR FIRST MISSION IN TIME. YOU HAVE ACHIEVED CERTIFICATION AS A LEVEL ONE TIME TECHNICIAN - AGENT CLASS DESIGNATION - INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP SPECIALIST YOUR MONTHLY SALARY WILL BE INCREASED TO $4000.
"I''m going to be able to pay off my student loans!" responded Danielle. "I might even be able to start saving money." Then she remembered something else. "What about that bonus you claimed that I would receive from my work over the weekend?"
$8000. ALREADY DEPOSITED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.
"Wow!" commented Danielle, whistling through her teeth. "I am going to have to get some investment advice!"
I AM AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE INVESTMENT ADVICE TO ALL ARACHNID AGENTS. YOU MAY FIND THE ADVICE OF A TIME FLOW MANAGING AI TO BE OF CONSIDERABLE ADVANTAGE IN MANAGING YOUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO.
This was next level information for Danielle to consider. Just how many other people out there were having their lives set up in this manner? No wonder Danielle had felt so hopeless about her own personal financial situation just a few weeks ago. This new job might even be a way that Danielle could possibly save up to afford a down payment on her own condo? First things first though. "When can I expect to be called to my next dispatch?"
NO MISSIONS ARE SCHEDULED CURRENTLY> YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED WHEN YOUR SERVICES ARE NEXT REQUIRED. IN THE MEANTIME I WILL PROVIDE FURTHER SUPPLEMENTARY TRAINING MODULES. I HAVE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL AREAS OF POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENT. WOULD YOU CONSIDER CHANGING COLLEGE PROGRAMS TO A CERTIFICATION IN THE FACULTY OF JOURNALISM?
I considered journalism last spring, but the program is a small one, and there were no places available. I chose the paraprofessional early childhood education stream instead.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
YOUR NATURAL PREDISPOSITIONS TOWARD ACTING AS A JOURNALIST WERE NOTABLY SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR INTERACTIONS WITH THE MISSION TARGETS.
"If I could get into the faculty, I would probably be happy to try the program," replied Danielle. "Maybe next year?"
PREFERENCE NOTED.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CRYPTOCURRENCIES, DANIELLE?
"Not much," answered Danielle. "A lot of people in Nevada use them to purchase illegal stuff. I know that much. Also, my dad kicks himself now, for not buying Bitcoin when he first heard about it. Oh, and my Uncle Lou sent a couple thousand dollars worth of it to some romance scammer in Nigeria a few years ago.
INDEED. I WOULD LIKE YOU TO EDUCATE YOURSELF ON THE SUBJECT. THIS KNOWLEDGE WILL BE VALUABLE AS PREPARATION FOR YOUR NEXT DISPATCH. EXPECT ME TO PROPOSE ANOTHER MISSION IN THREE TO FOUR MONTHS TIME. LIKELY IN THE NEW YEAR.
"I will learn what I can, Glasses AI." replied Danielle, very pleased to learn that she wouldn't have to worry about a new time mission until after Christmas. Then she remembered her other train of thought. "That sounds good, but what were you saying about investment advice?'
I WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH A SHORT LIST OF STOCK MARKET RECOMMENDATIONS.
_______________________________________________________________________
The next morning Danielle awoke to get ready for school. As she did most mornings she put on her glasses. Her routine had developed to where she checked in with the glasses in the morning, and the last thing at night, but during the day she just left them on her night table. Each morning, the AI usually provided a short update on Time War news along with any training or research suggestions for the day. This morning was different.
YOUR COLLEGE PROGRAM CHANGES HAVE BEEN APPROVED. YOU CAN TRANSFER INTO THE JOURNALISM PROGRAM IMMEDIATELY IF YOU WISH.
"What?" asked Danielle. There were no places available! And I thought they didn't want students to be switching out of their classes part way through the semester?"
I SMOOTHED THINGS OVER FOR YOU WITH THE ADMINISTRATION. I BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL MAKE AN EXCELLENT REPORTER.
"Okay, I guess. Posing as a reporter on the weekend really was a blast, so I guess that I will do it." replied Danielle, her mind spinning. "How are you able to accomplish things like this?"
ALTHOUGH MY INFLUENCE IN YOUR TIME IS LIMITED, THERE ARE SOME ADVANTAGES TO POSSESSING PROGRAMMING THAT HAS ADVANCED BY 400 YEARS OVER YOUR CURRENT COMPUTER NETWORKS. YOUR UPDATED COURSE SCHEDULE IS AVAILABLE ON YOUR PHONE APP.
All four of her classes were small in the new faculty of journalism, and each professor made a point of welcoming Danielle into their classrooms. Having an all powerful AI as a friend had its advantages. Danielle wasn't too sad to leave the paraprofessional courses behind, especially since three of her four new instructors were young and energetic, which was her favourite kind of teacher. All four instructors had put together a package of catch up material for her. Danielle would be working hard for the next two weeks to complete the extra work, as well as needing to get through the material that the rest of the students were doing. She wouldn't be looking at any time agent training modules for awhile, that was for sure. But, the AI Glasses said that she had until after Christmas to prepare for the next dispatch, so that was probably going to be okay.
By the holidays, Danielle was well caught up with the other students and had made several new friends in the program. She had even been able to get through the four new training modules presented to her by the Arachnid AI, and also managed to get over to her mom's house in Boulder City a couple of times. Slyvia and Aslan seemed to be doing a bit better these days. Probably the best change was having submitted her resignation as chambermaid at the Skylite. Danielle certainly didn't need that paycheck any more, and not having to work weekends was awesome. In fact, Danielle was really pleased with her new found ability to buy a few things and had purchased a series of nice presents for the members of her family. The holidays were further improved by yet another change in Danielle's life. She had her own vehicle! A cobalt blue 2015 Honda CRV! Just last summer it seemed an impossible dream to own her own car, but bonuses and paychecks from Virtual Universe seemed to be enough to cover everything. When the car dealership checked out her credit rating, the manager grinned happily at whatever number he saw, and eagerly printed out the car loan papers for Danielle.
Life was good! Danielle had even been able to spend time learning about cryptocurrencies and managed to purchase a few fragments of Bitcoin and Ethereum in her own name. She bought .0016 Bitcoin, and .014 Ethereum! Not much, but hey, at least she knew how to do it.
New Years came and went, and one morning in early January Danielle woke up, put on her AI glasses and read:
DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SATOSHI NAKAMOTO?
"No sir," answered Danielle.
WELL, YOU BETTER LEARN ALL YOU CAN ABOUT HIS STORY. YOU WILL BE MEETING WITH THE TRUTH BEHIND THIS LEGEND.
