• Chapter One Part Three
    It felt more like work to me when we were out to lunch than it did in the office. Scott took the small population that came in to work today out to the local café, where we sat around and discussed theories regarding the true nature of the Virus and its origins. Myles was there, too - Scott thought it polite to ask him to come with us - but he was debatably even more nervous here in public than he was in the isolated safety of our cubicle-filled room.
    “What if…” a worker began, “What if the Virus isn’t caused by a person’s mental awareness of machine, but rather it’s caused by faulty data on the implant? Well, what I mean by that is, take our chips today, for example. You don’t see them causing the Virus, now do you? What if, either by faulty manufacturing or caused by an intentional act, the older implants had something on them that caused people to go crazy?”
    “Sounds too weird…” another employee chimed in. But nobody was paying attention. Everyone had their accusing eyes on Myles, who flushed and gulped the coffee in his hands so quickly it burnt his mouth and made him cough.
    I chuckled at his timidity. “There’s no need to be shy here. Nobody’s blaming you for anything.”
    The man blushed, nodded once, and went back to staring at the brown steaming liquid in his cup.
    “’Ey, I think the guy likes you. Maybe we should’a kept him around.” Scott whispered to me jokingly.
    “He’s too old.” I whispered back, chortling. It was true. This man was over ten years older than me.
    “I should… probably be going now. I’m sorry I can’t do anything for you…” Myles said in that low, unsure tone of his. Apparently, he had heard us; his face was a deep red.
    “Oh. It’s fine. I guess we’ll see you--” I tried to call after him as he got up and left, but he hurriedly walked out the door, obviously embarrassed. I gently sighed; I though I was starting to get along with that man.
    “Today was regrettably unproductive…” Scott muttered with a dampened mood. He called the waiter over, paid the tab, and we parted for the day.


    Read the rest:
    -Preface- -Chapter One Part One- -Chapter One Part Two- -Chapter One Part Three: Reading Now- --Chapter One Part Four-