Ling

Josh spins around in his chair. “So, how are we feeling?”

Sitting adjacent to him in the large break room at the office, Anya stops casually twirling the pen in her hand. “I hope you’re talking about the project.”

“We’ve talked about that enough, don’t you think?” Josh scoots his chair closer. “There’s only one day left.” Ah, yes. Josh and the Internet have been abuzz with the countdown on Hour 0. Suddenly, he sighs.

“What is it?”

After a few taps on his phone, he says, “It just sucks you can’t continue seeing real-time results even after you vote. It’s like they purposely want to keep you in the dark.”

"Or on edge," Anya mutters. “Wasn’t it just yesterday you said you weren’t going to participate in this game?” 

“Well, yeah, but it’s not like it’s really going to happen, right? What's wrong with having a little fun?"

"I question your definition of fun," Anya deadpans.

Just then, the door opens, and as Anya sees Mira walk in, she suddenly remembers their conversation.

“I don’t know. I mean, it’s an interesting way to see what people gravitate towards.”

“Hey,” Josh says, snapping Anya out of it. “I know that look.”

“What look?”

Josh leans closer. “The look that tells me you’re suspicious.” He glances at Mira and whispers, “Do you know something?”

“No." Then, quietly, “But you might be right.”

Josh’s eyes light up. “So, she is working on some—” Anya stands, and Josh asks, “Hey! Where are you going?”

However, Anya doesn’t look back. She casually walks up to Mira who’s pouring her freshly made coffee into her mug.

“Need something?” Mira asks without looking at her.

“You seem to know something about Hour 0 the other day,” Anya says, and Mira stops stirring her coffee. “So, I’d like to ask. Do you know someone named Ling?”

“What makes you think I know something about Hour 0?”

“Call it a hunch."

Mira smiles. “I don’t know anything about Hour 0, nor do I know someone named Ling.” She picks up her coffee. “But he must be someone important if you’re asking me about him.”

A pause.

“He’s associated with Hour 0,” Anya says.

Mira slightly narrows her eyes. “In what way?”

Does she really not know?

“Good question. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

“Well…” Anya notices her grip tighten around the mug. “Let me know if you find out anything.”

As Mira walks out the door, Josh quickly heads to Anya’s side.

“What was that all about?” he asks.

Anya sighs. “I guess you could say I was testing the waters.”

xxx

Mira is walking back to her work desk when her phone buzzes with a message. She reaches into her pocket and sees a familiar name on the screen.

Zeke: This wasn’t part of the plan.

“Of course not,” Mira said under the modern chandelier of the VIP room. She reached for her glass half-filled with wine on the table. “It’s only a social experiment.”

Zeke had an arm extended on the top of the plush, velvet couch. His eyes held a quiet intensity as his gaze went from his drink to the woman with the bold, red lipstick sitting across from him with one leg over the other.

“You’re doing a lot for someone who just wants to get ahead,” he said.

Mira’s sharp gaze met his. “You don’t need to ask questions. Just do as you’re told.”

Mira stops, her grip tightening on her phone.

Zeke: Who else are you getting to do your dirty work?

She scoffs. Dirty work? Is that what he’s calling it? Mira doesn’t see it that way. It’s simply research.

Zeke: Who is Ling?

“Mira?” She spins around and sees a young woman smiling at her. “There’s something we need you to look at.”

Mira turns off her phone. “Of course."

xxx

Anya stops typing on her laptop and her fingers rub her tired eyes. She exhales softly as her mind—once again—runs back to Hour 0, Ling, and Mira. Anya picks up her phone and just before she opens the app, a coworker walks over.

“Anya,” he says, and she quickly puts her phone down. “Lucian would like to see you in his office.”

“Me? What for?”

He shrugs. “Beats me.”

Anya slides her phone inside her pocket and heads to the director’s office. She knocks once on the glass door before heading inside.

“You wanted to see me,” she says, walking up to Lucian’s desk.

Lucian leans back in his chair as he gestures for Anya to take a seat. As she does, he asks, “I know you have quite a bit on your plate right now. But, how do you feel about taking on an extra project?” He smiles. “I can reassign some of your work to the others.”

“What kind of project?"

“We’re looking into creating an app to test social behaviours on a larger scale." His eyes are still on his laptop screen. "It makes for good data as we continue to expand.” Then, he looks at her. “I’m sure you heard about Hour 0.”

Anya’s heart quickens. “Are you telling me we’re the ones behind that app?”

Lucian smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Mira is already doing some market research.”

Anya slightly narrows her eyes. So, Josh is right? “It sounds like she’s doing a good job, so… Why do you need someone else?”

Lucian leans forward and claps his hands together. “A little healthy competition wouldn’t hurt. The more ideas, the better. It’s also a great opportunity for you two to potentially work together.”

“Wouldn’t competition mean we’re working separately?”

“That’s one way to look at it. But I’m not opposed to the two of you working together to create something impactful. It’s up to you two to decide.”

If only it’s that easy, Anya thinks. She feels in her gut that Mira won’t be so accommodating with whatever she’s working on. However, it may be a step closer to learning more about Hour 0, but even more importantly, a step closer to learning about Ling.

“Of course, your efforts will be generously compensated. Even more so if you produce fruitful results.” Lucian opens his drawer, takes out a document, and places it on the table. “But, if you’re interested, you’ll have to sign this. Once you do, I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

“Wait." Anya eyes him skeptically. "Where is the logic in this? I… think should I know exactly what I’m getting into.”

“I’d like to tell you,” Lucian answers. “But then… you’d know too much.”

He slides the document forward. Anya isn’t too surprised at what she sees. A non-disclosure agreement.

xxx

The freshly ground coffee beans linger in the air, warm and inviting, a stark contrast to the confusion and anxiety that’s bubbling within Zeke as he stands in line waiting to order his coffee.

what unfortunate event are you willing to accept

He isn’t sure if it’s because he’s been staring at his phone too much or if the question on the screen is really starting to distort. But regardless if it’s his eyes or the app playing tricks on him, the fact remains that the question has changed.

“I see you’re still the same as always,” Zeke said one night on the phone.

Mira scoffed. “I’ll consider that as a compliment.”

“This has to be important for you to reach out to me out of all people.”

“Well, what can I say?” Mira asked with a small, sly grin on her face. “You’re still useful.”

Zeke rolled his eyes. “What do you want, Mira?”

“You just need to answer yes or no,” Mira said. “Is it possible to take remote control of phones on a large scale?”

Zeke turned off the TV. “That’s not a simple yes or no answer.” He narrowed his eyes. “Why do you need to know something like that?”

“It’s for work.”

“Work?” Zeke asked, not hiding his disbelief. “You’re joking, right? Who are you working for? A criminal organization?”

“It’s harmless,” Mira said. “Trust me.”

A pause.

“Besides,” she continued, “If I’m working for a criminal organization, Anya would be too. And… You won’t be able to stand that, can you?”

Zeke almost sighed. It’d been years since he and Anya broke up. It was mutual with their life paths going in different directions. It was simple and clean. Too simple that Zeke almost wished something more had happened so she would stop popping into his mind on occasion.

“It sounds like you’re threatening me, Mira,” Zeke deadpanned. “Not a smart move if you’re asking for my help.”

Mira laughed. “Ah, but I know you too well. No matter how harsh you are, you’re still willing to help an old friend, right?”

“We’re not kids anymore,” Zeke said flatly.

“I never said we are. But, do you remember the days when we were and that we wanted to change the world—do something revolutionary?”

Zeke said nothing, but he knew exactly what Mira was talking about.

“This is just another step towards that,” Mira continued. “And I have to start somewhere… but it has to make sense.”

“What are you getting at?” Zeke asked skeptically.

“I need to do my research first.” He could see her smiling. “And getting valuable data means asking the right question.”

Or questions, Zeke assumes. Their past relationship is part of the reason why he agreed to help Mira, but that may have been his biggest mistake. Clearly, there’s a part of the plan he doesn’t know about. The evidence is not just on Hour 0 but also all over the Internet. It’s how he learned about Ling.

“You’re still on that app?” Zeke hears someone from behind him say.

“Apparently, there’s a special surprise for people who voted.”

“Who told you that?”

“Ling.”

There it is again. That name. Zeke turns his head just enough to see two white-collar workers chatting behind him.

“Who the hell is the guy?” the taller male asks.

“It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? The guy who made this thing.”

“Not entirely true,” Zeke mutters, which happens to catch their attention.

“Did you say something?” one of the men asks.

Zeke awkwardly clears his throat. “Nothing.” Then, he nods at the man’s phone. “Er, so… What’s this special surprise?”

The shorter man with the phone shrugs. “Not sure. But”—he looks at his watch—”it should be launching right about—”

His phone suddenly goes dark, making the three exchange a confused but alarming glance.

“Uh, what happened?” the other asks.

“How am I supposed to know?” the man retorts, pressing the buttons on his phone.

Suddenly, the screen flashes white.

“What the…”

Zeke is just as confused as the two men as the screen becomes visible and they read the words on the screen.

congratulations on unlocking your survival guide

As questionable and ridiculous as that sounds, it’s the message in italics that appears underneath that Zeke's truly worried about.

not everyone deserves to survive