LRP, The Labor Rebirth Program!

“I know this is a lot to take in-”

“I’m being told that I need to work even though I’m dead, of course that's a lot to take in!”

“-Okay hard way it is then.”

The girl moved in close and jabbed her thumb into my neck. Immediately I felt like I was moving in water and my eyes grew heavy. My tormentor then spoke with a smirk on her face.

“Sorry for manhandling you a bit, let’s continue our conversation when you wake up.”

****

“Alright so where did we leave off?”

“I’m supposed to work even though I died.”

“Oh right, please let me finish this time!”

I don’t see why she looks so irritated, I’m the one who’s had to endure her abuse up till now. Immediately she pulled out a projector and a board, why does this feel like a pyramid scheme all of a sudden?

“Alright, so I want you to look up here. This is Earth, where you came from.”

“Yes, I’m a human from Earth. I’m not one of those aliens from those comic books I used to read.”

“Focus newbie! So usually when someone on Earth dies, they get passed off to the emissaries of the pearly gates. However…”

She pressed a button, the next screen showed two flames next to one another. One was light blue and the other was purple.

“These flames represent souls, let’s say a regular soul is blue like this. However, you Paragons are different.”

“How are we different, actually how does someone even classify as a Paragon?”

“Let me go a bit more in depth, Paragons range from historical figures to people who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into something. In your case, you unknowingly poured your life into being a postman.”

So that’s how this all happened, in other words, it’s like getting more work placed on you for doing a good job. If I knew this would happen, I would've slacked off…No, I was raised to give people the respect they deserved. If I didn’t pour everything into my work it would feel like a disservice. As I thought that, the girl began to laugh at me again.

“See that, even though you started wishing you slacked off, you ended up rebutting yourself right. It’s that goody twoshoes mindset that leads to you getting chosen to be a Paragon.”

“Then why, why send me here instead of letting me pass on!”

“Easy, because you didn’t want to!”

I stared at the girl blankly, I didn’t go to the other side because I didn’t want to? In other words I wanted to be here? I thought about it and finally grasped what she meant. It’s not that I didn’t want to end up here, it’s that I didn’t want to die in general. If I could have it my way, I would be living a peaceful life alongside my family right now. Instead I ended up dying, and leaving them alone.

“Looks like you get it, you’re here because you wish you weren’t dead. Henceforth, the privilege given to all you Paragons! We call it the Labor Rebirth Program!”

“Labor Rebirth Program?”

“That right, you and other Paragons are sent to a world which is deemed to be underdeveloped. Based on the labor you do in that world, you’ll get points based on how well you did. Get enough points, and you get sent home back to Earth. Like nothing ever happened!”

It was too good to be true, I do labor in some other world and if I gain enough points I can be revived. It was too good to be true, it really did seem like some pyramid scheme, but I didn’t want to reject the idea. If this girl was telling the truth, then all I had to do was keep doing the job I’ve done for the last 20 years. If I do it well enough, I’ll be able to return home to Earth and retire there. The tears my family are shedding over me won’t happen, and I can finally show them the love they deserve. This deal, it’s too good not to accept.

“The program, how does one enter?”

“That’s the spirit! All you have to do is get an okay from a TMO and you’re all good to go!”

“TMO?”

“Transmigration Officer, in other words someone like me!”

The girl struck a strange pose, she looked so pig headed I could’ve sworn her nose grew. Then she looked back at me and cleared her throat.

“That said, my name is Eris, as a TMO I’m kinda like a deity who deals with this sort of thing. So what do you say, are you interested?”

I looked at Eris, part of me was screaming no to whether or not I should trust her, but the other part of me won out. The part of my psyche that would climb out of Hell if it meant reuniting with my family. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then told her my answer.

“Yes, please allow me to join the Labor Rebirth Program.”