"Hello O."

O looked disoriented when he looked up from his work to see who had addressed him. "Jacques?”

"Yes brother."

O’s bewilderment turned to suspicion. He did not look happy to see his brother.

O looked over at me for an explanation. He didn’t ask, but he had a way of turning his penetrating stare into words.

"I found him in New Jersey. Thought you might prefer to have him safe within the Beacon."

O looked at his brother again, then back down at his work. "I'm busy right now. Come back some other time."

Things got quiet and uncomfortable.

Eyal stepped in, "Jacques, let me show you to your room."

When they left the room I took a position uncomfortably close to O and waited a full three minutes until he looked at me.

"Mind telling me what is going on between you two?" I asked.

“I think you know.” O responded, and walked around me to another station.

“I don’t.” I lied.

"You going to tell me he just stumbled in here?" O asked.

I flinched.

O’s anger released, "Why did you bring him here."

I felt like a kid being scolded. Wait, why should I feel bad?

"Truth is, I think you’ve lost your humanity. You don’t want to listen to me, fine. I thought maybe he would remind you that even though we are living in a simulation, we still feel something.”

O side stepped me again and went back to work. "Did he tell you why his face looks that way?”

I nodded, "He told me it was an accident."

O gestured around the lab, "Then you know why I am doing all of this."

"I do."

"And you thought…” O said, working it out in his head, “You thought I’d think experimenting on my brother was crossing the line.

Ok, this wasn't playing out the way I had seen it in my head.

O came up to me and put his hand on my arm. “This isn’t flesh.” He took his hand off of me and gestured around, “We aren’t really here.”

He walked to the exit of the room and turned back and said, “And that person isn’t really my brother.”

He left. I stood there, alone, no idea what to say or what to do.

I gave up. I needed to clear my head. I visited Charlie.

Charlie held court with a group of young designers. They came every week, hoping to earn a spot on the staff of the master maker. They stood in line, each holding an invention of their own making. One at a time they showed Charlie what they created.

A confident, blond haired young man put a pile of loose straw on the table for Charlie to examine.

Charlie picked one strand up and twirled it in his fingers. "What is it?" Charlie asked.

"I merged a straw with gold. You know, like in the old fairy tale, but for real."

Charlie looked at it again and furled his brow, "Yes, I can see that, but why?"

The main stumbled to answer. "Well, I mean, isn't it cool?"

Charlie shook his head, "Mr.?”

"Ratchet."

"Mr. Ratchet. We don't build cool things here. We build things that can serve a purpose. Next?"

Mr. Ratchet's face went from confusion to anger. He swiped his golden straw back and stormed out.

The young woman who followed watched in dismay at the response Ratchet received from Charlie. Still, she took a step forward and nervously put her item on the table. It was a bottle of a green glowing liquid. "I merged water with corn starch and uranium 235."

Charlie went to pick it up but then hesitated, "Is it... dangerous?"

She shook her head, "Oh no, I also merged the glass with lead, it is transparent to light but keeps the gamma radiation within."

Charlie sighed relief and picked it up. "Corn starch you say?"

She began to relax as she settled into a subject she clearly had a passion for.

"Yes, I wanted a sort of nuclear battery. You'd be surprised at the strength that corn starch crystal structures are capable of. I think we could use these to replace lithium ion batteries. I mean we’d need to package them differently, but…"

She materialized a thin sheet of material. "I was thinking maybe we could roll it in this." Charlie took the thin sheet in his hands and analyzed it.

"This looks like you merged carbon fiber with lead."

She smiled, "I did! Just a few atoms thick. Flexible, strong, and most importantly, safe."

Charlie sat quietly and stared at the woman. She started to squirm, not knowing what his gesture meant.

Finally, Charlie spoke again, "So not only did you develop a novel energy storage system, but you also developed this creative sheath as well?"

She relaxed, smiled, and nodded quietly.

Charlie smiled, "What is your name?"

"Paula."

“Paula, what did you do before?” He meant before the revelation they were all in a simulation.

She stammered a bit, “I… well, I used to be a doctor down in Mexico, but when I moved to the United States my license wouldn’t transfer. So I worked as a lab assistant, to pay the bills.”

She looked embarrassed. “I’ll understand if you are looking for someone more qualified.”

Charlie looked at the bottle again, "Amazing. Paula, we would love it if you would join us here at the Beacon. I'd be happy to start you off with a 15 point skill increase in any three areas you are most interested in."

"You want me to join you? Here?"

Charlie smiled, "I hope you say yes, Paula. I think you are only scratching the surface of your potential."

Paula smiled, "Yes, of course I would like to join you."

"Excellent." Charlie noticed me then. "Paula why don't you head over to administration on level 14. I just messaged them to expect you. As for the rest of you, I apologize but I need to ask you to come back in two days. Thank you."

Charlie walked over to me. "Hi James! Did you see that?" Charlie asked the question in the way a child would, after seeing the Milky Way for the first time.

I smiled, "I did."

"She was really something."

"Don't you have something for energy storage that is significantly more advanced than that?"

Charlie nodded, "Oh yeah, way beyond that. But I'm not really interested in what these people bring me. I want to see what they accomplished without our resources. Paula there had a lot less than hundreds I see with resources and support beyond her means. She leveled up, then built her own lab and developed a really amazing solution. Initiative can’t be taught. And initiative is everything."

"You knew her story before she came to the table?"

"Oh yeah, we research everyone. People think if they level up that will give them the advantages they need. But we've learned that despite all we have been given with the interface, there are parts of our code that don't just boil down to specific skills. There is something else inside of people that we need to find and foster."

"Like a poor southern boy trapped in a junk yard outside of New York who develops amazing products without a college degree?"

Charlie put his hand on my shoulder, "Just think what I could have accomplished if someone had given me a boost."

I smiled, "I think I can imagine that."

Charlie looked more seriously at me now, "Did you need something from me?"

"I just got it. Thanks Charlie."

I decided to go back down to the lab and find common ground with O. With people like these in the world there had to be a solution we could find together.

I got back to the lab and wondered from room to room. I couldn't find O.

I messaged him. Nothing.

I grabbed Jacob, one of his lab assistants. "Have you seen O?"

He shook his head, "No, he took off right after you left."

I looked around the lab. And then I noticed it. A few of the machines weren't there anymore.

"Eyal, is O in the building?" I messaged.

A moment later I received the reply I expected. "No, he left five minutes ago."

Shit. Shit. Shit.