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“Did you hear that Very Good Corporation and Excellent Corporation merged yesterday, Alexandria?” asked Patricia, one of the 12,500 receptionists at Very Good Corporation. “This is some amazing news!”

Alex, a fellow employee of Very Good, looked left across the mag-train aisle at a smiling Patricia, who eagerly nodded her head in enthusiasm. The windows on their flanks flashed bright hues and 5-D swirls, their advertisements choking out any blank space in their peripheral vision. Alex sighed and took a puff of her Medicine.

“Yes, yes. I was one of the first few million to hear it. Got the Speedy Alert after I had just woken up. So did you hear about it?” again questioned Patricia, desperate for an answer.

It didn’t interest Alex one bit, but she played along anyway, not wishing to upset her coworker and get into an even longer conversation. “Yes, I got a Quick Alert about it yesterday too.”

“Oh!” cried out Patty, “You must upgrade to the Speedy Alert! Here I will refer you right now. Ten percent off!”

Patty looked in Alex’s direction and scrunched her forehead, thinking the command into her communicator. Alex winced her eye upon receiving it and immediately filed it off into her personal trash bin, disregarding the fee necessary to do so.

“Thanks, Patty, I will be sure to upgrade.”

“Oh, no, thank you! I get a free muffin at the Food Shoppe for everyone I refer. A chocolate muffin, Very Big size!”

Patty’s excitement was overwhelming. Her head shook and shook in excitement and she kept smiling at Alex. She also, quite nonchalantly, had pulled out a napkin from her knapsack and worked to wipe her chin for, to Alex’s disgust, she had begun uncontrollably salivating at the mere thought of her reward. Alex took another puff of her Medicine and cast her eyes to the window, letting the 5-D take hold of her senses for the remainder of her morning commute.

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…continue.

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Before long, the mag-train arrived at its stop, and Alex was shook from her slumber, finally regaining control of her eyes. The passengers all filed out slowly - there was no rush - but Patty still could not contain herself and gently brushed past a few to get out quicker. That was a mistake.

When Alex stepped down, she looked in front of her to a see an anxious Patty being pursued by three Agents of Security, their superimposed Double Legs easily catching up to the plumb woman. Alex could just barely overhear the conversation, so she turned on her Hearing Supplements.

“Ma’am, are you aware that you broke the law twenty-five seconds ago when you physically assaulted four passengers on Train F?”

“Yes, so sorry! So sorry!” said Patty as she continued to walk east, towards the Food Shoppe. “It won’t happen again, I promise, I promise it won’t!”

The Agents looked at each other and smirked. “We need permission to read your Intentions.”

Patty eagerly relented, willing to do anything to speed the process up. The three Agents stared intently into Patty’s eyes, occasionally rolling their heads. Alex noted the process seemed to take a few seconds longer than what she usually saw. She had heard stories of Agents spending a bit longer than they should have rooting around in someone’s head.

Patty’s intentions must have been pure, for when they were done, the Agents offered warnings instead of handcuffs and kicked their Double Legs back into active gear to continue their patrol. Patty immediately ran off to the Food Shoppe, her mouth overflowing with saliva, leaving a trail of tiny droplets as she went.

Alex sighed, thinking an hour or two in the Collections may have done Patty some good. But then she thought up the time; she was late, and that meant less Medicine next week. Well, maybe if she rationed it would be fine. No, who was she kidding. Cursing Patty for distracting her, Alex quickly jogged up into the Very Good Building, its spires and columns sensing her less than punctual arrival with haste.

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I need more

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Alex quickly passed through Security before heading towards her office on the -102nd floor. It was a small floor, designed just for her and her direct coworkers: a darkened, plain, and silent series of rooms. Alex’s was down the hall and the fourth door on the left. She entered the room, tapped out the woman who held the previous shift, and sat down in the still-warm chair, easily sinking in to its Comfort Valves.

Alex’s full title was Senior Efficiency Coordinator for Area 1850. Her job consisted of one task only, a task that Alex had been doing now for four long and boring years. But at least she had a job. At least she hadn’t been sent up north or out east. At least she had a purpose; and most importantly, at least she had access to Medicine and Healthcare.

An alert flashed across Alex’s screen, bright red and humming in crescendo, taking up all of Alex’s available attention. UNIT #439,001,561 in NEED of IMMEDIATE TERMINATION. It was a usual alert. Alex had seen ones like it thousands of times. An android somewhere in her area had malfunctioned and needed a remote command to shut down for repairs. She hit the key and it was done. She logged it, then sat waiting for the next. Ten minutes later another came and she did the same. Five minutes later, one more. After a few hours, her work cycle was complete and she waited for the next employee to tap her out.

Alex took the mag-train home, its passenger list curiously devoid of Patty. Patty was always there. Always. It struck her strange, so strange that she began sweating and nervously looking around. Was she in another car? Another train? No, no, no! Don’t panic. Don’t steer from normalcy. Don’t draw attention to yourself. Alex finally brought herself to tighten her resolve, then continued the journey home with the help of the 5-D.

Late in the afternoon, in the safety and supposed complete privacy of her room, Alex couldn’t help but quietly cry. She had suspected, for several days now, that perhaps those weren’t androids on the other side of the alerts. Perhaps, just maybe, they were Pattys.

But a terrible thought to have, so a terrible thought no more: Alex took her Medicine and fell fast and hard asleep.