After my AI Amanda took my hand, we walked at a much faster pace down the sidewalk and along the road. As we did, I kept an eye on the traffic to see if there was any kind of pattern. Some of the cars moved fast, some moved at a normal speed, and others crawled along. I was pretty sure when we came to the road crossing that it would continue that way and it would be too dangerous to cross; but, then I was pleasantly surprised when we came to a stop and watched the traffic.

One car passed by pretty quickly, and I thought to myself that it was probably the one that had hit me; then another passed by right behind it.

That's the one that had actually killed me. I thought to myself, and then I waited for the next car. It was almost ten seconds later that it passed by at a sedate pace, and then the fast car passed with the second car close behind. I waited for the pattern to repeat and then led Amanda across the road. I heard her sigh as we made it safely to the other side, and then the walk continued.

We came to a small park with several low resolution people and their pets walking around; but the path didn't go that way, so we couldn't enjoy the park like they were and continued on. It wasn't long before we came to a large construction site, and Amanda pulled on my hand to get me to stop. It was just in time, because a tractor came out of the site and just missed running me over.

“Thanks.” I said to her, and we walked on. The path led around the corner, and I heard something snap.

“JACK!” Amanda said and pulled on my arm. I was grateful to her because she had almost succeeded. A steel cable that held up a large crate of bricks above the construction site we were walking around, had snapped and dropped several tons of bricks down onto the walking path. Amanda had yanked as the bricks crashed down, and only the lower half of my body was caught in the falling debris.

“Oh, Jack.” Amanda had tears in her eyes as she tried desperately to dig me out, and I told her not to bother.

“My legs are crushed, and I won't be able to keep walking anyways.” I said. “It's a good thing we have resets.”

Amanda nodded and brought up the game menu, then hit the reset button. Everything faded to black, and then we were standing back in the driveway of the two storey house at the beginning of the walk.

WELCOME!

This is L.I.F.E. Simulation Version One

Day Trip has been successfully loaded. Please Choose one of the following activities:

Go For A Walk Go For A Drive Go For A Swim End

Optional Information

Resets: 2 Deaths: 2

So, resetting counts as a death, probably because I couldn't continue. I thought as I chose 'Go For A Walk' again. Amanda and I followed the same path to the road crossing, the tractor at the construction site, the falling bricks on the other side of the construction site, and we kept going.

“Amanda? If you had to classify it, what kind of simulation is this?” I asked my AI.

“It's a death simulator.” Amanda said. “It's to see how many times you can die before you stop playing.”

I chuckled. “You're close.” I said. “I think it's actually a memory game that teaches caution.”

“No it isn't!” Amanda said. “It was designed to torture me!” The grip on my hand tightened. “Watching you get hurt is killing me.”

“Hey, I'm sorry.” I said and stopped walking. Amanda turned to me and I gave her a hug. “I didn't think it would be this hard on you.”

“Well, it is.” Amanda said as she buried her face in my chest. “It always hurts the most when the one you love gets hurt.”

I squeezed her tightly, because what she said was the truth. It reminded me of Sandra, and how hurt she was; then I remembered my mother and how she died.

“Let's get moving.” I said and let her out of the hug. “This simulation might have something that comes along to make us keep going if we stand still too long.”

No sooner had I spoken, when we heard a high pitched whining engine and wind whistling. We both looked behind us at the same time, and saw an airplane as it streaked towards the ground. I grabbed Amanda's hand and ran as fast as I could along the highlighted path, then the plane hit the ground where we had stopped to talk. The back broke as it hit and split the plane in two, the wings snapped off and slid across the ground to either side of us, and then the front of the plane bounced, rolled over, and fell on top of us.

YOU HAVE DIED!

Reason: Lack of motivation.

We reappeared in the driveway at the start of the simulation again, and Amanda shook her head.

“You can't make me do that again.” Amanda said. “We just had an airplane drop on us!”

“We got pretty far this time.” I said. “We've still got one more reset before it ends.”

“I don't care!” Amanda said. “If you want to go and kill yourself... again... you go right ahead!” She said and crossed her arms. “I'm staying right here until you get back.”

“How am I going to survive without my guardian angel to guide me?”

Amanda turned her back to me so I wouldn't see her face, so I walked over to her and hugged her from behind. I had to bend over slightly to put my chin on her shoulder. “You know how comforting it is for me to have you by my side all the time.”

Amanda turned her head to the side so I wouldn't see her smile. “I don't want you to do this.” She said. “You've seen what it does and how the interactions work. You don't need to see what can happen next, do you?”

“Actually, I'm tempted to put the resets to the upper limit and keep going for as long as the simulation would let me.” I said, and Amanda stopped moving. “I want to see how many permutations of dangerous events it can generate, or if it's all just preset variables that activate when I'm near.”

“It's preset variables.” Amanda said right away. “I've recorded each event that we passed each time. Nothing changed at all. It's the exact same.”

“So, it's all just waiting for the player trigger?” I asked her.

“Yes.”

“Thank you.” I said and kissed her cheek.

“Wh-what was that for?” Amanda asked.

“For being honest and for doing your job, even though it hurt you to go through it.”

Amanda uncrossed her arms and hugged my arms around her waist. “You made me to help you.” She said. “I'll do that as much as I can, even if you're being too stupid to listen to me.”

I chuckled and looked at the popup window.

WELCOME!

This is L.I.F.E. Simulation Version One

Day Trip has been successfully loaded. Please Choose one of the following activities:

Go For A Walk Go For A Drive Go For A Swim End

Optional Information

Resets: 1 Deaths: 3

I hit the 'End' button and the simulation faded away. It left us in my virtual workspace, and Amanda sighed in relief.

“Please tell me you aren't going to load it again.” Amanda said.

“I'm not going to load that simulation anymore.” I said to her, and she relaxed against me. There was a loud beep and a popup window appeared.

Good Morning!

Visiting Hours at General Medic are from 7am to 11 am, and 1pm to 8pm

I looked at the System time and saw that I only had fifteen minutes to get there. “Damn, we've been at it all night.” I said and let Amanda go, then started the exit sequence.

The virtual workspace faded to black and I came back to my senses as the chair unfolded around me. I hopped out of the chair before the mechanical arms could grab me, and I was out of the immersion room and in the shower before the chair had finished folding back into the floor. I dressed in a generic set of clothes, just in case I was allowed to see Sandra in person and had to go through the decontamination shower again.

“I've already notified the System that you're going to be late for work.” Amanda said from the vidwall. “Do you want Rusty along this time?”

“No.” I said and grabbed a handful of breakfast discs to shove into my survival backpack. “I've got my communication pad on me now.” I said and pat the backpack. “If I need anything, I'll call.”

I left the apartment at a run, and went to the elevator. It seemed to take forever for it to arrive, and I rode it up to ground level. I calmly walked out of the lobby and out into the street, then over to the Tube car station. I had to wait in line, since everyone was moving about at this time of the morning, and when the next car came, the older couple in front of me asked if I wanted to share.

“I'm going to General Medic.” I said, and they smiled.

“So are we.”

I hopped into the 4 person car with them, and the tube shunted us down and we had to wait for a break in the flow of traffic.

“We definitely picked the worst time to casually travel today.” The older man said. “We should have left an hour ago.”

“I should have, too.” I said. “I was just wasting time in my virtual workspace until I could go to the hospital.”

The older woman chuckled. “You sound just like our Craig.”

I blinked my eyes for a few seconds, and then looked at both of their faces. “You're Craig's parents?”

They both nodded, and I reached out to shake hands with the man, then lightly held the hand of the woman.

“It's nice to meet you.” I said. “Craig is usually my alternate when I get too busy.”

“You're Jack!” Craig's mother said, and I nodded. “He speaks so highly of you.”

I chuckled. “He's still lying through his teeth, then?”

Craig's father laughed. “He said you had a sense of humor.” The smile faded away and he sighed. “My poor boy.”

“I hope he can recover quickly.” I said. “Was he hurt badly?”

“Thankfully, no.” Craig's mother said. “He only received secondary radiation exposure. The unfortunate women that sat next to him, though...” She said, shook her head to dismiss her morbid thoughts, and smiled. “Why are you going to General Medic?”

“That unfortunate woman is my girlfriend.” I said to her, and she took in a sharp breath. She leaned forward and took my hand.

“I'm so sorry.”

“Thanks.” I said, and she let my hand go. “She's getting the best medical care available, thanks to the System.”

“So is our boy.” Craig's father said. “We don't have anywhere near enough Points to afford the treatment, and the System's offer to pay for it all was such a relief!”

I nodded. “I'm pretty sure she thinks it was her fault for not catching the error before they used the chamber.”

Craig's mother laughed. “No matter how smart she is, I don't think she can keep track of...” She put a hand on her husband's arm. “What did they say it was? Metal fatigue or something?”

Craig's father nodded. “She could have opened and closed those shutters a thousand times under heat stress and not had a problem.” He said. “Just this time, the heat and strain of movement caused a slight warp in the metal.”

“You sound like you know a lot about it.” I said.

“I do.” The older man said. “I built the replacement shutters.”

“So that's what really happened.” I said. “It wasn't lack of maintenance, and it wasn't the System losing track or overlooking an error.” I smiled. “It wasn't anyone's fault.”

“Of course it wasn't.” Craig's father chuckled. “Do you know how many times a day that's checked?”

I shook my head.

“Every hour. Like clockwork.” He said. “The most important job that any of us has, is keeping humanity safe and healthy.” He sighed. “It was a complete and total accident.”

“Thank you.” I said, and he looked at me. “I know that's a weird thing to thank you for, but... it... it eased something in my heart to hear that.”

Craig's mother nodded. “Mine, too.” She said. “It still hurts like crazy, but it's nice to know it wasn't negligence or... or deliberate.”

I nodded in agreement, and the tube car took the off ramp to General Medic. It popped up to the surface and stopped, and I climbed out first and held a hand out to Craig's mother. She smiled at me and took my hand, and I helped her out of the car. I turned back and held a hand out to Craig's father to help him out, and Craig's mother laughed; which was my intention.

The older man swatted my hand away and got out by himself, and grumbled something about not treating him like a woman. This made her laugh more, and they walked arm in arm over to the hospital door. I let them go first, then scanned my hand and went inside myself. We shared an elevator ride in comfortable silence, arrived on the third floor, then walked over to the radiation treatment section and saw the nurse there.

“Good morning!” She said. “Mr. And Mrs. Hasterman? Waiting Room Two is available. I'll let you know when Craig is done eating breakfast, and then I'll take you in to see him.”

“Thank you.” Craig's mother said, and led her husband down the hall and they went into the assigned waiting room.

“Sir.” The nurse said to me. “Her parents are still in Waiting Room One. I don't know if Sandra is going to want breakfast at all, but I'll come and get you when she's finished.”

“Thank you.” I said and walked down the hall to the right door and knocked. I heard someone moving around, and then the door opened. “Good morning.” I said to Sandra's father, Nathan.

“Jack!” Noreen nearly yelled and came over to the door. They were both wearing unitards issued by the hospital, and I saw two of the benches in the room were folded down to make beds. She took me into a hug and I hugged her back.

“Did you sleep well?” I asked her, and was surprised to discover that the hospital unitard only provided a basic body covering, and that Sandra's mother wasn't wearing anything at all underneath it. She felt my reaction to her hug and snuggled in a little tighter.

“I slept like a log.” Noreen said. “Stiff as a piece of wood laying on the hard ground.”

I laughed like she wanted me to, and she smiled up at me.

“Thank you for coming back this morning.” Noreen said. “I hope the System doesn't get angry at you for skipping work.”

“I'm not skipping, just delaying for awhile.” I said and rubbed her back.

“I hope we can at least see her today.” Noreen said as she closed her eyes and sighed.

“It depends on if she can eat breakfast or not.” I said. “The nurse will be here in a little while to let us know.”

“Why didn't you tell me that already?!?” Noreen said and let me go. “I have to get changed!”

“I literally just stepped into the room.” I said to her as she practically teleported across the room and started to rummage through her clothes to find something to wear. “I told you as soon as-”

Noreen whirled back to face me and her face showed anger. “I will not see my little girl while wearing a hospital unitard!” She said, dug her fingers into the neck hole, and yanked it down.

Hospital unitards had been designed for easy removal, just in case patients that were in distress needed it removed quickly; so, with a minimum of force, the unitard split right down the middle. Noreen gave both myself and her husband an eyeful as the unitard fell away, and I confirmed with my own eyes that she really hadn't worn anything underneath. I quickly turned around to face the door, and her husband did the same thing.

“Um... is she always this impulsive?” I whispered the question to him.

“Only when she's upset.” Nathan whispered back. “This is the first time I've seen her strip like that, though.”

“Please tell me it's not 'like mother, like daughter'.”

Nathan chuckled. “Do you want me to lie?”

“Remind me not to make Sandra upset in public.” I whispered.

“I can't find anything to wear!” Noreen exclaimed, and it felt like heat seared the back of my neck. I took out my communication pad and brought up the closest clothing store. I held it up and flipped through several outfits, and Nathan pointed to one. I nodded and bought it, and chose the quick delivery option. That made the outfit cost a few more Points, but I honestly didn't care. A piece of clothing flew by my head and hit the door, and I saw it was half of a blouse.

“She never did like that blouse.” Nathan commented, and then we heard 2 quick beeps. A small panel opened up at the side of the room and a medium-sized package dropped down the chute.

“Thank you for your purchase.” A woman's voice said.

“Wh-what... what's this?”

“Nathan thinks you need a nice outfit just in case Sandra can see you.” I said automatically, and gave complete credit to her husband. He turned his head to stare at me, and I shook my head slightly. He gave a little sigh and then spoke.

“I hope you like it.”

Noreen took the package and opened it up. She gasped when she saw what it was, then was delighted that it had everything in it. Black undergarments, a translucent bodysuit that covered her from neck to ankle so that you couldn't tell she was wearing undergarments, a stylish skirt that hugged her hips, a low cut sleeveless top that barely covered the tiny bra, and a thin coat that had full sleeves. The main part of the coat was cut off midway and only went down to the middle of her back.

“Oh, Nathan.” Noreen purred and sauntered over to her husband. His eyes widened as her hands snaked around his waist and then went lower. He quickly stopped her hands before she grabbed something else, and he turned around in her arms. She gave him the kiss she thought he deserved, and for a brief moment he forgot where he was and kissed her back as if they were completely alone.

I kept my eyes firmly glued to the waiting room's door as they made out, and I didn't move or make a sound. They were only about ten years older than I was, which reminded me that Sandra was five years younger than me. She was about fifteen years older than her parents were when they had her, and it made me wonder why she was an only child.

If we fit into the normal statistics, both Sandra and I should have had a teenaged child before we had even met. I thought, and then there was a knock on the waiting room door. I waited for a moment, to let Noreen adjust herself to look like she hadn't just been kissing her husband like they were teenagers again, then I opened the door.

“She's ready to see you now.” The nurse said.

“Thank you.” I said and stepped back to let Sandra's parents walk past. The nurse smiled and turned to walk down the hallway, and Noreen and Nathan followed closely behind her. I stayed in the rear, mainly because I didn't want to get in between a mother and her sick daughter. If the last few minutes were any indication, the last thing I ever wanted to do was get Noreen angry at me.