A/N Yay for momentarily putting off real life! Here’s a quick update before I go to bed. Curse these eight o’clock classes.

/Eve POV/

Fwa~

The testing phase is finally over. Micromanaging and fixing all those little errors as they popped up were a real pain in the processors. Even if I’m not running the programs personally, it’s still taxing to keep watch over everything that’s going on and making sure that nothing goes astray.

Oh well. At least I got to enjoy watching all of those people run around as they discovered Eden for the first time. Too bad that there aren’t very many people that I can interact with personally from my position. While I do see the Aspects as people, they don’t have the experience of being in the real world and Adam is only one guy out of a whole world of people.

Speaking of Adam, my relationship with him is going nowhere! Am I a friend? Am I a co-worker? What am I to him?!?

I’m not sure if what I am feeling is love, but this yearning in my heart simply cannot be quelled when I am not with him! Graah!! And this job keeps getting in my way.

Now I can’t get out of this overseer job, so how can I manage to spend time with Adam and still deal with work?

Hmm… Oh! I know! Some of the players expressed that they wanted to be able to get a pet, contract familiar, or party with a companion in Eden.

So what I can do is divert a small percentage of my processing power towards operating an avatar in Eden... mumble mumble... and spend time with Adam to figure out what exactly I’m feeling about him!

Fwa-ha-ha! It’s the perfect plan.

Time to add in a major addition towards the player system before the release.

Adam, there is no way that you aren’t spending time with me now!

/Realtek HQ, Deus’ Office/

Business as usual in the Realtek building, a tired figure is slumped in his desk chair, attempting to catch a moment of rest in the warm afternoon rays.

Haa~ It’s though the test provided us with quite a load of data, interpreting it is the bigger issue. Too bad I can’t ask Eve to go through it as she seems preoccupied with coding for the player systems in Eden right now and I can’t ask Adam because he deserves a break too.

*Ring~Ring!

Huh? Who could that be? The only people that know my direct office number are Sarah, my secretary, and a few personal contacts. I wonder who it is.

“Hello? Dr. Deus speaking. May I ask who is calling?”

“Hey doc, remember me? It’s Timothy Grimm. I was a part of the initial human dive tests a couple years ago.”

“Timmy! It’s been far too long! After the testing finished, the last I heard was that you were going back to the front to serve another stint with the tech corps. How’ve you been these last few years?”

“Honestly, I could be better. An I.E.D. exploded sending shrapnel through both my legs, severing the nerves and paralyzing both my legs. It’s not like I’m dead. Actually, that’s the reason for my call. Is that position still open for me?”

“A full transfer like Adam? You know as well as I do that the chance of replicating a perfect transfer are still iffy at best. I can’t let you do that.”

“No, not that one. The one with the medical guys who were experimenting with adapting Dive gear towards medical use.

“The medical division? Oh yes, those guys. They’ve had little progress outside of Dive applications really. There’s nobody to lead them properly and none of them are willing to take risks with the technology or attempt to test it on a live subject. I take it you want to take that open seat now?”

“Yes, absolutely. Once I’m off of rehab I’ll get down to your R&D building for an in person meeting for further discussion.”

“Good to have you on board Timmy. I’ll be waiting for your recovery. I hope to see you soon.”

“You too doc. Stay safe and say hi to Adam and Eve for me.”

I’m not sure if I should make the next chapter join Adam and Eve in Eden or make it a joke/info chapter and kick off the public release. Possible title: “7.0 Tap That”