I woke up with a shiver. A red light was blinking on the screen.

“You are currently experiencing a malfunction with your EC. Please do not panic. The maintenance request has been escalated to the high. Your account has been credited for any inconvenience this may have caused." The Systems voice seemed calming or it was the anti-anxiety drugs.

I don’t think I have ever been this cold before. I remember watching an old movie and there was an explorer in an environmental suit walking in the snow. I remember that he said that without it the body would freeze to death. The show was interactive and allowed me to feel the cold. I started to think about that, but every time I would put the energy into thinking about the worst, I felt a rush of euphoria.

“Your Malfunction has been sponsored by Calmatin, why worry?” The sponsor’s voice was soothing.

"You are currently experiencing a malfunction with your EC. Please do not panic. The maintenance request has been escalated to the high. Your account has been credited for any inconvenience this may have caused." The System said again but the voice became distorted by the drugs, it was metallic and cold.

My eyelids fluttered closed, I am not sure why I was fighting the drugs, and I was not sure why I was doing anything. I could feel my heart in my ears, pumping. I could feel my hands, they felt cold and I tried to move them, but the tubes had like a static grip. I felt separate from my EC, like a captive. I have never felt like that before.

Then I got warm again. I calmed down. My thoughts synced again with my EC. I could feel my breath slow and the drugs subside. My eyelids fluttered open.

“There you go,” said Jon with a warm tone.

“W-What are you doing here?” I was overcome by the drugs.

“Maintenance,” He tapped at his badge and then packed up his tool bag.

“I feel…warm,” My mouth felt so heavy.

“Yes, it looks like a regulator failed, very unusual, one in a million chance.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re lucky I just live a couple of blocks away, Mason house. You need to get out more, you know for the legs,” He winked his left eye and then headed for the door.

“Wait!”

“Sorry, got work to do, the System is always watching me,” He replied as the door slid closed behind him.

My screen flickered and ads began to play. I could feel my body being cleansed inside my suit, I felt my waste removed and my stomach fill. I could not pay attention, I was still a little shaken from the morning events.

“Work will start in five minutes, do you require more time?” The System asked.

“No…No that’s fine,” I stammered as I shook off my feelings. It was quiet for those minutes, peaceful. The EC had soothed me and I was returning to a normal state of mind.

My screen filled with ads and then went dark for a second. Lines of data started to appear on the screen, my brain went into autopilot. The data danced on the screen as my brain analyzed it, looking for patterns. I was good at decrypting and I could see things in a more organic way, I am natural at this. Corporations had long figured out that the Systems in this world could decrypt anything that was created with an algorithm. The System was quick, but then the corporations got wise. Humans can be, let’s say more chaotic and random. I was there to spot these little bits of hidden data that may be of value to my Corporation.

I could scan data all day. I was good at finding these little critters. I could not always decipher them but at least I could find them and send them to the encryption unit. If we could find what they were doing we could beat them to the innovation. It was an intense race at times but it paid well. The notification for my break blinked, my screen paused and ads followed.

Then my screen flickered and I was greeted by a friendly nurse avatar with big eyes, a friendly smile, and a nurse’s hat.

“Med Check,” A calm woman’s voice resonated.

“I did not request one.”

“Yes, but we were notified that you had a stressful morning.”

“I did, but I feel normal now.”

“According to the report you were experiencing a high volume of distress, high heart rate, drop in body temperature and sporadic brain activity that the EC was not able to control with medication,” She followed up.

“Yes, it was resolved and I feel fine.”

“Do you remember your thoughts?”

“Thoughts?” I shrugged, “It's hard to say, I can’t really remember any thoughts.”

“Try again, the System said that you may know more than you are sharing, remember this is for your health and well-being.”

“I felt disconnected from my EC,” I said struggling for an answer.

“In what way?”

“I don’t know, disconnected, I have never felt that before,”

“Well we do not want that, I am notifying the Manufacturer of your EC so they can make corrections. I will also assign you a new drug to that feeling, we'll see if that helps should you if you find that situation to happen again,” She said, “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, I just want to get back to work,” I replied

“Have a good day and be healthy,” She said as the screen flicked to a Med Check company ad, “Med Check, Keeping you healthy is our number one priority.”

I continued my work and again managed to get back into the swing of things. My productivity was down a few percent today, probably from the distractions I had but it was well within my performance matrix determined by the Corporation.

My screen flickered and went to ads as my day ended.

"Shuman's Custard, when you have a hard day, nothing tastes as good as Shuman's Custard. It's a Classic."

One of my favorites and one of the few things I still enjoyed tasting. I felt that I deserved it, it was a long day. I requested it. My Helper Hand went to the square box replicator mounted in the wall where the item was being created. I could see it being printed through the translucent plastic door. When it was done the helper arm removed it and brought it close. It was spoon-fed to me and it tasted good. Most of the time food was just there, nutrients and nothing else, pumped into my body, but on occasion, it was nice to taste.

My screen flickered again with a list of activities that popped up for me to do this evening. I scanned the list carefully. There were some movies I have been wanted to see and gaming. On my friend's list, I saw that Robert was already entrenched somewhere in the gaming world.

On the bottom of the list was to go for a walk, I never look that far down but I remembered that the Maintenance fellow wanted me to get out, make sure I used the traveling legs on my EC. The adventure to me sounded good, for a change.

“Walk,” I said

“Walk, Calculating the route that would give you the most enjoyment,” The System replied.

My EC came to life and marched me leisurely out my door. A sun visor slid over my eyes as I was plunged into the bright outside world. The door behind me slid close and I was on my way.