Alex woke to sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
He sat up slowly, his back protesting. The bed was comfortable. Too comfortable. He'd slept harder than he had in weeks.
His stomach growled.
Right. Food.
Alex stood and stretched, looking around the suite. Everything was still there. Still real. The insane city outside the window. The molecular assembly world where everything cost a fortune.
Speaking of fortunes.
"June, how much money do I have left?"
[Current balance: 287,450 dollars.]
Alex froze. "Wait. Say that again."
[287,450 dollars.]
"How the hell did I spend that much?!" Alex's voice rose. "I had over 400,000 after the Lisa mission!"
[Reviewing expenditure history. York, 12th century England: 75,000 dollars spent on various transactions including payments to Bess, Mary, and Thomas. Neo-Brasília entry costs: 150,000 dollars for vehicle disguise protocol. Accommodation at The Celestine: 75,000 dollars for three nights prepaid.]
Alex did the math in his head. "That's... three hundred thousand. In two days."
[Correct.]
"Jesus Christ." Alex sat back down on the bed. "At this rate I'll be broke in a week."
[This world's economy operates at a significantly higher baseline cost than Earth standard. Food, transportation, and services will continue to drain resources rapidly.]
Alex rubbed his face. "I need more money. A lot more. Especially if I'm going to figure out how to reach the President."
[Recommendation: Seek employment or alternative revenue streams within this world.]
"Yeah. Great. Let me just apply for a job while I'm trying to infiltrate the Presidential Palace." Alex stood again. "Let's start with food. Please tell me food isn't ridiculously expensive here."
[Analysis suggests standard restaurant meals in this district range from 500 to 2,000 credits depending on establishment quality.]
"Five hundred to two thousand. For one meal." Alex laughed without humor. "Of course."
He moved to the bathroom and cleaned up, then pulled on his clothes. Same outfit as yesterday. He'd need to do something about that eventually. Probably cost another fortune.
As he was buttoning his jacket, a notification appeared.
[Side Quest Available: Networking Opportunity]
[Objective: Approach a wealthy individual and secure a job offer]
[Reward: 15,000 dollars]
[Note: This world values connections above credentials. Make an impression.]
Alex read it twice. "A job offer. Right. Because that's totally something I can just make happen."
[You have relevant skills. Use them.]
"Helpful as always, June."
He left the suite and took the elevator down to the lobby. According to the hotel information on his keycard, there was a restaurant on the ground floor. High-end. Expensive. Exactly where wealthy people would eat breakfast.
The elevator doors opened.
Alex stepped into the lobby and immediately felt underdressed. Everyone here looked like they'd stepped out of a fashion magazine. Tailored suits. Designer dresses. Jewelry that probably cost more than cars.
He made his way toward the restaurant entrance. Before entering, he paused.
"June, can you analyze the people in there? Tell me what they do for work?"
[Scanning. Analyzing public profiles and network data.]
Alex waited.
[Analysis complete. Displaying occupations.]
Small holographic tags appeared in Alex's vision, visible only to him, floating above people's heads as he looked at them.
A man in a gray suit: [CEO - Manufacturing Conglomerate]
A woman in blue: [Investment Banker - Molecular Finance]
An older couple: [Retired - Former Government Officials]
Alex scanned the room. Most were executives. Business owners. People with money and power.
None of them looked approachable. Too intimidating. Too closed off in their own conversations.
Then he saw her.
The woman from yesterday.
She sat alone at a table near the windows, looking at something on a holographic display that floated in front of her. Still wearing white. Different outfit but same color. Same glasses. Same aura of complete confidence.
A tag appeared above her head.
[Tech Developer - Network Specialist - Multiple Corporate Contracts]
[Primary Focus: Molecular Assembly Systems Integration]
[Estimated Network Size: 500+ High-Level Contacts]
[Note: Analysis incomplete. Data encrypted at higher levels.]
Alex smiled.
Tech. Of course she worked in tech.
He'd been a software engineer before the truck accident. Spent years coding, building systems, debugging impossible problems. Tech was his language.
And this world's tech was leagues beyond Earth's. Which meant it was interesting. Challenging. Exactly the kind of thing he could talk about.
Alex walked to the serving counter and ordered coffee and something called a "protein synthesis plate" that the attendant assured him was breakfast. Cost: 800 credits.
He paid, took his tray, and walked directly to her table.
She was scrolling through a holographic display, her fingers moving with practiced efficiency. Her coffee sat untouched beside her, still steaming.
"Mind if I sit here?" Alex asked.
She didn't look up. "I do, actually."
Alex sat down anyway.
That got her attention. She looked up slowly, her eyes moving from his face to the chair he'd just claimed, then back to his face.
"Interesting," she said. Her tone was flat. "Most people understand what 'I do, actually' means."
"I'm not most people."
"Clearly." She went back to her display. "That doesn't mean you're someone I want at my table."
Alex took a sip of his coffee. "You called me a poor bastard yesterday. Thought I'd give you a chance to revise your assessment."
Her fingers paused mid-swipe. She didn't look up, but Alex saw the corner of her mouth twitch. Almost a smile. Not quite.
"So you're persistent and have thin skin," she said. "Wonderful combination."
"Just persistent. The thin skin comment was your addition."
This time she did look up. Her eyes were sharp behind those gold-rimmed glasses. Assessing. "And what exactly are you being persistent about? If this is some attempt at flirting, let me save you the embarrassment. I'm not interested."
"Not flirting. Networking."
"Ah." She leaned back slightly. "So you saw my work profile and decided I'm worth talking to. How flattering."
"You work in Molecular Assembly Systems Integration. That's not common."
"No, it's not." She swiped her display closed with a flick of her wrist. "Which means I deal with people trying to 'network' with me constantly. Tech bros who think they understand assembly protocols because they read an article once. Investors who want to throw money at buzzwords. Corporate climbers looking for connections." She picked up her coffee and took a slow sip. "So tell me. Which category do you fall into?"
"None of them."
"Everyone falls into a category."
"Then make a new one."
She studied him over the rim of her cup. "You're either very confident or very stupid. I haven't decided which yet."
"Why not both?"
That got a reaction. A small exhale that might have been a laugh. She set down her coffee. "Fine. You have two minutes. Impress me."
Alex took a bite of his breakfast, making her wait. "You're working on cross-platform integration. Trying to make different assembly nodes communicate without signal degradation."
Her expression didn't change. "That's public information. Anyone with access to a network could find that. One minute, forty seconds."
Alex glanced at her holographic display. It was angled away from him, but he could still see the edge of it. Code. Scrolling past in her peripheral vision while she talked to him.
His eyes caught on something. A pattern he recognized. Error handling wrapped around a quantum function call.
"Your primary issue isn't the communication protocol itself," Alex said. "It's the error handling."
She raised an eyebrow. "And you know this how?"
"Your display. I can see the edge of your code from here. Line forty-seven has a standard exception handler wrapped around what looks like a superposition resolution call."
Sienna's eyes flicked to her display, then back to him. "You can read code at that angle? Upside down and backwards?"
"Spent enough years debugging. You learn to read code in any orientation."
"Interesting." She didn't sound convinced. "And what exactly is wrong with my exception handler?"
"Molecular assembly doesn't throw standard exceptions. Quantum-state errors propagate differently than classical errors. Your catch blocks won't work because you're treating quantum failures like classical ones. The moment your system hits a superposition conflict, your code will crash without triggering your error handling."
Sienna was quiet for a moment. Then she reopened her display fully and scrolled to line forty-seven. She stared at it. Then at Alex. Then back at the code.
"That's been failing for two days," she said slowly. "I've been trying to figure out why the error handling wasn't catching the crashes."
"Because you're treating quantum errors like classical ones. They don't behave the same way. You need a quantum exception handler. Different syntax, different propagation rules."
She closed the display again. "And you know this how?"
"I worked in tech. Software engineering. Systems architecture. Spent years debugging code that shouldn't have worked but did, and code that should have worked but didn't."
"Worked. Past tense."
"Career change."
"To what?"
"Delivery services."
Sienna laughed. Actually laughed. Short and sharp but genuine. "You're telling me you went from systems architecture to being a delivery driver?"
"Life's full of surprises."
"Clearly." She tilted her head slightly. "And where exactly did you do this systems architecture work? What company?"
"Far away from here."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting right now."
Sienna's eyes narrowed again, but there was something else there now. Interest. Curiosity. "You're either running from something or lying about your credentials."
"Or I'm just private."
"Private people don't sit at strangers' tables and critique their code."
"Fair point."
They sat in silence for a moment. Sienna picked up her coffee again, watching him over the rim.
"You're interesting," she said finally. "I don't like interesting. Interesting means complicated."
"I'll try to be more boring next time."
"There won't be a next time." But even as she said it, she was reaching into her jacket. She pulled out a small card. Physical, not holographic. White with gold lettering.
She held it between two fingers, not quite offering it yet. "I'm going to regret this."
"Probably."
"You're not helping your case."
"Wasn't trying to."
She made a sound that might have been frustration or amusement. Then she slid the card across the table.
"Valeris Tech Solutions. My company. Top floor of the Helix Building, downtown." She stood, picking up her coffee. "9 AM tomorrow. Show up and prove you're not just good at reading code over someone's shoulder. If you can actually solve problems instead of just identifying them, maybe you're worth the headache."
She started to walk away. Three steps. Then she paused and looked back.
"And if you're late," she added, "don't bother showing up at all. I don't tolerate people wasting my time."
"Noted."
Her hips swayed as she walked toward the exit. Deliberate. Confident. She knew he was watching and didn't care.
Alex picked up the card.
**Valeris Tech Solutions**
**Dr. Sienna Valeris - Chief Systems Architect**
He smiled.
[Side Quest Complete: Networking Opportunity]
[Reward: 15,000 dollars]
[Current Balance: 302,450 dollars]
The notification appeared and Alex's smile widened.
Then another notification followed.
[New Quest: The Blue Van]
[Objective: Intercept and commandeer a blue molecular transport van]
[Location: Industrial Sector 7, Loading Bay 12]
[Time: Tomorrow, 6:00 PM]
[Warning: High security presence. Exercise extreme caution. This van contains a delivery scheduled for Presidential Independence Day celebrations. Do NOT damage the contents.]
[Reward: 50,000 dollars + Mission Progress]
Alex read it twice.
Tomorrow. 6 PM. A van headed to the Presidential celebrations.
9 AM meeting with Sienna. 6 PM hijacking a van.
This was going to be a busy day.
Alex took another bite of his breakfast, his mind already working through possibilities.
"Alright," he said quietly to himself. "Let's see how this plays out."
He finished his meal slowly, thinking.
Tomorrow was going to get very complicated.