The countdown read forty-three hours when Ethan woke up.
He'd barely slept. Every time he drifted off, he dreamed of transforming—his body shrinking, changing, becoming someone else entirely. Waking up was almost a relief.
Almost.
His phone showed three missed calls from debt collectors. His credit cards were maxed from the lifestyle he could no longer afford. Rent was due in a week. The irony wasn't lost on him—in forty-three hours, he'd experience Jamie's financial desperation firsthand. Except hers was worse. Much worse.
He made coffee and opened his laptop. Marcus Chen's email was easy to find on the company directory. His finger hovered over the keyboard for twenty minutes before he finally typed:
***
Marcus,
I don't expect you to read this. I don't deserve your time or attention. But I need to say it anyway.
I stole your work. I knew exactly what I was doing. You spent months on that algorithm and I took credit because I thought I was more important, more deserving, more valuable than you.
I was wrong.
You're brilliant. That algorithm was genius-level work and everyone should know it came from you. I've contacted Tom Richardson and confessed everything. I told him to make sure your name is on all the patents and presentations. It won't undo the damage, but it's a start.
I'm sorry, Marcus. Genuinely, deeply sorry. You deserved better than what I did to you.
I understand if you never want to hear from me again.
Ethan
***
He hit send before he could second-guess it.
The system interface pulsed.
[OPTIONAL PREPARATION TASK COMPLETED]
Apologizing to Marcus Chen: +10 Readiness Points
Concrete Action Taken (Patent Correction): +15 Points
Current Readiness: 95/100
Note: Your readiness is nearly optimal. One more genuine act of amends recommended.
One more. Ethan looked at the transgression list again. Fifty-nine names. He couldn't fix them all in forty-three hours. But maybe he could fix one.
Jamie Rodriguez's address was listed in the HR files he still had access to. A small apartment in the cheapest part of town. He grabbed his keys.
***
The building was run-down. Peeling paint. Broken intercom. The kind of place people lived when they had no other choice. Ethan climbed three flights of stairs—the elevator had an OUT OF ORDER sign taped to it—and found apartment 3F.
He knocked. No answer.
Knocked again. Nothing.
He was about to leave when the door cracked open. Jamie stood there in sweatpants and an oversized Berkeley hoodie, eyes red from crying.
Her expression shifted from confusion to anger in an instant.
What the hell are you doing here?
I came to apologize, Ethan said quietly. I know it doesn't fix anything, but I need you to know I understand what I did was wrong.
Jamie laughed—a bitter, broken sound. You understand? You show up at my apartment, unemployed for less than twenty-four hours, and you understand?
I treated you horribly. For six months I dismissed you, demeaned you, stole your work, and never once saw you as a person. You deserved respect and I gave you contempt.
She crossed her arms. Is this some kind of lawyer thing? Are you worried I'll sue?
No. This is me realizing I destroyed your life because I was too arrogant to notice you had one.
Jamie's jaw tightened. Do you know what happened after you fired me yesterday? I went home and cried for three hours. Then I logged into my bank account and did the math. I have twelve days before I'm evicted. My insulin costs four hundred dollars without insurance. I have three hundred and forty dollars total.
She stepped closer, anger radiating off her.
You want to apologize? You want to feel better about yourself? Here's what your apology is worth—nothing. It doesn't pay my rent. It doesn't get me health insurance. It doesn't erase six months of being invisible to you.
Ethan felt the words like physical blows. You're right.
Of course I'm right! Jamie's voice broke. I have a computer science degree from Berkeley. I can code in seven languages. I've built applications you couldn't dream of. And you had me fetching coffee like I was your servant.
She wiped her eyes angrily.
You don't even remember my name half the time. I'm just the intern. Just some girl. Just nobody.
You're not nobody, Ethan said. You're Jamie Rodriguez. You're twenty-four. You graduated top of your class. You're brilliant and ambitious and you deserved so much better than what I gave you.
Jamie stared at him. How do you know that?
I looked you up. Read your blog. Your GitHub. I saw who you actually are. And I'm ashamed I never bothered to look before.
Silence stretched between them.
This doesn't fix anything, Jamie said finally. You know that, right?
I know.
Then why are you here?
Ethan hesitated. The truth would sound insane. But lying felt impossible now.
Because in forty-two hours, something's going to happen to me. I can't explain it. But I needed you to know that I see you now. I see what I did. And I'm sorry.
Jamie studied his face, searching for something. She must have found it because her expression softened slightly.
You look terrible, she said.
I haven't slept.
Good. She started to close the door, then paused. For what it's worth, you apologizing in person is more than I expected. Most people like you never even realize they're the villain.
I'm definitely the villain, Ethan said.
Yeah, Jamie agreed. You are.
The door closed.
Ethan stood in the hallway for a long moment, then walked back down the three flights of stairs.
[OPTIONAL PREPARATION TASK COMPLETED]
Apologizing to Jamie Rodriguez: +5 Points
Current Readiness: 100/100
MAXIMUM READINESS ACHIEVED
Your first career assignment difficulty has been minimized. You are as prepared as possible. Final hours: Use them wisely.
***
Ethan spent the afternoon at Shady Pines with his mother.
They didn't talk much. He just sat with her, held her hand, watched the rain outside the window. Margaret fell asleep halfway through a crossword puzzle, her head resting on his shoulder.
He took a photo—the first one they'd taken together in three years.
When visiting hours ended, he kissed her forehead.
I'll see you soon, Mom.
Promise? Margaret asked sleepily.
Promise.
He meant it. Whoever he became after the system finished with him, he'd keep that promise.
***
Back home, Ethan ordered takeout and sat on his couch, watching the countdown tick down.
[Time Until First Assignment: 08:47:22]
Eight hours. Then his life as Ethan Monroe would pause. Maybe forever. He didn't know if he'd come back the same person. Didn't know if the same person was worth coming back as.
His phone buzzed. The unknown contact again.
Last advice before it starts. Don't fight the experience. Let yourself feel everything. The system shows you truth. Resisting just prolongs the pain.
Ethan typed back: What if I can't handle it?
The response came immediately: You can. Everyone thinks they can't. Everyone does. The human capacity for empathy is infinite. You just never tried to access yours.
Another message: When you wake up, you won't be in your apartment. You'll be in hers. In Jamie's life. Her debts, her fears, her reality. Remember—you asked for this by living the way you did.
I didn't ask for this.
Yes, the contact wrote. You did. Every time you treated someone as less than human, you asked for this. The system is just making you aware of the bill.
The conversation ended.
Ethan showered and changed into comfortable clothes. He set three alarms even though he knew they wouldn't matter. The system would wake him when it was ready.
[Time Until First Assignment: 00:30:00]
Thirty minutes.
He sat on his bed and opened the transgression list one more time. Fifty-nine names. Fifty-nine people whose lives he'd damaged. After Jamie would come Chen Wei, the janitor. Then the delivery driver. Then the homeless veteran. On and on until he'd experienced every perspective he'd failed to consider.
The mark on his wrist pulsed: 0/∞
Soon it would read 1/59.
If he survived.
[Time Until First Assignment: 00:05:00]
Five minutes.
Ethan lay down. His heart was racing. Every instinct screamed to run, to fight, to resist. But there was nowhere to run. The system had him.
[Time Until First Assignment: 00:01:00]
One minute.
He closed his eyes.
Goodbye, Ethan Monroe, he whispered to the empty room. I hope whoever I become is better than you.
[Time Until First Assignment: 00:00:00]
The world went dark.
And when Ethan opened his eyes again, everything had changed.
***
He was in a different bed. Smaller. Lumpy mattress with springs poking through. The ceiling had a water stain. Traffic noise filtered through thin walls.
This wasn't his apartment.
He sat up—and froze.
His hands were smaller. Slimmer fingers. Painted nails, chipped polish. He looked down at his body and saw curves where there had been none, different proportions, unfamiliar skin.
He stumbled to a mirror mounted on the closet door.
Jamie Rodriguez stared back at him.
His—her—phone alarm was going off. 5:30 AM. The screen showed a calendar notification:
Job Interview - 9:00 AM
Rent Due - 11 Days
Insulin Refill - 3 Days (No Insurance)
And below that, a text from an unknown number that made his stomach drop:
Your shift at the coffee shop starts at 6. Don't be late. We don't tolerate tardiness.
Ethan—no, Jamie now—sat on the edge of the bed, breathing hard.
The system interface appeared in the corner of her vision:
[CAREER ASSIGNMENT ACTIVE]
Role: Jamie Rodriguez
Duration: Until lesson learned
Current Status: Day 1 of ???
Objective: Experience what you failed to see. Understand what you refused to acknowledge. Survive what you inflicted.
Good luck.
Outside, the sun was rising over the city.
Jamie Rodriguez's life—Ethan Monroe's punishment—had officially begun.