Marcus Chen didn't respond to Ethan's first three messages.
The read receipts showed he'd seen them. Just chose not to reply. That was fair. An apology email and corrected patents didn't erase months of stolen credit and damaged trust.
Ethan tried a different approach. He showed up at Meridian Tech.
Security stopped him at the lobby. He no longer had clearance. His badge had been deactivated the day he was fired.
I need to see Marcus Chen, Ethan told the guard. It's important.
Is he expecting you?
No, but—
Then I can't let you up.
Ethan sat in the lobby and sent another message:
I'm downstairs. I know you don't want to see me. But I need to understand what I did to you. Not for my sake. For yours. Please give me ten minutes.
Five minutes passed. Then ten.
His phone buzzed.
Marcus: I'm coming down.
***
Marcus looked different than Ethan remembered.
Older. More confident. The promotion to Senior Algorithm Developer suited him. He wore it in his posture, his expression. He was no longer the uncertain junior developer Ethan had mentored and exploited.
He sat across from Ethan in the lobby cafe, arms crossed.
Ten minutes. Talk.
Ethan had prepared what to say. But looking at Marcus now, the rehearsed words felt hollow.
I'm sorry isn't enough, Ethan started. I stole your work. Took credit for months of your innovation. Tried to claim it as my own at the most important moment of your career.
Marcus's jaw tightened. Keep going.
You trusted me. Saw me as a mentor. And I betrayed that trust because my ego mattered more than your dignity. I damaged your reputation. Made people question your abilities. Almost derailed your entire career path.
And? Marcus pressed.
And I did it consciously. I knew exactly what I was taking. Knew how much work you'd put into that algorithm. Knew it would make or break your credibility. And I took it anyway.
Marcus leaned back. Okay. So you understand what you did. Why are you here?
Because in three days, I'm going to experience your life. What it was like to be the junior developer whose mentor stole everything. The system is making me learn.
Marcus's expression shifted. The system? Like with Jamie?
You talked to Jamie?
She reached out after the money showed up. Told me about your transformation. Said something impossible was happening to you. I thought she was exaggerating.
She wasn't. Ethan showed Marcus his wrist. The mark: 3/58
Marcus stared. That's real.
Very real. I've lived as Jamie, as Chen Wei the janitor, as Robert Martinez the delivery driver. I experienced what I did to them. And in seventy hours, I'll experience what I did to you.
Marcus was quiet for a long moment. What do you want from me?
I want to understand before the system forces me to. I want you to tell me, in your own words, what my theft cost you. So when I live through it, I understand it's not just a lesson. It's your life.
***
Marcus talked for forty-three minutes.
He described the algorithm's development. Six months of late nights. Weekends in the office. The breakthrough moment at 3 AM when the pattern finally clicked. The joy of creating something genuinely innovative.
Then the excitement of showing it to Ethan, his mentor. Trusting him to help refine it. Guide it toward implementation.
I thought you were helping me, Marcus said quietly. I thought we were collaborating. I didn't realize you were studying it to steal it.
I was, Ethan admitted. From the beginning.
Marcus continued. The board presentation. Watching Ethan present Marcus's work as his own. The modifications were superficial—polish and formatting that took hours, not months. But Ethan presented it as if the core innovation was his.
I was sitting in that room, Marcus said. Watching you take credit. And I couldn't say anything. You were my supervisor. My mentor. If I accused you publicly, who would they believe?
So you stayed silent.
I stayed silent. And it ate me alive.
Marcus described the weeks after. Other developers treating him differently. Questioning whether he'd actually contributed to projects or just been along for the ride. His ideas suddenly scrutinized more heavily. His code reviewed with skepticism.
You poisoned my reputation, Marcus said. Made people doubt my abilities. I spent months rebuilding credibility I never should have lost.
Ethan felt the weight of it. I'm sorry, Marcus. Truly.
I know you are. The patent correction helped. Tom publicly acknowledged my work. That started repairing things. But the damage was done.
What can I do to make it better?
Marcus considered. You can't give me back the time I lost. The opportunities that passed while I was rebuilding trust. The confidence I lost in my own abilities. But you can learn from it. Become someone who builds people up instead of tearing them down.
I'm trying to.
I can see that. Marcus's expression softened slightly. Jamie and Chen Wei both said you genuinely changed. That you understood. I didn't believe it until now.
***
Over the next two days, Ethan researched the junior developer experience.
The tech industry was brutal for newcomers. Expected to prove yourself constantly. Blamed for failures, rarely credited for successes. Mentors who took promising juniors under their wing, sometimes to guide them, sometimes to exploit them.
Ethan read accounts from developers whose work had been stolen. The psychological toll. The self-doubt. The question that haunted them: Was my work actually good, or did I imagine its value?
He read about imposter syndrome. How even brilliant developers questioned their abilities because the industry was designed to make them feel insufficient.
Marcus had navigated all of this while dealing with Ethan's theft.
And somehow, he'd still succeeded.
***
Ethan met Marcus again on day two of preparation.
This time at Marcus's suggestion. A coffee shop near Meridian Tech where developers gathered after work.
I want to show you something, Marcus said.
He pulled out his laptop and opened his current project. Code filled the screen—elegant, efficient, innovative.
This is what I'm working on now. Next-generation machine learning optimization. It's going to revolutionize how we process data.
Ethan studied the code. It's brilliant.
Marcus smiled—a real smile this time. I know. And this time, I'm the lead. My name on the patents. My reputation secured. But you know what the best part is?
What?
I'm mentoring two junior developers. Teaching them what you should have taught me. How to innovate. How to receive credit. How to build careers instead of having them stolen.
Ethan felt both shame and pride. That's good. That's exactly what you should be doing.
I learned from your example, Marcus said. Learned what not to be. So in a weird way, you taught me something valuable. Just not what you intended.
I'm glad something good came from it.
Marcus closed his laptop. When you experience my life, you're going to feel the self-doubt. The impostor syndrome. The constant questioning of your own abilities. It's going to be uncomfortable.
I know.
Good. Because that's what you created. That's the legacy of your theft. And you need to carry it so you never do it again.
***
The final day before the assignment, Ethan focused on preparation tasks.
He documented everything he'd learned. Wrote detailed notes about Marcus's experience. Reflected on the specific harm caused by intellectual theft.
The system tracked his progress:
[OPTIONAL PREPARATION TASKS COMPLETED]
- Meaningful conversation with Marcus Chen: +30 Points
- Research on junior developer experience: +20 Points
- Understanding imposter syndrome dynamics: +15 Points
- Second meeting and reconciliation: +25 Points
Current Readiness: 90/100
Note: Your preparation is thorough. However, one additional task will maximize readiness.
What task? Ethan wondered.
The system displayed a suggestion:
[BONUS PREPARATION TASK]
Publicly acknowledge Marcus Chen's work. Use your platform and connections to ensure the tech community knows his brilliance. Repair the reputation damage you caused.
Ethan spent the afternoon drafting a post for LinkedIn and Medium.
He titled it: The Algorithm I Didn't Invent
In the post, he detailed everything. His theft of Marcus's work. The months of deception. The harm caused. And most importantly, Marcus's brilliance and innovation.
He tagged every tech leader he knew. Every connection who'd praised the algorithm. Everyone who'd given Ethan credit.
The post went live at 6 PM.
Within an hour, it had three hundred shares. Tech industry leaders were commenting. Praising Marcus. Condemning Ethan's theft. But also acknowledging his honesty now.
Marcus sent a message:
You didn't have to do that.
Ethan replied:
Yes, I did. You deserved recognition from the start. Better late than never.
Marcus: Thank you. This means more than you know.
The system pulsed:
[BONUS TASK COMPLETED]
Public acknowledgment of Marcus Chen: +10 Points
Current Readiness: 100/100
MAXIMUM READINESS ACHIEVED
You have prepared thoroughly. The lesson will still be difficult, but you will emerge with full understanding.
***
That evening, Ethan visited his mother.
Margaret was doing a paint-by-numbers in the common room of her new facility. She smiled when she saw him.
Three days in a row. I'm spoiled.
I promised I'd keep coming, Ethan said, sitting beside her.
They painted together in comfortable silence.
You're doing something difficult, aren't you? Margaret asked after a while. I can see it in your eyes. The weight.
I'm learning to be better, Ethan said. It's hard. Sometimes painful. But necessary.
I'm proud of you for doing the hard thing.
Even though I'm only doing it because I have to?
Margaret shook her head. You're doing it because part of you wants to change. If you didn't, you'd resist. You'd fight it. But you're embracing it. That's a choice.
I never thought of it that way.
She patted his hand. My son is becoming a good man. Better late than never.
Better late than never, Ethan echoed.
***
At 11:47 PM, Ethan lay in his bed watching the countdown.
[CAREER 4: MARCUS CHEN BEGINNING IN 13 MINUTES]
He thought about the previous careers. Jamie's invisible labor. Chen's aging body and dignity. Robert's impossible choices.
Each one had changed him. Carved away pieces of his arrogance. Built empathy where selfishness had lived.
Marcus would be different. This wasn't about physical labor or financial desperation. This was about psychological harm. About dreams stolen. About trust betrayed.
Ethan was ready.
The system's final message appeared:
You will experience Marcus Chen's life during the weeks surrounding the algorithm presentation. You will feel his excitement, his trust, and his devastation.
You will understand what it means to create something beautiful and watch someone else claim it.
You will carry the weight of impostor syndrome you did not earn but cannot escape.
This is what intellectual theft costs.
Sleep now.
When you wake, you will be Marcus Chen.
The countdown hit zero.
Ethan closed his eyes.
The transformation began.
When consciousness returned, he was sitting at a computer in a small apartment.
Code filled the screen. Beautiful, elegant code. His code. Marcus's code.
The algorithm he'd spent six months creating.
The breakthrough that would change everything.
If only someone would believe it was his.
The date in the corner of the screen showed three weeks before the board presentation.
Three weeks before Ethan Monroe would steal everything.
And Marcus Chen had no idea it was coming.