MidReal Story
Code of Shadows
Scenario: "Please write a mystery novel. The protagonist is a young programmer named Parker. The story takes place in a futuristic tech city where Parker works for a large technology company. One day, the company's CEO suddenly calls Parker to his office and leaves him with a string of mysterious code. The next day, the CEO disappears. Parker gets involved in the investigation and discovers that the code is related to an unsolved case from ten years ago. As the investigation deepens, he gradually uncovers his own close connection to the case...
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I work at a technology company in a futuristic tech city.
It’s a bit hard to explain what I do because technology has evolved so much that it’s not only about computers and robots and apps.
We have a bunch of devices that talk to each other and our job is to make sure all of them are talking in the same language.
On paper, we’re called programmers.
In real life, we’re called the “Fix-It Squad”.
I’m pretty proud of what I do even though I’m one of the youngest guys on the team.
I graduated from an elite school and started working right away, but I have a feeling I’ll be promoted soon.
When I get to work, I have a message from Mia.
She tells me she’s going to be a bit late and asks if I’d cover for her until she gets there.
This is weird because Mia is always on time.
She’s the most reliable person I know, so I immediately say yes.
Before I even finish my coffee, she messages me again to ask if I’m on my way already and if I could get there as soon as possible.
I get out of bed and check my phone.
A message from Mia says, “Please cover for me at work today.
It’s going to be a complicated morning and I’ll explain everything when I get there.”
Complicated morning, huh?
I wonder what that means.
Mia and me are close friends.
We’ve known each other since college and joined the company at the same time.
She has blonde hair and green eyes and she’s really pretty, but sometimes people don’t take her seriously because of that.
She’s smart, resourceful, and loyal.
I think she’s one of the best programmers in our team.
“How complicated?”
I text back.
“Just trust me,” she replies.
“Okay,” I type back.
“Of course, I’ll trust you.”
Even though it’s still early, I get dressed and head out of my apartment.
I usually take the train to work, but today I decide to take a cab since Mia sounds like she needs my help right away, so I need to get there as soon as possible.
A notification from the company intranet pops up on my phone.
It’s a message from HR to confirm the change in my shift.
I don’t have to reply because my calendar is already synched with the company’s system, and my computer will know it too as soon as I get to my desk.
In this city, everything is connected and you can access information from one device to another.
Sometimes, I think it’s even more connected than we are.
Maybe they’ll promote me because of this, I think to myself.
I’m always on time and finish my work earlier than everyone else in my team, so people ask me to help them out a lot.
Just this month, I’ve already covered for two different people in my team who got sick or had family emergencies.
But then Mia’s message pops up and I remember there’s something that doesn’t add up this morning.
I have a feeling that something’s not right.
Mia never asks me for anything unless she really needs it and she knows that I’d do anything for her.
There are more messages from Mia: “Where are you?”
“Almost there,” I reply.
“Your shift is starting soon.”
“Yeah,” I say.
“I’m still two stops away.”
“Can you come any faster?”
she texts next.
“Sorry,” I say.
I’m almost there.”
This time, she doesn’t reply.
Her last message makes me worried because Mia is never this frantic.
She’s always calm and collected.
I call her to ask what’s going on but she doesn’t answer.
Instead, she sends me a text: “I’ll explain when I get there.”
“Can’t you tell me now?”
I ask over the phone.
“It’s better if I talk to you in person,” she says.
That’s weird, I think to myself.
She sounds upset and even though she doesn’t tell me anything, I can tell her voice is shaking and it sounds like she’s about to cry.
Mia never gets upset like this unless something really bad has happened or if she’s really angry about something.
“What is it?”
I say in a gentler voice.
“I can’t tell you now,” she repeats.
“We have a problem with a project and you’re the only one who can handle it.”
That’s strange, I think to myself again.
Mia is good at what she does too, so why does she need me?
“Thanks for trusting me,” I say out loud instead of over the phone because Mia has already hung up and doesn’t seem to be answering my messages anymore either.
That’s odd, I think to myself as I get out of the train and walk toward the building where we work.
I get a message from Mia next: “Meet me at Floor 47.
It’s somewhere important.”
Floor 47, I think to myself.
But our workplace doesn’t have a Floor 47.
Our building only has 40 floors and only certain people can access them.
We work at the 30th floor, but my badge can only go up to the 35th floor, and I know Mia’s can go up only to the 37th floor.
We’re both programmers, so we don’t need access to higher floors unless we’re working on something important.
I wonder if this is about work or if this is about personal stuff.
Mia never talks to me about her personal problems, but I know that she and her boyfriend are going through a rough patch right now.
Maybe something happened between them and she needs me to back her up in case he goes crazy.
Or maybe they broke up and she needs someone to talk to.
But if this is about personal problems, then why did she say we have a problem with a project?
I try calling Mia again, but this time, the call goes straight to voicemail.
Now, that’s odd .
I tap Mia’s name on my phone and press the call button again, but it still goes straight to voicemail.
I send her another message: “Mia, what’s happening?
Why do we need to meet at Floor 47?”
The response I get is an automated message saying that her phone is turned off and that I should try sending her a message instead.
Is Mia in trouble?
I open my phone again and send her another message: “Mia, are you okay?Do you need help?
Please tell me what’s happening.”
This time I don’t even get an automated response; I just get silence.
Mia can be weird sometimes, but this is so unlike her.
I’ve known her for so long and she has always been reliable.
She’s not the type of person who would just change plans all of a sudden or leave me hanging in the middle of something without explaining herself first.
But then again, I don’t know what other things could be more important than telling me why we need to meet at Floor 47 and asking me for help or why it can’t be done over the phone or through messages.
Maybe Mia is just too stressed out right now and she needs someone to talk to, and for some reason, that person is me.
Or maybe there’s an emergency or something happened with our supervisor.
But if there’s an emergency, then why didn’t she just tell me over the phone?
What if something happened to her phone?
No, that can’t be right because her phone was turned off when I called her the first time; it wasn’t just out of reach or anything like that.
So what does Mia mean by “meet me at Floor 47” and “somewhere important”?
And why does she have to be so discreet about it?
“That’s weird,” I say out loud again as I get into the building and go inside the elevator.
I get inside the elevator and go straight to my floor.
But instead of going inside my room, I open my AR glasses and start doing some work on my way there anyway.
That’s what I like about working in a tech district: everything is so near to each other that you can keep doing your work on your way wherever you’re going.
My apartment is only a few blocks away from our building, but somehow, my AR glasses know how to differentiate my personal work from my office work when I’m home or near the office because whenever I get home or come near the office, all non-office work stops and my personal work starts again as soon as I leave my room.
That’s really cool because I don’t have to worry about forgetting where I last stopped or having to do all my work all over again if I need to go somewhere else for a while.
Now, if only someone could invent something like this for our actual jobs…
