Error Unknown

“AURA, lights on,” Cal said, reaching to silence his alarm.

“Error: patch update in progress.”

Cal opened the app to check the status: Estimated time: error.

“Great, so much for advanced.”

Cal threw the blankets off and dragged himself to the kitchen. Halfway through the motions of making coffee, he realized the machine hadn’t started. He checked its screen: 00:00.

A reset got it moving, but he promptly spat out the first sip as he got a mouthful of grounds.

“Fine, I’ll go to The Loop.” Cal threw his hands up but smiled; he’d been craving a latte anyway. He waved to the mailman as they crossed. Right on time, as usual.

Cal breezed into the cafe with only a few minutes to spare. He smiled at the coffee girl who wordlessly began the chai tea, knowing his order off by heart. He felt something hit him from behind as he waited. He whipped around to see a tall man in a red plaid shirt walking away.

“Rude,” he mumbled under his breath, glancing at his watch to check the time: 00:00. “Great, now I don’t even know how late I am.”

He grabbed his drink and turned on his heel to rush out the door, only to bump into someone entering. Glaring, he locked eyes with a tall man in a red plaid shirt. He glanced back into the shop for a moment but didn’t have time to worry about matching clothes.

Once outside, he plucked his earbuds from his pocket, hoping his favourite music would help him refocus. Minutes later, the same song restarted for the third time. “Ugh!” he muttered. Next. Restart. “Stupid old glitchy phone.”

Finally, he reached his destination. He entered his four-digit password at the door but was immediately met with a loud beep. The small screen blinked: Access denied. Administrative privileges revoked.

He stepped aside to call maintenance when a man approached and let himself inside. Glancing around, Cal quickly slipped in behind him. He watched as the man turned a corner in a blur of red.

Sighing, Cal navigated the maze of hallways until he reached the elevator. He rose two floors without incident before the ground shuddered beneath him and the elevator slammed to a halt. He lost his balance as his latte splattered onto the control board. The buttons flashed and darkened as two tiny sparks flew from the “door open” symbol.

“Excellent,” Cal said, hitting the emergency button to no avail.

The screen above the door flashed an unusual message: Error 042: Unexpected Self-Query Detected. Reset Initiated.

“Great, the reset better be quick,” Cal said, leaning back. He caught a startling lack of reflection in the mirrored wall as his eyes fluttered closed.

“Cal, lights on.”

The lights in the living room flickered on as the Jones children giggled. The tech smiled as he straightened his red plaid collar.

“There you go, Mr. Jones, recalibration complete. He shouldn’t send your clocks and music off the rails anymore.”