When 45-year-old Theodore Narrator gets fired from his job as Employee 528 at a large company, he is at a loss for words. His life is already going down the gutter, and this feels like it will be the straw to break the camel's back. But one fateful...
Theo stepped into the world outside the tiny room he had just been in, and took a deep breath. The place he was in was huge. In fact, it appeared to be a large slice of a business district from somewhere. Huge, recognizable buildings were all around him, including replicas of the Empire State Building, Taipei 101, and the St. Mary Axe. in the middle of all of them was a courtyard, with hedges and a fountain. There was also an apartment complex, plus a few restaurants and cafés. Everything was surrounded by a glass bubble, held up by triangular metal scaffolding. The thing that shocked Theo the most was the fact that everybody in the complex-- was him.
He wondered how the CEO organized everything. He obviously couldn't travel to every dimension in existence, somehow open a portal, and send a message to the Theodore J. Narrator in that dimension. It simply couldn't be done. And if this "Mr. Narrator" was indeed a parallel version of himself, why didn't they look so similar? Why weren't they the same age? and, most of all, how did this mysterious twenty-something become a billionaire? And who was this guy to think that he was the "superior" Theo James Narrator?
Theo clenched his fists with jealousy, and then changed his mind, because, once again, 150,000£ a year was a substantial amount. And as Theo always joked, Daddy needs a third swimming pool! Of course, Theo didn't own any swimming pools yet. In fact, he couldn't even swim in the first place. he shrugged it off and walked over to the information desk like he was told to in orientation.
When Theo arrived at the information desk, he was greeted by yet another computer console.
"NAME?" It asked.
"Theodore James Narrator."
"2309 RESULTS FOUND. PLEASE PICK YOURSELF FROM THIS LIST."
"Ah, that's right," he sighed. "My name is actually Office Drone."
"HELLO, [OFFICE DRONE] ! AS A NEW WORKER AT THEOCORP, I'M ASSUMING YOU'RE HERE FOR YOUR JOB ASSIGNMENT!", it typed onto the console.
"Er- yes. Yes I am."
"[OFFICE DRONE] , YOUR JOB ASSIGNMENT IS [OFFICER OF STORY MANAGEMENT] ! PLEASE REPORT TO OFFICE [329B] FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS."
"Okay. May I ask--"
"329B IS LOCATED IN THE ST. MARY AXE. HAVE A NICE DAY, AND REMEMBER: YOU MATTER™️!"
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Theo walked into his cubicle: a cubicle with only one partition, as the other two sides were glass windows, looking out at the "city." Wow, a corner office!, he thought. I always dreamt I'd have one of these. Suddenly, the phone at his desk rang. He answered it.
"Hello?"
"Yes, hello," said a female voice on the other end of the line. "Is this Office Drone?"
"Yes, it does happen to be. What do you need?"
"Please report to the penthouse at the top of the Burj Khalifa. If you don't know which building that is, it's the tallest one. Trust me, you won't miss it." And then she hung up.
Theo was confused. A meeting with the CEO of Theocorp so soon? He shrugged it off, however, and began to make his way to the tallest building in the square.
