THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 3: THE COMPANY

So, despite my dystopian thoughts about the world, my still-healing soul and, and the extended life expectancy ahead of me, I had to find some meaning in the time I had left on this Earth. My fascination with the universe has always been a constant in my life. As a kid, my father, Marcus Senior, gifted me the best telescope available. With it, I could see beyond our Milky Way and far into the depths of space. I often wondered, What lies beyond all of that? What exists in the vastness of space? Is there an edge to the universe? And if so, what comes after that edge?

During my school days I was always at the top of my class in science, math, biology, and chemistry. I frequently won first prizes at science fairs and for school projects. Even after my mother told me, "Lights out!" I would spend hours reading comic books about space or astronomy books under my bedsheets later on. By the time I reached middle and high school, I had already accumulated a solid understanding on the tenet of space.

For my master's thesis at university, I focused on quantum mechanics and bioengineering, and I even published a few professional articles. So it didn't come as a surprise when Space Riders came knocking on my door shortly after graduation. They hired me as a Junior Engineer, working on mobile space stations. Space travel had become fairly common by that time, though it was still limited to commercial flights. Space Riders, however, aimed to make space travel accessible and affordable for anyone who wanted to travel independently. Many people had homes or families on the Moon and wanted to travel there as easily as if they were driving a car. The mobile space stations were essentially prototypes of "space cars"—designed for you and your family to get in, launch into space, and fly comfortably to the Moon and back. Or, if you wished, to Mars, Jupiter, or even Saturn—any planet in our solar system your heart desired.

On my first day back from my mourning absence, I was greeted by the HR bot, Ava. If it weren't public knowledge that all the HR staff were bots, you'd never have guessed just by looking at them. Unlike various other companies, Space Riders didn't try to hide which employees were bots, and the transparency was highly appreciated by the staff. The humanly resemblance and its motor skills were astonishing. The bots' human-like appearance and motor skills were astonishingly realistic. What sometimes gave them away, though, was their lack of compassion or inability to understand a joke.

"Welcome back to Space Riders, Marcus. I hope you are feeling better. When you have a moment, I'll need you to sign some forms. Your workspace is intact, just as you left it, and all the company's updates have been uploaded to your news feed," Ava said. I nodded briefly and mumbled, "Thanks," as I made my way to my office.

"Oh, Marcus—one more thing," Ava added. "David would like to see you at your earliest convenience."

David Fischer, my boss of seven years, was a pleasant boss with strong leadership skills. He would leave you space to grow, pushed you to your limits to help you achieve greater things, but also held you back when he saw potential problems ahead. He was the kind of boss who stood by his employees. He was 92, I considered myself fortunate to be part of his department.

"Marc, my friend. Good to have you back." I smiled as I shook his hand, I was genuinely happy to see him again as well.

"Thanks David, I am glad to be back," I replied, feeling that returning to the office might give me the structure I so desperately needed.

"I can't imagine what you've been through, Marc. The loss of a beloved one is so hard to comprehend. Once again, my deepest condolences. I know the company's mourning package can't take away the pain, but I hope it was a slight consolation." He frowned slightly as he said that. The company's mourning package contained a handwritten note, a bouquet of flowers, an LSD pill and a bottle of whiskey. I remember taking the pill and drinking the entire bottle, hoping to see Grace and Joanna once again. It was a blurry night with a terrible headache the next morning.

"Anyway," he continued, "let's get you up to speed. We made significant progress on the mobile space stations, aka MSS. Neo, who stepped in for you, can fill you in on the details. We still have some testing to do, but I am confident we're close to releasing prototypes - and soon after, the real deal. Very exciting!"

"That's great news David. I will do my best to catch up and finalize the project," I assured him. "Good, very good! Come to me if you need anything. My door is always open."

Neo, a guy a bityounger than me with a silly moustache, big glasses and curly black hair, filledme in on all the details regarding the MSS. It took me several hours to readthrough all the company's updates but at the end of the day, I started feelinglike my old self again, at least for a little while. The following weeks werefilled with tons of work: reading, designing, testing and documentingeverything. I didn't let myself think about Grace and Joanna, my work was agood distraction. My only responsibilities were to take care of Carl and finishthe MSS project in the near future. For the first time in a while, I didn'tfeel like crying myself to sleep.