The Origin of My Dreams

Chapter 3

Vladimir sat very cross with his cup of tea. He couldn't stand coffee at a moment like this. He felt angry and annoyed. His mind and thoughts were locked on the virus. How had it happened, who was behind it, was it his fault?

The Romanian was standing in his kitchen, blankly staring off into one of the cabinets. The only noise was the faint sound of traffic coming from outside. The room was dark, Vladimir didn't bother to turn on the lights. He still wore his business suit, tie and all. A sharp rap on the door made him jump.

"Coming!" He yelled, putting his tea down and rushing to the door. He opened the door to the mailman.

"'Ello, Mister Lupei! Fine evening isn't it?" the man greeted. 

"Uh, yes! Yes! It is a bit cold though," Vladimir observed.

"Didn't notice it! Here is your mail." The postman gave him a stack of envelopes and a small package. 

"Thank you, good night!" 

"Good night to you too, son." The mailman left, and Vladimir swung his door shut. He marched down his hallway and threw his pile of post onto a side table. A few envelopes slid off in the process, but he ignored them.

Vladimir switched on his bedroom light and fell face first onto his bed. He stayed like that for a moment before moving to a sitting position. He loosened his tie, and tossed off his shoes. 

-

Vladimir woke at two in the morning, groaning as he realized he was still in his suit. He slowly got up and took of his jacket. He was surprisingly more awake then he felt.

Vlad stalked to his kitchen, flicking on the lights. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. He took a sip of his cold tea before cringing and throwing it out. He hand cleaned the cup, as he always did with his dishes and replaced it in the cabinet. 

Vladimir grabbed a bowl and some cereal. He made himself a nice breakfast, complete with banana slices and honey. He set his bowl on the table and went out to grab his mail from the evening. Vlad ate his food while flipping through the mail.

Finally, Vladimir got to the packet. Using the end of his spoon, he opened his package. Inside was just a book, a new book, looking recently published. Its title, "Your Guide to the P-362 Virus". There was no author. 

Curious, he opened to the first page. There was no title or copyright page like a normal book, just plain text. The first line read, "This book is to educate you on the P-362 virus, also know as the ALPHA virus." 

"What?" Vladimir said quietly.

"This is a fairly new virus as of 2015. It is used to hack into government records and steal data without leaving a trace. If you are reading this, then you must have been one of the few people to find it, this book will be an instruction manual for you.

"The first thing you should understand is that you are not alone in this. This virus has been mass published all around the world. However, if you inform anyone of this, you and/or your loved ones will be taken to us. 

"This virus is not meant to harm the world in anyway, shape, or form. Its only purpose is to gather information. The only person who has access to this information is the Admin. The Admin has no malicious reasoning to use this information in a negative way."

The book continued on, and Vladimir read it cover to cover that night, highlighting important detail and taking notes. If he had received this, who else in the government may have? One of the recurring themes was secrecy. There would be no way to tell who knew and who didn't.

Overall, Vladimir didn't find anything wrong with the virus, but it all was very weird. When his men found the virus they claimed it did nothing, but apparently it stole information. Who were these people, and more importantly, who was the Admin? 

Vladimir decided not to think anymore of it that night. He cleaned up his food and got in his night clothes. He could only sleep another hour or two before he had to wake up again, but nonetheless he still crept back into his bed and fell asleep.