"They're ready!" Piroska told me.
"That was quick!" I said.
"The costumes?" Etta asked.
It was around the middle of the day, and we were seated at a cafe. We chatted over cups of tea and coffee while we waited.
"Yes. They're custom orders, and I just got a message from Ximena that they're ready!" Piroska said and head out of the cafe.
"Could we at least wait until my coffee cooled off and we paid for it?!" Etta said in annoyance, and sighed, reluctantly taking a cup of hot coffee with her while she tried to keep up with her best frenemy speeding ahead.
"Thank you, but something came up." I thanked the server and put down enough money on the table to pay for the coffee.
"I paid for it." I nonchalantly told Piroska and Etta when I caught up to them.
"Thanks!" They both thanked me.
"I owe you don't I?" Piroska asked me.
"Ehh... I'll let it slide this time." I said.
Etta waited outside while Piroska and I entered the shop since she wanted to wait to see us wearing our costumes. Ximena handed us a bag with our costumes in it.
"I hope you'll have fun at the event!" She said.
"Thanks!" Piroska and I thanked her. We briefly took our costumes out of the bag to look at them with admiration. Ximena and Piroska waved goodbye to each other when we headed out of the shop.
Piroska and I readied ourselves to walk into the lobby room where the other OSes were waiting to see our costumes. She stepped in to it first and was dressed in a tattered gray shirt with faded gray-red slacks and scuffed dark gray boots, and had fake metal bolts fixed to the sides of her head and neck. Her hair looked disheveled, but she intentionally styled it this way. She also used a pale green make-up on herself to look paler and deathly, and to draw stitches on her face and arms.
"How does this creation look?" She asked and posed. The other OSes met her costume with applause. "Your turn!" She then said to me.
"Alright!" I said and stepped into the room. I was surprised to see the other OSes dressed in their own costumes; Piper was dressed as a ghostly train conductor, Polyxena was dressed as a vampire with an elegant dress and cape, Etta was dressed as a pirate. Phuong was dressed as a plague doctor with an oversized syringe as a prop, Piritta was dressed as a robot, Olympia was dressed as a fairy with a green and brown dress and leaf-patterned wings, and Valencia was dressed as a mermaid, but she claimed to be a siren that led sailors to their doom.
I dressed in a red suit with a dark red shirt and a black tie with a red hash pattern on it, and held a golden trident. On my head I had red devil horns. I also struck a pose. "Am I cool enough to make a deal with?" I remarked.
Everyone applauded, but I heard Piroska and Piper laughing. "What's so funny?" I asked.
"You forgot to change out of your sneakers!" Piroska said. I looked down and saw that she was right. I briefly felt mortified as I saw that I was still wearing my green and white sneakers, which because of their bright green color and being slightly scuffed, stuck out like a sore thumb to the rest of my costume!
"Damn, I forgot to change out of those!" I said.
"Couldn't you say you're dressed in business casual?" Piper mischievously said.
"Yes. I could! If I can be anything for Halloween, why not be a fashion victim?" I said and chuckled.
Juna walked into the room, dressed as a witch. Her costume also garnered applause from everyone else, and me. However, I was surprised by it a lot. Being dressed as either a witch or wizard was what I thought she'd most likely dress as for a Halloween party, but her costume was fancy.
She wore a witch outfit with a dark plum dress and hat that had a lighter plum star pattern on them. Her dress had a flowing skirt that reached about halfway between knee-length and ankle-length, with black boots that had two-toned plum trim that matched her dress, a black bow on the front of her dress and she also wore a multi-layered black choker necklace with a chain necklace attached to it, and a star-shaped gem dangling from the center of the choker. Her dress had a lighter plum layer above it, and ribbons on the front. The long sleeves and skirt had lace along the edges.
"Are you joining us too?" I asked her. She stood next to Piroska and me.
"Yes. I'm your mentor and you're a new OS. I'm responsible for what happens to you." She said to me. "I don't mind going. It could be fun and a chance to learn more about the Human World."
"You said before that you went to the Human World, but how did you get there?" I asked her.
"That's what I'll get to next." She said, and gestured towards me to follow her in the hallway.
"Have fun at the party!" The other OSes waved to us as Piroska and I followed Juna through a hallway. She led us to a room that I hadn't been to before; it had a sign on the door that read "Warning: Authorized Personnel Only". Next to the door was a keypad mounted on the wall.
I felt a lot of emotion and memories come over me when I stood in front of this door that I was almost frozen for a few moments. Juna entered a combination in the keypad and the door opened. I forced myself to enter the room, overcoming the feeling that was holding me back from moving, but immediately looked for a seat.
The inside of this room resembled a control room like I saw in some 1960's and 1970's sci-fi movies. Along the left side of the back wall was a large console with glowing buttons with screens. Along the upper right corner of the wall was an elevated 3-tiered circular platform with neon tube lights wrapped around the rim of each tier. Pipes also emanated from the base of the platform and along the walls to the ceiling. Next of this imposing platform were warning signs on the wall. This must be the teleporter.
There was still a cozy atmosphere to the room despite the warning and instruction posters on the wall. A warm lighting lit the room, the walls had a blue starry geometric wallpaper pattern on them. On the light gray wood plank floor were colorful rugs and Space Age-style furniture.
In the lower left corner of the room was where I found the seating; a long square U-shaped couch. I walked down the steps and immediately felt relief when I sat down and could momentary feel myself sinking into its plush cushions.
"So, this is where it began." I said when Piroska and Juna joined me on the couch. "Where you went to my world and that led me to be taken here, completely changing my life." I said, looking at Juna.
"Do you have regrets staying here?" She asked.
"I don't, and I know what I signed up for when I read those disclaimers to convert myself from being a human so I can stay here." I said, sounding more assured. "It's just that when we approached the door, I felt so much come over me at once. This is where my life changed forever, but I've wished I could go back even if I only can for a short amount of time to give some of the people I knew closure."
"I'm happy you're getting a chance, and I've wanted to do that too." Piroska said. "It may be out of reach for me though. It's been years since I left, and I arrived from another state. The classmates I knew may have moved away."
"Sorry if this is too much, but what was your situation?" I asked her. She looked wistfully and thought about it.
"I was just thinking about it. It might be similar to yours!" She said, sounding cheerful again. "I was 26 then and in grad school. It was the spring of 1969, and I was close to finishing my PhD. It was another day in the lab when I was tasked with loading a program into the computer when the tape gave off purple sparks, a portal opened and I was teleported here!"
"That's similar!" I said with a laugh. "Who summoned you and what computer were you using?"
Piroska chuckled before she answered. "It was a PDP-8. I remember that distinctive color scheme anywhere. Just like Etta's outfits! Etta summoned me since she wanted to summon someone from that class. When I arrived, my potential was seen as questionable to the Developers that I had to take a test to see if I'd be fit for the team and as an OS." She sounded cheerful again.
"How did that go?" I asked, curiously. I was confident though she passed it and proved anyone who doubted her potential wrong, since if she lost any of her memories after being reformatted, then she'd want to keep this memory of her triumph!
"I had to take the test within the time limit I could stay human, and I failed." She said, her tone unchanging.
I was taken aback and silent for a few moments.
I was astonished too when I witnessed this." Juna said to me.
"It worked out for me, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to join the team." Piroska confidently said. "Of course." I said, but was still confused.
"How did that happen?" I asked.
"Of everyone that could, Piritta immediately offered to mentor me. She convinced enough of the entire team; OSes and Developers and the management, to allow it and so I've been here ever since! I'm forever thankful for that, but sometimes-- heh heh-- I wonder if she's too kind for her own good."
Piritta and Piper entered the room. "Hey! Are you ready to see how the teleporter works?!" Piper said and waved to us.
"Hello." Juna greeted them.
"Absolutely!" I said, still in shock that I was seeing a real teleporter in this room.
"Hi! We were just about to give Damien a briefing about teleporting to the Human World!" Piroska said, waving to the new arrivals to the room. Piritta and Piper joined us on the couch.
"Before the teleporter is activated, at least two of us need to stay in this room to operate this console and communicate with you." Piritta explained. Piroska walked to a cabinet on the other side of the room and retrieved some devices from it. They resembled wristwatches and she put one on her wrist, and handed one to me and another to Juna. She immediately put hers on, but I held the watch in my hands in awe of how different it looked from the watches from the Human World.
It had a circular face like most, but displayed the time in the Techlandian time system numerically on a screen instead of watch hands. The screen was illuminated, with a dark yellow background and light yellow text.
"They function as watches to help them not stand out too much when we need to look at them, but they're also our communicators to report back to the HQ!" Piroska said. She showed me how the buttons along the side of the watch worked to switch the display to show the time in the Human World system, how to switch it to its communicator mode, and scanner mode.
"A tradition I started and kept consistent for the team is the importance of hands-on experience!" Piper boasted. "My mentor, Engineer friends and I built this console, and Piritta upgraded it with an enhanced communication system! I'm so proud!" She added, sounding a bit more humble.
She and Piritta headed to the console and sat down at the seats in front of it. The console had a blue and white color scheme, was the size of a large desk and similar in shape; it had a few cabinets to the side. At the back of the console was a panel with indicator lights. Above it was a large flat rectangular screen.
Piritta pressed a button on the front of the console; the indicator lights on the panel started blinking before being consistently on or off; they glowed a light yellow. The center screen turned on and displayed the time and the status of the teleporter. "Feel free to take a closer look." She said to me. I stepped closer to read the screen and look at the console. "Teleporter status: Not powered" the status read. The desktop of the console had a glossy white surface with a light yellow keyboard. Above and to the sides of them were other buttons and switches, some in light blue and others in dark blue. There also looked to be a built-in tape drive.
I thought something looked familiar about this computer's design; it reminded me of the PDP-10, which I have seen for myself before. This computer also reminded me of something else when I remembered what it was; I knew someone who knew someone who used a PDP-1 and sent me photos of it.
"Let's start with how the communicator works." Piritta said to me. She and Piper put on headsets that were color-coordinated with the console. She pressed some buttons on the desktop, and I turned the display of my watch back on and switched it to the communicator mode.
"Do I just talk into it?" I asked, and said into the watch.
"I hear it." Piritta cheerfully said. I looked at the screen and was surprised to see my words also displayed.
"I hear you crystal clear!" Piper added.
I smiled too, but was also wary. In the Human World, talking into a wristwatch device is still only the realm of science fiction, but maybe by Y2K this will become real life. Before then, I'll need to look for secluded places to talk, but that may not always be easy if I'm in a crowd.
"Are you ready to use the scanner?" Piritta asked.
"Sure!" I said and set my watch to its scanner mode.
"The sensor is on the top of the case, so you'll need to line it up with where you want to scan."
I looked along the case of the watch again and adjusted the position of my hand. The scanner corresponded to the 12 o'clock position. I followed Piritta's instructions, pressed the button along the case that activated the scanner mode again to start scanning.
"Great job!" She said, and I looked at the screen. I was astonished to see a screen to holographic screens to each side of it; one of them displayed a map of the room and another displayed more information. The map showed dots for each person in the room. One of the brighter and larger dots corresponded to my location.
"This must be how to tell us apart from other people in a room." I said.
"That's correct. When you keep it in scanner mode and it can scan the room, it'll be updated in real time. When you get close enough to another room, it can also be scanned." She said.
We practiced another round of using each of this device's modes. Piritta and Piper were satisfied with my progress and said that I'm ready for the teleporter. They flipped some switches and entered commands into the console, and the teleporter activated! Its platforms glowed, and the lights along the front glowed red. After they made a few more calibrations, the lights turned green.
"It's ready now!" Piper announced. "We still had the location written down on a slip of paper so it was easy to re-enter." I looked in amazement with each step I got closer to the teleporter.
Juna and Piroska and I climbed the steps onto its top platform, but after a moment, Piroska stepped off of it.
"Hold on for a moment." She said. She materialized her inventory screen and materialized a long white jacket from it. "I needed to put this on to hide my communication device. Now I'm ready!" She confidently said and stepped back onto the platform.
"We'll be staying here watching over you." She said towards us. "Good luck and we hope for the best."
So do I. In just a few moments, I'm going to be back in the Human World!
"Here it is. My workplace. It was until about a week ago." I said, and took a deep breath. Juna, Piroska and I were standing outside by the front entrance. Streetlights lit the area, and we hid behind a large tree to avoid awkward conversations with anyone that still recognized me. I took the first steps towards the entrance, pushing my nervousness aside. The front doors were open and we could just walk into the lobby.
"Hello, I'm Damien Beasty and I brought two guests." I calmly said to the receptionist. The lobby was also decorated for the party; there were fake spider webs in the corners, and cutouts of pumpkins, bats and cats on the walls. The lighting in the lobby was also dimmed.
"I just need to check that you're on the list and you and your guests will be good to go." The receptionist said. "I'll just need you to log into the terminal." He stepped out of his chair to let me access the terminal on the desk. "If he wasn't going to immediately suspect anything, it'll be here." I thought, but I had no other option but to log in and hope that my credentials are still valid. I entered them and hesitated for a few moments before I submitted them.
I felt a moment of relief by the lack of an error message. "It went through." I said.
"Please let me take a look." He said. I stepped to the side again he could look at the terminal screen. "You're all set then, Beasty!" He said and smiled. He didn't seem suspicious at all; that my eyes turned red, my hair grew longer than when I was last seen here and turned reddish brown could fortunately be assumed to be part of my costume.
"Excuse me, but were there technical issues lately?" Piroska asked. I got nervous when she asked this, but I believe that she has her reason for it.
"I heard rumors of a very unusual issue that happened about a week ago, but this may have happened while I was still on vacation." He said. A very unusual issue was right, and an understatement. I wish I could've said that to him, but that would've just raised more questions.
The receptionist then looked towards Piroska and Juna. "I'll need you to sign this with your name, the date and who brought you here." He said. They filled out the form and were handed visitor badges to return at the front desk when we were ready to leave.
"Thank you for checking in. The main area of the party is in the cafeteria."
"Thank you for not giving me any trouble." I cheerfully said.
"Why would I?" The receptionist said and chuckled. I realized I accidentally confused him but didn't want to make this any more awkward so I started leading the way to the cafeteria. "Well, enjoy the party. Great costumes, man." He said. We thanked him and said that we will.
"I'm surprised he didn't question how you returned or if you're an imposter." Piroska quietly said and chuckled.
"Same here." Juna said. We were all walking next to each other that we could hear each other when we quietly talked.
"I expected to be questioned too, but I won't question it." I said. "I'm seeking closure, but you can enjoy the party."
"We can if you follow the plans." Juna said. I thought back again to the briefing that I was given before arriving here, and the situation I'm in now: a former software developer that was taken to Techlandia, back in the Human World.
Quite a few people in costumes passed us by and complimented ours; I'll be glad to tell Ximena about this the next time I talk with her! Some of those people were coworkers from other departments along with the guests that they brought. None of them mentioned anything about a coworker in software development going missing, let alone due to a portal, but one of them mentioned there was a rumor about a missing coworker in that department.
"Have you heard anything about this?" One of them asked. Piroska and I looked surprised for a moment though Juna looked as stoic as usual, but curious.
"I heard something about it after I came back." I said.
"This is new to us." Piroska said. "It is." Juna said.
One of them who worked here took a step towards me. "You look kind of like the coworker that someone said went missing." She said. I nearly froze. How did I get away with being here if anyone who knew that I went missing is here?! I've been having to worry about this every second!
"And you, are you dressed as Frankenstein?" That coworker said to Piroska. She mischievously smiled to this question.
"Which one do you think?" She asked.
This coworker said Frankenstein's Monster, but one of her guests argued that Piroska was dressed as Frankenstein and this led to more of the onlookers to debate, which provided the perfect distraction for us to head to the cafeteria!
We just entered the cafeteria and found a table to be seated at. Across the room was a long table with pots of soup and several trays of snacks. Cookies, cakes, bowls of candy. The cakes and cookies were on stacked trays, their appearances calling out from a distance. Not only were they tempting, they were necessary for us to keep our physical forms materialized for as long as we're here, but we didn't want to take everything.
"Did you see when they were arguing over my costume? I did what I hoped to do!" Piroska said, laughing with a huge grin. Her enthusiasm spread to us that Juna and I were laughing too. She quietly walked back into a hall in an isolated corner and talked into her communicator. "We made it to the main area and I got to do what I hoped to do." She said while she laughed. The halls were dimly lit for the Halloween atmosphere so it was less likely that anyone would notice or suspect anything.
"That's great. What was it?" Piritta asked over the communicator.
"I got people to argue over whether I'm dressed as Frankenstein or Frankenstein's monster." Piroska said. Both of them chuckled over the prank.
"That's clever and must've been amusing to witness." Piritta said. "I'd like to chat more, but please be careful and mostly report back with info about your mission and about any emergencies."
"Awww... I know but I just wanted to report this. It worked as a distraction to get where we needed."
It felt like a relief to sit down, but I couldn't fully relax. Along with my two guests, we might help each other blend in. It's not crowded in the cafeteria, but there are enough people here that blending in might be possible. The luck we had got us this far, but I still worried that something could go wrong.
Juna walked over to the long table across the room and looked at the food. She brought a bowl of soup and a paper plate with a few different cookies on it back to our table. "I didn't have enough time to try food from here. I'll still be here watching." She said, and started sipping spoonfuls of soup.
I walked over to take a few cookies back to our table. Piroska then walked over, eagerly looking at everything. "It's been so long!" She said after she took a bite of a cupcake and eagerly ate the rest. I felt a chill; a few people which included one of my former coworkers was looking at her oddly! Do I say anything? Could this blow our cover?
"This tastes just like one of my favorite cupcake recipes from my childhood!" She said to them. This still got their attention, but now they were talking about food with her. They were talking about desserts, and I saw someone hand her a slip of paper that might've been a recipe. "I'd love to try this!" She said.
"This might work out." I quietly said to Juna. She nodded in agreement.
"Soup and cookies doesn't work out. Why do humans eat this?" Juna said, sounding exasperated. I glanced at her again and saw her holding a spoon in one hand and a bitten cookie in another. "Usually they're served separately." I quietly told her, but for a moment, I tried the combination myself. My curiosity overpowered my usual judgment. I dipped a sugar cookie into my bowl of chicken soup and took a bite of the soaked portion.
"Ugh... This isn't how sweet and savory go together." I quietly winced. That bite tasted how I expected, but I tried it anyways which left my bowl of soup with traces of sugar in it. I'm just going to not think about it while I finish the rest.
"Damien? Is that you?" Someone said. I sat up straight in shock and looked in the direction that voice came from; it was from my manager who may have seen my questionable choice! "Yes." I immediately said.
"If that's you- I see you brought some friends after your abrupt disappearance, but I need to talk with you in another room." The manager said. I felt hesitant, but I immediately stood up as if my body was on autopilot in that moment. Juna and Piroska looked towards us, and looked worried.
"You're know the coworker that recently went missing?" One of the people that Piroska was talking with asked her.
"It'll be a moment." She said and stepped closer towards us.
"Could we go with him?" Juna asked my manager.
No, there are matters he and I need to discuss in the staff-only areas." He said and started walking towards one of the exits.
"I have to do this- I'll meet you again when I can!" I said to Juna and Piroska. As I spoke, I felt my legs moving and followed my manager to the exit. One of the last moments I saw when I was looking back, before I walked through the exit was Juna looked like she was about to panic...
