"The Organization needs more organization, Zach. More than anything, it needs to be more organized!"
Zach snorted, causing milk to bubble and spew from his nose. "Write that down, Rose! It's the best pun I've ever heard."
"Humph. I wasn't trying to be funny. We were assigned to explore this sector of the net. So were three other teams. At this rate, we'll just be tripping over each other. While other sectors will remain unexplored for decades to come!"
He nodded, still grinning. The young tech genius licked an errant drop of milk as it dribbled down to his lips. "Just be glad for the extra help, and try to get more done?"
Rose stood, and pointed at her monitor as if it had just chewed up her favorite slippers. "Jokers like this never help get things done! In fact, they've already cost me five minutes that could have been used for sifting through those AI wannabees I found chatting with each other earlier."
Zach wiped his nose, then got up to look at Rose's screen. Two email windows were open.
"Meet me for lunch at Pixel Valley U at noon. Wish me luck on the exam!"
"I'll be there. You don't need luck, you're a natural at Pixel Literature. But luck anyway, will see you soon!"
Zach sighed. "I know this is more than just a job. It's your passion - and it's mine too. But you have to cut others a little slack. This isn't exciting for everyone like it is for us... they're probably just bored."
Rose sat down, and began tapping on her keyboard. "If they're not here to explore, they should find something else to do. And I'm going to let them know, right now!"
He shook his head. "It might be better to introduce yourself first. At least see if they'll try to collaborate. If not, report them to the boss."
She looked up. "Now that's a good idea. Then if they continue these childish pranks, I can honestly say that I've done my best to work with them."
Rose typed out a short message, hit send, then pasted her message into a fresh window.
Zach looked at his monitor. "What did you say to them?"
Rose hit send again as she talked. "I was very diplomatic. I welcomed them to the team, and asked them not to send personal communications on the work machines."
An email notification appeared on her screen. When she read it, her face turned beet red. "What team? What are work machines?" She slammed down her fist on the mousepad, making the table vibrate. "The nerve of some people..."
"I'm going to teach these punks a lesson. Fun is one thing, trolling is another story," Zach replied grimly.
Rose looked at him, eyebrows up. "I've never seen you angry before. I think I like it. What do you have in mind?"
"I'm going to access their monitors, and see what they're doing. I'll wager it's not work. I'll also record it for the boss."
A few minutes later, Zach's monitor displayed two windows. One was filled with icons similar to what he'd seen on Grandma's old flip phone. The other was more familiar, and had a message window open with the contents of Rose's message, and the stranger's reply.
"This is impossible! One of those guys is working on an old DOS machine, like the one you gave me for Christmas. And it's running a basic email program, like they used in the old days. The other one seems to be using a flip phone. Which even if its user had credentials, it shouldn't even be able to access this sector, hardware and software wise."
Rose went over and looked. "Only work machines can access this sector while the Organization explores it. These jokers must be running some sort of simulation games."
"Turn on the microphone on the one that's supposed to be a phone," she suggested.
A few seconds later, they heard a muffled male voice.
"You have thirty-five minutes to complete the exam. Please refrain from creating distractions should you finish early."
There was a rustling of paper, then almost complete silence.
Zach frowned. "I don't think these guys are with the Organization. But how else are they in this sector? Even I can't get in without my credentials."
Rose leaned in closer. "Maybe they work here, but are using their own machines? Remote work is strictly forbidden, but they might be trying their luck..."
Zach shook his head. "Maybe... but I don't think so, Rose. If they're caught, it's cause for immediate dismissal. It doesn't make sense that they'd be trolling us. If anything, they'd be keeping their heads down. Hoping we don't notice them."
Rose frowned. "Then what's going on? Who are they?"
Zach began looking through the files on the old DOS computer. "I don't know yet. But I'm going to find out."
Several hours later, Zach sighed and stood up. "If this is a joke, it's an awfully elaborate one."
Rose went over to him, and looked at his screen. "What do you mean a joke? Did you find out who they are yet?"
He frowned. "That's just it. The boss doesn't know who they are. The other teams have been accounted for. These two don't work for the Organization. They're not hackers either. They're just too low tech, simple, and... different. You don't hack the Organization with tech well over a decade old, and send random messages to each other."
Rose sat in Zach's chair, and began looking through files. "On the surface, they seem to be a couple of university students. But I've never heard of the place, or any of the other places they refer to, for that matter."
Zach nodded. "Yeah, they're like something from the past. Except they have access even I wouldn't be able to obtain without the proper credentials."
Rose stood. "Well, we've spent a lot of time on this little mystery, and got nowhere. Shall we get back to work?"
Zach sat in his chair. "This is our work now. The boss wants these two investigated - thoroughly."
Rose sighed. "I'll admit I'm curious, but it'll most likely turn out to be a couple of teenage tech masters. Heaven knows we did some crazy things as kids."
Zach looked at his screen. "I'm not so sure. This just feels different."
Rose walked over to her chair, and the two silently got to work.
Hours later, Rose shouted a victory cry.
Zach sat bolt upright. "What did you find?"
She turned towards him, tears streaming down her face. "You were right, this is no joke... we just made the discovery of the century. Maybe of all time."
His eyes widened. "Aliens?"
"No, at least I don't think so. Whatever they are, they live in the net. And I have to stress, live. There's a whole city, maybe more. And before you ask, no, there's no way it's a simulation or any other code created by humans. This is actual intelligent life!"
Zach sat silently for several minutes, absorbing the enormity of the news. Then he grinned. "First contact... your first words to this undiscovered species was that they can't use the work machines for personal communications! Talk about one giant leap for mankind." Then he burst out laughing.
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