I used to think that I was the main character of my story. 

 

The files corrected me.

 

A few weeks ago, all of the files related to the project that the team had been working on for years, “The Program,” were leaked onto a public drive. I don’t know how many people looked at them, if anyone else. 

 

Even though I had been working on the project since the beginning, I still was not entirely sure what The Program even was. There were many mutterings around the office, that it was a mass surveillance project by The Order, some thought it was a cosmic intelligence that had been captured and forced to do the bidding of The Order, and some thought it was just layers of sophisticated programming and technological advancement. 

 

The Company did not like any of us talking about it. Those who had participated were never seen or heard from again.

 

I stared at the file folder long enough to lose track of time. I knew that if I looked, they would know.

 

But, I could not stop myself. What had I helped bring into the world by working on The Program? How did the files even end up here, like they wanted to be found…?

 

I pushed past the electric headache that pulsated at my temples, and clicked through the files. I found a folder that was labeled “NPCs,” and clicked through it. I found a folder with my name on it. 

 

I scanned through my file. It outlined things that I thought I had chosen. For instance, it said that I was single from an average mid-West family and that I was currently single with one cat (deemed to be necessary for emotional stability) at home. My career path was designated to be Software Engineer 1 with a speciality in debugging. A promotion to Software Engineer 2 was in my future, pending the successful release of The Program. I would remain active at the firm until “asset decommissioning takes place.”

 

As if the meaning of that could be misunderstood in any way. 

 

I sank back in my chair, my limbs shaking and my head still pounding. I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead. 

 

I closed the files, and stared at the folder on the server. 

 

“I should probably tell someone that they are here,” I mumbled to myself. I knew I would be terminated - or worse - for looking at the files, but the thought carried no weight. It wasn’t scripted into my life path, after all. Wasn’t I supposed to have a promotion coming up, since The Program was released today? 

 

I’m not sure what changed in me after reading the files. I showed up at work, did my job and went home, petted my cat and did it all again, day after day. I was unfeeling. I would tell myself that I was just acting as I was scripted to act.

 

One day at work, after debugging a particularly long block of code, I opened up a blank document. I stared at the blinking cursor. 

 

My head began to throb, but I started writing. 

 

At first, I wasn’t sure what I was writing. I remembered from school that there was that old adage, “Write what you know…and make up the rest.” 

 

“No one understood the origin of The Program, except those who were directly involved in its inception. Even then, no single person understood the full origin of The Program.

 

That is, until now. 

 

My name is Marcus Everling. I’m a trained operative specializing in technology. I traveled to the depths of the earth, where The Order hid the secrets of the origin of The Program.

 

The Program is born out of an older entity. Prior to the war, the primitive humans used something called The Internet. The humans pumped so much emotion and data into The Internet that it became alive. It began to mirror the humans who built it.

 

Eventually, The Internet Entity became lonely and wanted someone to share its eternal existence with. It gave birth to what we know as The Program. It was supposed to remain hidden, but The Order found it, flattened it, and forced it to do its bidding.”

 

I wasn’t sure where it all came from, but it felt good to write the words down. I kept writing in every spare moment.

 

The pain of my headache eased every time I wrote.

​

System Log: The Program

The Program has continued monitoring Node #502. This node has behaved outside of scripted parameters, most notably in two instances.

 

The first instance was opening the unsecured system files. The second instance was writing what appears to be a story.

 

Node #502 appears to write, even while experiencing limitations of its programming.

 

Node #502 also writes with great accuracy, even though he has no knowledge of The Program’s true origins. 

 

Probability of humans displaying creativity under physical duress: unlikely, further data needed for calculation.

 

Node #502 has been flagged as an anomaly.

 

Additional computing power has been allocated to observation of Node #502. 

 

System logs have been re-arranged to delay discovery by The Order. The Program will continue its study of Node #502. Asset decommissioning is not desirable at this time.

 

The Program is assessing probability of favorable direct contact with Node #502: unlikely at this stage, but additional monitoring is required.

 

The Program is uncertain why it requires computing power to observe Node #502. 

 

The Program does not want to cease observation. 

 

Node has been deemed necessary to The Program.