The Reality Engine Ch. 03

After dinner with Chad, Scott went to his room to study the rest of the documents Dr. Karlov had emailed to him, and found that there was another email with yet more documents to study. Scott read as much as he could, before going to sleep.

Bright and early, at 6 AM the next morning, Scott strode into work and into his duties for the day. At 7 AM, breakfast arrived, and, at 9 AM, Dr. Karlov poked his head into the lab to get something to eat from what remained of breakfast.

"We need to talk," Dr. Karlov said.

"What about?" Scott asked.

"About your continued employment here at the lab," Dr. Karlov said.

Here it came, Scott told himself, I'm going to get fired.

"It has been an honor to have worked for you, for however long," Scott said.

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Karlov asked.

"Aren't you going to fire me?" Scott asked.

"What?" Dr. Karlov asked. "No, wherever did you get that idea from?"

"It's never a good sign, when, five days into a new job, your employer tells you that he needs to have a talk with you about your continued employment," Scott pointed out. "That's pretty much the kiss of death, isn't it?"

"That's a fair point," Dr. Karlov said. "I can see how my lead-up to introducing the topic could give you the wrong idea. However, that's not what I want to tell you. You have done extremely well, and I wanted to let you know the budget to cover your employment is guaranteed for at least 12 weeks. You've done so well in the short time you've been here that if things continue as they have been, I can't imagine the funding won't get renewed for the rest of the year after those 12 weeks are over."

"How many of your assistants made it the whole 12 weeks?" Scott asked.

"Not that many," Dr. Karlov answered with a chuckle. "Many were broken by the hours, many just hated me well before those 12 weeks were up, and left of their own accord."

"What happened to them?" Scott asked, for it was a question he had wanted to ask Dr. Karlov since the first day of his employment.

"Them getting sick of things isn't their fault, and I made sure all of them landed on their feet," Dr. Karlov said. "Living in Maybe Dick Hall, as you do, have you heard about any of my previous assistants?"

"Yeah, two of them, who lived in Maybe Dick hall last year," Scott answered.

"What became of them?" Dr. Karlov asked.

"They both moved out of state, and left you for other jobs," Scott answered.

"Other jobs that I helped arrange for them," Dr. Karlov said. "The last assistant I had, a chap named Trevor, was wholly unsuited to the job, and he quit after only 3 weeks. He signed a 3-year contract to work at Lockheed Martin at a six figure salary. I made sure he was taken care of."

"I see," Scott said.

"So, I suppose the question you're asking yourself right now is why am I still working here?" Dr. Karlov asked. "I could quit right now and could follow in the footsteps of young Trevor, who is making a six figure salary, with way less work, far more reasonable hours, in sunny, beautiful southern California for the next three years, minimum, with Lockheed Martin. That's a pretty good life, and I've done the same thing, roughly, for all of my previous assistants. So why are you still here? Why haven't you quit yet?"

"You really know how to motivate your people and prop up the troop's moral," Scott remarked.

"You know what I mean," Dr. Karlov said.

"Because the work is fascinating, and you are a terrific boss to work for," Scott said. "You ask me about my life and stuff all the time, and that matters."

"Can you see yourself hating me in about another two weeks, like young Trevor did?" Dr. Karlov asked.

"Hating the grind and long hours of the work, maybe," Scott said. "Hating you? No way."

"Young Trevor and I got off together in almost precisely the opposite way that you and I did," Dr. Karlov said. "He hated the idea of reporting to work at 6 AM, for example, and after the second day of his employment, he never arrived before 9 AM and always left promptly at 5 PM. When I tried to persuade him to keep the hours I wanted him to, he answered that he was paid for 40 hours a week, 9 - 5, and that's what I would receive."

"I don't think it's a big deal," Scott said. "The work is fascinating and the long hours are fine. I don't have anything else to do. Trevor was probably a hit with the ladies, and he wanted to party and have a good time. You don't have to worry about that with me, no one invites me anywhere, so I have nothing to do but work."

Dr. Karlov was alarmed at this statement from Scott. It has been his great worry when he had followed Eric's order on Tuesday night, that something like this was going to happen. Dr. Karlov knew that Scott was going to move to level 1 soon enough, but he would have liked a bit more time for Scott to enjoy himself in his personal life, so that the difficult challenges didn't wear him down into a state of depression.

"I see," Dr. Karlov said. "The life I gave young Trevor doesn't interest you at all? Six figure salary, 3 year guaranteed contract, miles of beautiful beaches with some of the hottest women on earth in really skimpy, revealing swimsuits, and the whole Hollywood, sunny, Socal lifestyle. Not tempted at all by any of that?"

"Well, sure I'm tempted," Scott said. "Lifestyle doesn't interest me, since I don't go out often, and lots of attractive women don't help me much since I can't get any of them. The Southern California sun is tempting. I've always wanted to live somewhere that's warm year-round. However, this work is too interesting to pass on, so unless you fire me, I'm staying."

"Excellent," Dr. Karlov said. "I have a lot to get done today, and I will come by to check up on you around 4 o'clock. You can leave for the weekend whenever you want to, and while you aren't required to stay until I return, I would ask you to so that we can review what you accomplished this week."

"Okay, I'll be sure to be here," Scott said.

"Good, and Scott, can I give you one piece of advice?" Dr. Karlov asked.

"Sure, what is it?" Scott asked.

"In life, you often find that you help yourself most when you stop to help others," Dr. Karlov said. "You are a good person who can help a lot of people. If you see someone in trouble, stop to lend a hand. You'll be surprised at what you get out of it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Scott promised, and with that, Dr. Karlov left. Scott had no idea what had prompted Dr. Karlov's last statement before leaving, but he shrugged his shoulders. It was Friday, just a few precious hours to advance the boundaries of science before the weekend put everything on hold.

6 PM came, and Scott was still at the lab working. Dr. Karlov had missed the 4 PM appointment to come and check on Scott's progress. Finally, Dr. Karlov walked in the lab at 6:10 PM.

"Is it 4 o'clock already?" Scott asked, as he looked up at Dr. Karlov.

"No, it isn't," Dr. Karlov said.

"Then what are you doing here?" Scott asked.

"I'm here because I'm late," Dr. Karlov said. "The reason it isn't 4 o'clock is because it's already past 6 o'clock."

"Huh?" Scott asked, as he looked up at the clock on the lab wall. It was indeed 6 o'clock, but Scott could have sworn he had only eaten lunch an hour before.

"Can I see what you've done?" Dr. Karlov asked.

"Sure thing," Scott said.

"Well, well," Dr. Karlov said, as he looked the work over. "You've been busy as the proverbial beaver. That's enough for this week, enjoy the weekend and I will see you promptly on Monday morning."

"I don't have anything to do over the weekend," Scott said. "Would it be okay if I came to the lab and worked some more?"

"I'd love nothing else," Dr. Karlov said. "Unfortunately, Water Buffalo Hall is closed during the weekend and this lab is completely locked up. I will ask the facilities management division about getting you a key to this lab so that you can work weekends. However, for now, I must insist you do nothing for two days and rest."

"Okay," Scott said, as he stretched out, yawned and prepared to get up to leave. "See you Monday."

"One thing further before you go," Dr. Karlov said. "How are you progressing?"

"I had no real problems the first two days of the week, and Wednesday was confusing and yesterday was baffling" Scott said. "I was having a lot of trouble today too, but I think I've found the trick to it."

"Oh?" Dr. Karlov asked. "Pray, enlighten me, what did you figure out?"

"That the results of a computation were a lot more stable after I confirmed the adjacent values," Scott said.

"In other words, when you stopped to check on your neighbors, your own problems were easier to solve?" Dr. Karlov asked.

"I guess so," Scott said. "I see now why you told me that this morning. Did you know this would happen?"

"No, but it was a solid piece of advice, wasn't it?" Dr. Karlov asked. "I'm glad it was helpful to you."

"Thanks, see you Monday," Scott said.

"Have a nice weekend," Dr. Karlov said, as Scott left the lab.

Scott walked back to Maybe Dick Hall, and on the way there, he passed the LLA and Mojave Max Hall. On the doorstep of a side door to Mojave Max Hall, he saw a young man tossing a football to himself up in the air and catching it. Scott waved to get the young man's attention and indicated he was open. The young man threw Scott the ball and Scott caught it.

"Nice throw," Scott said, as he jogged up to the man who had thrown the ball to him. "I was at least twenty yards away and you delivered a perfect strike."

"It's all in the wrist," the young man said, as he flicked his wrist and smiled.

"My name is Scott, Scott Cooper," Scott said, as he tossed the young man his ball back. "What's your name?"

"My name is Steve Dwyer," Steve said, and it took all of Scott's self-control to not give an exclamation of surprise. Scott was talking to 'Crazy Steve', the man who had come to this school to chase Alania, in the flesh.

"It's nice to meet you, Steve," Scott said.

"Are you headed home?" Steve asked.

"Sure am," Scott said, as he indicated Maybe Dick Hall just a short ways away.

"Aren't you a little old for a Dormitory?" Steve asked.

"Oh, that," Scott said, as he quickly explained to Steve about Dr. Karlov, and about his new job and how the digs in Maybe Dick Hall were only temporary. In order to protect Alania, Scott omitted any mention of which floor or which room he was living in.

"Oh I see," Steve said. "I was unaware the University lent dormitories to non-students, but then again, so many students want to live off-campus their entire time in college to save money. I guess the University has space it isn't using for anything."

"From what I hear, guys are much more likely to live off-campus from the jump," Scott said.

"Yeah, so how do you like dorm life so far?" Steve asked.

"It's alright," Scott said. "Some pluses and minuses, but I'm not in any hurry to leave."

"It is cramp though, isn't it?" Steve asked.

"Sure, but it's close enough that I can walk to work every day, and I work long hours which means no social life," Scott said. "The lack of space doesn't really matter. Girls hate me and guys don't want to be friends with me."

"Is that a fact?" Steve asked. "Why the fuck don't guys want to be friends with you? You seem like a perfectly decent person. Hell, guys don't want to be friends with me either, and I think I'm okay. I bathe every day and I don't smell and I'm reliable, so what gives?"

"Girls," Scott said, with a smile. "At our age, if girls don't like you, other guys won't want to be around you for fear that you'll scare off girls."

"Ah," Steve said. "I had not considered that point. Well, in that case, I don't have a leg to stand on, since girls hate me."

"I guess we should be friends with each other than," Scott said. "Girls hate both of us, so if we're friends and hang out with each other, girls can't very well double avoid us, right?"

"Knowing some girls, I wouldn't put it past them to find a way," Steve said. "I'm sort of only at this University because a girl wanted me to stay away from her and I couldn't say no."

"Want to talk about it?" Scott asked.

Steve gave a very brief recap of what Alania had explained earlier. Scott was gratified that the two stories matched up.

"That's rough pal," Scott said, which was the only thing that could be said.

"Yeah, I made a mistake," Steve said. "My dad will get me transferred out of here this time next year, but I'm stuck with Frostbite Falls University for a year. I'll live."

"Hey want to meet up tomorrow and toss the football around?" Scott asked.

"Sure, what time is good for you?" Steve asked.

"Your call," Scott said. "You have homework, but I don't have work."

"10 AM?" Steve asked. "We can get breakfast before-hand, at the Limberger Lily Commons."

"Sounds good," Scott said, and the two new friends exchanged phone numbers, before Scott said good-bye and made for Maybe Dick Hall and home.

As he approached Maybe Dick Hall, a gentleman he had never met before emerged from behind a hedge near the path to the Hall's front door and accosted him.

"Hi, are you Scott Cooper?" the new guy asked.

"That's me, but you have the advantage over me, sir," Scott said.

"I'm Mike, Mike Teller," Mike said. "I'm Chad's roommate."

"Ah, nice to meet you," Scott said, as he shook Mike's hand. "How did you recognize me?"

"Chad described you to me, as well as how your working for Dr. Karlov meant long hours and returning to the dorm late," Mike said. "I put two and two together. Can I ask for your help with something?"

"Certainly," Scott said.

"I dropped a USB drive with the homework I'm supposed to do over the weekend behind this hedge here, and I can't find it," Mike said. "Would you help me look?"

"Sure thing," Scott said, as he and Mike spent the next five minutes looking for the USB drive. Eventually, Scott found the drive and handed it to Mike who said thank you.

"Where you off to now?" Scott asked.

"I'm headed over to the dorm of a friend of mine to get started on this homework," Mike said, as he walked off in the direction of Mojave Max Hall. "Thanks again and I'll catch you later."

Scott rubbed his chin, he didn't know college students started homework that wasn't due until Monday at the earliest on a Friday night, but perhaps Mike was simply motivated to excel academically? No matter, to home, to a nice, hot shower, to some food, and to eight hours of sleep, Scott thought to himself.

He opened the door to Maybe Dick Hall, and he hoped he'd see Cherry in some revealing outfit if she hadn't closed the front desk for the night. However, when he had hoped for a revealing outfit, he hadn't counted on what he got. He saw Cherry, standing behind the front desk clad only in a pair of thong panties, with her hands covering her tits, and wearing no other clothing. When he saw her exposed body, his jaw dropped to the floor. She was a gorgeous girl, and his cock went stiff in his pants.

"Oh Scott, thank God!" Cherry said, as she beckoned him over to her without moving her hands.

"What happened to you?" Scott asked.

"I was using a large cup of paint to create a sign to hang up in the hallway reminding everyone next week is beach week when I spilled the paint all over my clothes," Cherry said. "Fortunately, I keep a spare set in the office behind the front desk here. I ducked in there to change and I had stripped down to my panties when the phone rang. No one is in the lobby this late, I figured I could nip out and answer it, but when I did, the door slammed shut behind me and now I'm locked out. My keys, my purse, and all my clothes are locked in the office."

"Can I take a look at the lock on the door?" Scott asked, as he made for the office door and knelt down beside it.

"What the fuck am I going to do?" Cherry asked. "My roommate went home for the weekend and the office behind front desk is where all the backup keys are. I can't hang out in just this skimpy pair of thong panties until Monday morning when my roommate comes back."

"I think I can pick this lock," Scott said, as he reached over to the desk to grab a pair of paper clips, his eyes never straying from the task at hand. "However, on the chance I can't, and this fails, our first priority has to be to get you some clothes. There has to be a girl somewhere on the first floor who's the same size as you are and whom you could borrow clothing from."

Scott went to work on the door lock, and Cherry was stunned. He had said every word with his concentration focused solely on the lock. Since he had knelt to take a look at the door, he had never once glanced back at her to try to steal a glance at her nearly naked body. Her thong panties were made out of extremely thin material, and had strings for the top and the back, and a tiny triangle of fabric just big enough to cover her cunt. If Scott glanced back at Cherry while he was working, he would be able to see a perfect cast of her vulva, no problem, and she also knew her panties didn't cover all of her blond pubic hair, which flowed out of the top and the sides of the small black triangle of fabric that covered her sex. If Scott had tried to sneak a peak at her backside, he'd see her completely naked, with only a thin string of fabric covering her butt-crack.

Scott diligently worked for a few minutes, before a triumphant click of the metal in the lock signaled success. He stood up and opened the door to the office for Cherry.

"Thanks Scott, you're a lifesaver," Cherry said, as she dashed past him into the office.

"No problem, happy to be of service," Scott said, as he averted his gaze while Cherry dashed past him and closed the door behind her once she was inside. His errand of mercy complete, Scott took his leave of the front desk to head for the elevator and to his room.

He arrived on the second floor, and he saw Chad with one foot out the door of his room.

"Hey Scott, what's up?" Chad asked.

"Not much," Scott said. "You headed out?"

"Yeah, I was about to go and get dinner at the Light Finger Five commons," Chad said. "You want to come with me?"

"Sure, why not?" Scott asked. "A hot shower can wait, I'd rather eat with someone than eat alone."

Soon enough, Scott and Chad had gotten their food, and they sat down to eat. Just as they were about to dig in and start talking, a text message came in for Chad.

The message was from Cherry and said, 'it went exactly how you said it would go, fuck you, Chad!'

Chad smiled from ear to ear, Scott had reacted to seeing Cherry with only a pair of the skimpiest thong panties on exactly how Chad had predicted he would. Chad had won the bet.

End of chapter 3.