Ene gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Wow, that was awful of me. Just a minute." After thinking it over, she sighed and muttered, "This'll have to do." Louder, she told him, "This won't be very good; I wrote it quite a while ago. But it's all I have that's short enough. Feel free to skip it.
I was walking down a seemingly normal concrete sidewalk when I witnessed a strange tremor run through the ground. I stepped forward and nothing happened. I took another step and fell through the sidewalk, slamming into the cement beneath me.
“Well done, Michael,” said a cool voice above me. “The test succeeded.”
I scrambled to my feet, facing a suited man with dark mahogany hair. “James Clark,” I said, trying to save my dignity. “Why are you here? My regular tester is-”
“Gone,” James said rigidly. “As he shall be for the remainder of your stay here.”
I gave my nemesis my sharpest glare and responded, “This is scientific work, James. You were always a man of art. I don’t see why you possibly might want to work in the field of holograms.”
“Yes, well,” James offered, “I prefer sculpting, yet somehow my rigorous performance landed me here.”
I turned to my side suddenly in a light-fast maneuver, searching out a flash of red. I was constantly leaping up and glancing around due to my days in the holo room, testing out new scenarios for scientists. It sometimes made people look at me strangely, but the jumpiness was worth it. I often discovered things that many others missed because they weren’t fast enough. For that matter, other people saw things that I didn’t since I wasn’t watching what everyone else was.
The red was caused by a cloak whipping through the air. The cloak was attached to a tall, imposing lady. I stood my ground, however, and dealt with her presence by taking a step forward instead of shrinking back.
“And you are?” I inquired, hoping that I sounded important.
“No one of any interest,” said the woman. “Mr. Clark, you are needed in room five one two.”
James stood and joined the red-cloaked woman in walking out the door. I hastened to follow.
The lady took one glance at me and pulled out a remote. She selected a sickly yellowish button and pressed it. Then she swept out the door.
James cast me a last look and said, “A new scenario will be playing out shortly. Should take you until we get back.”
“Mr. Clark!”
He headed after the strange lady.
I shrugged and awaited the next hologram. This was, after all, what I was paid to do.
Outside the room four men watched. Two lounged, while one - James Clark - hurried after the only female in the room. She was quickly exiting. The last person stared through a one-way mirror at the room his comrades had just vacated.
“Louise,” he said before the red-cloaked woman could leave.
“Yes?” she answered quietly, without any of the pomp she had boasted in front of Michael.
“What were you thinking when you brought him here?”
Louise sighed as though reciting an old mantra. “He’s something different, Walt. He’s not simply your average insane person hallucinating. What he sees is more in depth. Detailed. It’s almost as though he truly is immersed in holograms, rather than visions manufactured by his own brain. Matters of the mind never make sense. It’s a wonder we know anything at all.”
Walter wasn’t buying her act. “Scientifically, the other part of what he can do isn’t possible.”
“We know.”
“You shouldn’t have done it. He shouldn’t be with us now.”
“I know,” Louise said roughly, “but there’s no going back.”
Well, that was the story." Ene sighed again. "I apologize for its bad quality."