With the slight incline going all the way from the suburb to the city, it was not a fun bike ride. It took a little more than an hour and about a bucket of sweat to make the trip. Still, it had been the right call, taking the bike. With the whole road gridlocked in both directions, he would've been stuck for hours and hours, just sitting there in the sun. Instead, Luke listened to the drivers curse and complain as he made his way along the bike path by the side of the road.

  His phone buzzed again as he made it past the first line of buildings into the city proper, and Luke took the excuse to dismount and sit down on a bench, heaving breaths as he drank from the bottle of water he'd had the foresight to bring with him.

  "Look at this thing," Ray texted.

  An enormous orb of a matte gray hung suspended in the air just a few centimeters off the ground. From Ray’s picture, it looked to be larger than a building, and it didn't even reflect the sunlight. Police officers surrounded the whole thing, but there was no way they were holding off the masses of people in the park.

  Ray snapped another photo, showing he was getting closer. "You here soon?"

  "It'll be another 20 minutes," Luke texted back.

  "You're such a slow loser. But I still love you. Can’t wait, though. I'm being pushed forward by the crowd. Getting close now."

  The phone buzzed again with another message from Ray. "Okay, I'm going for it. See you on the other side, buddy."

  "I'm not your buddy, guy."

  "Ray?"

  "Did you touch it?"

  He got a message saying the text couldn't be delivered. Luke sat and gulped down some more water as he took in his surroundings. A mom with two small kids hurried past, heading out the way Luke had come in. She wore a large backpack, and the kids were on bikes, laughing while she was doing her best keeping it together for them. The shock of that transmission was visible everywhere. Panic and screaming, but also people out in the street laughing and hanging out.

  With Ray already having touched the orb, Luke needed to hurry. First, though, he called into work. Getting fired was not on his agenda for the day. There was no answer on the landline, but when he dialed his boss’s cell phone number, he got an answer.

  "Mr. Sullivan," Luke said.

  "Sorry, I forgot to call you," Mr. Sullivan replied. "With everything that's been going on, I'm not opening up today. There are no burgers to be made here. I’m sorry, but you can't come in."

  "Oh, that's too bad."

  "Yeah, shit happens, right? Well, I’ll let you know once we're up and running again. Stay safe."

  The call ended, and Luke nodded to himself. Not bad. Not bad at all.

  Just to check, Luke opened Discord, Reddit, and a few different news sites. They were all down. When he made it to the park, it became obvious he was not the only one who wanted access to the orb. The gathering crowd was far larger than when Ray sent the photo only twenty minutes earlier. Now he had to weave around people. Not everyone was headed toward the massive orb just floating there.

  The reactions were mixed with some people joking, laughing, and sitting around. Music played from unseen speakers throughout the crowd, and it looked like a massive party was brewing. Here and there, protesters waved signs over their heads, but the text was too far away to read. Some in the crowd peered at the giant artifact with fear in their eyes, but most still moved toward the middle of the park and whatever future that voice promised.

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  Luke had no reason to linger, so he continued through the throng, making sure he didn’t bump into anyone or elbow someone in the face. Almost a full damn hour later, he’d reached the line of cops who looked at the crowd with a tense sort of anticipation, like they expected mass riots to break out at any second. The sound of people talking, screaming, crying, and laughing was deafening. Luke felt a headache coming.

  "Make sure this is what you want!" a cop shouted over the heads of the crowd with a megaphone. "No one under the age of eighteen can access the orb. Please move in an orderly manner. The National Guard has been called in. Please—"

  The voice died away for a moment. Then returned.

  "Please, just be careful. So far, no one who has touched the orb has returned. We do not know where they go. Communication with those who've disappeared has not been possible. If you make it back, please report your return to the nearest police officer so that we may record what happens inside. Several squads of officers have touched the object and we hope they are keeping the peace wherever you end up."

  Luke only half-listened as he approached the orb. At first glance, it did nothing at all. People walked up and touched it, and disappeared a breath later. As Luke approached, he realized the orb vibrated at a low frequency, the entire surface shuddering. Almost like it was eager, matching Luke’s own anticipation.

  He exchanged a look with a woman with long black hair, thin-framed glasses, and a face full of freckles. She smiled up at him, bit her lip, and gave him a thumbs up, then used that thumb to touch the orb. Her eyes widened, and then she was gone.

  Luke reached up and touched the surface, his hand joining hundreds of others around the entire thing’s circumference.

  Text appeared in front of his vision: Do you wish to be Integrated?

  Luke blinked and thought the answer: Yes. Without a doubt, yes.

  The roar of the crowd died away in an instant as Luke found himself surrounded by darkness. An empty void. Soundless. Even when he spoke, it made no noise whatsoever. It was like he found himself in limbo.

  And then he blinked.

  During that millisecond when his eyes were closed, the world shifted into what looked like an office. He sat in front of a desk in a small room with a window overlooking a forest far below him. The walls, floor, and roof were all beige, and when he looked behind him, there was no door. He was trapped. Trapped, and not alone.

  "You're not Mr. Rutgers then?" Luke asked, leaning back in the chair, trying to hide his thundering heart.

  The smile he got in return was just like his old teacher’s smile. "I’m not Mr. Rutgers," the figure confirmed.

  "Then what are you? What do you look like?"

  The thing’s form shifted and blurred, and a breath later, Luke sat across from himself, staring into a pair of brown eyes, looking at that hair so dark brown it was almost black. He really needed a haircut. The thing even wore the same hoodie as himself and spoke with his voice.

  "I am you. And everyone else who has come here. Through integration, we are all one. I know everything about you."

  "Everything?" Luke asked.

  The thing wearing his face shrugged. "Almost everything. Anyway, I’m in charge of your integration."

  "Please don’t look like me," Luke said.

  "What form would you prefer I take?"

  "Your own," Luke said.

  "I don’t have a form of my own," the thing said.

  "Can’t you look like someone I don’t know? This is eerie as hell."

  The form shimmered, and a middle-aged man in a suit and tie, wearing a neutral expression, placid and friendly, appeared.

  "Thank you," Luke said.

  "Of course."

  "And what do I call you?" Luke asked. "Are you a person?"

  "You know, there is some debate about that. And you may call me whatever you like."

  "If you know everything you should know most people on Earth prefer talking to someone with a name."

  "Very well, then. You may call me Guide."

  Luke couldn't contain a chuckle. "How original."

  Guide sat there for a moment, not a single emotion crossing his placid face. "Should we continue?"

  "Please," Luke said. "What's next? Did Ray come through here?"

  "I cannot share information about other Integrated. Next, you choose a class."

  "Like in a video game?"

  Guide nodded and waved a hand through the air. "The way you integrate differs between systems, and whoever welcomes you into the fold chooses a path for the Integrated. Many are used to this path, which is why I selected it for you."

  Text appeared before Luke's vision. A long, long, list. "These are the classes?"

  "That is correct. Please select one that speaks to you. I think you mentioned healing. You should know that is not a common choice."

  Luke frowned and looked up and across the table at Guide. "I'm pretty sure I didn't mention a goddamn thing about healing." He glared, but then sighed and shook his head. "Can I filter this list somehow? There must be thousands of classes here."

  "Just think it to make it so."

  Luke forced his will upon the list: Healer.