The Cluttered Agent

I could not remember when I entered the network but I have certainly lost track of time. There is a reason watches are not allowed in here. Time is relative, it has always been and going by the fact that it has been a long time I have begun my search, I feel time is moving slowly. I rested my back on the steam tainted walls of the current room I am in. The fact that I was wearing a bark textured shirt did not help ventilation. I chose it as I expected to reach the desired room in comfortable time.

The room I am in currently is relatively large. Its deconstruction shows that it is not something visited regularly. The room is dying a slow death, the blinking table lamp, the teary scraps on the walls, the melting table and the slimy armchair indicate that it comes from ages beyond. Its silence is what I needed to regroup my thought process.

The desired room has the information which is absolutely necessary for combat. It has the tools to organize the next move without which there is a chance that the whole operation could be a failure. The other agents have reached their destinations, the indicator on my wrist showed. But I hold the key, the last piece of the puzzle which adds meaning to the operation.

This is not the first time I am in this place. It has happened before, but never has it been as critical as it is. Failure is not an option but like time it is relative. I began to recollect every room I have passed through from where I started but even the recent memory did not give weight to tilt the balance in deciding the right path. I need to get over to some other room for finding patterns.

With energy restored and fully aware that time is not on my side, I scanned the seven doors of the room. Three were facing me, two sat on the floor and one each on the sides. The ceiling remained vacant. I decided to take the right fall and descended smoothly. As I entered the portal, I found myself in a not so comfortable room.

It is Paradise. The room which has the highest number of doors but no one wants to leave. It is the brightest of all the billion rooms which the universe hosts.  A Billion rooms in the network yet you find the right room at the wrong time. It is not that there aren’t nicer rooms at all. But this is the epitome of what is the textbook definition of Paradise.

But the largest room is vacant except for a mahogany table, a couple of levitating candy chairs and Her. Her turquoise eyes penetrated right through me. Time is relative and I know what can happen to me if I choose to stay. She did not smile much but the slightest curve on the corner of her lips brought me closer to her. The power of the room is astonishing in that it creates Her closer to reality. You never want her to be better. It is the imperfections which define Her.

I could choose to stay. This is what every man wants and I know that the chances of one making this room are one in a billion. Even if I leave this place I want to make sure that I spend the maximum amount of time. The wristband began to tighten indicating the task at hand. I could not believe my luck that I find myself in my dreamland on the most important task I have ever been assigned to do.

It was obvious but I did not expect myself to take that decision sooner. I modified my right palm into a crescent pistol. Taking my life could delay the mission further but if I don’t I might delay it forever.  As so much Paradise is a blessing it is a curse. Even if you have it in sight you are never ready. Strings are always attached no matter how hard one tries to ignore. I took a deep breath and looked at her for one last time. She smiled and I pulled the trigger to relieve myself from the non-existent strings.