Curse of Immortality

Sarah sat in the office of her boss. Both of them were in complete silence. Their moods were complete opposite from each other. The man looked like he could explode from anger at any moment, or perhaps he wasn't angry but annoyed, Sarah wasn't expert in understanding emotions. Sarah on the other side was very calm, as she waited for her boss to speak, she was playing with her hair as she waited.

"Do you know why you are here?" the man asked with serious expression on his face.

"You mean in your office or in general?" Sarah Timeo replied with a question. It was meant as a joke, but it looked like her boss didn't catch that.

What a waste.

"I don't have time for this," he sighed. "The day I hired you, you were shining with excitement. Now however, you constantly fall asleep on your workplace. What changed?" he asked.

"Ah, it's about that..." Sarah wondered what would be the best way to explain this. She didn't want to tell her boss about the 'incident', so she decided to tell him another reason.

"Well, you see, there was a book," she began.

"A book?" the man asked, clearly annoyed.

"Yes, but I finished reading it only around 2 am, so it wasn't that late," Sarah explained.

"Right, that's not late," he said with sarcasm in his voice.

Sarah ignored it, or didn't notice sarcasm, so she continued. "But then, I realized that there is part 2. So, naturally, I went to the bookshop," she continued. "Surprisingly it was closed."

"I wonder why..." he spoke.

"Yeah, me too. It's always open at that time," Sarah agreed. "So, then I..."

"Wait, we were talking on your job performance, and not how you buy your books, or when you do so," the man interrupted.

"But I completed my work," Sarah protested.

"Four days after the deadline," he reminded her.

"Better late than never," Sarah countered.

"Maybe, but it doesn't work in this case," he replied. "How many times have we had this conversation?"

"Two times last week, three times the week before that..." Sarah began counting.

"I hoped that you would understand, but you are as always," he spoke. "I'm sorry Sarah, but you are fired," he announced.

As Sarah exited the building of the innovation center she got hit with the fresh wind in her face. It was raining outside. Since Sarah didn't want to think about what just happened, weather seemed like a good alternative. So, the rain, it was usually a sign of misfortune, and that really puzzled Sarah. She wondered why didn't some people like it? For her it was the giver of life. It was something that comforted her. The only explanation she could find was that some people just wanted to see sunshine, while the others believed rain was a sign of evil. And maybe they didn't want to get wet. Perhaps most people in her situation would think that it has something to do with her being fired. Sarah however, was glad about it.

She always hated her job. Everything about it, her boss, colleagues and her tasks in general. The only positive thing about her job was that it earned a lot of money. But as people say money can't buy happiness. Now, with the need to find a new job, surprisingly, Sarah wasn't stressed. She had time and some savings, maybe a few months' worth. It will be enough. But regardless, just in case, she decided that tomorrow she will try to find a new job. If Sarah would have time, of course. Great. She realized that rain, that was supposed to distract her from thinking about how she got fired, still brought her to this topic.

As she was walking down the street, usually the city lights were too bright for her liking and hurt her eyes, but today Sarah didn't mind. It seemed as a perfect evening. Nothing really bothered her. Her blue sweater and black jeans weren't the best clothes for walking in the rain, but unfortunately, Sarah forgot to check the weather today. Well, she never looks up weather before going somewhere. Her glasses reflected street light as she walked under the roof of nearby shops and Cafes. Sarah's home wasn't too distant. As she walked, she heard voices of protestors in the distance. Perhaps they were on the city square. She didn't think that they can accomplish anything with their shouting. Why they even try?

Wherever she could look, there were tall skyscrapers, each one taller than the previous one. Her steps continued echoing on the tiles. Sarah headed towards one of the buildings. Not many people could afford to live there, however no matter how much Sarah hated her job, she earned a lot of money. So, she could afford it. Everything always comes to money.

Once inside the building, Sarah looked at the walls were painted in dark, almost bloody red. On them hung various abstract paintings.

They always confused Sarah. How were the artist who painted them, expecting other people to understand what they meant? Perhaps beauty of them was that everyone could see something different, and it doesn't really matter what artist wanted to say.

At the end of the hallway, Sarah has reached three elevators. She pressed the button to summon the one on the left and waited. In less than a minute the elevator has arrived. Sarah entered inside and pressed the button with number 26. While it wasn't the highest floor, Sarah thought that it was still very high.

When she reached her floor, she decided to check her mailbox out of habit. To her surprise, she found a letter inside. It's been a while since she has got letter from someone. It had symbol of Elvira, the founder of innovation canter. Perhaps it was letter that officially said that Sarah was fired. What's wrong with them? They are Innovation Center, and they send letters when they fire someone. What a nonsense. Sarah looked at it for a while and shoved it in her pocket. And so, she entered inside her apartment. It was as messy as usual:

papers and books were strewn on the floor. It was unclear what was trash and what was important.

Sarah wasn't bothered by it. Sarah knew where everything is located and why is it there located. A modern floor lamp cast a glow over the chaos. The walls were painted in gray, adorned with abstract art pieces, just like in the hallway.

They were there when Sarah has bought her apartment. Sarah took of her shoes and changed her clothes to more casual.

She felt her throat was dry, so, at the kitchen she drank a cup of water.

After that she went to her bedroom.

In the corner of the room, a comfortable yet slightly worn in armchair beckoned invitingly, but its cushions were buried beneath a mix of rumpled t-shirts, jeans, and the occasional lab coat or dress shirt.

Nearby, a bookshelf stood tall, overflowing with volumes on science fiction, philosophy, and fantasy, their spines worn from frequent use. Sarah sat in her chair. On the desk were papers from her old work.

Sarah looked at them, frustration crossed her face and threw them into the trash. She looked at the letter, that she found in the mailbox. Sarah wasn't sure should she read it or throw in the trash like the papers. Yeah, it's probably great idea to throw it away. There is definitely nothing important inside it. And so, Sarah thew it away in her bin.

Anyway, Sarah has yesterday messaged her friend about the book that she was reading. Her friend liked reading as much as Sarah, so she couldn't wait for her opinion on the book. Unfortunately, her friend did not message yet. But Sarah noticed that there was message send from Innovation Center. While Sarah wasn't happy to receive it, she still decided to check it. After that she can finally block their account.

The room was extremely quiet, she only heard the loud clicking of the clock. And then, she opened the message.

"Dear Sarah Timeo, We inform you about your job loss in Data Sorting Team. However, our leading scientist Dr. Royan Harrington has expressed his interest to include you in his team. For more information, please visit his office in Innovation Center from 8 am to 13 pm."

Sarah looked a little surprised. While it was common for great scientist to receive such letters after leaving their work, Sarah wasn't one of them. That's why she did not expect such a letter immediately after leaving work. How did this man know that she left her job? No one knew about it yet. Even her family. The only one who knew about this was her boss.

Sarah didn't even tell her colleagues that she left. She always hated saying goodbye. Sarah once again read the message. This time she noticed one more interesting detail, his last name, Harrington... sounded familiar. Where did I hear it?

Sarah has most likely heard it at work. Perhaps they even met each other, but she forgot about that. Sarah often forgets people she meets.

Did Sarah impress him back then? Well, most likely, considering he sent an invitation immediately after she left her work. Sarah hoped she wouldn't disappoint him. Well, she doesn't seem to have any plans for tomorrow. So why not visit him?

Sarah was on her way to the Innovation Center. She couldn't wait to learn about her potential job. While her curiosity was peaking, Sarah couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous.

She has already researched name of her potential future boss, Royan Harrington. He was one of the most famous scientists in the world.

Harrington has won a lot of prizes for his work. And his co-workers said that he has untraditional approach to the work. But Sarah has decided that it was a good thing. There was no place for tradition in world of science.

Also, his family, Harringtons, were Lords in Morgana's territory.

They had a reputation of being a bit arrogant. So, Sarah couldn't understand why he was working as a scientist and not doing some 'rich people stuff'.

As she walked down the street, many people passed by. Then Sarah saw a building made mostly from glass and white concrete. The Innovation Center was right in front of her. It was also building where her past job was located. Yesterday Sarah thought that she would never go back here, but there she is, getting ready for a new job. In this city, the Innovation Center was arguably the most important building. And the scientists, received the highest payment.

That's exactly why Sarah chose to work there.

The large hall inside the building was almost empty. A sense of cleanness could be felt from the white tones of interior inside. Such large hall had little practical use. The only reason why it was so big, was to impress visitors who arrived here.

Quiet ambient music could be heard in the air as if it was trying to fill the empty space. But it was as good at its job as frog trying to read philosophy book. It was so out of place as if it didn't realise what was Its task at all. Or at least, that's how Sarah saw it.

Only a few people were sitting on chairs and talking to each other.

They were mostly people who submitted their job applications. They were somewhat similar to Sarah when she first got here. It wasn't long ago. Maybe just a few years. But now that she has working experience, Sarah would be much easier accepted to her job here.

Sarah approached to the lady at receptionist desk.

"Umm, hello," Sarah began softly. "I'm here for a job interview with Dr. Harrington. Could you tell me where his office is?"

"Sarah?" the woman asked. "Wait, you're here? Didn't you... uh..." she hesitated, then lowered her voice, though it still carried a sharp edge. "Didn't you get fired? Like... yesterday?"

Sarah's stomach sank, her cheeks flushing. She forced a polite smile.

This woman, what was her name again? Sarah was bad at remembering names. It probably started with letter E. Was it, Emma? Sarah swiftly looked at her name tag. Right, almost correct, it was Ella. Right, how could Sarah forget about Ella. Sarah really hated her. Ella didn't let Sarah bring her books inside the Innovation Center. There is a lot of things that Sarah can forgive, but this is not one of them.

"Well, yes," Sarah replied. "But I'm here for a new opportunity. I'm applying for a position in Dr. Harrington's department."

Ella blinked, clearly thrown off. "You're kidding, right? That's... bold. I mean, not even 24 hours and you're back here? Doesn't that feel a bit... awkward?"

The only thing that is awkward is talking to you.

Sarah felt her patience thinning but took a deep breath. She wasn't going to let Ella rattle her. "I see it as a fresh start," Sarah explained calmly. "I'd appreciate it if you could just tell me where Dr. Harrington's office is."

Ella leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. "Huh. Okay, well... I guess good for you, or whatever. Dr. Harrington's office is on the third floor, Room 312. But honestly, I'm surprised you weren't, like, banned from the building or something."

"Thank you for your help," Sarah thanked and turned around, before Ella could add another comment.

The hallways she passed were full of holograms displaying latest news and innovations. Sarah never liked to look on them. In a world where information seems to be infinite, it becomes hard to tell what is important and what is just noise filling valuable space in our brains.

Sarah increased speed and finally reached office 312. She stood there for a moment, collecting her thoughts. And then with a short sigh, Sarah opened the door. Inside the office, unlike the rest of the innovation center, was designed in an antique style, with landscape paintings. The walls were painted dark red, somewhat reminding Sarah of Kraltown.

The table was wooden, unlike the tables in the corridor, which were made from plastic or metal, perhaps a mixture of both. The interior of that office alone screamed that Dr. Harrington was not from this city, and not even from this territory.

Dr. Harrington sat at the table with a serious expression on his face, as he studied some documents. He was around 40 years old. Almost two times older than Sarah. Harrington was wearing a black coat which protected him from the Autumn coldness. When Royan Harrington saw Sarah, he shifted his haze on her and a smile appeared on his face.

"Hello, I suppose you're Sarah," Harrington said calmly.

"Good morning," Sarah answered, sitting down on a chair.

"I assume there is no need for introduction. But you can ask any question that you want," Harrington continued.

Sarah smiled a little. "No, I don't have anything to ask," she replied.

Harrington nodded. "One thing I forgot to mention in letter, is that your payment will remain the same," he took one of his papers and handed it to Sarah. "In this contract, you can see your job duties on it."

"Wait, you mean that letter was also from you?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, why you ask? You didn't read it?" Harrington replied.

"I threw it away," Sarah explained. Harrington remained silent. But it didn't seem that what Sarah said surprised him. He only smiled softly.

Sarah was surprised that Harrington didn't ask her any questions, like it usually happens on job interviews... She looked at the papers that he gave her. After carefully reading for a few minutes, she muttered to Harrington:

"Very funny, it seems that you like to joke. It says that I will be assistant, and my first work will be to open a portal to another universe."

"No, it's not a joke. If you agree with everything, you can come to work in the laboratory 68, tomorrow at 10:00," he replied with a smirk oh his face.

"Wait, you really think you can open portal to another universe?" Sarah asked with extreme skepticism. "And you don't need to be hit by a truck?" she added.

"What?" Harrington didn't understand.

"Nothing, it was a joke," she explained. "Still, I don't believe that you can actually open the portal."

"It is entirely possible. My team has made incredible progress. It's no longer 'if', it's 'when' we make a portal to another world." He saw that Sarah still wasn't satisfied, so he added: "And until the portal is opened, you will receive your payment. So, you don't have to worry about anything."

The offer sounded good, she didn't think they would open a portal to another world, but it would be nice to get the money without doing anything. Finally, something that Sarah liked. And maybe Sarah was wrong. She shouldn't forget that the man she is talking to is one of the greatest scientists in the world.

And so, Sarah signed the contract. It was a good deal.

"Umm... Can I see the portal?" Sarah asked.

"I appreciate the curiosity, but I'm afraid not. Today I have a lot of meetings. And so, my team has a day off. But I can show you tomorrow," Harrington answered.

"Well then, thank you for your time, and see you tomorrow. I don't want to disturb you," Sarah told him, getting ready to leave.

"Goodbye Timeo. See you tomorrow," Harrington replied as she closed the door behind her.

In front of Sarah was a door to the laboratory. She checked once again that she came on time and to the correct laboratory. Everything was right.

She couldn't help but wonder if Harrington's team would actually open the portal to another world.

But if it was true that portal was close to being finished, why then no one knew about this? If project like this exists, does it mean that there are other similar projects? It's concerning thinking what projects could government be working on, without anyone knowing. Yesterday Sarah had only met Harrington, but who knows how many people she would meet today? Why didn't she ask Harrington about this? Well, now that she thinks about it, it would be probably weird question. As Sarah opened the door, she heard low hum of computers.

Tubes and wires laid across the room, connecting to an array of complex machinery. At the center of it all stood a colossal device of gleaming metal, humming in the air. That's not what Sarah expected. But what did she really expect to see? She scanned the room with her eyes. Sarah noticed that Harrington was talking with man on the computer. Beside them sat a woman that was scribbling notes on her cluttered notepad. When Sarah entered the room, the woman jumped up from her chair and cheerfully walked towards Sarah. Sarah felt shiver down her spine as woman did this.

"Hi, my name is Amanda Letus, nice to meet you!" the woman whose name was apparently Amanda introduced herself.

Amanda... interesting, looks like she is pretty extroverted. Based on what Sarah noticed about her, she is probably the one who keeps this whole team together. Suddenly, Sarah realised that she has to answer something to that woman.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sarah," she answered.

To her surprise Amanda immediately continued, like she knew what Sarah would say and already prepared reply in her head.

"Yeah, I already know, Harrington told me. If you need anything, ask me, because these two are not very friendly. Oh yeah, let me introduce you to Felix." She approached the man at the computer and said: "This is Felix Patel, he works on computers, and I assume you already know Harrington."

While she spoke, Patel did not even look up from the screen. Yeah, Sarah wasn't sure was it a good or bad sign. Harrington just waved his hand and continued explaining something to Felix Patel.

Sarah hadn't expected any of her colleagues to be so talkative as Amanda. But she wasn't surprised either. The only thing Sarah hoped was that Amanda won't distract her from doing her work.

Sarah glanced at Patel. Why do they need programmer to open the portal? Well, she wasn't expert in this quantum stuff, or whatever they need to open the portal. So, maybe he was useful for something else.

After Harrington finally finished talking with Patel, he turned to Sarah.

"I see Amanda is already trying to get along with you. She is always like that. I'm sure you'll like her," he remarked. "Also, I want to show you what progress we've already accomplished in our work. You were so curios yesterday."

"Already? Shouldn't we chat a little more first? I think we should get to know each other better," Amanda gave them a slightly disappointed look.

"I'm sure that later you'll have a lot of time to get to know each other better, but now I think I need to show her our work. After all, we don't just come here to talk," Harrington slightly smiled at her. His gaze shifted to Sarah "And now Sarah, follow me."

He went to the colossal machine in the center of laboratory. Now that Sarah looked closely at it, she could tell that this was a device that was supposed to open the portal. It has a form of rectangle, and almost every wire and computer were connected to it.

"Wait a few seconds," Harrington muttered, pressing the buttons so fast it seemed like he had done it countless times. Soon, sparkles appeared on the sides of a rectangle.

As Sarah watched, blue cracks appeared in the air, connecting with each other. It seemed that portal would be open at any moment. However, just when it looked like portal was already opened, everything snapped back into place, as if nothing had happened.

"Wow. You have made much more progress than I expected," Sarah remarked.

"Yes, I told you that we are close to finishing it. But still, we still don't know how to keep it open," Harrington replied.

"Ah, I see. But still, the progress that you made is astonishing," Sarah pointed out.

But even though portal sounded cool, Sarah couldn't help but wonder if it was really necessary. They have enough problems in their own world. They seemed to create more problems instead of solving them. Why did council of Great Sisters allow this? Actually, Sarah was not surprised. Some nonsense like this was exactly what Sarah expected from Great Sisters.

"I'm glad that you like our portal," Sarah heard a voice behind her.

It was Amanda. "If you want, Felix or I can explain to you how it works."

"No, no thank you. Maybe a bit later," Sarah answered.

Sarah looked around to find where Harrington was. To her surprise, he didn't listen to them. He chatted with Felix Patel again.

"Anyway, what do you want tea or coffee?" Amanda asked.

Sarah replied that she would like a cup of coffee. She watched as Amanda approached the coffee machine and started clicking something on it. It was surprising that Amanda haven't asked Sarah what kind of coffee she wanted. Perhaps people usually don't ask each other such questions, Sarah wasn't sure. She didn't have coffee machine on her previous work. Then, Sarah saw that Amanda has added some unidentified liquid in her coffee. So, the only conclusion Sarah could arrive on was that Amanda wanted to poison her. But saying that she doesn't want coffee after Amanda has made it wouldn't be nice. Asking her about what she added in the coffee wouldn't be good, eighter. It will show that Sarah doesn't trust Amanda and may even make her angry. Amanda sat near Sarah and put coffee in front of her.

"So, I've heard that you already have some experience as a scientist. If you don't mind, could you tell me how your previous job was?" Amanda asked.

"I didn't like it much. But I'm interested, what were you doing before you started this... portal stuff?" Sarah asked.

She looked at her cup of coffee, deciding which side to drink from.

"Well, as you know, Elvira really loves different technology. She is practically obsessed with making the world better. So, half of what we do here goes straight to her personal projects," Amanda explained.

Sarah finally decided to try her coffee. It tasted wonderful. So, it was fine. Amanda didn't try to poison her. Sarah should get rid of paranoia that everyone wants to do something against her.

"Wow, yeah, you are really good at making coffee. It's unlike any other coffee that I tasted," Sarah smiled.

"Thank you. It's my own special recipe. I created it accidentally when I was trying to find cure for one disease. A lot of happened back then. One time, I remember, I almost burned my home," Amanda replied, her eyes lighting up. "I've loved science since I was a kid. Harrington needed someone who could handle chemical engineering for his early projects, so I signed on. Believe me, it was the best decision I ever made."

Sarah hoped that it would be the same case for her. Such job had potential to change her life forever. The only hope was that it would change her for the better. And it will. In its own abstract way.