If you're going to die, why not go out with a bang. That was something Percy sincerely believed. One last fun thing before you drift off into non-existence. An orgy of… okay let's slow there.
He blinked twice, mind screeching to a halt.
Not that kind of crazy. But if that's what you needed to do then let loose.
If you're going to kick the bucket make sure everyone hears it.
A high pitched whine tore through the air. Percy looked up at the engine the lead engineers had just started. Somewhat annoyed to be interrupted.
Of course he was the one that asked them to start it so that was unfair. He studied the panel where the control system was outputting a steady rhythm of values. He was watching the EGT values.
They looked good until it didn't, and then the values began rising above specifications they had made when the system was modelled. He should wrap up his requested test
Percy was leaning against the wall, draped in his compulsory safety gear. He raised his hand and drew a circle in the air.
The lead engineers saw this and began powering down the engine. Once its roar had gone down, he walked over to the control table casually.
"Well, isn't this quite the pickle."
Davis, one of the lead engineers, nodded so hard Percy thought his glasses would fall off.
"Yes sir. Turbine inlet temps are over nineteen percent the specified values. Any more tests and we run the risk of damaging the blades."
Percy bent out, back giving a traitorous creak. He ran his hands over some buttons on the terminal.
"Sir?" Davis asked carefully.
"Where can i find the data sheet? I want the specific heat capacity of the new thermal coating we used. Not the theoretical ones."
Davis stretched over and tapped an icon on the touch screen that instantly brought it up.
Percy sighed dramatically.
"Now I feel stupid… and old."
"I'm sorry, sir."
Percy turned to him, eyebrows raised in confusion.
"Are you apologising because you think I'm stupid? Or because you somehow caused my stupidity?"
Davis fumbled around with his words like a goldfish gulping for water until Percy offered him a cheeky smile.
"Relax, kid. How new are you? Where's Chen."
Davis tried laughing along with Percy but it felt weird.
"Chen's on leave."
Percy nodded and then pulled up the EGT delta's scans.
"There, the exhaust gas temp—the EGT."
"Yes, sir. I know what EGT means," Davis bent over the monitor watching the values. "They're a bit uneven but…"
Percy nodded, rising fully and stretching his back.
"The thermal coating can't dissipate the heat generated. It's creating localized heat pockets, which is in turn confusing your control system. I'd say take a Boroscope and check the interior for deformities. When Chen gets back, have him recalibrate all the thermocouples."
He turned and left Davis behind. He had other things to do today. He met his assistant outside the control room in the dark hallway.
"Why are you just standing there, Viola? It's creepy."
Viola's bushy afro cast long shadows over her face, a deep frown on her lips.
"Director Kenneth denied your request for additional funding."
Percy's face tightened, the long hallway seemed to grow darker. He simply turned and walked away.
Viola's voice rang out.
"Percy, wait!"
He walked out of the company building, pulling out his phone and considered booking an uber home. Then he settled on walking and booked a flight ticket. Which after two minutes, felt ill-advised.
The years had been catching up to him as he walked home. He found a creaky bench to sit for a while, knees stinging with burning pain, and he still had to walk three more blocks to the apartment.
"How do people live this long? I wish I croaked before my knees left me behind."
He couldn't fathom how the world was so busy in this cold, grey weather. People still flocked over the streets, cars drifted up and down the roads lazily. The traffic and noise of the world were somewhat muted.
The sound of his phone ringing cut through the hazy noises all around him. He didn't bother checking, it was probably Viola. But there was no point in going back to work.
There was no funding for the project, but the idiots in marketing will still promise a product that cannot be delivered. Then they'll probably dump another couple billion dollars into stock buy backs.
"Maybe I should blow up the company building. That'd be one hell of a way to exit life."
He reclined on the bench, running his hand through his greying hair irritatedly.
"I'm getting worked up," Percy chuckled wryly. "What are these random thoughts?"
The first raindrops touched his face and Percy decided to stop being lazy and get up.
"Ouhhh, there's my fucking knees," he groaned. "I guess it's time I pay for all the stress I've put you through."
The walk home led through different parts of the city. Places he had worked as a teenager and others as a man. He wasn't alone back then though.
He and his older brother, Tommy, had grown up in this city. It had seen every stage of their lives from the pits to his peaks. From orphans on the streets to studying for entrance exams while working part time jobs.
Percy chuckled softly to himself. Tommy must have taken those stupid exams three times before he was accepted into a school. Only for the arrogant bastard to graduate top of his class.
Shamelessness was a virtue for Tommy. He was never scared to take what he wanted and make mistakes. He wouldn't apologize and he'd never agree he was fully wrong.
Percy sighed, growing more tired as he thought of his older brother. "I miss arguing with him."
The day Tommy died, Percy reckoned the world just became a bit duller. There was nothing he looked forward to in the industry or the world. So he found a new way to fill the void.
He sunk into video games, online novels and arcade games to pass the time. He travelled from city to city to play in tournaments, skipping out on work anytime he didn't have to be there.
Webnovels had become his favourite pastime. They filled the silence of his empty mansion and brought interesting things into this dull world.
He enjoyed the simplistic stories, the ambitious ones, the horny ones, the zany nonsense that no one else would give a chance.
His only criteria for a book was that it felt like the author had fun writing it. That they didn't hold back their wacky ideas in an effort not to lose readers.
In novels you could do pretty much anything. So why not let loose.
If he could just have one chance to do anything, Percy could swear he would make something that changed the world.
But if it didn't come tomorrow and cost peanuts to make, then the funding would never come. The art of waiting for something good was long lost in this era.
The rain started to come down heavily so Percy stopped at a shop to get some shade and a hotdog.
He watched cars zipping through the rain while he ate, trying to calculate how much water was displaced by different speeds.
It was impossible and very fun.
But it also allowed him to see something strange.
The air distorted on the patch of road in front of him. Percy frowned, it was like watching rain flow over an oily window.
A black sedan was driving right towards the patch of distortion. Percy raised his hand to warn the driver, but was ignored.
The car twisted and bent into a mind-bending swirl of black and silver. Percy's jaw dropped at the sight of the impossible sequence.
Suddenly, the sedan screeched off the road and barreled right towards him.
The sudden change in direction made him jump forward, narrowly dodging as it crashed into a store with a jarring bang.
Glass and dust rained over him. Percy kept his hand covering his face, crawling away from the crash.
Voices surrounded him instantly.
"Did you see that?"
"That car just narrowly missed that guy."
"What the hell's wrong with that driver? Is he brain-dead?"
Percy was more concerned with the distortion that sent the car flying towards him. No one else could see what he was seeing?
The distortion spread, sending more cars spinning in a different direction. Screams filled the air, the sound of rain interrupted by thunderous crashes.
The distortion spread right at him, like the colors of reality melting off the canvas.
He tried to force himself up but his knees locked in place.
Percy chuckled. "I really have to pay for all I've put you through."
The distortion rolled over him. The world turned black and his mind was filled with blinding pain as his body was twisted in several directions.
There was a sick crack and that was the last thing Percy felt.
He waited for his consciousness to fade into death, somewhat satisfied with the life he lived. There was nothing fun to do in that ruined world anyway.
He waited for death, but the grim reaper must have been caught in traffic.
Percy opened his eyes in an endless void of black, there were twelve differently coloured stars in the distance. Red, orange, blue, green and many more.
These stars were the only light in the distant void. But Percy didn't feel cold or uncomfortable.
Shocking,right? Dead men don't feel cold.
He rolled his non-existent eyes.
"Is this heaven or hell?" he asked the dark. "Well with how boring this is, I'd guess hell. This was always the type I feared the most too. Can I go to Buddhist hell? Jewish hell would be nice but I know my luck isn't that good."
A voice suddenly rang through the void, the darkness trembled.
"It's not hell."
Percy raised his non-existent eyebrow.
"And you're not god? If we're denying the obvious, can I not be dead?"
"I'm not god, but you are most definitely dead. I'm the keeper of Hollows. You can call me Nyx."