Break Time....

Melinda flopped in to a chair at the break room table. She took her glasses off and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Long day?" Jules asked.

"The longest. After a week of long days. Maybe a month of long days. It's my own fault. I took a little time off and now I'm struggling to catch up." She paged through the list on her clip board. "Only 200 more names to go."

"Is this for Archives?"

"No, this is for Special Projects. I think they are looking at setting up a new simulation. I'm not sure, because I haven't actually run any of the data, but most of what I've been collecting seems to be very similar. I think they want to add in a few more variables to get a wider variety of experiences."

"Maybe. Or maybe they want to narrow it more."

Melinda looked puzzled. "Why would they do that?"

Jules tapped her clip board, "If you get too wide of a variety it's hard to predict the outcome. That's what I've been seeing in my collections. I think they are looking at limiting the options so they can predict the outcomes a little more tightly."

"Hmm, that's an interesting idea. But wouldn't that be noticeable in the sandbox? If the outcomes were predictable then there is no point in having the experience. I would think the patterns would start to become visible."

"Why would you think that? You just said that without running the data yourself you are seeing the outcomes in your collection all seem very similar. Do they seem to be aware of it?"

"You're right. They don't. Each one thinks their experience is unique. Very interesting."

"But that's just a guess. I am probably being cynical but if there were fewer outcomes there could be more automation and less need for hands on interventions."

"You think this is all about downsizing?"

"It's happened before."

"Well that would suck. Research myself out of a job."

Jules reached out and patted Melinda's hand, "You would still have a job. Data collections is always fully staffed."

"But I wasn't planning on staying in data collections forever. I was hoping to move up to supervising, or even programming."

"Have you ever met someone who moved out of data collections?"

Melinda rubbed the base of her nose again, "No. Not personally. But I imagined that it was possible."

Jules nodded, "Anything is possible. But you are in data collections, look at what is probable."

"Crap."

"Sorry to bum you out. Tell me about your time off, that had to be fun right?"

"It was. I spent a few days in the Archives looking up a tying string in some of my data collection."

"Oh, it wasn't really time off, time off. It was a side project for Special Projects?"

"Sort of. It was a pattern I thought I recognized and Rosario said I could go explore the idea a little bit if I wanted to. I thought maybe that was a good sign for being considered for Special Projects, but now I'm thinking it was just further cementing me here in Data Collections."

"Is it really so bad? I mean, what project are you working on?"

"Best Day Ever."

Jules laughed, "Really? You are collecting data on their best day ever?"

"I am. And you would be surprised on how many of them are pretty much the same. Births, weddings, a lot of sunsets. A really surprising number of sunsets. How in the world can a Best Day be about the very end? But that's what people remember. Like I said, a surprising number of repeats."

"It will be interesting to see what they conclude."

"What about you? What are you working on?"

"Ready? This is what made me laugh, I'm doing Worst Day Ever."

Melinda laughed, "That is funny! What a weird coincidence."

"Surprisingly I have a lot of births, weddings and sunsets as well. One experienced as the best day and one as the worst, that would be interesting to delve in to a little deeper. But I have a lot of other things. Some of it is really horrific, some of it I feel like I should make sure they are understanding that I am asking for the worst."

"How are you handling it? I mean, I'm overwhelmed and I'm asking about Best Days. How are you handling Worst Days?"

Jules shrugged, "It's just data. Their lives in the sandbox aren't really real, right? I mean they think they are, but it's just programs they are running. I can't really be upset because," she paged through her clip board, "Subject 24's worst day was a glitch in the program that caused his dog to run away and be hit by a car. It was horrible for him, but as he is not real and his dog isn't real then it's not really all that tragic is it?"

"But they are real. I mean to themselves they are real."

"But are they real to you? I mean, honestly, do you think they are real?"

Melinda thought for a moment, interacting with them felt real. Sure they would have no memory of it when they were placed back in the simulation. But they seemed real. Some of them seemed almost as lifelike as Jules. And they seemed to be having a lot more unique experiences in the sandbox than she was in her own life. She had worked in Data Collections for 2,700 years, every day the same routine. Collect information from the subjects for Special Projects or Continuing Projects or Archives and that was that.

"I think they are interesting. Sometimes I think it would be more fun to be one of them."

"To be one of them? With their limited capacity for data? With their best and worst days? With their dramas? Really?"

"Yeah, just sometimes though. Haven't you ever wanted a dog?"

"To get hit by a car? Their lives are programmed to be full of reactions. We are above that. Be glad of it."

"I guess so. Well, my break time is over, back at it. Only 200 more Best Day Evers to go."

Jules watched Melinda gather her things and head back to her interview room. Then she turned to face the small camera in the corner of the room, "Data Collection on 'Melinda' complete."

In another room two researchers wrote notes from Jules and Melinda and talked about their jobs. "Do you think they realize they are all just a simulation and their sandbox is just smaller?"

"Did you?"