"What happened in 2015?" Matt asked, ignoring the commotion at the end of the hall. It was going to end badly no matter the outcome and he was too far away to influence them into calming down and not giving into fear. Better to stick close to Simon.

"Do you want the sappy version or the unsappy version?" he asked, taking a sip of his smoothie. "In one version, I was given my first real assignment and no longer an apprentice. In the other version, I met my best friend. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which one was sappy."

Matt looked longingly at the massage chairs, wishing he could spend another few moments avoiding reality. "Oh well, guess I cant have magic fingers all the time. So, if this isn't a curse, then what do you suppose is going on? I'm betting on evil AI. It's the only way to explain the demented Siri voice and the pod."