Lloyd took the packet and stepped aside.

"Thanks, Pete."

"You're welcome. Hi, how can I help you?"

Lloyd turned right and kept walking towards the wall until a seam appeared along the wall and a fake wall slid back, revealing a passageway. The floor and walls remained exactly the same along the hallway, with nameplates next to steel doors that had no doorknobs. The hallway branched off in three directions the far right was the break room, the middle led to a lower level that contained the chambers, and far left were operating rooms. Holding his ID up to his nameplate, Lloyd waited until he heard a small chirp and both items glowed blue. His door opened as a normal door would and he stepped into his office, which felt like an entirely different building compared to the rest of the place.

His office had lots of room, a nice hardwood floor with a comfortable red couch for the client. His desk was a lighter wood than the floor and it matched the bookshelf of shit he'd never read behind his seat, that touched the normal white ceiling. There was a window on the farthest wall, directly in line with the door, but it didn't show the smog filled sky outside. It showed a clear blue sky, with a great view of skyscrapers that didn't exist.

Lloyd had two large monitors on the leftmost part of his desk, with little knick knacks and a bowl of chocolate at the front. He threw down the packet and eased into the chair, closing his eyes. Jenna and Eric were probably getting on the plane by now. Going to meet her family one last time before she's sitting in front of some asshole just like Lloyd, ushering people into the new world. One of his screens started to beep as he opened his eyes and reached for a piece of chocolate.

"Hall's Office, accept call."

"Lloyd, whenever you're ready, Miss Baker is waiting outside." Peter said over the phone.

Crap, he hadn't even checked her file. "Alright, send her down."

"Also, we're closing immediately after you, Arthur and William get done with your first clients."

"What? Why?" said Lloyd.

"A protester tried to run in after Arthur. When a guard grabbed him he shot himself and the guard in the head. Must've been a very high caliber. We're having a meeting about the situation later. They might start arranging escorts for our safety."

"Damn. At least the crowd is gone."

"Oh they aren't." he replied laughing. "They're still out there, cheering his corpse like a martyr. They hate the new world a little too much, if you ask me. That ain't worth it."

"Yeah, I hate it too but I'll be damned if I-"

The monitor beeped again and a messaged popped up saying;

'Entrance Permitted: Kennedy Baker, 7:00am'.

And a ten second timer appeared on the door.

"Alright, I gotta go, my client is here." Lloyd swiped away the call and tried to look naturally as the door slowly swung open. Miss Baker paid him no attention, more concerned about the contrast between the hallway and the room.

"Holy crap, who is your decorator?" she asked him. "They must've been high."

Lloyd shrugged, "I didn't have a say in the layout. Have a seat miss-"

"Kennedy," she interrupted. "I don't like being called miss. It kinda makes me feel old"

Lloyd nodded, "Oh I see." and was glad some divine force stopped him from asking, 'so how old are you?'

"Would you like anything?"he asked not so subtly with a genuine half smile. "Tea? Coffee? Brownies?"

"I'll take a coffee," she replied. "Six creams and six sugars."

"No problem," said Lloyd and he typed up the order on his computer. "Now to the official business. As you know, I am a Transfer Therapist. It is my job to help transition you from this world to the new one. Any questions you have, any doubts, you come to me."

"Right." said Kennedy.

"Now, you do have the implants ready, correct?"

She nodded and put all her hair on the right side, showing a small metal rectangular disk embedded in her head. Suddenly, the computer chirped and a message popped up again. 'Entrance Permitted: Staff'.

Lloyd waved off the ten second timer and the door immediately swung open. A woman in a slim black dress entered carrying a tray holding two cups of coffee and a plate of brownies. Her name-tag said Beth, and she had her hair in a bun. She handed Kennedy her cup and set the plate of brownies on the desk. Her eyes met Lloyd's as she handed him his cup and she gave him a small nod as she turned away.

"The sugar and cream is already inside." Beth told Kennedy.

"Thank you." Kennedy replied with a smile, which Beth returned with another. She took her tray and promptly left the room.

"Oh that reminds me, I need the fob that you used to get in here. It only works once anyway."

"Oh, this?" Kennedy pulled out a small flash-drive looking device with a red glowing circle on it. "It's kinda cool."

"Yeah, I guess it is." he flipped it through his fingers before putting it in a drawer. "Let's start. What are you most excited about as you prepare to enter the new world?"

"There's so many things," said Kennedy, smiling. "The blue sky, the sun, fresh air, I mean, this is an amazing opportunity! We literally have the chance to escape death."

Lloyd smiled and nodded, motioning for her to take a sip. She raised her cup and they tapped their mugs together.

"And you don't have any qualms, religious or otherwise, about escaping death?"

"Not at all. I'm not really religious, so I don't have any problems with transfer."

Lloyd squinted and smiled. "You're making my job a little too easy right now."

She laughed. "Isn't easier better? I've so long waited for today I couldn't even sleep last night.'

"Well damn, excuse me for trying to make conversation. Finish your coffee and we'll get started."

Lloyd grabbed a brownie before typing away at a holographic keyboard on his desk.

"These brownies are really good." Kennedy commented.

"I know right?" Lloyd responded, looking over her consent forms. "You should eat one more before you jump in."

She chuckled. "You don't have to tell me twice."

As she reached for a brownie, Kennedy felt a rush of drowsiness, her body felt so heavy her arm just dropped to her side. She gave a big yawn and managed to wipe the tears from her face.

"God, I just got so sleepy all of a sudden." She yawned again, checking her phone for the time.

"Well, you said you didn't sleep much, that's probably why." said Lloyd, face glued to his screen.

"Yeah, I know but I usually..."

"Ms.Baker?"

Lloyd turned around to see her completely zoned out on the couch.

"Damn that shit is strong." Lloyd replied as he dialed a number on the screen.

"Kennedy Baker is ready for transfer."

"Good." replied a woman on the line. "Arthur beat you by about two minutes. Will still isn't done."

"I guess his first patient was a little more complicated than ours."

"You're only halfway there Lloyd. You never know how they'll adjust. Remember, wait in your office until we give you the signal."

Suddenly, Lloyd's door opened without any timer or warning, with a doctor and two nurses coming in with a gurney. They collected Kennedy without so much as a passing glance to him, and left the office in a couple of seconds. The door didn't even close until Beth came back and quietly took the tray and Kennedy's cup.

"Are you done with yours?" She asked him stiffly, clearly perturbed.

"Uh... could I get a refill, actually?"

"Sure." She took his cup and turned away slowly. Stopping at the door, Lloyd noticed her hands were trembling.

"Do you think she'll like it?"Beth asked him.

"She seemed ecstatic. I'm sure she'll love it." Lloyd reassured her.

"And what about you?" she replied. "Are you ever going in?"

"No." said Lloyd. "I'm dying out here, alone."

A loud beeping sound went off seconds before the power went out all over the building. The red emergency lights from the hallway cast an ominous glow down the hall.

"They must've taken the cryogenic chambers off standby." said Beth. "They're fully powered now. Regular Power should be restored in at few seconds." she reached behind and pulled up the door.

"I don't think I'm going in either." she said quietly as the door shut. Lloyd sat in silence, the glow from his monitors illuminating the room. The fake window was as pitch black as the rest of the room. He tried to picture what they were doing with Kennedy. He pictured her propped up on metal table, arms and legs restrained with a cap full of wires on her head. As soon as the information is downloaded to local she's injected with a serum to slow her heart and reduce brain power. After the medically induced coma, she's put back onto the gurney and taken to the chambers, where her body will sit forever. It was an extreme waste of resources. Why preserve your body when you have no intention of going back?

Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief as the power returned, the hum from the lights more soothing than the silence.He had long since lost the joy for most things, everything he loved was on the outside. He couldn't play football, go to the park with his son, breathe... staying inside was the only way to stay alive. Until they made this.

Lloyd got an incoming call but it accepted itself, without any timer.

"You're up Lloyd, Kennedy's in local." said the woman from before.

"Alright. remind me again, who am I speaking too?"

"Marcy Foster."

"Thanks, I have trouble with names." Lloyd replied nicely. Marcy hung up without a response.

Tapping a button on the top right of his desk, a white projection screen slid up from the front of his desk. Turning around to clear some books from the second-most top shelf. He then activated the projector, and its logo appeared on the screen. Swiping through, Lloyd found her file in local and began to upload her program to the web. Now, instead of a logo his own couch was being projected onto the screen.

Why isn't anyone in here to evaluate me? He thought as the first monitor showed a popup that said 'Transfer Successful'.

Someone else must be having worse luck than me. He thought as Kennedy slowly came into figure, glassy eyed with perfect posture. She looked stiff, wooden, like a breathing statue, though she would never need to breathe again. Her coffee cup and the tray of brownies reappeared with her. The second monitor showed him from her perspective, with his coffee cup still in view. He turned up the mic on his monitor before clicking a green button that said Initiate.

Kennedy popped back into action, reaching for the tray of brownies before her arm dropped and her head dipped slightly. She gave a big yawn and wiped the tears from her face.
"God, I just got so sleepy all of a sudden." She yawned again, checking her phone for the time.

"Well, you said you didn't sleep much, that's probably why." said Lloyd, his eyes fixated on her intensely.

"Yeah, I know but I usually... wait, didn't this happen before?" she asked, confused. "I could've sworn this just happened."
"It did." Lloyd replied with a smile. "You've done it Kennedy. You're in the new world."

"OH. MY. GOD. YES!" she screamed joyfully. "I can't even tell, are you sure? No, you're joking. Don't play with me."

"I'm serious. if you don't believe me," he gestured towards the window. "Open it and see for yourself."
Kennedy promptly got to get feet and walked over to the window, opening it and letting in a beautiful ray of sunlight.

"Oh mu gosh." Kennedy stuck her head outside, nearly climbing through. She relished in the scenery for a long moment, until Lloyd tapped his desk.
"Earth to Kennedy, I'm still here."
She came in and closed the window, smiling.
"Sorry."
"Don't be. Your world now is teeming with life, more life than the one I'm still in. The moment you walk out of my door, you'll receive a new position and be caught up on the cryptocurrency digital America uses." Lloyd opened a drawer and pulled out a wide metal wristband.

"This is connected to local and the digital world. If you ever need my help, I'll answer."

"Wait aren't you coming in eventually? They can't have you doing this forever."

"They won't." he assured her. "When I'm gone they'll hire someone else to assist you."

She smiled and walked up to give him a handshake but he shook his head.
"I'm not really here, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. My bad." She blushed as she backed up and looked at the door.

"Thank you, for assisting me." she reached for the door and opened it. He couldn't see anything from where he sat.
"No problem." he responded, waving her off.
"I hope I see you in here someday." she said as she passed through, closing the door.
Lloyd pressed the button on his desk, lowering the projection screen.

"I wouldn't count on it.."