Reading: "Dead Cities of the Stars" from Rituals of the Antithetical (A.Glass 2023)

“Maybe this is all a simulation?...” A man, formally dressed says to another man sitting at a bar.
“Scotch and water.” The other man requests to the barman, also formally dressed with an affixed purple and gold striped silk necktie.
“...You know, I saw this talk last month…” The man sips from his beer. “...It was part of presentation, a bank thing, you know a conference with guest speakers. Anyway, you heard of LAKUNA?”
The man sitting opposite, with is his left hand sips his whiskey, placing it down in front of him. Staring ahead at the mirrored reflection of himself. He turns slightly in the direction of the man talking.
“The Hedge Fund?”
“Yeah, you know Roger it was a kinda quirky presentation, but they, the Fund had guest speakers in relation to this whole thing…” He points around the bar in a slightly inebriated way “...Gave a talk that it could be a simulation and full of glitches.”
Sipping from the glass, whilst briefly looking at the diluted amber fluid, the man with the alas known as Roger, places down his glass, glancing at the man sitting beside him.
“Glitches?”
“Flaws, imperfections...Abnormalities in the structure.”
“Like a computer program.”
“Kinda, not as obvious, like some Hollywood movie thing...” The man points at his empty beer glass as the bartender nods and begins to pour another beer. “...Small things, that seem out of place.”
Roger, lifting his glass of whiskey, taking a final sip. “Well, we are easily duped, intrinsically flawed animals. Maybe too conscious of our environment. Too confident, therefor we miss things, the small details, that like you said, are these glitches. Closer to what could be real.”
The man nods. “Sure…” Looking down at his left hand at his wedding ring, as Roger studies his sentiment. “...Got three weeks of severance pay, then...I dunno.”
“Will you stay in the industry?”
The man looks at Roger, who is standing.
“Been in it for Twenty years...I guess something will come up.”
“Well good luck and it was nice meeting you,” Roger holds out his right hand, as the man shakes it.
“Thanks. Nice meeting you too.”
Making his way to the bar exit, stepping out onto Jones Street, pulling up the collar of his trench coat, he begins to walk in the direction Geary Street, lifting out from his left side black trench coat pocket a phone, quickly peering up at the sky which has become overcast for this late afternoon. “Feels colder,” he says to himself, looking briefly ahead at the sparse pedestrian foot traffic, with his right index finger he taps the SMS icon. Pausing, he types the message.

    “Meet for preliminary report Fifteen minutes away”

Walking on, while a much colder wind is felt from the West. “Summer in San Francisco,” he says, with in a sardonic grin, as the phone vibrates, he looks down at the phone screen.

    “Yes, meet me outside the

front of the building.

See you in fifteen.”

“Ok, see you then.” He types back, placing the phone back into his left trench coat pocket, walking onward booking up at the sky. A simulation huh?

___

Reading:  "Dead Cities of the Stars" from Rituals of the Antithetical(A.Glass 2023)