The room was circular; it's metal walls painted perfect, shiny white all around. James walked in, sweating, hair glued to his forehead. In front of him was a single monitor. A big red button under it. The screen flashed alive when he came closer. First, static. Then, a blue screen. Finally, his own face, staring back from the TV. It started with a black dot in the sky, the whole mess. This one beautiful Sunday morning James looked up, on his way to work, and there it was; a piece of the sky, missing. A missing pixel. From there on, things got weirder. Kathy would say it was all right, that it was probably stress. She'd smile and run her hand through his hair, and she'd tell him everything was going to be all right. But he could see it, everyday. Little discrepancies. Little pieces of weirdness, things that didn't really fit together. A cashier's eye, changing color at a Jack in the Box. A tree he swore was more than ten feet tall, the next day, no more than a sprout. The neighbor's dog turned into a cat, even though everyone would swear to him that it was, and had always been, a Siamese. These little things, these little dents in reality, kept getting stronger and more pronounced. Enough to drive a man crazy. People would talk to him in the streets, out of nowhere. Nonsense phrases. Mrs. Elliot would look at him and smile horribly and say, through a set of rotten teeth: "If, or else." Statements. Things that didn't make sense. It would rain only over a specific block of the city. Then, when James looked again, it wouldn't be raining at all. The TV would come alive for no reason. Furniture would move inside his own home. Enough to make a man insane, and, yet, Kathy kept telling him it was all in his head. Then, that very morning, the glow appeared. Like a path; a string of yellow, glowing light, starting right at James' front door and snaking its way down the street. He took the car and drove. All day, afternoon and night he followed it. Leading somewhere, and all the while he was wondering; have I gone insane? Have I lost it? Am I real? James arrived, late hours of the night, under heavy rain, at the building. The one with the circular walls.

"What is this?" James asked the image on the monitor, foolishly. The face on the other side of the screen just stared back. "WHAT IS GOING ON?" "If you are watching this, there was a problem with the construct", TV James said, smiling. "Allow me to explain: Once there was a man named James, and a girl named Kathy, and they were very much in love. They met in high school, and before college had even begun for him, were already married. They bought a house. They talked of having kids. They planned their whole lives together. It's funny how life is, sometimes. Some people spend all their time trying to find love, and die without ever having known what it is. Others find it way too soon, and too soon, get it taken away from them. One thing James and Kathy didn't plan for was death. Carcinoma, is what they called it. Inoperable. Kathy cried, and cried, and cried. But not James. James didn't shed a tear. He was too busy. Too busy beating death." James felt his breathing get heavier, as he listened to every word TV James was saying. "The Construct, is what he called it. A place where he and Kathy could live forever, unaffected by the inconvenience that was mortality. Strings of ones and zeros creating a world. People, places, emotions. Life. Digital life. A place where they could live out their planned dreams and enjoy their house, their kids. Their marriage. A place for Kathy and James. This is that place. If you are watching this, there was a problem with the construct. Don't worry. It self-fixes itself. Please be patient. All inconsistencies you might be experiencing will go away on its own." James turned around, startled by the noise behind him. Kathy. Crossing the door. A smile on her face. "James." She looked peaceful. Beautiful. "This..." "It's true." She reached him, their mouths a few inches from each other. "You're dead", James whispered. Kathy chuckles, sadly. "Oh... No." "What? "I'm not dead." James looked from her to the TV behind him, where TV James was still smiling in silence. "I... am?" "I told you to cut back on the cigarettes, James... I told you so many times..." James swallowed dry. "What, now?" "Nothing... You are a construct. A software." "And you?" Kathy smiled. "I'm alive. But real life is not so much fun, these days. Not without you." James had a sudden image flash in his memory; an empty, dusty room, with a recliner, leather chair in the middle. On that chair, a lonely young woman, her face covered by a Virtual Reality device. "You found a way for us to live forever, James..." Kathy brushed her lips against his. "You did it." James kissed her back. They both turned to stare at the TV. "What does the red button do?" Kathy smiled, taking his hand with her. "It destroys the construct. It was never meant for you, but for me. In case I ever decide to go back to real life." "Why don't you?" She smiled her sad smile again. "You're not there." They both stared at the button, in silence. Onscreen, TV James had disappeared, replaced by static. James thought back of his time with Kathy. The laughter, the nights in bed watching TV, the trip to San Diego... All of that felt so real. It wasn't really him, the one who had lived those memories -- it had been real life, flesh and blood James -- but he remembered them so clearly. The memories, they were a part of what he was. Of his personality. Himself. "I must have been one hell of a good programmer", he whispered. Kathy chuckled. "What now?" They were still staring at the red button, hands still intertwined. "I don't know", Kathy whispered. "I press this button and you die again." "But you get to live real life. You get to get out of this fake, synthet --" "I think I like it here better", Kathy whispered, turning to face him. James nodded. The image of the sad, lonely girl in the dark room flashed into his mind again. "Ok..." Kathy closed her eyes, leaning in for another kiss. With a sigh, James gave in, pulling her head closer to him and kissing her back. His other hand hovered and brushed over the red button nervously. "I love you, James..."