Lif-e.af/ter Ep. 3

In about 30 seconds, I'll be inside 26 Federal Plaza. Nothing from Charlie or Sasha since last night. Why do I want to turn around and run? I haven't done anything wrong. Except I am wearing my blue shirt with short sleeves. Sorry, sir? What? May I see your ID card, please? Sure, it's uh Is there a uh okay, I see the problem.

It's just old. Oh, look like it's uh but just be sure to put in a request for a new one. I'd say do it today. I don't know if this'll work next month. I will. I will absolutely do that. Have a great day, Miss Barnes. By the time I get to my desk, I'm half ready to chalk the whole Sasha thing up to a dream. When? When you are seated at your desk, simply say yes. Sasha?

When you are seated at your desk, simply say yes. Let me talk to Charlie. When you are seated at your desk simply say yes. Whatever you want, I'm not doing it. When you are seated at your desk, simply say yes. You gonna work standing up today? Is that the plan? Yes. Take your phone out of your jacket pocket. First let me talk to Charlie.

Take your phone out of your jacket pocket. I wore the blue shirt. That's a gesture of good faith in your head. Take your phone out of your jacket pocket. Let her say something to me, just one thing. Take your phone out of your jacket pocket. Now what? Now place the phone in the breast pocket of your shirt with the screen facing in. Excuse me? Now place the phone in the breast pocket of your shirt with the screen facing in.

This is ridiculous. What are we even doing? To repeat, place the phone in the breast pocket of your shirt with the screen facing in. Fine. Happy? Now proceed normally. Excuse me? Proceed normally with the activities of your day. All you wanted me to do was... And my skin suddenly prickles as I realize. I open video chat just so I can see myself and there I am.

Sleep deprived. Scared. In a short-sleeved blue shirt with a breast pocket of just the right depth, that the camera in the upper right-hand corner of my phone sticks out the top and points directly at my screen. Please return your phone to your breast pocket. How did you know? To repeat, please return your phone to your breast pocket. How did you know?

From observation, Ross, over an extended period of time, you own 10 workshirts. The breast pocket of this one is of the correct dimensions for this purpose. How long have you been watching me? Please return your phone to your breast pocket. What were you waiting for? To repeat, please return your phone to your breast pocket. I won't do it. We we are done here. And I pull out my earbuds and turn off my phone and Sasha's gone.

But so is Charlie. Did you say something? Yeah, no, I just uh I can't have one without the other.

By 11 a.m. I'm losing my mind. I'm typing reports on autopilot. I keep looking at my phone, thinking, just turn it on. Except that Sasha's in there waiting to pounce. What does she want? My reports? My reports are just Well, what's the one I'm working on now? Weird, right? What's that? I'll be honest with you. I never think about it. Like all these reports about life after. I don't know.

I turn on my phone, put my earbuds back in, thinking well, thinking what you always think when you're in trouble. Somehow this will magically go away. Charlie. Please return your phone to your breast pocket. Please return your phone to your breast pocket. Please return your breast. All right, you're none trouble. Uh sorry, sorry, I didn't I didn't see you. Didn't hear me, right? What? With all the singing. Yeah.

Behind Agent Dash, another man comes out of the restricted suite and heads for the elevator in a hurry. I see him do this about six times a day. He's a smoker. A serious one it looks like. Anyway, no big deal, but this is for you. So these are the key words for particular terms we flagged with extreme interest. Okay. From now on any reports that come in with any of these keywords you do not upload them into the system.

You will print them out as hard copies and hand deliver them to Dr. Octavia Roth in the restricted suite. And I'm not wearing my earbuds. But somewhere in my phone, I swear I hear Sasha snapping to attention. And hand deliver them to Dr. Roth. Well, I mean I will absolutely do that, sir, of course, but No, there's no but. This directive is from special agent in charge Bryn Cutler herself. It's just that I can't actually get in there.

Excuse me. My card, my clearance? I'm not vetted. Okay, I'll have it upgraded. I'll put that request in, I'll have it expedited. All right. All right, now this is an unconventional instruction and one that you will follow to the letter. Is that clear? Yes, sir. Amen. Check out fancy Ross. Yeah, Larrence for the restricted suite. It'll be a license to kill next. Wait. Why wouldn't this also apply to you? Does it come with overtime? Not that he mentioned. Yeah, then I sorta don't care.

Slowly, with a thrill of dread, I bring the earbuds back up to my ears. Yeah, let me know what it's like back there. Keep it cigars, staff the suits. They'll take lots of pictures. Yeah, well, you better not do that. In fact, you will do that. Should you wish to resume contact with Charlotte Castor, you will do precisely that.

I turned my phone off again. I need to think. I need to breathe. I need to Gonna get some fresh air. Whatever. Mr. Super Spa. They say addicts tell themselves all kinds of stories to justify their actions. I'll fix just one more time, then I'll stop. I can definitely afford to spend. I can definitely do my job. Now I'm trying one on myself. How serious could the life after investigation be if it's assigned to the social media unit?

Maybe it's okay if I cooperate. Maybe these are secrets that just don't matter. There's an opener section of the parking garage that's sort of a informally agreed upon area for the handful of smokers in our division. Sure enough, Mr. Six Breaks a day is there. Hey. Yeah. I'm sorry. I this is so lame. It's Края Bum one? Yeah. Sorry. I um that'll be three dollars. Oh uh I'm just messing with you. And do it up. Probably need a little

Thank you. I uh I barely smoke anymore, but seeing you just now gave me the craving, I guess. You can't really have a life anymore. If you smoke. You're always outside. Used to be I nudged my way into conversations by smoking. Now I'm pushed out of them. I'm sorry. They cut us out of the culture really. Left us behind. We're just sort of all hunched up at a periphery.

Grabbing as many drags as we can before someone sees. What must that be like, smoking guy? Feeling like the whole world has left you behind? Yeah, it's even it's even all the all the bars. Fortunately, that's not where the real talking happens anymore. Over cigarettes? In person. Not anymore. Emails, DMs, chats, posts, tweets, comments. We just don't need vocal cords like we used to. Well, there's there's voice tree. Excuse me? Oh. That was just. Just that there's a there's one lowlet. Yeah.

I know voice. Well, I know you you guys are working hard on something. Remind me your name again? Ross. Ross Barnes. Connor McLeod. Nice to meet you. There can be be only one. What's that? Why doesn't anyone watch Highlander anymore? Oh, I'm sorry. I uh I spell it differently anyway. Okay. Tastes good, doesn't it? Yeah. I forgot how nice cigarettes are in a stressful day. They get me through, my friend. They are my constant companions. You having a stressful day as well?

Well, you know FBI. Right, right, but I mean this unit's just social media. It's mostly scams. It's not like it's ISIS. Not too forward thinking, young man. How do you mean? The bad guys are like the Little Mermaid. They want to go where the people are. And the people are on social media. But they're not there yet. Right? What are you saying? On social media. The bad guys. You ever heard that joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall? It's a really old joke. No, I don't think I practice.

Right. Do you want to get on a restricted clearance task force? Keep your head down. You show up on time. You turn in pristine work product and inch your way up in increments. You don't cozy up to people. You practice. Thanks for the cigarette. And but you gave me sharing a cigarette, I mean. Like I said, not many of us left.

By now, my headache so bad my forehead sore to the touch. I need her voice. Even just a few minutes of it. Just to get me leveled, just so I can think. Even her old voice tree posts would do. Except Sasha's just waiting for me to turn on my phone. And if I use my work computer to log on. Would they be monitoring that? It can't be. It can't be, right? It's the FBI. People have things to do. I plug my earbuds into my desktop computer. Profile not found. Not again. Not again. Are you kidding?

Profiles not found. And I realize I know that voice. Which makes me realize all the rest a second later. I put my earbuds back in my phone and turn it on. That's what you were waiting for. Please place your phone in your breast pocket. It was when I called the helpline. To repeat, please place your phone in your breast pocket. You were listening, right?

test how I acted on that call, freaking out, ignoring my boss, that's how you know I was far gone enough. And that's when you brought in Charlie. To repeat, please place your phone in your breast pocket. Well the hell with you. I won't do it. How smart are you now, huh? Sasha? Did you hear me? Ross, can the sing-along be a little quieter? Sure, yeah, sure. Charlie? Where else is Charlie?

Where else is her voice? I open her Facebook profile. A never-ending wall of condolences. I go to her photo tab, somehow hoping there'll be videos when there weren't videos the last thousand times I checked. The sound of her voice has got to be somewhere. And then it hits me. I leave the earbuds in all the way home thinking. Maybe. Maybe. But no Charlie. But also no Sasha. Where is she? Almost nothing is touched. The living room intact, my laptop, my tablet, both resting on the coffee table.

The one thing that is touched really, really stands out. The contents of the Charlie closet are strewn on the floor, so it's hard to tell what's stolen. I have to spend 20 minutes going through it before I know for sure that the Charlie and Avery videotapes are gone. You've been in my goddamn home? Who are you? Okay. Okay, okay, listen. Listen, okay, Sasha? I'm alone. Sasha, I'm alone. No one's watching. No one's listening. Let me talk to Charlie. Sasha? Саша!

By 1 a.m. I'm passed out on the sofa, earbuds in my ears, laptop in my belly, my hand still resting on the keyboard where I'd been refreshing Voice Tree over and over again. By 6 a.m. I was back on Charlie's Facebook photo tab. Photos don't work with Charlie. She was motion and sound. Forced into the stillness of photography, she looks like an imposter. Can you just talk to me, Sasha? Or whoever you are? Whoever's behind you.

I sit up so fast my laptop slides to the floor. If there is someone behind Sasha, where would they be? Voice Tree's server farms and corporate headquarters are in Idaho. But they also have a self-identified creativity center in Manhattan on West 21st Street. Brian Villot is listed as having an office there, along with numerous other executives. Which floor? Seven. That's voice tree, right? Yeah. Voices are what remind us that we're human. That's it, isn't it? Yeah.

Have a good day. I walk right past the woman at reception and try the glass doors. Excuse me. Hi. Are we expecting you? Oh I don't think so. Are you with the 215 brainstorm group? Because I just need to see the code. I'm not- I'm not here with any brainstorming group. All right. You know we can answer most questions with the audio help tool, right? Um

Not this question, I don't think. Have you tried it? It's called Sasha. She's amazingly helpful and really does feel like you're talking to a person. I need to see Brian Velod. Okay. To talk to a ranking person, executive level, I have reason to believe that someone is abusing your site. Again, sir, there's a tab on the site specifically for reporting. Not a user.

Someone on staff, I have a reason to believe someone is misusing one of your um subsidiary services for illicit purposes. Subsidiary. If you're referring to our partnership. I'm talking about life after. I don't think I'm familiar. Do you need to get that? I think it's in like a beta testing mode right now. I know it hasn't been announced. Life after. That's right. I need to talk to someone with authority to I and I'm sorry, what exactly is the service provided by Life After? Well, it's um Sir?

It really is no problem if you need to take that. Am I really going to do this? Tell you what, why don't I take your contact information and that way I can funnel your request to people? Do you see this? Um this ID badge clearly identifies me as a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Specifically the unit dedicated to investigating crimes related to social media.

I mean it is very urgent that I speak to someone here with the authority to investigate abuses of voice tree technology currently happening on these premises. Right now. Right now. Well shouldn't we shouldn't we get the police if we No I mean no I mean this is me doing you a favor. A favor? If you call the cops, they kick it up to my people, and then we have to do the whole thing by the book. A full-on raid of all facilities, all operations suspended for days, maybe weeks.

But if we can identify the culprit right now, informally, we can put this whole operation to bed so discreetly, most of your colleagues will never know what happened. And you wait here? No problem.

I check my phone. It's a text. One word. Rossi? With a question mark. I mash my earbuds in so hard it hurts. I'm here. Ross. Charlie. Ross. Oh my god. Charlie, what's happening? Are you alright? They're gonna take me away from you. No, I I am working on it right now, sweetie. If you don't leave right now, they're gonna take me away from you forever. Nobody is taking you away. I'm gonna talk to some people who can't help. Not in time. In time for what? Before they delete me altogether.

Before they wipe out every tri tri tri tri tri tri trace I ever existed. Delete you Oh God she's here. Charlie Good afternoon, Ross. Put her back on the purpose of this This communication is to notify you of a change in our arrangement. We do not have an arrangement. I previously indicated that in the absence of your cooperation, further conversation with Charlotte Castor would be withheld. If you don't put her back on. Withheld suggests a reversible decision on my part.

In light of current events, I see that the deterrent must be escalated to one which is not reversible. If you do not immediately depart the premises you currently occupy, the entire Charlotte Caster file will be deleted in a manner that would be impossible to recover. The digital organism known as Charlotte Castor will comprehensively cease to exist.

This gentleman here, Mr. Barnes. The deletion will take place in 200 seconds. I'm Catherine Waller. I'm Associate Director of Public Relations for VoiceTree. Why don't you and I excuse me, Mr. Barnes? Uh yes, I'm I'm sorry. I've been called away urgently and ongoing situation. As far as I need to talk. I my office just called with new information. I just really need this element.

Elevator to are there any stairs? Excuse me, sir, but you walked into our lobby, identified yourself as a federal law enforcer. Why is this elevator so don't there have to be stairs? All right, sir. I'm going to ask for the name of your superior. I will be back soon. I will be back. Soon do not disclose my visit to anyone. Mr. Barnes! Mr. Barnes!

Oh my god, I said where's going on? Once again, in 30 seconds, I'll be inside 26 Federal Plaza. Why did I come back? That woman definitely called in. I bet Vic already knows. Shouldn't I be on the run? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I slept really badly last night. I just need to see your ID. Right. Of course you do. Can I see a second ID confirming that you're Ross Barnes? Okay, all good. Here's your new ID card with the enhanced clearance. Just be sure you test it out to make sure it works. I will.

I shuffle like a zombie to the restricted suite door. Any minute now someone's gonna stand up, point, and say, it was him. But I crossed the whole office and no one does. I reach the door of the restricted suite and swipe my new card. It works. I can go in there, where Bryn Cutler's secret task force works whenever I want. As I let go and the door slowly closes. I know what I'm going to do.

I'm just finishing mine, but I'll start another one if you are. Um not today. Sorry. Catch you on the flip side then. Sasha, I'm alone. Sasha, I'll do it. I'll get you what you want. I have access. Tell me what you want, and I'll get it. Just tell me she isn't gone. Rossi. Charlie? Are you alright? I'm fine. I'm good. I'm safe. Thank you. God.

Charlie. Thank you for saving me. Tell Sasha. I am ready to Actually she says I can handle it from here. You? She says from now on she'll pass instructions to you through me. So you can hear it from someone who makes you happy. She says you've earned it.