The Architects Chapter Two: The Future

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Kerpetski,” says the man who is not my girlfriend.

He claims his name is Alexei Karkaroff, and he’s a fifty year old gay man.

Oh, and I’m his boyfriend, 33-year-old Hayden Kerpetski.

Yeah, the age difference alone is a bit fucking weird.

I mean, often Amanda has aternate personalities that are different genders, or ages, but not by much. And all of them know who I am. This... this is different.

Apparently, we both work for Zeuski, a company made of gods.

But we’re not really gods, he says. We’re “Architects.”

“No... uh, no problem.”

That’s another thing: he talks in the shittiest Russian accent. It’s a cross between Count Dracula’s “I vant to suck your blood” and that bad YouTube video of the American guy with the British accent and his “Ello gov’nah, would you loike some tea and scones?”

Mash those two voices together, and you’ve got Alexei in a nutshell.

“Do you like my office?”

Remember how we were building legos? And Amanda was making that office thing?

Well, according to Alexei, whatever we build will become real.

Fucking trippy. This whole thing is fucking trippy, and I don’t like it.

“I.. uh.. yes.”

“It is for my sister,” he says, although with the bad accent it sounds like “Eet es for my seester.”

Amanda doesn’t have a sister.

“Um... Amanda? You don’t have a sister?”

“Mr. Kerpetski, Amanda is not my name. You know this. Are you... are you alright, Mr. Kerpetski?”

I stare at him.

This can’t be real. I just have to snap her out of this.

“My name isn’t Mr. Kerpetski. My name is Nick. We’ve been dating for three years. Your name is Amanda.”

“Mr. Kerpetski, I’m afraid you are mistaken. This... Amanda you speak of... is this my body?”

“What?”

“My body. Like you, Mr. Kerpetski, are in the body of this American teenager, I am in the body of this... girl. These are just bodies. They aren’t real.”

“No, that can’t be right. That... Amanda, snap out of it.”

“Mr. Kerpetski, you must have had amnesia. Because if you were mortal, I’d have to kill you. No mortal is allowed to know about Zeuski.”

I gulp. I don’t want to die. Amanda’s never acted like this before.

What if this man is telling the truth?

What if he’s stolen my girlfriend’s body?

And if he finds out that I’m mortal... he’ll kill me.

I have to play along.

“I... yes, I must have had amnesia.”

“This is very bad,” says Alexei. “We cannot let the other workers know about this. We’re the best workers here. If you’ve lost your memory... everything could be yanked away. You must pretend. DO NOT let anyone know about this. Only me. Because if you’ve been Wiped... you’ll be kicked out. We will be kicked out. And I’ve worked too hard. I will tell you everything you need to know. Until I can finish my lessons, you must never talk to anyone else. NEVER. Do we understand each-other?”

“Y-yes.”

“This is unbelievable,” snarls Alexei. “Mr. Kerpetski. Do you remember anything about this place? Anything about.. me?”

“No.”

“Anything about yourself?”

“No.”

“We’ve been dating for fifteen years. I found you as a high school dropout and recruited you. But we cannot tell anyone here about our relationship. Ever.”

“Uh... okay?”

“We must be professional. If they find out, they may accuse me of... favoritism. I am the head of this branch. You are the vice president. But it is because of your status as a builder, not my own personal bias. So we must remain a secret.”

“Okay...”

“Our organization, Zeuski, employs people known as Architects to rebuild after times of crisis.”

“So... what’s with the office for your sister?”

“Well, this is 2020. We’re travelling back to rebuild. Since home offices are a huge thing now, I’m making my sister one.”

“Have I met your sister?”

“No. She is mortal, so I can no longer see her. But I can leave her gifts every once and a while.”

“Wait... you’re from the future? I mean, we’re from the future? What year is it?”

“The year is 2053. Mr. Kerpetski, I do hope you’re not lying to me about this. The punishment for impersonation is... worse than death.”

“I... I’m not lying. I have amnesia.”

“Yes, indeed. You would never lie to me, right, Mr. Kerpetski?”

“Right.”

“Then it is time to return.”

“I... okay.”

Alexei grabs my hand and yanks me towards the door. But it’s no longer an ordinary door. The cracks between it and the walls and the floor glow whitish blue. We step through together, and everything changes. The buildings are tall, futuristic-looking, like a movie.

Shit.

I was right. This is no ordinary alternate personality. Someone is possessing my girlfriend.

I need to get her back.

But when I look at Alexei, he’s no longer in my girlfriend’s body.

And I’m no longer in mine.

My body looks like.. well, it looks like Mr. Kerpetski.

Jesus. I have to get out of here. Before I’m discovered. Before Alexei realizes that I’m not his boyfriend. Before Amanda is gone forever.

But how?

“How did you open that door?” I ask. “How did we get here?”

“Shh! I will teach you the tricks of the trade... re-teach you... when we are in private. For now, act natural.”

Act natural.

I wish I could know what that means.

Breath. One step at a time. I wonder if this is how Alexei felt in Amanda’s body. Uncomfortable. Legs the wrong size. Everything the wrong size.

“Thirty-third floor,” a voice chimes. “Hello, Mr. Karkaroff and Mr. Kerpetski. The usual?” Damn. The elevator can talk. And it knows my name... or it knows my body’s name. I guess in the future we’re less worried about AI.

So, I’m a highschool dropout with a slightly pedophilic boyfriend.

Life can’t get much better than this, eh?

I miss Amanda. I need to get back. Back to the real world. Or... the fake world, as Alexei calls it.

And I need to hurry.

Before everything falls apart.