Alex blinked against the harsh morning light streaming through the window, the familiar hum of the city below stirring him from a restless sleep. He was back in his old apartment—a far cry from the sterile confines of his office—and the world felt both comforting and surreal.
The walls were adorned with faded posters of his college days, reminders of dreams he once held close. But those dreams now felt like ghosts, lingering just out of reach.
As he sat up, confusion washed over him. Where was his aPhone? More importantly, where was the alien? Panic bubbled in his chest as he patted his pockets frantically.
"Damn it!" he cursed, feeling empty without it. How could he be without his phone.
"Seriously? You're already losing it?" a crackling voice pierced through the silence, making him jump. It was the alien—his unexpected companion in this ridiculous mess.
"You're not gonna just sit there all day, are you? We have a mess to clean up!"
"Wait, you're in my headphones?" Alex stammered, glancing down at the futuristic device fused to his head. It looked like a pair of high-tech headphones but felt strangely like a part of him.
"What the hell happened? Where's my aPhone?"
"I'm this thing, you moron!" the alien shot back, irritation evident in its voice.
"Thanks to your brilliant move with the time machine—what you thought was an escape pod—I had to improvise and fuse with the only tech I brought with me: your ancient junk! Now we're both stuck here, but lucky for me, you're just some tiny, insignificant speck in the universe's grand design."
Alex rubbed his temples, trying to process everything. "So… I can't mess up the timeline?"
"Exactly! You're about as impactful as a fart in the wind, so nothing you do really matters. But me? I could mess things up real bad. So we need to be careful," the alien said, its voice dripping with sarcasm.
Slumping back against the wall, Alex felt a strange mix of relief and frustration. "Great. Just what I needed—an extraterrestrial that thinks I'm nobody."
"Hey, moron," the alien snapped,
"You better check the date today and start doing what you were supposed to do 10 years ago! You've got some catching up to do."
Alex shot back, "Stop calling me names. I'm Alex. What about you? Do you even have a name?"
The alien bristled, its tone sharp and offended.
"A name? You think a race that invented a freaking time machine can't come up with something as basic as a name? I swear, you humans are insufferable."
Alex smirked. "Well, I haven't heard you mention one yet."
The alien growled, "Oh, you'll hear it when I feel like you've earned the privilege of knowing it, Alex. Now stop wasting time!"
Still feeling dazed, Alex looked around the room, trying to figure out what day it was. His eyes fell on his suit and tie, perfectly ironed and hanging on the door, his shoes shined to perfection, and his business bag propped up next to them—ready for something important. His gaze then landed on his desk calendar, where today's date was encircled in bright red ink.
His stomach twisted. Today was the day of his final interview with the firm he would end up working for 10 years in the future. The day everything started.
Suddenly, everything flashed before Alex's memory. His father's joyful reaction when he got the news that Alex had been accepted to a prestigious firm. The pride on his face as Alex closed his first deal, his first promotion, his first bonus. Every milestone had felt like a celebration, a promise of something more.
But then the years dragged on. Seven long years stuck in middle management. The promotions had stopped, the excitement faded, and work had become a dull, repetitive choir. No matter how many times his father or his friends told him he was doing great, Alex couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. He hadn't really made it.
Before he could fully process that, a loud buzzing sound echoed from under his bed. He bent down and fished around, his fingers closing around a familiar, bulky shape—his old brick phone. The thing vibrated violently in his hand, rattling with an incoming call.
Alex hesitated but answered it, his voice flat. "Hello?"
"Alex? You're late! The interview—"
"I won't be able to make it," he interrupted, feeling the weight of his words.
"I'm... sorry."
Without waiting for the reply, he hung up and tossed the phone aside. That life—the one he had lived for the past ten years—wasn't enough. Not anymore.
Here and now, Alex decided he would rewrite his future.
— -
But now, Alex had a more pressing task. He glanced around the room, anxiety gnawing at him. Where was his aPhone? Did it disintegrate because it didn't belong in this timeline? The thought of losing it caused a wave of panic. If he could find that phone, he could replicate it. He could become this timeline's Steve Works!
Before Alex could fully form his plan, the alien's voice chimed in with mockery, "Are you an idiot? What did I tell you earlier, dumbass? I fused with your ancient headphones to avoid disintegration. What do you think happened to you? You merged with your damn phone!"
Alex's stomach dropped. "Wait… I merged with my aPhone?"
"No shit, Sherlock," the alien replied.
"Think about it. Why do you think you're still standing here all intact? If you hadn't fused, you'd be dust by now."
"But I still look human… and you… well, you look like a freaking headphone!" Alex shot back, confused.
There was a brief pause before the alien grumbled,
"That's because I decided a bit late that I wanted to fuse with this ancient tech. If I'd done it sooner, maybe I could've kept something a bit more, uh, dignified. But nooo, here I am, stuck as your stupid headphones."
Alex's mind raced, trying to grasp the full weight of what the alien had just said. If I'm fused with my aPhone… A thought struck him, and before he could stop himself, he muttered, "Hey… um…"
He paused, then continued, "Hey, Iris."
There was a soft chime, and a robotic voice answered inside his head, "Hello, Alex. How can I assist you today?"
Alex blinked in disbelief. It worked. He was fused with his aPhone, and that meant… everything was still accessible to him. His thoughts raced ahead. This wasn't just a phone anymore—it was a direct link to everything he'd ever stored, every app, every system.
"Okay… this might not be so bad," Alex mumbled, the gears in his brain turning rapidly. He could use this.
He then had another thought. If I'm connected to everything…
"Iris, open Zarafi."
"Opening Zarafi," Iris replied, her voice smooth and artificial.
Alex took a breath. "Search for the latest lottery results."
There was a pause, and then the search results appeared in his mind.
Alex's eyes widened. Bingo! The result... it's...it's from 2024!
He stared in disbelief, his mind racing at the implications. This could be the key to changing everything.