Saving the mission, p.9
Saving The Mission, page 9
part #1 of The Race to Space Series
She returned to her desk and sat herself down. Ruby looked at her and put her hand on her shoulder “Everything alright hun?”.
Samantha wanted to say “I bet it was you who screwed me you old witch” but instead said “Yeah fine thanks”
The morning flowed quickly despite saying the same thing numerous times over “Good morning Fleet & Co, how can I help?” In her mind Samantha had made many versions of this “Good morning Fleet & Co, how can I help you to leave me alone?” and the slightly more aggressive “Good morning Fleet & Co, fuck off thank you goodbye.” Samantha imagined administering each remark with the same sweet inflexion of innocence.
Samantha had counted down the hours until lunch. She always took the early lunch as she was always desperate to get away as soon as she had walked in. At noon, she took her usual stroll in the nearby woodland and took her backpack with her lunch in. She walked through all the tall green trees and enviously looked at people in casual wear playing in the park or people pushing their prams. She found her usual bench in the sunshine and sat and ate her lunch, enjoying the peace and tranquillity.
Usually, after eating her lunch, Samantha would spend the next half an hour scrolling through FriendFinder hoping to see if any of her so-called friends were having a worse time than her. These days, they just uploaded new photos of their chubby baby-faced children in some new gormless pose. Samantha had never really wanted children, but in the last few years, it had grown in her mind. It was as if a biological switch had suddenly turned on and said, “you need children now.” She had approached the subject with Ryan once. Never again. It had gone down like the metaphorical lead balloon. He had said that did not want to be tied down. In reality, it was probably that he didn’t want to be the full stereotype of the man who ends up having an affair, gets a woman pregnant and spends his next eighteen years in court battles and paying CSA.
Samantha was just about to turn her phone off when she saw an advert that caught her eye.
‘Looking for a change of perspective and the chance to win a once in a lifetime experience? Click the link to apply.’
Samantha thought it was probably just another pointless quiz, or an advert for a jobs website that said she should switch jobs to be some high profile Administration Assistant which in reality was no better than her current position. However, the background to the advert kept her attention. The letters wherein white behind a dark starry background. That wasn’t like a usual advert. Against her better judgement, and hoping it wasn't spam, she clicked the link.
Her phone quickly loaded up a webpage and she looked at the URL to see if it shed any light on who created the advert. The URL said https://www.quizwizard.com/18395. Samantha felt her heart sink. It was a standard quiz website. She didn’t have time to find out which Disney princess she was, nor quite frankly did she care. Samantha did not believe in fairytales, she did not believe that a Prince Charming was waiting. Her Prince Charming was currently living with another woman. Just as she was about to click the x in the corner to close the page, more text appeared, again on a starry sky background:
‘We are looking for someone to star on a television show with the chance to win a once in a lifetime experience. You will be professionally trained for the prize and winning it will change your life. If this interests you, please answer the following questions. When the questions are complete, a box will appear for you to insert a short profile (no more than 200 words) about yourself and why you should be considered. When you are done click submit. Good luck and may the force be with you.’
Samantha’s interest was peaked. The thought about winning a once in a lifetime prize was enough to persuade her that despite the time, she should enter. Samantha hoped the prize was cash because she needed that more than ever. She glanced down the page and clicked the green box which had the word “Enter” inside it. She decided she had nothing to lose, it was probably about time she humiliated herself on television. Samantha felt like she usually did in real life anyway. She believed that even if she did get the questions right, she wouldn't get picked, no one with her background ever did. They usually want intelligent people, idiots who people can mock or beautiful people. Samantha considered that she met none of that criteria, so was probably just wasting her time.
Question 1
I can be seen at night,
And also in the day,
You can wish and wish,
But I won’t go away,
I’m usually far away,
But one season I’m near,
I’m brighter than you’ll ever be.’
Samantha looked at this riddle and tried to work it out, the only thing she could think of was the moon. It didn’t quite fit though because Samantha recalled from her physics classes in school that the moon did not emit light but just reflected it. She was about to put the word moon in the box and click enter when she looked at the time on her phone. It was almost time to go back. She looked back at the riddle and that is when she noticed a time icon in red counting down. “1:55, 1:54, 1:53.”
She was stunned she had only just entered and time was almost up. Samantha decided that as she now knew how long she had left, she could spare the two minutes. Even if she completed it and set off a couple of minutes later she still wouldn’t be late back to work. She pondered the first line again “I can be seen at night and also in the day.” Samantha muttered to herself “it must be the moon.” Samantha thought that was the only thing that can be seen in the night as well as the day. Samantha felt the self-doubt creep in and felt that she was in over her head. She could imagine all the scientists, physicists and mathematicians laughing at her struggling to figure it out when in reality, like most riddles, the answer was obvious.
Samantha glanced at the red time icon, 1:30. The phrase that Samantha was puzzled by most was “one season I’m near.” Samantha wondered if it referred to the moon's cycles. She knew that every so often there is a supermoon, which was bigger and closer than usual. Samantha sighed and said, “it still doesn’t quite fit though.”
A red light flashed. 1:00. Samantha thought that it must be correct. She typed the word “moon” into the box. The nagging doubt lingered in the back of her mind. She hovered over the send button and looked around at the park. Despite seeing the beautiful trees and a grey squirrel running up the thick trunk of a birch tree, her surroundings were not helping her. She said out loud “oh come on Samantha think” and looked up to the sky. That was when it clicked, she had wanted to make a wish. She had wanted to make a wish upon a star. Samantha smiled from ear to ear. The sun, it fits! It can be seen at night and also in the day, as the sun was also a star. In England, it might be night but across the other side of the world in Australia, the sun can be seen. It shines brightly. Again, it was the one season element of the riddle that was puzzling her.
0:30. She looked around at the park. Of course, a tree. A star on top of a Christmas Tree. It fits.
0:15. She deleted the word “Moon” and entered the word “Star” into the white box and hovered. She thought about how she couldn’t be right, she wasn’t clever enough to figure these things out. Oh well, she thought, what the hell. She clicked enter. The page went blank and then the following words appeared on the screen:
‘Congratulations. You have solved puzzle one. Please now go to Puzzle Two. Please note this link will expire in one minute.’
She looked at the time icon on her phone. It was almost 12:30pm. She knew that if she didn’t leave now, she would be late for work and she was already on her final warning. She weighed up her options. She wondered what the odds were of her getting picked compared with the distinct possibility that if she was late, she could lose her job and then her home if she didn’t go back now.
Despite the overwhelming odds against her, something kept Samantha from leaving that bench. It was the first time she had been intellectually challenged in years and she missed it. She missed that thrill of getting the answer right or feeling smarter than you actually were. She felt like she did as a teenager all those years ago, that she could achieve anything if she wanted it enough. She decided that the next riddle would only be about two minutes and she could run back to the office. She had perhaps only two minutes to spare, even then, she would be rushing to get back in time. She scrolled down and clicked “continue?”
Question 2
6
2
9
8
2
6
9
3
4
8
2
5
3
6
9
5
7
8
1
4
2
5
9
5
2
2
8
7
6
“Oh no!” Samantha thought. A sudoku puzzle. She had done a few of these on her train journeys when she first starting commuting but this one looked particularly difficult. She looked at the clock in the right-hand corner which had started counting down, she had two minutes again. It seemed impossible. Samantha took a deep breath and stared so hard at the screen that all the numbers seemed to merge into one.
1:30
Samantha recognised the common denominator and started to fill it in where she could.
6
5
2
9
8
2
5
6
9
3
4
8
2
6
5
5
3
6
9
5
7
5
8
7
3
1
6
4
2
5
8
9
4
9
6
5
8
7
2
2
8
5
7
6
1:00
6
5
2
9
8
2
9
5
6
7
9
3
4
8
2
6
5
6
5
9
3
6
9
5
7
5
9
8
6
7
3
1
6
4
2
5
8
9
4
9
6
5
8
7
2
2
8
5
7
9
6
Samantha stared at the puzzle. She had completed a lot of the grid in that one minute but now found herself completely and utterly stuck. She used to feel like this frequently when completing these type of puzzles, halfway through her brain would freeze and as hard as she tried to concentrate, she could not find where to go next. It was like being stuck in front of a fork in the road and not knowing which way to turn, as each seemed clouded with ambiguity. Every route seemed riddled with numerous possibilities. She stared at the puzzle but all she could see was the counting clock. 0:55, 0:54. The added time pressure was making her panic and not be able to think clearly. Samantha made herself ignore the counting clock. She stared at the puzzle so hard that it made her eyes squint. She looked away from her phone and at her surroundings for some sort of inspiration as if the trees would suddenly reveal the number she needed.
The clock was ticking. Time was running out and Samantha felt as if the clock was counting down on her chance at a shot for a new life. Samantha clicked her fingers on her right hand and shouted, “got it!” It was the number 8. She turned her attention back to the grid and continued to complete it.
0:40
6
5
2
9
8
2
9
5
6
7
9
3
4
8
2
6
5
6
5
9
3
6
9
5
7
5
9
8
6
2
7
3
1
6
4
2
5
8
9
4
9
6
5
8
7
2
2
8
5
7
9
6
Samantha realised she was stuck again, apart from this time she had only forty seconds to complete the final twenty-nine numbers. That left not enough time to complete a number every two seconds. It seemed impossible.
She wasn’t sure if the 1 or 8 belonged in the column on the far left and couldn’t work out exactly which. She stared at the puzzle, her brain aching as she desperately tried to think. With each glance at a different square in the grid, time would tick on for another second. Another second she didn’t have. Samantha knew that she needed to put something soon before that clock ran out and decided that the only way she would complete the puzzle in time was to commit the sudoku sin of guessing. If she was wrong it would throw the whole puzzle out but if she was right it would be easy to fill in the rest.
Samantha switched between putting in the number 1 or 8. She put in the number 8 in the box just underneath the far left square but at the last minute changed her mind and went for the 1. It made the rest of the grid easy to complete. It was a 50/50 chance she had got it right. Maths was always so black or white, so right or wrong and she had just gambled on the correct answer, putting her chance of a better life in a 50/50 bet. Putting all her savings and stability on black.
As she was completing the grid, the rest of the numbers seemed to fit into place. With each passing number that seemed to be correct, Samantha knew there was a chance that she had guessed correctly.
0:05
6
5
4
7
2
3
1
9
8
1
2
8
9
5
6
3
7
4
9
7
3
4
8
1
2
6
5
8
4
7
2
6
5
9
3
3
6
2
1
9
4
8
5
7
5
1
9
8
3
7
6
4
2
7
3
1
6
4
2
5
8
9
4
9
6
5
1
8
7
2
3
2
8
5
3
7
9
4
1
6
By the time Samantha entered the last 1 into the grid, she had just 4 seconds left. She didn’t even have time as she completed the grid to check that all the numbers correlated in each line and in each mini-grid. She entered the last 1 and waited. A blank screen appeared. With each passing moment of that blank screen, Samantha fully expected to see a message similar to ‘sorry, incorrect’ appear. Suddenly, the screen changed. The starry background returned and the white text read:
‘Congratulations that is correct. Please click on to the next puzzle to finish the test. You have ten seconds to click continue.’
Samantha looked at the time display on her phone. It was 12:40pm. Samantha had to be back at her desk in five minutes and she knew that the walk back to the office took at least fifteen minutes. Samantha knew that even if she ran back to work, she would never make it on time. She weighed up her options. She looking at the counting clock on the screen and that seemed to force her into the decision to continue. After she clicked continue, Samantha thought that it was interesting to note the effect the little clock had on her. The pressure of needing to make a decision quickly had resulted in her subverting to the pressure and making a potentially detrimental decision that could affect the rest of her life. Every decision Samantha had made had been carefully considered and she had always chosen stability over chance. She had a stable job with no risks and a stable home. She had never taken risks, never left her job for a better one in case it went wrong. Never taken a chance of the guy in the bar, in case he was a serial killer. Life had never thrown anything unpredictable her way and as a result, Samantha had created her own sense of misery. Her own groundhog day.
