The System Arrives

The notification appeared at 3:17 AM on a Thursday.

Riven Cole stared at the blue box floating in the air above his microwave. He had been awake for twenty-two hours marking essays about the Battle of Thermopylae. He was not in the right mental state for this.

He opened his apartment door. His neighbour Yusuf was standing in the hallway in boxers, staring at an identical box.

"Riven," Yusuf said.

"Yeah."

"Is this—"

"Yeah."

They stood there for a moment.

"I'm getting my sneakers," Yusuf said.

Riven looked at the countdown. Twenty-two minutes. He went to get his sneakers too. Also his history textbooks, which he immediately put down, because that was insane. Also a kitchen knife, which he also put down, because if whatever was coming could be stopped by a kitchen knife it wouldn't be much of an apocalypse.

He took the knife anyway.