THE MOMENT
Alex strode into his home office with purpose. He'd spent most of the morning weighing his decision. By now, the afternoon sun filled the room with bright warmth; the white tiles did their part to spread the light. Alex hadn't turned on his computer in a few days, and he still walked past it to the golden lamp on his bookshelf. He rubbed the lamp as soon as he had it in hand so that he could get it over with as soon as possible.
"Ready for your second wish, Master Alex?" the gentle voice tickled his mind as billowing red smoke poured out of the lamp. In moments, the genie was fully formed and standing before him. She wore a white polo shirt with white slacks that was unexpected the first time Alex met her. The genie was a beautiful, tan woman with a short blue ponytail and glowing eyes that were obviously mystical. But, aside from that, she looked more like a cubicle worker than the djinn in billowing pants that he expected.
"I am," Alex nodded at the magical woman. "I want to have a conversation with you about my previous wish and I need you to answer truthfully," he said.
"Sure, okay," the woman nodded. "Doing your second wish after that?"
"That is my second wish," he replied.
"Oh, you don't need to-," her protests were interrupted.
"Genie, I want to hold a question-and-answer session with you. I wish for you to answer every question I ask truthfully and plainly." The genie smirked and nodded.
"Sure, okay," she repeated. "Your wish is granted, what's up?"
"My first wish has, so far, worked out perfectly; are you still plotting any twists or unexpected consequences for my first wish?"
"No, why? Did you want some?" she asked. It was a ridiculous question and Alex assumed she knew it. She was just trying to distract him; but, it wouldn't work.
"I'm asking the questions," he said. The woman shrugged silently.
"Why didn't you twist my wish into some sort of horrible outcome?"
"Because you didn't ask me to," she replied. Her tone was flat; but, her expression would have revealed her obvious annoyance if Alex were paying attention.
"Isn't that what genies do?" he asked. The genie shook her head.
"I can't speak for all genies everywhere; Sharp Development genies do not do that," she replied. That was an unexpected answer. Alex tilted his head at her.
"What's a Sharp Development genie?" he asked.
"An employee of Sharp Development," she said. "This is a job for me; twisting wishes around is not only NOT part of the job, it's too much effort. It's actually pretty hard to control the universe like that."
"What do you mean 'control the universe'?" Alex asked. He was worried about getting too far off his initial topic; but, it seemed to be an important note. He also wanted to know more about the 'employee' aspect.
"Making a wish is like ordering a pizza by phone," she said. "You can ask for what you want; but, it's kind of up to the universe to make sure what you ordered gets to your house safely. Genies are kind of like direct communication with the universe. I am the phone you made the call with," the genie patted her chest to make the point. "There are other genies that use that to their advantage and add 'extras' to the order to teach you a lesson or whathaveyou. But, no matter what, in the end, it's up to the universe what you get and how you get it."
She had to be telling the truth; he wished for it. If his first two successful wishes were any indication, he knew he wanted to give thorough consideration to his third wish.
"So, you're not going to mess up my third wish??" he asked. She already made that relatively clear; but, he needed to hear it in those words.
"Not in my job description," she shrugged. "And, I don't care enough to go out of my way to make your life harder. Does that mean you're ready for your third wish?" She asked.
"Not yet," Alex shook his head. "I've never heard of Sharp Development before. Where is the company from? What do they have to do with you? How did they get genies to work for them?"
"Sharp Development exists across billions of Alternate Earths. They're not concentrated at any single location," she said. You answered your second question with your third, they're my employer. I'm not a real, actual genie," she said. "I was born human, and got a job at Sharp Development, in the Fulfillment department. Being a genie is just my current position, I'm working my way up."
Her first statement left Alex stunned and it was difficult to follow the rest. She couldn't lie; and, she tossed out the factoid so casually that it had to be the truth.
"Can I... see other Earths??" Alex asked.
"Is that a wish?" The genie asked.
"No," Alex shook his head. It might end up being his third wish; but, it was too important to waste by rushing himself.
"Oh," she sighed. "Well, I'll tell you that Sharp Development does offer the technology that makes multiverse travel simple enough. Whether or not you wish for it doesn't really limit the possibility of seeing alternate Earths. Multiverse tourism is quite developed."
"Are you rushing me?" Alex had the sudden insight. She'd answered all his questions truthfully; but, she did just try to get him to make an unnecessary wish. Luckily, he was too careful to let that happen.
"Yeah, kind of," she nodded. "You're my last case and I was hoping to get done with you by Friday. And really, if you want to get any enjoyment out of what your third wish is, you should get it done before Friday too."
"You're still telling me the truth, right?" he asked. It was a useless question. If she wasn't, she could lie about it easily enough. But, he wanted something to help ease his own mind.
"I have to," she nodded. "That is part of my job."
"Oh, good," Alex nodded. At least his wish was still in effect. He was thankful that whatever rules Sharp Development had, they at least allowed the genie to be affected by wishes too. "So, then, what's all the fuss about Friday? Why is it a good idea to make my wish before then?"
"Because there's no 'after then'," the genie said.