I landed a job at Google, but I’ve never even applied in my life.

I am not from the United States, nor am I even fluent in English. I live in a small town in Asia, having been born and raised in this poor rural place. My family is even poorer than the average people in the town, because my mom is an invalid that can’t do anything at all.<br><br>Despite our financial struggles, my mom insisted that I get an education unlike her. I do not know why, but she just wanted to see me go to university. I admit that I didn’t like school all that much, and I did poorly throughout my whole education.<br><br>I then ended up dropping out of uni, which made me “fail” in my mom’s eyes. I got into a fight with her at the age of 23, and I ended up moving out to live on my own.<br><br>But my mom suddenly fell ill, and my siblings begged me to come back to help support her. I did, and I sold my old phone to buy a new one. I then got a call from an unknown number and picked it up, thinking it was a telemarketer call.<br><br>“Congratulations, you have been selected to work at Google.” I thought it was just a scam call and was about to hang up, but the guy said, “I see you’re calling from a local number. Where are you from?”<br><br>I knew right away this was a scam call and I hung up. I was a college dropout and knew nothing about computers, so I was confused as to why they called me. I shrugged and moved on with my day. Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. It was two Asian people wearing business suits and holding a Google ID badge.<br><br>I was still thinking it was a prank, but they insisted they were Google recruiters. They said the company was hiring for people to work at a new office in Asia, and they saw my resume somehow. I don’t even have a resume, at least I don’t think I do.<br><br>They asked me if I could come with them, and I agreed since they looked legit. They showed me their ID badges and said that my mom’s condition was nothing to worry about, and she would be better tomorrow. They hired a car and we rode in it, commenting on the rural state of the town.<br><br>It took a few hours to arrive at the city, and I was startled to see a shiny silver building with the Google logo. There was a big sign that said, “Welcome to Google Asia.” But something didn’t seem right. The building and the sign looked worn, like they had been here for a long time. But I was never aware of a Google office being in my country.<br><br>We went in and I had to show my ID to the security guard. I then signed some papers and they handed me an ID badge. They took me to a room filled with people, all wearing a Google badge. I felt out of place since I didn’t do anything to qualify for this position.<br><br>They sat me at a desk with some free food and drinks, and they all started talking to me. I was surprised that they all knew me, with some even calling me their friend. I was confused, so I walked out of the building to get some air.<br><br>I then saw a big parking lot filled with thousands of shiny new Teslas. But something didn’t seem right. The cars looked old, and the Tesla logo looked “off.” I felt a bit uneasy, but I shrugged it off. I went back inside and someone handed me a free brand new iPhone.<br><br>I thanked them and put my SIM card in it to text my siblings and ask them to pick me up. But when I turned on the phone, I saw that there were hundreds of text messages from numbers I didn’t recognize. They were all welcoming me to the company and stuff like that.<br><br>I then realized that I was on the 20th floor, but I didn’t take any elevator. There was no elevator. I felt uneasy and asked if I could take a sick day. They said yes, and someone showed me to the parking lot.<br><br>The free car they gave me was a Mercedes and it was brand new. I asked what the catch was, but they said that all employees get a free car. I got in the car and drove home. It was a three hour drive, but it suddenly turned into a 30 minute drive.<br><br>It was dark, and I kept getting weird looks from people on the road. When I got home, I realized that I didn’t have any keys to the door. I had to call my siblings and they walked over. They were confused and asked if I was okay, but I told them I was fine and showed them the car.<br><br>They were stunned because it was brand new, and since I didn’t have a job, they found it weird. I explained everything to them, but they said I was lying. They said that Google doesn’t do in-person recruiting, especially not in our country.<br><br>I then showed them the ID badge and they said it looked fake. I felt uneasy and started to wonder if I was dreaming or something. I then went to bed and woke up to a phone call from Google HR. They asked me to come to work, and I did wondering what would happen.<br><br>When I got to work, everyone was still there and they were all waving at me. I realized that I had been at Google for a few days now, but I have no idea how long I’ve been here. Everything feels like a dream, but I know it’s real. I tried to go on the internet, but all it said was, “Google has stopped working.”<br><br>I was starting to lose it. Everything felt off. But I decided to just accept this gift that the universe had given me. I then got in my car, which was parked in a huge parking lot full of Teslas.<br><br>I drove home and saw that my old phone on the ground. I picked it up and saw that it had 0 battery. I charged it and turned it on, and there were hundreds of missed calls from my siblings. I called them and asked what they were calling me for. My brother told me that I had been missing for 67 days and that my mom had almost died worrying about me.<br><br>I told him that I was at Google and that I got a new phone. He said he didn’t know what I was talking about, but then he suddenly hung up. I realized that this phone was somehow magical, and whoever I talked to on it would forget about my disappearance.<br><br>I then called Google HR and they told me how to get to work. I drove back to Google and saw that it was still the same shiny building. I then looked in the rearview mirror and realized that I wasn’t Asian. I’m a tall white guy with blue eyes and blonde hair.<br><br>I then drove back home and saw that my car was a rusty old pickup truck. I went inside and saw that I was back in my own body. My siblings were crying and my mom was in the hospital. I stayed with her for a couple of weeks until she recovered.<br><br>She then asked me what took me so long to come back, and I told her that I got a job at Google. She said, “But you’ve been gone for months.” I said “67 months?” And she said, “No, 67 days.”<br><br>I was confused, until I realized that I have no idea how long I was really gone for. I then realized that my whole life, I had been living in some sort of simulation. The day I dropped out of uni is the day that I “woke up.”<br><br>I tried to wrap my head around it, but I couldn’t. I then realized that I was still living in the simulation, and my mom was not my real mom. I felt uneasy, and everything didn’t feel right. But I decided to just live a normal life.<br><br>I was about to go to bed, but then I realized I had no idea what my real name was. I tried to remember my Google ID badge, but all I could think of was my name being “Theta.”