Setting: WASHINGTON, D.C.

Date: February 11th, 2026. (3 days until Launch)

     As he normally did at the end of every day, The President grabbed his briefcase and carried it back to the residence. It was close to nine at night, and despite being in the west wing for over twelve hours, Edgar felt like he barely got half of his work finished. There were briefs in his briefcase that he had to read before bed, so he even had homework that had to be done before the next day's meetings. He hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and was famished. As he strolled into the residence, the table was already cleared as it appeared that supper had ended hours ago. He stood there in the middle of the dining room and placed the briefcase down on the table. Edgar took a deep breath, and sighed deeply as he was trying to figure out what he was going to do to deal with his grumbling stomach.

     Seconds later, someone came into the room as well. Edgar's son Philip strolled in, looking around to see if he missed something. Turns out he was just getting back from doing something himself. He looked over at his dad and gave him a smile and a wave.

     "Hey dad," Philip said, "How was your day?"

     "Busy," Edgar said, "How was yours?"

     "I kept busy too," Philip answered.

     "Logged in your virtual game?" Edgar asked, even though he already knew the answer. "How long were you logged in there today?"

     "About seven hours," Philip answered, "It wasn't that long. Some guys in Korea stay logged in for days. That's too hardcore for me. I need to get out and get some air sometimes, and some food too."

     Edgar wasn't in the mood to argue, and chose not to lecture him as he was just happy to be talking to his son and not actually fighting. He paused for a moment and chose to continue the talk rather than go negative.

     "How can they stay logged in for days?" he asked his son. "How do they eat if they're logged in all the time?"

     "I think they're given IVs or feeding tubes, I guess." Philip said, "I like this game, but I don't like it that much."

     "That's good to hear," Edgar said, as he had no idea how crazy some people were about this game. "So I take it you haven't eaten yet?"

     "I haven't," the boy confessed, "You?"

     "Nope," Edgar said, "I think we need to call for room service."

     "You mean take out?" Philip asked.

     "Oh no," Edgar corrected, "I mean room service. The White House has a kitchen that is open twenty-four hours a day. The night staff isn't as big as the day staff, but they are ready to make anything we order whenever we want."

     Philip looked back at him with a surprised look on his face. "Really?"

     "Oh yeah," Edgar said, as he was enjoying this moment. "Watch this."

     Edgar walked over to a phone that was on the table beside the door, and he picked it up. There wasn't a dial tone as someone is always ready at the switchboard to take the President's request.

     "Can I help you Mr. President?" The voice on the other end asked.

     "Yes," Edgar said, "Put me through to the kitchen, please."

     "One moment, Mr. President."

     Edgar paused for a moment and waited for the line to connect.

     "This is the kitchen," a voice answered, "Can I help you?"

     "Yes, this is the residence." Edgar answered, "We'd like to order a late supper."

     "Of course," the kitchen replied, "Can I have your order ID, please?"

     "That would be zero, zero, one." Edgar said, winking at his kid as he was fully aware what reaction that answer would cause.

     "Sir!" the person on the other end called out. "What can I do for you, Mr. President?"

     "I'm very late getting back from work," Edgar said, "My son and I missed supper and we're rather hungry."

     "What would your son like for supper?" the kitchen asked.

     "What do you want?" Edgar asked his son.

     "Can we have some burgers?" Philip asked.

     "Sounds good to me," Edger said, "We'll take three burgers with bacon, American cheese, pickles, onions, and barbecue sauce."

     "Sounds good, Sir." the kitchen replied. "French fries or onion rings, Sir?"

     Edgar paused for a moment, "I'll take both. Two servings of each as we'll probably nibble on them while working on things deep into the night."

     "Very good, Mr. President." The kitchen replied. "We'll have them up there in thirty minutes."

     "Thank you," Edgar said, "We'll have them in the dining room."

     "What are we going to have to drink?" Philip asked.

     "One last thing," Edgar said, "Two milkshakes to go with our food. Both Strawberry please."

     Edgar thanked the kitchen one more time and then put the phone down. He looked back to his son who was rather surprised.

     "I was just going to make a sandwich." Philip said to him. "I had no idea we could do that anytime we wanted!"

     "There is a kitchen upstairs," Edgar told him, "Fully loaded like you had at home so you can do that if you want. I just didn't feel like cooking, it's been a long day."

     "Do you feel bad about this?" his son asked.

     "Feel bad about what?" Edgar asked, as he was a bit confused.

     "That we can eat like kings at the taxpayer's expense." Philip said.

     "Oh no, that's not how it works." Edgar said, even chuckling at the thought. "No one gets a free lunch around here, not even the president."

     "What do you mean?" Philip asked.

     "I get billed at the end of every month." Edgar informed him, "We pay for all the food we eat and all the groceries we consume and order for our own fridge. The taxpayers don't cover anything and they don't have to. I get a pretty good salary so I'm quite comfortable paying for my own food. No one else gets their expenses covered by their job, so I don't think we should either. We buy our own grub, and that's the way it should be."

     "I didn't realize that," Philip said, "My bad."

     It took only twenty minutes for the kitchen to deliver their food, and for the first few minutes the two men ate quietly at the table. Finally Edgar decided to break the silence and speak up.

     "Look, I get that you like this game." Edgar started, "And I am very happy you're not as obsessed about it as some people around the world are, but you need to be careful and not drive your mother up the wall by being logged in there too much. I have nothing against your game, I prefer it over some habits some kids get into when they have nothing to do. I would however prefer you not stay in here forever, and let us know you're still here."

     "What do you mean?" Philip asked.

     "We just need to compromise," Edgar explained, "Meet me halfway and just log out every now and then to have dinner with your mom and sister. Do it for her, and for me. We could even do some events or you can join me on a trip when I go overseas. You don't have to stay cooped up in here if you don't want to."

     "What kind of trips?" Philip asked.

     "There's always trips being planned," Edgar said, before stealing an onion ring. "You can hitch a ride on air force one."

     "That sounds cool," Philip said, appearing open to the idea. "I'll try to manage my time with the game a bit more. Sorry about that, Dad."

     "Sounds good to me, thank you." Edgar said, taking a sip from his milkshake. "I'm not trying to judge you for playing games. I used to play games when I was a kid."

     "You mean like Nintendo?" Philip said.

     "No, more like Atari." Edgar said, clearly showing his age.

     "Wow, that's pretty old." Philip said, "Just like you."

     "Hey cut that out," Edgar said, enjoying the funny moment with his son. "I am in envy of how amazing your games are. If I was you age, I'd probably want to play them a lot too."

     "You wanna log in one day?" Philip asked.

     "Tempting," Edgar said, "But this is the most free time you'll see me get for the next four years. Come back to me when my term is over."

     "Alright," Philip said, "I should be at max level by then."

     "What level are you at now?" Edgar asked.

     "I'm recently reached level fifty-three," Philip answered, "But the max level is one hundred. I haven't been playing too long so I have some catching up to do."

     "Don't try to rush too hard," Edgar said, "The journey is the adventure, not the destination. Take your time and enjoy the process."

     "I have been," Philip agreed, "Not playing day and night, remember?"

     "Fair enough," Edgar said, "But if I can get some spare time later in the week, maybe we can watch a movie?"

     "You mean on TV?" Philip asked, "I don't like the idea of going to a movie theatre with the secret service."

     "Not necessary," Edgar said, "We have a theatre in the white house. Studios are always offering to give us the latest films for free publicity."

     Philip stopped eating and had a shocked look on his face. "Seriously?"