A Perfect Cup of Coffee

The 21st century is a world ripe with technological marvels: passenger aircraft that make travel to nearly anywhere in the world quick and easy; trains like the Zephyr which makes similar journeys, sparing no scenic view; the full power of the internet and all it's information condensed within a single hand-held device; and now the slow release and advancement of Artificial Intelligences into the consumer market.

It is an excessively busy and noisy world. A world in which most of its denizens continually compound this noise by persistent use of social media sites and endless hours streaming video games. It seems as though most citizens living within first world nations are doing their level best to avoid having even a single respite, lest they be alone with their thoughts.

Despite all this, there remains a sizable minority of people who rather enjoy what quiet they're able to find. A growing minority even. And among these places of quietude in the loud, modern world, was a coffee shop by the name of 'A Perfect Cup of Coffee.' It was a relatively small space wedged between two other buildings in a relatively busy downtown area. Its exterior was made up of clean, sandstone bricks, with a large window up front allowing a full view of its interior. It had solid wooden floors and pleasantly rustic decor. The furniture was made of real wood framed by black steel and it was lit entirely by the sunlight, when it was out, or else by non fluorescent lights nestled within rustic lanterns.

'A Perfect Cup of Coffee' was owned, and frequently run by, a young woman named Jessica. Jessica was one of those individuals who enjoyed the quiet places of the world, thanks in no small part to how she was raised, and was filled with joy by her opportunity to provide such a place to people. The coffee shop was established by her parents, who had moved to a nearby city to establish the second store in what would be a chain. As they left her with the responsibility of running the first shop, they also trusted her with their greatest secret, and the secret to their success.

Her father owner a coffee pitcher, which, no matter how much coffee might be poured from it, would never run dry. The coffee this pitcher produced was the greatest each member of the family has ever had, blending perfectly with whatever they took their coffee with. Jessica's father has developed the theory that the coffee was actually different for each person it was poured for, as if the pitcher knew exactly what would be of most delight to the drinker. And it only seemed to get better with each cup had, enticing Jessica and her parents to indulge in an additional one or two cups of coffee each day than they would normally have had.

Many longtime customers were sorrowful when Jessica's parents announced their departure, but excited at the idea of that quiet place spreading a bit more. The less frequent customers, or else any who were more used to her parents, were less sure when they realized Jessica's parents were no longer present. Yet they could not bring themselves to raise a single complaint against the quality of the coffee poured for them and even the most outspoken skeptics were soon silenced as they tasted the cups Jessica prepared for them. If anything, in their absence, the coffee has only improved.

Jessica didn't mind the additional scrutiny from these customers, not was she taking the trust of longtime customers lightly. She had her own hesitation when faced with the opportunity to run the shop herself. Her first morning she was racked with anxiety. But, upon sipping a perfect cup of coffee, her mind was quieted and she went right to work. She knew exactly what it was each returning customer would want, sometimes having it prepared ahead of even their arrival.

Things seemed to be running as smoothly as they ever had before as quietude was spread to satisfied customer after satisfied customer. Upon entering the shop, one would immediately be met with the peaceful quiet, with perhaps a hushed conversation being one of the few noises heard. Jessica would greet new and returning customers with a quiet and sincere smile, a flash of excitement in her eyes. She was always overjoyed to see a new customer place their smartphone down after their first sip of coffee. This was her life's purpose, to spread peace and silence to a busy world, quieting even the chaotic thoughts of her fellow humans with a perfect cup of coffee. And she just knew that a second shop would lead to a third, then a fourth, and a fifth, until the whole world overflowed with perfect quietude.

Meanwhile, as her parents arrived at the new location, freshly built to their own specifications, they began unpacking. The furniture was already present, the lighting affixed and the coffee bar complete with an ice bucket and a mini fridge. Jessica's father began opening up dishes when he found something quite odd. As he reaches the bottom of a box packed with pitchers, he dug down to find the final one, nestled safely within the packing paper, was that pitcher of endless coffee. Yet, not the same pitcher, but a replica. Being as both pitchers were sealed shut at the top, save a small hole through which the coffee was poured, he decided to make both he and his wife a cup of coffee. Then another, and another. The pitcher never ran dry. The man, previously experiencing some level of anxiety as to how he would make a perfect cup without the special pitcher, breathed a deep, quiet sigh of relief. With a new pitcher, came new opportunities. And if he could find more perfect pitchers, then there may come a day where the world is wholly silent, each of its residence given peace... through a perfect cup of coffee.

Doctor Sword made her way to the front of the room, clicking her remote to pause the digital projector on a still of the coffee shop. She stood straight, but relaxed, her posture conveying a decent level of professionalism while her face portrayed boredom. Her face had been made up well with foundation and black eye shadow and her short yet full hair was dyed black. The only hint of color on her face was cherry red lipstick. Her tired eyes, a shade shy of amber in color, scanned the room, observing new recruits and interns, each fascinated by the story just told to them by the projector's video.

"What you've just heard," Sword began, "is the story of how I-2633, 'A Perfect Cup of Coffee' took over the lives of the Whitaker family. Are there any questions so far?" There was a short silence before Sword continued.

"Certain Foundation staff had made it apart of their daily routine to stop at the coffee shop on their way to work. Few took note of their behavioral changes... up until they started displaying withdrawal symptoms, at which point affected staff were placed on lockdown and a team was sent to retrieve Jessica. Jessica was uncooperative with Foundation personnel and unwilling to answer questions about how her coffee was made or where it was sourced. Upon the discovery of the pitcher, here onward to be called I-2633-A, Jessica became violent and was restrained." Doctor Sword clicked over the the next slide, an image of the coffee pitcher.

"A second team was sent to the second coffee shop. Jessica's father, who had been warned of Foundation interference, greeted agents with gunfire and was dispatched on site. The mother and the second pitcher, I-2633-B, were retrieved. All known individuals affected by I-2633 are currently being held for observation and therapy in a secure Foundation facility, whole I-2633-A and I-2633-B are held within this site." She clicked forward to another slide, this one being a collage of affected individuals and various cups of coffee from black coffee to lattes.

"I-2633 mimics coffee. The exact kind of coffee it mimics depends on the individual it expects to consume it and it seems to be able to tell what each person would prefer, implicitly. This suggests I-2633 is capable of some form of telepathy, the exact extent of which is currently unknown. If I-2633 is used to prepare a drink for one person, but then passed off to another, it appears to best suit the second person. If an unfinished cup of I-2633 is passed off to another person, it will make changes to itself - including consuming any milk, cream, or other additives - to better suit the new recipient. Chemically, I-2633 bears little resemblance to coffee or any other known chemical compound." Another slide appeared with the click of a button, portraying a person sitting very unsettled beside a cup of coffee. They were staring at the cup, while a Foundation scientist sat opposite to them, expectantly.

"Those who consume I-2633 undergo 3 stages of infection. Stage 1: subjects become addicted to I-2633. This addiction is not severe and can be treated with time away from I-2633 and perhaps therapy. Subjects in stage 2 experience a significant decrease in neural activity. They will begin discussing concepts like 'peace,' or 'silence' and are prone to sitting still for extended periods of time to enjoy 'quietude.' Stage 2 is when the severe withdrawal symptoms would begin to manifest. Stage 3; subjects experience a greater decline in neurological activity, particularly in the prefrontal cortex and amygdala portions of the brain. Staff were taken off certain assignments in what has since been acknowledged as stage 3 infection by I-2633." Doctor Sword clicked forward to an image of a normal brain scan beside one presumably belonging to a stage 3 individual.

"Subjects at any stage of infection will discuss their drink and the coffee shop they obtained it from with friends, family, coworkers, and strangers. Their intention is to get as many people as possible to drink I-2633 and experience 'quietude.' Subjects in stages 2 and 3 seem to experience little emotions and are difficult to provoke or prompt to any kind of action... other than obtaining and consuming another cup of I-2633." Another click, another slide: this time portraying a subject being held down by Foundation staff.

"Withdrawal symptoms begin to manifest once a subject has gone 34-53 hours without consuming a cup of I-2633. Symptoms include the following: anxiety; paranoia; tremors; lack of focus and inability to concentrate on tasks; highly emotional behavior; an inability to control one's emotions; inability to distinguish reality; hallucinations; suicidal ideation; suicide; and violent tendencies. Additionally, subjects suffering withdrawals will drop all tasks and make obtaining another cup of I-2633 their top priority. Subjects have engaged in violent behavior with anyone preventing them from obtaining more I-2633. Subjects have been found making public displays of disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace, seemingly for the purposes of causing as much noise and chaos as possible. One subject was intercepted and was found to have a homemade bomb in his bag." Doctor Sword clicked forward, showing the backpack with the device in it.

"Any Foundation staff seeking to examine I-2633 without proper clearance - Level 3 clearance - and/or without direct orders and proper accompaniment is to be secured and held for observation. If the staff member does not display withdrawals after 53 hours, they are to be released and reprimanded, or potentially given amnestics. If, however, they display symptoms, they are to be moved with the other subjects who have been found to be infected by I-2633 for study and therapy. Under no circumstances are any Foundation staff to ingest any amount of I-2633, coax others to ingest any amount of I-2633, or give any amount of I-2633 to known infected subjects. I-2633-A and I-2633-B have been held by the Foundation for three weeks and four days at this point. There is currently no known cure to the infection of I-2633 and further testing is scheduled. Foundation staff are required to report any persons they believe might be infected by I-2633, whether civilians or Foundation personnel. It is currently unknown if I-2633 is infectious or transmutable by any means other than direct ingestion. In other words we don't know if it can be passed along by consumption of or contact with bodily fluids, though it is confirmed to not be airborne." She quickly clicked through more slides, displaying pictures of subjects at various stages of infection and others showing the effects of withdrawals.

"If there's no questions, that concludes this briefing on I-2633, thank you for your attention. All staff scheduled to be working with I-2633, report to your supervisors. Everyone else, please wait here while the next briefing is set up." Sword didn't leave any room for questions as she wished to be done with the subject. There's a hundred other things she could think to spend the remainder of her time on: smoking, napping, inspecting her latest subject. But never again, did she think she would ever enjoy a cup of coffee... no matter how perfect it appeared to be.