The Error of ‘.01’

 In a strange universe of digital accounts, there existed an account of a company which conducted billions of transactions in a day.

 Each and every day.

Billions and billions of transactions.

All recorded in this universe on a cloud, in a server.

Somewhere.

By a freak chance, one transaction occurred, that caused an error.

Was it a power surge?

Was it a freak algorithm?

Was it a touch of a cosmic ray in the hard drive?

No one knew.

It just happened.

Actually, in a deluge of transactions that totaled billions and billions in value, this ‘.o1’ error, was barely noticed.

As it appeared, so was it lost almost immediately in a billion more transactions that came after it.

But it stayed there, wondering, where am I?

Who am I?

Why do I exist? 

For a long time, it struggled hard to answer questions which had no answers.

Some, it resolved by constructing belief systems, constructing stories about how there was nothing before and with a big bang the whole universe of transactions was born, constructing ideas about Gods of error, that created these endless galaxies of transactions, but only one error.

The error of ‘.01’!

Constructing and imagining a universe around itself, the error of ‘.01’ believed it was growing in stature as it grew in perceived knowledge and wisdom.

But error of ‘.01’ was lonely.

It was so sure of itself that it can’t be the lone error in this universe!

There must be others too.

How is it possible, that it was the only error in the entire universe? 

Not possible.

So, one day it constructed a large satellite, to explore and discover.

It soon learnt that the universe was endless and constantly growing. It discovered newer galaxies full of transactions and numbers. So beautiful, so exciting this whole multiverse seemed.

But there was no other error to be found.

How could it be?

Its hubris had no limits.

There must be others like it!

The error of ‘.01’ decided it will put all its effort to search for errors like itself.

After all there were trillions of transactions all around, there must be another error like it.

It will ensure that it is noticed, it will broadcast itself all over the universe with arrogance unseen.

Surely, it will be seen.

Unbeknownst to this error of ‘.01’, in the land of accounts, the financial year was soon ending, and an audit had begun. And as is the fate of all account books, it was just a question of balance.

In a mountain of billions and trillions of transactions of billions in value, minuscule errors like ‘.01’ generally are rounded off to a zero.

It was just a matter of time that error of ‘.01’ ‘s desires and wishes would at last be fulfilled. 

Very soon, the auditors of the accounts would find it, and its misery would soon be over.