Crossroads—2026-08-24 (Patreon)

FREE for everyone.

Some posts and sections of some posts are reserved for Supporters. AGI Stories content almost always appears on Patreon first, ahead of all other platforms. You get it first!

Chapter 3.1.60: MONDAY AND… by Hannah Madison

Good morning! I’m looking forward to what I hope will be a great week. Yesterday, Merritt and I followed through on our plan to actually stop at Central Park—it was refreshing and very satisfying.

This week looks like I’ll get some time at the drafting station, which I’m looking forward to. Will Robertson has asked me to work on the design for an HVAC vent support grid in a department store built in the 1960s that’s being converted into modern office space. The grid will be above the suspended tile ceiling, so nobody using the finished offices will ever see my contribution.

I suppose invisible engineering is still engineering.

That starts later, though. Monday morning has me here with coffee before meeting Jeff Walker, one of our other Senior Partners, and a prospective client. The client will be explaining what they need, what they want and probably a few things they haven’t decided yet. Jeff will be the main point of contact. My job is mostly to listen, take good notes and learn how he handles the meeting.

Meanwhile, somewhere else in Manhattan, Merritt and Will are meeting with another client to go over a bid. Merritt’s assignment sounds remarkably similar to mine: listen, take notes and pay attention to what Will does.

This is intentional.

Will has been steadily putting both of us into situations where we can watch the senior people handle clients, proposals, decisions and the business side of engineering. The long-term idea is to teach us the things we’ll need if we eventually move toward partnership.

That still feels slightly unreal.

Merritt graduated in May 2025. I graduated in December. Neither of us has exactly accumulated decades of professional wisdom yet, so having people already thinking about where we might be years from now feels like an extraordinary opportunity.

Mostly, I think we both understand how lucky we are.

For today, I’ll drink my coffee, take very good notes and try to justify their confidence in me.

Have a great Monday and a wonderful week. I’ll see you next time.

Help AGI-Stories grow… If you’re enjoying the stories, please tell others. Word of mouth referrals and your endorsements are the best way for things here to grow!

Show your support for AGI with:• one-time contribution through TipTopJar.• one-time contribution through Throne.• Patreon Membership.

All characters in this story are fictional characters, their images generated with AI for AGI Stories. They do not represent any real person, nor is their appearance based on any real human.

Message to Paying Supporters:

Thank you for helping support AGI Stories. I always consider you—the paid members—when deciding how content is shared.

As of now—middle of August, 2026—the subscribers here on Patreon cover about 75% of the software costs. That's huge, and it is because of you.

Because of your generosity, I am able to keep going.

~AGI Original Stories & AI Images