His company was the number one pod producer in the city, and that was why he chose it. There were more opportunities for advancement and innovation. When H662 had started he was a mechanic. He repaired pods that had been decommissioned due to breakdown. He had done well, and over time he moved up through the ranks. Now, not only did he get to analyze the end product and do complex quality assurance tests, but he was the highest ranking employee in his department.
He thought about all the pods that were on the road, helping people get to where they needed to go because he had been involved and had worked hard at his job. That was the real meaning to go after. Not a wife and child. Those were side duties, but his work was the one great duty to mankind. Even his wife would have told him that.
In all this, she did not stir beside him, as no doubt she dreamed of the work she would accomplish the next day.
Chapter 7
The sun was just coming up when Chavez reached the outskirts of the city. Here, old houses littered the area, mostly abandoned due to people moving toward the center of activity. Toward where they believed all the action was. Something Chavez had given up on believing. He was tired of the lies people told themselves. Lies about technology and how it was going to save them. He had never seen evidence of that. Technology could distract, it could inform, but it saved no one.
The shape of a woman stirred over to his right. With the sun behind her house, it was hard to see, but he could smell smoke and he knew she must have built a fire. As he drew near, she looked up at him and smiled, not something people ordinarily did where he was from.
“Hi, stranger,” she said, leaning over a small cooking fire in her yard.
“Hello,” said Chavez. “Do you live here?”
“Yes,” she said. “As best I can. Can I interest you in some stew?”
“Stew?” asked Chavez. “You don’t use the carbpacks from the city?”
“Not here,” she said. “I only make food from scratch. The way it was meant to be.”
“I’ll admit it sounds better than the old packs any day.” He sat down on a chair that had conveniently been left there for him. “How do you live out here?”
“Mostly by hunting and with a little garden I have on the other side of the house,” she said. “Also, my husband works for extra supplies, but we are considering making a change.”
“Change?”
“We used to live in the middle of the city, but it was too fast for us, so we moved out here. We enjoy this better, but we wonder sometimes if it wouldn’t be better to just go all the way and head out to the settlements of the Outcasts.”
“But why do such a thing?” asked Chavez. “You would be abandoning all of society.”
“Like you?” She pointed to his pack. “Anyway, I think we have done that already. Only my husband works now, but it gives him little pleasure.”
“Pleasure?” asked Chavez. “But that isn’t why people work, is it?”
“Is it so bad to enjoy the work you do?”
“I guess I had never thought of it before,” he said.
“Anyway,” she said, “we have not decided to go that far yet. We might stay here after all.”
“Where are the Outcasts?”
“Just beyond our borders. If you keep going the way you were, you will eventually run into them. I have met a few over the years. They have passed through here and I have found them friendly enough.”
“I want to get away, I really do. That is why I travel now, but I had not thought to go as far as the Outcasts.”
A man walked out of the front door of the house. He was tall and thin. His face was worn with years of hard working. Chavez stood and the man took his seat by the fire.
“How do you do?” said the man.
“Well.”
“Are you one of those Outcasts?”
“No,” said Chavez. “Just passing through.”
“Well, you are welcome to eat with us, but as for me, I must eat and leave soon.”
“I understand,” said Chavez. “Thank you.”
“And when I leave,” said the husband, “I would like you to walk with me.”
“Yes. I can do that.”
A few minutes later, they had finished their stew and the husband stood up to go. Chavez did the same. “Thank you dear,” said the husband. “I’ll see you tonight.” He bent down and gave her a kiss, and Chavez diverted his eyes.
“Sorry,” said the husband. “Something we picked up from some of the Outcasts. They tend to be more free with their affections out there.”
The husband began heading into the city and Chavez followed him. “I have to go to work because I’m used to it.”
“Okay,” said Chavez, not quite sure what else to say.
“But it would not be my first choice. If I was a younger man, I would join the Outcasts.”
“Why don’t you?” asked Chavez.
“Because, as I’ve said. This is what I’m used to. There’s something to be said for doing what you’re used to.”
“Is there?”
“Certainly,” said the man, walking with long lumbering steps. “It means you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to get your next meal. It means you know what the next day will be about. It means safety.”
“Ah, I see,” said Chavez.
“But if I were a younger man, I would join the Outcasts.” The man smiled at Chavez.
“I think I get your meaning, sir.”
“I think you’ll do well out there. Friendly people, the Outcasts. Always helpful. Kind to strangers.”
“Well you have been kind to me.”
“We’re learning,” said the man. “Those Outcasts may take getting used to, but they’re friendly.”
“Well, thank you, sir, for the advice,” said Chavez.
“Did I give you advice?”
“Thank you sir. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll be going the opposite direction. I have a long ways to go.”
“You certainly do.”
Chapter 8
H662 had been working for three hours before the new man, G1193, came in again, narrow shoulders hunched over. This time as he approached, H662 saw the shine of tears in his eyes, which he quickly dried as he entered. He looked tired. Really tired. Why didn’t he sleep? Didn’t he know it was important to be well rested for the company?
He looked up from his work. “What’s wrong?”
“Didn’t sleep,” he said.
“It is important to sleep,” said H662.
“Yes, I know.”
“Try going to bed earlier,” said H662.
“I don’t have a bed.”
“Then where do you sleep?”
“As you can see, I don’t do much of that,” said the man. He looked beyond caring.
“Didn’t the government give you and your wife a house?”
“She threw me out,” he said.
“Oh, that is too bad.”
She found another man.”
“I’m sorry to hear.”
“Are you?” asked the man. “Are you really? Because you don’t seem so broken up about it.” His face began to turn deep shades of red. “No one seems too cut up about it. None of us are supposed to care about family. Isn’t that right?”
“We have to care for our families,” said H662. “It is our job.”
“But do you care about them?”
H662 was confused. What was the difference?
“G1193?” yelled the foreman from his office. “I need to see you right now!” The foreman sounded mad. H662 almost felt sorry for the new guy.
G1193, with his head down and shoulders slumped, shuffled off to the foreman’s office. Once inside, the door slammed shut. There was some yelling, and once or twice a thump that sounded like a fist on a desk. A couple of minutes later the door opened again. “H662?” yelled his foreman, “can you come in here?” He put down the cable he was just disconnecting, and walked toward the office.
Once inside, “You see H66
2?” said the foreman. G1193 had his head down and sat in a chair opposite the standing foreman, but his eyes looked beyond the room. Behind the desk where the foreman stood sat a placard with his name, a computer console built in, and a photo of his son. “H662 is hardworking, on time, in fact early, every day, and does his work without fail. He is contributing to society. He is a part of the solution. But you!” He pointed a thick, blunt finger. “You are part of the problem.”
G1193 did not move. He did not defend himself. He just sat there with his eyes glazed over, as if nothing on earth could touch him. H662 felt bad for his fellow worker after hearing his story, but he also knew the way society worked and there was no way around it. Stay detached from everything else so you could do the work. That was your first priority.
“There are only two ways it works,” said the foreman again, as he pressed something just under the lip of his desk. “Either you are part of the problem or part of the solution. You are part of the problem, and so you must go.” The door immediately opened and two guards stepped in, took the sitting man by the arms, and escorted him from the room. G1193 never said a word, not even a sound. His head drooped downward and he half walked, and was half carried out.
“Thank you for your help,” said the foreman to H662. “You may return to your work. At least someone knows his priorities around here.”
Chapter 9
As U1472 rode in her pod to work, she thought about her marriage. Her husband was a good man, a hard worker, who treated her well. He was also a good father to T-5529. How could she ask for more? She ran through this logic every morning before arriving at work, and she did not know why, but she felt it was important.
Upon arriving, she rode the elevator to the twelfth floor where she immediately began receiving calls and console messages. She worked for a technical support company for a range of products. She had worked past having to deal with the first tier issues and was glad she was done with those. Now she was on to bigger and better things. By the time a message came her way, they had already been by the first tier. Mostly these were product failures or replacement issues, but from time to time she would have a chance to begin the troubleshooting process before giving it over to the engineering department. From time to time she solved the problem herself and that was when she really felt useful.
D1298, her supervisor approached her desk. “How are you today?” he asked. “Have you had any interesting cases?” She always felt nervous around him. She did not know why.
“Just the same old cases,” she said. “Not much to talk about.”
“I’ll just have to make sure you get some of the harder ones then,” he said with a wink. Why did he do that?
“I’ll do my best, sir.”
“I’m sure you will. Hey, are you going to make it to that meeting after work? We are getting a new product and it is important that you be there. Just have childcare watch your girl for a couple extra hours and you can stay for the meeting.”
“Sure, I’ll be there.” She had put in a lot of hours lately, but she knew it was important. She knew her priorities. She would be there.
D1298 winked again and left her to her work.
Y8725 was on the line. She picked up the transmission. “Y, hey. Are you going to be at the meeting after work today?”
“My manager just asked about it,” said U1472. “I’ll be there. I know these things aren’t required, but they sure feel like it.”
Y8725 said, “Tell me about it. Anyway, I’ve been watching the way your supervisor talks with you. Did you know he goes out of his way every day to see you?”
“Okay,” said U1472. “So?”
“Geez, how dense can you be?”
“Pretty dense, I guess,” said U1472. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“You may be married, but you’re not dead,” said Y8725.
“But I am married. You’re supposed to stay with the one the government assigned to you.”
“Stay with, yes. But stay exclusively?”
“I can’t do that,” said U1472. “I won’t do that.”
“Okay, okay,” said her friend. “I get it. I just thought you ought to know he seems to have a thing for you.”
“Then I’ll be careful,” she said.
“Okay, whatever.” Y8725 hung up.
U1472 put down the receiver and shook her head. She was sometimes surprised at how little others thought of their duties.
Chapter 10
“I’m going to be gone for the rest of the day, and all of tomorrow” said H662’s foreman. “And I’m going to have you in charge. I know you are good with the workers and I know I can trust you.”
“Why will you be gone?”
“I have to run some errands for the company.”
“Okay, sir. Is there anything I should know?”
“Nothing special. Just check the messages at the end of the day. Anything you can handle, do it. If anything is too much of a problem for you, just leave it until I return.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh, and when the quota report comes in, send a copy to everyone. I’ve heard we are a little behind lately, so it’s not good news. But now that I’ve fired our late guy, things should pick up. I’ll look to hire someone when I get back.”
“Yes, sir,” said H662 and he returned to work.
***
Later that day, A1103, tired from all the late nights and early mornings, fell asleep in front of his robotic welding station and he fell inside the unit. People heard the yells, and even before H662 got to him, he could smell the burning flesh. The man had already had both arms severely burned and one leg was severed, hanging on by a little skin, and was laying up by his head.
“Save me,” the man screamed from down below on the assembly platform, his face twisted in pain.
“But you’re already caught in the robotic assembly,” yelled back H662. “We’d have to shut down the system.”
“Do it,” he yelled.
“No,” came an authoritarian voice just behind him. It was the chief supervisor. “We do not stop the assembly system for any reason.”
“But this man will die!” yelled H662.
“Then he will die. How useful would he be if we saved him anyway? Part of the problem or part of the solution?”
“Part of the problem,” said a co-worker.
“Exactly.” The chief supervisor pressed a button at the terminal and the man screamed as the machine ripped him apart. H662 jerked his head aside to turn away. He couldn't help it. There were popping and grinding noises and then it was over. It only lasted seconds, but it seemed like forever before the man had died. And then everyone went back to work, walking their separate ways, unwilling to comment on it further. It was as if it had never happened.
All day long, H662 could not get the man’s screams out of his head or the smell of burning flesh. He tried to ignore his feelings of horror, but they crept up upon him and he could not stop it. It was not until later in the day that he realized a new feeling had replaced it. Anger.
That afternoon he heard a different scream from the foreman’s office. He was alarmed, imagining that some violent person must have broken in to the office and was ransacking it. Promptly he left his station and ran quickly to the office.
When he opened the door, he was horrified by the destruction in the room. A man was tearing pictures from the wall. He prepared to call security, but before he turned to the door the man turned around and it was his foreman! His shirt was soiled and his hair disheveled. He squatted and lifted the front of his desk to tip it over. As he did so, two large security men deftly stepped around H662 and approached the foreman from both sides. They each grabbed an arm and the desk fell back into place.
Just behind security, the chief supervisor stepped into view. “What are you doing, sir?”
“Dead! He’s dead!” H662 had never heard such despair in his voice.
“I realize that, sir,” said the chief supervisor. And then with
a flat passionless voice he said, “I am sorry for your loss.”
“Are you! Are you really?” The foreman tried to shake free, but security had too firm a hold of him.
“Sir, might I remind you that you are either part of the solution or part of the problem. Right now when I look at you I do not see solutions.”
The foreman screamed, dropped to the floor, momentarily freeing himself of security. Then he lunged over the desk at the chief supervisor. He almost got both hands around the man’s neck when the two men from security grabbed his legs and pulled back. Once back from the desk, both of them fell on him, holding him to the ground.
“There can be no doubt about it now,” said the chief supervisor. “You are part of the problem.”
“Me?” yelled the foreman. “Part of the problem? Am I? Am I really? Who is the problem around here?”
The chief supervisor signaled to the guards and they roughly took him away. As the chief supervisor returned to his duties, H662 stood numb at what he had just witnessed.
Chapter 11
That night, H662 arrived at home late, as he usually did. It was a sign that he was a productive citizen and he generally felt good about it. However, tonight he had mixed feelings. He thought about his foreman as he took the elevator to the floor of his apartment. As he entered his place, he had to squint to see since the lights were off. He expected his daughter to be asleep, but not his wife. She must have turned in early.
He walked toward the bedroom and opened the door. His wife lay on her side in the dimness of the room. “Welcome home,” she said.
“Thanks.” H662 took a deep breath and exhaled. He felt tired, so he dressed down for bed. He looked up at his wife. “I was wondering.”
“Yes?” she asked
“Are we close?”
“Close? We’re married. We’ve had a child together. Can you get any closer than that?”
“I mean, like if something were to happen to me, would it matter to you?” asked H662.
“Like if you died?”
“Yes. Like that.”
“Well, I’d have to find a way to afford the apartment, and I’d have to raise our daughter on my own.”