Maurise sits at the desk, scrolling through data spat out from the simulation. There are several running simultaneously, branches off from the nearest interaction point with the base simulation. Very few have access to the base simulation. A coveted and highly respected role. Maurise is one of the few. The feeling though, being there, is that it’d be better not. Responsibility, pressure stress. Most importantly, the hours. The expectation that since so many desire the role any in it should be proud to unquestioningly work until whatever is required is complete, regardless of their scheduled hours. No need for financial compensation. The satisfaction of the work is considered sufficient.
Maurice would instead rather have the hours to spend elsewhere. With family. With something reminiscent of a life. If not the hours, then at least the money. There is the distinct shuffle of papers and feet, and Maurise turns to see Adrien coyly perched by the cubicle entrance. “A couple more additions from the big boss. Shouldn’t be too much work, right?” Adrien smiles, glancing conspicuously towards the clock on the wall. It’s about clock-off time. Perfect. “Expected to be done by tonight, have some chance to run until the morning, what I was told. High priority was said.” Maurise takes the papers, one slipping to the floor as Adrien lets go slightly too early. “Oops! I guess I’ll be off.” Maurise stoops down from the chair, rolling slowly towards the paper, to pick it up. “Did they mention if it was for the base sim or one of the branches?” Adrien is already gone. Maurise always suspected that Adrien was one of the many who resented Maurise for the job, wishing instead to claim it. Their way of dealing with the discontent was to make life hell for whoever was there, forgetting that were their dreams to come true it’d be these very actions that served to swerve it into a nightmare. What were the additions anyway. Two, and big ones at that. It wouldn’t be simple to massage these changes into the system to appear organic. Appearances were everything, especially for the base simulation. High priority. What trash. Maurise sends a message home, ‘Working late again tonight. Leave something out for me? I might get something on the way home if I’m too late. Sorry. Say goodnight to the kids for me.’ It almost auto-completed the whole thing from the first word. Papers pinned to the wall beside the monitors, demands clear to be seen. The lights in the office dim as most everyone had departed the building after clock-off. Maurise loads into the base simulation and begins the massage. Maurise finds Adrien blocking the cubicle at clock-on the next morning, hiding a smirk beneath a stern expression. “You messed up. Boss is waiting.” Short and sharp, tingling with schadenfreude. Adrien sets off at an engaged walk. Maurise hustles to follow along, lugging a satchel along for the ride. Adrien stops outside the boss’s office door, bowing slightly to hide a glowing smile. Maurise strides past and raps twice at the door, before pushing it open and following it in. Gerry wastes no time. “You really fucked us on this one.” Gerry does not look happy. Does not look like sleep lasted long enough last nice, nor was there much time between the end of it and the arrival here. Maurise takes a seat and awaits the next spray. Possibly including an explanation. “Those additions. They were tests. For the chaos branch. The ‘fuck it let’s see what happens when I add this’ branch.” Gerry is seething. “And you planted them in the goddam base.” Maurise’s mouth opens as if to speak, but Gerry is having none of it. “Job well fucking done you miserable swine.” Gerry spits for emphasis, before making a magnanimous gesture with his arm. “So how, pray tell, will you be explaining yourself?” Maurise sits up straight, but submissively avoids eye contact. “I was told explicitly that this was high priority, urgent additions to be completed overnight. I asked where the additions were to be made, they weren’t indicated on the papers I was provided, but your assistant left before I had the chance to collect the request papers. Only base additions require that priority and urgency. It’s in my contract.” Gerry was not happy, but looked up the relevant section in the contract. If you read it with this context in mind, it was true. Just mostly no one had ever thought it through with this context in mind. Gerry sighed. “Well shit. I’ll talk to Adrien later. We tried to take them out, you know. All morning. The continent on fire. We had to end the planned 100 year drought on that one. Unpredicted rain surge. It was supposed to become a desert. That plan’s out the window now. But the other one. The virus. It’s too far gone. They aren’t ready for it and no natural events are going to stop it. There’s nothing we can do. It’s too deeply implanted. We’d risk breaking it to change it. Now we just have to hope they can survive this. And at this time with the dunce brigade in charge of so many societies. The ride towards political upheaval was looking so promising, and so with much good data.”
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. . Self care - 26.01.2022 (Poem) Perceptions of reality - 2.02.2022 (Poem) Natural impunity - 9.02.2022 (Short Story) Lost in a Labyrinth - 2.03.2022 (Poem) Ministerial Standard - 23.03.2022 (Poem) Dungeons and Dating - 6.04.2022 (Short Story) Better Shared - 20.04.2022 (Poem) Touch to toilet - 27.04.2022 (Poem) Shooting Stars - 4.05.2022 (Short Story) Chop Shop - 18.05.2022 (Poem) Family Ties - 25.05.2022 (Short Story) Age of Consent - 8.06.2022 (Poem) Legacy - 24.08.2022 (Poem) Performative Enjoyment - 7.09.2022 (Poem) Bridge of Dreams - 7.12.2022 (Poem) Faultless - 22.12.2022 (Poem) Disconservative - 11.01.2023 (Poem) Single use - 1.03.2023 (Poem) Donor Cards - 6.04.2023 (Poem) Creative Art Say I - 13.04.2023 (Poem) Home-bound - 5.07.2023 (Short Story) Sand and Sea - 20.07.2023 (Short Story) Luminosity - 15.11.2023 (Short Story) About the AuthorA 33 year old medical intern who plays frisbee and likes long walks over mountains. Archives
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