Effect: A Response
By phil_ivey
- 521 reads
Effect: A Response
"... In other news, Judge James Outta is expected to address the Earth
Council of Order One corporations in Geneva tomorrow. Delivering his
final verdict over the contested legal right of Order One corporations
to administer drug and DNA tests to their working citizens. It is
widely expected that he will rule the current practice illegal,
renewing a bitter war between Order One corporations and campaigners
for Citizen freedom ... And finally in further breaking news ..."
John Bradly turned off the news channel and checked his appearance in
the autocab's mirror. He was nervous. The autocab was rapidly taking
him towards his first day at a new job. Hell, it was his first day at
any job. He didn't have a clue what to expect.
Bradly had applied the day after he had completed his education and
received citizen certification. He had whisked through the sub-area's
career address page but none of the prospects were too appealing.
Computer programmer, holographic artist, police, all the usual
opportunities. But one did catch his eye. It simply said 'Next time you
do that, don't.' Completely intrigued by mystique within banality, he
had clicked on the 'Click here' button and his particulars made an
application.
It was only after a successful interview, and signing a working citizen
contract, that he found he was working for the Order One corporation,
Ministry of Effect. Not that he minded. He had heard rumours of the two
Ministry's of Effect and Affect while in education. They were rumoured
to be secret corporations, but along with everyone else, he had no clue
as to what purpose either of them existed. But somehow he had always
preferred the Ministry of Effect to the Ministry of Affect, as he
thought it was better to accomplish than influence.
The autocab had picked him up directly from his Order One corporation
housing twenty minutes earlier, and was now delivering him in front of
the headquarters of Holovision Technologies Corporation. A tall
building, coloured light blue by reflected sky. Bradly was forbidden
from telling anybody for whom he was a working citizen.
***
"Welcome Bradly, John. Your appointments for today are ... 08:30
Workstation. 14:00 DNA and drug testing, level 62. Please proceed to
transportation."
Bradly made his way across the foyer's marble floor following the soft
hue of the underfoot guiding light. He climbed on board the
transportation indicated. A small white electric powered buggy. It
immediately started to move passing through a large door Bradly had
previously failed to notice.
"You are normally free to select any workstation that is available,"
The computer resumed their conversation. "Although today you will be
working on level B12." The buggy turned a corner and started to move at
pace down a large spiralling ramp. Bradly was staring out beyond the
spiral's glass walls. He was amazed by the number of workstations
trailing off into the distance, every one attended by a citizen. There
was no movement. Just row on row of citizens seated at work. Despite
his best efforts Bradly could not see the far end of the offices. The
complex was truly vast.
"What does the Ministry of Effect do?" Bradly asked in admiration of
the level of vastness before his eyes.
"Whatever you want it to do?" The computer replied.
"Sorry." Bradly was confused. "What do you mean, whatever I want it to
do?"
"In time you will see."
The buggy's descent halted as it veered off the spiral into a vast
room of workstations. It weaved among the other citizens until coming
to a halt in front of a vacant position. Bradly descended from the
buggy.
"Welcome to the Ministry." The computer said before the buggy sped
away.
***
Bradly had been at the Ministry for an hour and he was still unable to
figure out what they wanted him to do. The workstation computer had
been no help and he had been unable to gain the attention of any of the
citizens around him. They were all hunched over their workstations
engrossed, ignoring his attempts at conversation. Bradly had thought
about getting up and walking around to see if he could find anyone to
help him. But in the hour he had sat there he had seen no one else
move, and during the buggy ride, now when he thought about it, he had
seen no one walking around either. So it didn't seem to be the thing to
do. No, he decided to sit tight and work it out. He didn't want to make
a fool of himself on his first day.
After another hour he decided to try the workstation's internal mail
system to see if that would prompt someone to realise he existed. He
sent a short message off to personnel, giving them all the standard
required personal details and a quick note asking if his tests were
going ahead that afternoon in light of the Earth Council's decision
tomorrow.
Within a minute he had a reply. The message simply read. Wait for
immediate transport.
Within another minute an empty white buggy was speeding towards him.
Citizens all around turned to discover its destination, creating a wake
of faces. It was the first time Bradly had seen anyone else's features.
He could have sworn, as the buggy stopped at his workstation and he got
on, that they displayed a mixture of fascination and envy.
***
The buggy had delivered him to a large office on level 102. It was
sumptuously furnished and even had real plants. Bradly was sitting in a
leather chair, he couldn't tell if it was real or not, in front of a
large desk, the contents of which he couldn't see, as the surface was
angled slightly away from him. Behind the desk were two smartly dressed
elderly men. They could have been twins for they looked exactly the
same. The left man spoke first.
"How are you finding life at the Ministry?" His tone of voice revealed
as much about him as did the buggy's computer.
"The Ministry? Well, what can I say? It's great. Just great. I'm
enjoying it. It's great." Bradly was nervous.
"Just great?" The right man asked.
Bradly paused to look at him. Was he going to have to say more? He
turned to look at the left man for help. Yep, he was going to have to
say more. "It's more than great. It's fantastic. Fantastic. Life at the
Ministry is just fantastic." He stopped talking hoping that was enough,
before realising he might as well give up the charade and try and find
out what was meant to be going on. "There is just one little thing ..."
Bradly added timidly.
"Go on." Said the left man.
"We like the little things." Said the right man.
"What is it exactly that I do here?" Bradly felt really stupid for
asking. The two men looked at each other and then back at him.
"What do you do here?" Said the right man.
"You want to know what you do here?" Said the left man.
"Yes." Bradly was starting to feel really stupid but in good
company.
"You write letters, Mr Bradly." The left man replied.
"Yes. You write letters, and we read them, Mr Bradly." The right man
added.
"Letters? Letters about what?" Bradly asked.
"Whatever you want." Answered the right man.
"You, Mr. Bradly, can write letters about whatever you want, and then
we read them." The left man added.
"Okay. Let me see if I've got this straight. I come here to work and I
write letters about whatever I want and then you read them?"
"Oh yes. We read them." Said the left man.
"And sometimes we even like them." Added the right man.
"And sometimes you even like them." Repeated Bradly. He felt like he
was facing warped human manifestations of the advert to which he had
initially responded. Next time you do that, don't. He was beginning to
think it was good advice.
"Like for instance. Your letter this morning."
"Yes, your letter this morning, very interesting."
"We believe you have put your finger on a very serious matter."
"Yes. Very serious."
"We can hardly have some liberal judge ruin it for us all."
"Yes quite right. We can hardly have some drug crazed, disease ridden,
free thinking, communist left liberal judge ruin it for all Order One
corporations and their working citizens, now can we?"
"Yes exactly. Without drug and DNA testing we'd be surrounded by drug
crazed, disease ridden, free thinking, communist left liberals and
where would we be?"
"Right, precisely. Where would we be."
"But we have a solution."
"Yes we have a solution, Mr. Bradly. It's personalities such as
yourself that ensure the survival of all Order One corporations ... And
they reward you so well." The left man handed a sheet of paper across
the desk to Bradly. It was a statement from his bank account. Two
million dolyen's had been paid into his account by Holovision
Technologies Corporation at 09:32 that morning. Bradly was about to
point out that this must be some sort of mistake, when he realised this
would have been just minutes after he had sent the letter.
"I don't understand. This is for my letter?" Asked Bradly holding up
the sheet of paper.
"In time you will see." Answered the left man.
"Yes, you will see. But now you must get going." Said the right
man.
A white buggy appeared from behind Bradly and the two men indicated
for him to get on. Bradly did and the buggy whisked him away still
clutching the bank statement, fluttering with the speed of his
removal.
"You know," said the left man, "the Ministry of Affect really must
buck up its ideas. Do we have to do everything?"
"Your right. Failed again. They seem to have no influence over anybody
nowadays."
***
"Welcome to Geneva, Mr. Lodenthall. I hope you enjoy your stay."
Bradly took his passport from the woman behind the desk. It was the
afternoon of his first day at work. The weapon was arriving in a couple
of hours. He would be in and 'Outta' Geneva in under twelve.
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