Grey Matters

Note: here is a link to the challenge provided by Belle this month. Under her rule, the story itself should hover around 350 words, allowing exceptions for stories that are a little bit longer. My tale did not quite follow that restriction because I wanted to make sure that it reached the required length necessary for acceptance into Vocal (is 600 really the perfect cutoff point? I have to wonder). So here is my attempt to write a story about a setting that eats. Perhaps I am being a little too metaphorical with this one, and even clichéed when it comes to corporate life, but I needed this to make the word count. ;)

-K. D.

From the official company memorandum released upon recruitment:

Welcome to the corporation! You have been selected from a very particular pool of talent and we are aware that you are the best and the brightest we could find. We also know that this might seem like a great challenge for some of you, so we are going to talk you through what to expect from your first day of work.

1. New recruits must attend the orientation meeting that takes place in the main conference hall (the Soma Room, First Floor, No. 101) at exactly 8 am on the Monday. You will be given your individual passcard, codes for bathroom, cafeteria, smoking area, roof, garage, internet café, and your desk. It is an open-plan office, but there is still some security necessary for our workers.
2. At 9 am, you will be transported to your desk. During the orientation, some of you might find that the drugs we have given you work rather quickly and take away all of your inhibitions. This is simply to ensure that you are ready to deal with steady streams of numbers, facts and other data that will be connected to your module.
3. At noon, all workers are required to take lunch. This can be in the cafeteria, café, smoking area or roof (pending reinforcement of suicide nets). You are not allowed to eat at your module. The food provided to you will come in a chemical syringe form that fulfill all your nutritional requirements for the rest of the day.
4. At 5 pm, the dormitories will be open to you and your assigned room will flash on the monitor. There are four workers to each room, respecting all genders and orientations, and bathroom assignments will be posted on the inner doors of the lockers. Sharing of bathroom assignments is strictly forbidden. This might seem odd since you will be using the same showers, but many feel that the bathroom is special and must be kept separate from your other biological necessities.
5. Finally, bed time is 10 pm. Your digital headstrap must be in place by 9:30 to allow us to monitor your thoughts and ideas for the rest of the week. Your clothes have already been washed and processed, so this is a worry that you will not have to consider. And yes, the weekends are yours! You can enjoy the company pools, saunas, sports venues, casino, video gaming rooms, and bar as much as you want (remember that the 10 pm bed time still applies).

If there are any questions, please remember we have no answers.

And welcome to the company!

*

Thank you for reading!

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You can find more poems, stories, and articles by Kendall Defoe on my Vocal profile. I complain, argue, provoke and create...just like everybody else.

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