5.e.
Corporate Man
led the group out of the conference room and said in a loud voice,
“Alright. Let’s go find the break
room.” Then, in low voice, his lips
barely moving, his attention on the hallway in front of them, he said, “We’re
in serious trouble here.”
“I know,” said
Business Woman. “Inflation. Do you have a plan.”
“Wait. What’s going on?” asked Franklin Buck.
“Quiet, Dollar
Man,” Senior Executive hissed. “We can’t
let him know we’re on to–”
“Are you
looking for the break room?” Betty asked.
“Oh. Um, yeah,” said Corporate
Man.
“Right this
way,” said Better, smoothing the sleeve of her pink blouse.
Reluctantly,
they followed.
Franklin Buck
squinted his eyes as he walked. Then he
rubbed his chin, scratched the back of his head, and looked quite puzzled. Finally he asked, “Weren’t you wearing a
different color blouse earlier?”
Corporate
Man’s eyes went wide and he glared back at Franklin . Both Business Woman and Senior Executive
hissed.
“What?” said
Franklin Buck.
“No. It’s the same one I’ve been wearing all day,”
said Betty.
“Uh uh. No.
The other was blue, or purple or something,” Franklin Buck said.
“It’s
inappropriate to notice a female coworker’s attire,” said Corporate
Man.
“But I
wasn’t–”
“Noticing anything about our female coworker’s
attire,” Senior Executive said. He moved
in close to Franklin and whispered,
“What do you notice about all the employees in this office?”
“My god. They’re all the same,” he hissed. Every employee strolling about the office of
the thirteenth floor was either a Betty or a Jack. The only difference was a slight hue-shift in
their business apparel.
“Keep your
mouth shut,” Senior Executive said, low, hushed, and angry.
“Though
robotic workers have not become a cost effective solution, and therefore remain
ineffective when combating rising costs, a dedicated development strategy will
ensure that preprogrammed office workers will one day become an affordable
business tool, requiring no bathroom breaks, sick days, vacation time, food, or
water with simple regimen of routine maintenance checks to ensure a long
lasting career,” Betty said.
“Shit. Here it comes,” said Corporate
Man.
“Additional
benefits to cost cutting measures include the ability to serve as our own
security staff,” Betty continued. She
raised her hands and spread her fingers. The knuckles popped, snapping away
from each other, doubling the length of each digit, and creating a menacing,
mechanical hand. Her finger tips split
and thin blades flicked out. When she
next spoke her voice echoed over the public address system.
“All units
converge. Alert code: Price gouge! Alert code: Price gouge!”
