6. He snapped the clasps of the briefcase with one crisp click. He looked at the telephone which he had just been discoursing with and wrote a note for the outbound pile.
Although he was in one of the upper echelons of The Company, he still had to make reports to an overseer. And he had a hunch that the overseer also reported to someone else and so on so that no one knew to a certainty who was at the very top. The pinnacle of the pyramid.
As he saw it, The Company ran this town. They had come in at a crucial moment and asserted order in a time of chaos with rigid planning and the offering of employment.
Of course, he had had to prove himself. There was the stigma of being related to traitors to overcome. His grandparents had been foolish enough to resist change. But they were dealt with. He had shown that he was capable of "Seeing Right," as one of The Company’s catch phrases put it.
He stood up from his desk and looked out the window. He was on the thirty-seventh floor. He could see the new Megastore and the refinery and the projects and the wall and the office where he had gotten jobs for both his sister and first roommate.
His conversation with the roommate had bothered him. The roommate didn’t know that he worked for The Company and he wasn’t sure what to make of his comments. Which was why he assigned the roommate to deal with the hole. Maybe he could get his sister to work on the Sector 8 project. She didn’t know that he was ultimately responsible for her work as well. He always delegated the tasks through the proper channels and never spoke with his sister directly. He was cautious. He looked out for himself. But he could afford to be generous to those he deemed worthy.
He opened the door and walked out into the hall.
He had proved himself to The Company five years ago but now it seemed as if his work was being unraveled. There was a murmur of discontent rising up in the community from where he thought he had squelched it.
He pushed the button for the elevator and waited for the car to arrive.
He tried to clear his mind in the method taught in Company seminars. Too much thought clutters the mind. In order to see right, you must think right. In order to think right, you must not impose your will upon your thoughts. Relinquish control over your mind and focus. When your mind is empty of self, there will be truth.
The elevator car arrived and its doors slid open with a chime. He stepped inside and pressed the button marked by a star. The elevator began to descend.
There was no one on most of the floors. Most of them were just hollowed-out shells, so the car was uninterrupted in its descent. By the time he got to the ground level he had calmed himself and was resolved towards whatever would reveal itself.
The lobby was an enormous cavern of opulence adorned by gilt-framed mirrors, pearlescent chandeliers, and both Doric and Ionic columns. If you shouted loud enough, you could exit the building and return to hear your echo. Which was something no one did.
There was a car waiting for him and as he sat back in the plush seats behind tinted windows, nagging thoughts began to creep back into his brain but he was unaware of their return.
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Although he was in one of the upper echelons of The Company, he still had to make reports to an overseer. And he had a hunch that the overseer also reported to someone else and so on so that no one knew to a certainty who was at the very top. The pinnacle of the pyramid.
As he saw it, The Company ran this town. They had come in at a crucial moment and asserted order in a time of chaos with rigid planning and the offering of employment.
Of course, he had had to prove himself. There was the stigma of being related to traitors to overcome. His grandparents had been foolish enough to resist change. But they were dealt with. He had shown that he was capable of "Seeing Right," as one of The Company’s catch phrases put it.
He stood up from his desk and looked out the window. He was on the thirty-seventh floor. He could see the new Megastore and the refinery and the projects and the wall and the office where he had gotten jobs for both his sister and first roommate.
His conversation with the roommate had bothered him. The roommate didn’t know that he worked for The Company and he wasn’t sure what to make of his comments. Which was why he assigned the roommate to deal with the hole. Maybe he could get his sister to work on the Sector 8 project. She didn’t know that he was ultimately responsible for her work as well. He always delegated the tasks through the proper channels and never spoke with his sister directly. He was cautious. He looked out for himself. But he could afford to be generous to those he deemed worthy.
He opened the door and walked out into the hall.
He had proved himself to The Company five years ago but now it seemed as if his work was being unraveled. There was a murmur of discontent rising up in the community from where he thought he had squelched it.
He pushed the button for the elevator and waited for the car to arrive.
He tried to clear his mind in the method taught in Company seminars. Too much thought clutters the mind. In order to see right, you must think right. In order to think right, you must not impose your will upon your thoughts. Relinquish control over your mind and focus. When your mind is empty of self, there will be truth.
The elevator car arrived and its doors slid open with a chime. He stepped inside and pressed the button marked by a star. The elevator began to descend.
There was no one on most of the floors. Most of them were just hollowed-out shells, so the car was uninterrupted in its descent. By the time he got to the ground level he had calmed himself and was resolved towards whatever would reveal itself.
The lobby was an enormous cavern of opulence adorned by gilt-framed mirrors, pearlescent chandeliers, and both Doric and Ionic columns. If you shouted loud enough, you could exit the building and return to hear your echo. Which was something no one did.
There was a car waiting for him and as he sat back in the plush seats behind tinted windows, nagging thoughts began to creep back into his brain but he was unaware of their return.
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