Susan was a bright ball of light right now, and was bobbing and weaving down an empty hallway at what Susan considered a ‘professional’ pace.
It was important to give the perception of professionalism even if you didn’t have legs, or even if you could transmatter or transenergize yourself to the location you needed to be at exactly the right time. The perception of appearing to be a good worker was, for corporations such as the Dao Displacement Department(and honestly a lot of normal corporations throughout the multiverse), far more important than actually accomplishing anything of merit.
If everyone had to accomplish something of merit to get ahead no one would ever manage to get promoted. Certainly it would engender insecurity in your bosses. They’d be wondering if you were angling for their job. So no, it was far better to be a team player giving the perception of being a hard-worker while just barely meeting quotas. It gave your bosses something to talk to at your performance reviews, the first of which Susan was heading toward.
Today was her first day, and earlier today Susan had been in her nice, fit, body. She had been wearing a nice grey business suit. Or beige. It might have been red, honestly. Sometimes when Susan looked back on the start of this morning she imagined herself being bolder. Chances were it was some sort of cream pantsuit that had been the safe play.
Corporate had seen potential in Susan’s resume and had hired her earlier in the day as a journeyman Dao Displacement Department Clerk 5A, which was not to be confused with her current job title as 3D Clerk SSS1.
Susan passed through a slate grey door with no handle with a simple designation 03-k64 that made no sense to anyone without taste. Currently Susan didn’t have taste because she was a ball of light. Susan didn’t need it to make sense though. The Dao of Isekai Displacement pretty much insured that Susan went wherever Susan needed to go.
“Hello.” A ball of glowing light bobbed up and down behind a very professional desk and had somehow managed to appropriate some very professional reading glasses that hung over its face. “Susan is it?”
“Yes, hi, I’m Susan and I drive trucks for the Isekai Dao Displacement Department.” Susan introduced itself. “This is my first review.”
“I imagine you’re nervous since it’s your first day?” The light ball twisted slightly and orbited for a moment trying to impress upon Susan that the ball of light understood such expected hesitation and anxiety.
“Oh no, not really. I’ve been doing the job for a good 50 years now after all.” Susan confided. “If we’re being completely honest I’m just looking forward to my second day on the job!” Which was mostly true. Being on the job for 50 years was all well and good but you didn’t actually get any respect from your peers until you clocked out and back in for the first time.
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“Oh that’s right. Transmatter and Multiverse travel has your time on the clock set at the same zero point. Let me just adjust your minute hand here…” The ball of light bobbed up and down for a moment and then made a tinkling sound as it transmitted its approximation of speech across the desk once more. “There you go! A minute has passed for your body and you officially clocked out! Congratulations on reaching your second day! Do you need a minute before you clock in?”
“That’s very courteous of you but my last 3 years were pretty slow waiting for my assignment.” Susan said. “I’ll just clock back in so we can start the review. I bet you’re very busy!”
“That’s true, that’s true. With all the worlds in the multiverse, a number beyond counting, it does take quite a while to get to them all even if time doesn’t move -- haha.” The ball of light wearing glasses bobbed up and down in amusement.
“If they are beyond counting how do you know when you’ve got them all?” Susan asked, genuinely interested for the first time in 30 years.
“The current Dao Holder for The Dao of Fated Encounters lets me know. He’s old fashioned so it’s usually in the form of a tribulation. Those are always a cause for excitement.”
“I see. Lightning from the heavens striking down, huh? Seems like it would just be easier to send a text.”
“Like I said, old fashioned. In this form, it’s not a big deal anyway.” The ball of light twisted left and right as if it were shrugging. "It was even crazier when the Dao holder sent his flying sword. That thing would cut right through the walls. The paperwork of why we had to transmatter the walls back to their state earlier in the day was just a nightmare."
Susan nodded in sympathy. Paperwork was one of the leading causes for ki disruption in the workplace.
“Anyway, it’s really just your first day but you are now a, let me see here, triple S of our department? You’ve really been burning the midnight oil! It’s Susan right, you don’t mind if I ask you which pronouns you prefer to be referred by do you?”
“Whatever you’re comfortable with. At this point I’ve been men and women and once a badger. The badger was female though. Oh, I was also a giant cat in a gingerbread town once. I’m not sure what the cat was because I think I was fixed.” Susan said after reflection.
“Okay, I’ll just call you Susan then since it seems like you haven’t selected pronouns yet…” There was a hint of emphatic urgency in the ball of light’s transmission.
“Should I choose pronouns to make the company organizational communication better?” Susan asked, honestly curious.
“Oh no, we wouldn’t want you to do anything extra… If you’re comfortable with not having them, then that’s fine.” The light didn’t sound quite sincere. Susan got the impression that the brightness dimmed briefly on one side of the glasses in an approximation of a wink.
“Oh, well then for the company’s purposes I’d prefer she/they.” Susan said.
“Outstanding! Anyway, I don’t have much for you here as it is just your first review. You’ve got the standard package where you’ll do your tour for a 100 years and then be transmigrated into your choice of million year beast or dao immortal, you know, as openings become available. Do you have any insights on your growth? We like to ask for examples to share with our prospective first day people, and now you’re on day two!”
“Well, in the beginning, there were a few times when I had problems,” Susan admitted.
“Such as?” The clerk seemed curious as if it wasn’t being filled in by the Dao of the Department on everything that Susan had done in the last 50 years during her first day -- which it was.
“My first world I was there with a mentor who told me that we were under the gun for time. We had transmattered to the world at exactly five minutes before the selected future Protagonist was to make his crossing over into a different realm and it was imperative that we facilitate the cross-over at the optimal time…” Susan took a moment to remember. It had been a long time ago and all the overthinking that Susan had done on that day was kind of embarrassing now…