'Thank you for your application for the position of Automations Engineer. After careful consideration, we've decided not to progress with your application for this role. Thank you for your interest, and should more roles be available in the future, you can apply again through our portal at..."
"...Looks like it's back to applying again later. "
Leonardo Harrison sighed, getting up from his chair and stretching his body. This was already his third rejection letter ever since he started applying for jobs a month ago. Originally, he'd thought his experience from his past 3 internships, paired with his high grades from his Masters degree in Applied Artificial Intelligence would have given him an edge.
Which was why it was quite surprising when it was proving to be quite difficult to find a job. Some attributed it to the overly inflated tech job market now due to the sudden boom in the number of students taking computer science related degrees. Others blamed the current state of the economy prompting organisations to scale down.
Leo first grabbed his wallet from his desk and opened it. He stared into a void, and the void stared back at him.
For how long will I remain broke?
Sighing yet again, he shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts and he entered the bathroom in his room to carry out his usual routine, which included brushing his teeth and washing his face. He had a habit of checking his emails for responses on his job applications first thing in the morning, followed by freshening up.
He then headed downstairs to find a bowl of cereal already having been prepared for him. And this time, contrary to the usual routine, he spotted a circular tart about 8 inches in diameter with tons of fruits layered on top of it resting on the table beside the cereal. And it seemed like 3/4th of the tart had already been consumed, leaving the final bit for him.
"What's with the sudden breakfast tart today?", he voiced out his question to no particular person.
"Heh, guess where I'd gotten that from. Wait first, try guessing what that is in the first place!"
Robert Harrison, his father grinned as he looked back at Leo with his one arm resting on the couch's head.
"Did Mom make this?"
"Nope."
"...Did you make this?"
"...The house is still standing and isn't burnt to the ground, so what do you think?"
Fair point.
Rather than playing this guessing game all morning, he simply opted to pick up the fork on the tart tray, and took a bite of the tart.
He was overwhelmed with a myriad of flavours.
Strawberries, mango, something reminiscent of...lemon? That, together quite a few other fruits he was sure he hadn't tasted before consumed him. The powdered sugar on top of the tart, together with the hard crust which crumbled as he bit into it as it blended to create a perfect harmony with the combination of fruits prompted him to quickly finish up the rest of the tart.
It was only after further thought that he realised that he hadn't actually even recognised half the flavours in it. And being a normal human being from Earth, he was sure he'd tasted most fruits that existed out there.
Which led him to the only logical conclusion.
"These are from the Tower?! How did you even get your hands on these?! Wait, which world is this from? How?!"
Hearing his words, his dad grinned, "It was a simply a win of the lottery. The lucky winner stood to win a coupon to visit the opening ceremony for the Elven Cafe when it opens next year. As for me, the third place prize was the Lembas Fruit Tart you just ate."
Hearing his father's confirmation caused his eyes to go wide. Ever since the Tower of Ascension appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the people of Earth had learned that they were in fact, not alone in this world.
This would be a cause for celebration, if it weren't for the rumours that floated around mentioning that the existence of the Tower was to prepare against an unforeseen threat that was bound to arrive in a couple of centuries.
Or something along those lines at least. The general public wasn't made privy to the specifics of this whole world-obliterating threat. Leo assumed it was to prevent potential widespread panic, though his father had scoffed when he'd brought this up.
"For a threat that is bound to arrive past their lifetime? Look at how many people care about global warming. That's killing us slowly too, but since we won't live to see its effects we don't care. You want to know what we as humanity care about more? Immediate threats. Look at how much widespread panic there was when Covid-19 broke out."
Leo internally disagreed with that, being the ever-so-optimistic person he was as he believed in humanity's efforts. There were plenty of activists out there in the world who were trying to change the planet for the better, and they were already slowly starting to see its effects as the world started moving towards electrically-powered vehicles and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Regardless, the fact that he got to try an authentic piece of Elven cuisine exported from the Tower showed that diplomatic relations with the beings in the Tower was progressing smoothly. Ever since the Tower opened a year ago, humanity learned that there were multiple races aside from just Elves. Dwarves, Pixies, Goblins...and Giants. At the moment, the United States where Leo lived had the best relationships with the Elven race, while Korea got along great with the Dwarves.
The Tower, huh...
A spark of an idea lit up in his head, but he decided he would think more about that later on. For now, he finished up his cereal as he put on his running shoes. It was May, and in Los Angeles where he stayed the temperature would reach up to 24 degrees at most. This made for an excellent climate to go on a run. And it would've been perfect if it weren't for his dad's kind and sincere words.
"Oh you're going to work?! Have a great d-ah sorry I forgot you're still unemployed."
"Oh, fuck off."
----------------------------------------
After returning and taking a shower, Leo finally sat back at his desk. He turned on his computer and signed into LinkedOut, the primary job portal he'd used for job applications.
"Let's get right to it then."
And so, as he did every other day since he'd graduated, he typed the words 'Technology' in the search bar as the many available job offers were displayed on screen. He first went through each job which had the word 'Easy Apply' on it, which would let him apply for the job with a click of the button.
He didn't bother changing his resume too much, since his range of experience in the technology field ranged from Software Engineering to Cloud Engineering, Automation and Artificial Intelligence. This was especially so since he was trying to apply for an entry-level role while he held a Master's degree.
His experience made it such that his resume was in the form of a one-size-fits-all. Only after going through all the Easy Apply options did he finally stop.
He thought back to his conversation with his father in the morning.
The first restaurant run by the Elves will open next year...
Although the exact conditions were still a mystery, it was a known fact that the members of the other races in the Tower would be able to exit the tower. He didn't know how exactly how their worlds were like, but he surmised that even amongst all the different races, Earth had to be the most technologically advanced.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
This wasn't even based off information from the Tower, but simply from novels he'd previously read which showed the Elven race as a tribal race whom mainly relied on primitive technology.
There was always a possibility that the only reason the other races might not have advanced technologically wasn't because they didn't want to, but because they couldn't and their resources did not allow them to do so.
And based on history, if there was one thing humanity was good at...it was the spread of technology. Iron smelting techniques developed by the Hittites in Anatolia around 1200 BCE spread across Europe and Asia, transforming societies from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age.
Even the invention of gunpowder in China during the Tang Dynasty had spread along the Silk Road to the Middle East and Europe, revolutionising warfare by leading to the development of cannons and firearms.
And if Leo could play a similar role...
He immediately typed 'Tower + Technology' on the search bar, adding the '+' in the middle to expand the range of his search. To his surprise, there were actually 355 jobs that showed up on screen. He would've thought that for the Tower which held major implications for humanity itself, their hiring process would be more 'exclusive' than simply posting it on a job portal.
Well, this works out for me so I shouldn't be complaining.
He immediately started looking through the available jobs. Construction services, restaurant managers, doctors, masseurs...the list went on.
What was interesting was that almost all of these jobs were being offered by the same company, TechScape. It was curious since he'd never actually heard of this company. And so he opened his WaterFox browser to search up the company.
And as it turned out, the company was the result of a coalition between the United States, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, India and 12 other nations.
They were responsible for bringing over Earth's culture to the Tower, procuring business contracts with the other races, providing financial services to the Tower...and quite a few other roles.
It wasn't as if they didn't have a competitor, their primary competitor being Xyber Corporation, but at the moment this wasn't exactly relevant to Leo.
Going back to the job portal, he continued scrolling down until one of the job roles finally caught his eye.
There was an opening for a Data Scientist role in the Tower. He clicked into it, curious about the job responsibilities that would be stated.
About TechScape
TechScape is at the forefront of the Tower Transformation industry, empowering the Tower with technological implementations based on cutting-edge technology found on Earth today. Specialising in a broad range of industries, such as technology, entertainment, finance and insurance, our powerful Tower Transformation Model (TTM) allows us to systematically evolve the facilities in the Tower to bring maximum comfort to our clientele.
About The Role
As a Data Scientist, you will be responsible for analysing various streams of commercial data, building up our statistical database on the commercial preferences of the various races in the Tower, namely being Pixies, Dwarves, Goblins, Elves and Giants.
Data Scientist
Job responsibilities:
1. Develop and train machine learning models to predict commercial preferences of different races in the Tower
2. Create compelling data visualisations using tools like Matplotlib to communicate findings to stakeholders
3. Work closely with cross-functional teams, including engineers, product managers, and marketers to understand data needs and deliver solutions
4. Collect, clean, and preprocess data from various sources to ensure data quality and consistency
Job Requirements
1. 3-5 years of experience in Python programming language
2. Experience in using NumPy, TensorFlow, PyTorch and Pandas
3. A solid understanding on machine learning and data science
4. An open mind willing to learn
5. A friendly attitude willing to get along with the other races in the Tower
Job Type:
Entry level
Employee Benefits:
1. Full insurance coverage by TowerMed
2. Freedom to choose classes as you reach job evolution
3. 3kg worth of consumable products from other races can be brought outside the tower once per month
4. End-of-year performance based bonus
5. $5000 worth of Standardised Dollar (SD) credits to claim in the Tower.
As he read through the requirements, he couldn't help but experience a bizarre feeling in his heart. A year ago, this kind of job offer would have been seen as a 'delusional troll attempt', but now it was something that could be considered perfectly normal.
Their mention of building up a statistical database about Pixies, Dwarves and the other races is just wild.
What was even more interesting was their mention of 'Freedom to choose classes'. He had heard stories from the first tower climbers that the Tower worked like a role-playing game, where they would get a starting class. Following which, every 30 levels, they would be eligible for a 'Job Promotion', where all the actions they'd performed while in the Tower would be analysed to provide them jobs which they could promote to.
The fact that the company didn't restrict their choices on promotions went to show that they respected their employee's rights to a certain extent at the very least.
He was certainly intrigued, as he clicked on 'Apply', which led him to the TechScape job application page. He then went through the process of creating a TechScape account, filling out his details, and uploading his resume before he clicked on 'Apply'.
Curious to see what other roles there were, he continued scrolling down the LinkedOut job portal until he saw 'Software Developer' as one of the open roles. For now, he didn't click on it as he continued scrolling first to see what other technology roles were available.
After a while, he could conclude that although there were actually quite a few engineering roles, but not many IT roles.
He then scrolled back to 'Software Developer' which was situated right below 'Dancer' (though he had no idea why a Dancer would be required in the Tower), and clicked into it. He was then met with the job description, which was somewhat similar to the 'Data Scientist' description with a few key differences.
About TechScape
TechScape is at the forefront of the Tower Transformation industry, empowering the Tower with technological implementations based on cutting-edge technology found on Earth today. Specialising in a broad range of industries, such as technology, entertainment, finance and insurance, our powerful Tower Transformation Model (TTM) allows us to systematically evolve the facilities in the Tower to bring maximum comfort to our clientele.
About The Role
As a Software Developer, you will be responsible for building custom desktop applications for clients, whom will include Pixies, Dwarves, Goblins, Elves and Giants. These applications would cater to the unique needs and preferences of each race, ensuring maximum utility and satisfaction.
Software Developer
Job responsibilities:
1. Design, develop and deploy custom desktop applications tailored to the specific needs of various races in the Tower.
2. Ensure applications are scalable, robust and maintainable
3. Utilise modern development frameworks and tools to create efficient and user-friendly applications.
4. Conduct workshops to teach clients how to operate the applications
5. Incorporate feedback from users to continuously improve the UI/UX of the applications.
6. Work closely with cross-functional teams, including data scientists, product managers and designers, to gather requirements and deliver solutions.
Job Requirements
1. 3-5 years of experience in software development, with a strong proficiency in front-end frameworks such as React, Angular or Vue.js
2. Experience with backend development and databases, including SQL and NoSQL databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB).
3. Familiarity with desktop application frameworks (e.g. Electron, Tkinter) is a plus.
4. Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to think creatively to address the unique challenges of developing for diverse races.
5. Knowledge of UI/UX design principles is a plus.
Job Type:
Entry level
Employee Benefits:
1. Full insurance coverage by TowerMed
2. Freedom to choose classes as you reach job evolution
3. 3kg worth of consumable products from other races can be brought outside the tower once per month
4. End-of-year performance based bonus
5. $5000 worth of Standardised Dollar (SD) credits to claim in the Tower.
Although he specialised in Artificial Intelligence and had more confidence in his application for the Data Scientist role, it wasn't as if he did not have experience in developing applications. His internship at one of the leading technological companies, Microhard, had taught him a lot. His Master's degree also had projects which involved the creation of applications, which he'd also stated in his resume.
Regardless, these were just 2 roles amongst many others that he'd apply for with the hopes of getting hired.
And so without any major expectations, he finally clicked on 'Apply'.
'Thank you for your application. Your submission has been received.'