“A city is a living thing, so instead of thinking of building a city as a structure we architects need to think of growing them instead.
Arcology as a concept was created by a man with the name of Paolo Soleri in the same year humans as a species landed on the moon. To create an entire city as a single massive structure.
Other architects are too focused on building massive megacities, expanding upward and outward.
Architecture is a living breathing creature and we are those that birth it.”
* Macroon Magazine interview with Architect Dregech Maurck, Macroon Urban Planner, July 2052
***
I stood still, basking in the pulse of Macroon, devoid of all human life or any living matter besides my own abhorrent flesh tucked behind the RuCorp respirator, jumpsuit, and cadet hat in the gray-blues of RuCorp Electrical Technicians. The inner world of the arcology was vibrant with electric light.
Wires strung along the ceiling crowd the headspace like vines or the rigging of an ancient sailboat. Much like the sails of the long past, these too help guide the structure, tying the labyrinth of circuitry together like a star map.
A cascade of lights pulse through the veins of the megastructure, the reds bleed into magenta while the blues and greens fade into teal leaving a soft contrast that illuminates the cold slick gray metals of the interior walls of the service tunnels.
In time I stirred my body into motion, I had a repair to do.
I was bathed in the electric glow as I traversed the catwalk, the hum of a thousand circuits punctuated by the static of a nearby screen, flicking through the multiple arrays of the status of the veins, the lifeblood of modern life, electricity.
Above the maintenance and service tunnels where I found myself was the Sapphire Plaza, an exclusive community that had contracted three out of four days to have artificial sun, very classy compared to the standard middle class arrangement of one every three days of the precious fake sunlight.
Where I lay to rest nightly held a retina-burning neon billboard, the only light that pierced the darkness of the 4th floor, below this shimmering service tunnel.
I didn’t need much, just to tap into the city’s heart.
Sapphire Plaza was paying top credit for this privilege that they in turn made their tenants pay for, and I was the technician paid to fix it.
The tenants also paid a lofty price for the security of the fifteenth floor, albeit it wasn’t the best floor by far but it was a lot closer to the many middle class business centers of that section.
Turning from the lightshow, I made my way to one of the unilluminated spaces, where power wasn’t flowing. I paused for a moment before removing my left glove. Running my hand along the wall I could feel the current rushing like a river until it parted around the spot where Sapphire Plaza’s node was positioned.
To ease the troubled waters, I opened the node and found the circuit breakers flipped, the stream ebbed. Using my right hand I ran the jumpsuit’s gloves around the node, the sensors sent information to the tablet that the other held, I could start to troubleshoot.
I use a portable power supply from my toolkit to direct power through each wire manually before ceasing.
None of the wires would hold the needed power to supply the many artificial sunlight panels that would simulate a warm cloudy day as direct sunlight, artificial or not, would be too much for third generation Macroons like me who have never known a world outside the Arcology.
I shuddered at the thought of the world outside the sprawling streets inside the megastructure, the enclosed city. The burning solar energy, natural weather events, frogs! I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise at the momentary lapse.
I should’ve never watched that nature documentary, it should’ve been tagged for horror not education.
Opening the node I found the dazing displays lighting up the circuit board. Small screens flashed and fans whirled greetings to my encroaching gloved fingers.
It was malformed, the screens flashing warnings, the fans jittered and sputtered.
Modules were sized wrong and their placements interfered with the connections of their peers. Seeing this circuitry butchered gave me anxiety.
I felt a tear at the horror and trauma I felt for the chips encased in an ill conceived arrangement, some overlapping another to fight for a space and connection.
Sucking in a breath I pushed my anger away. I would fix this.
Tentatively I powered down the node and began pulling circuits, modules, and chips to start anew. As I pulled the motherboard I discovered who last repaired this node.
Benelli!
Motherflippin Lewis Benelli who has been the bane of my electrical repairs for the last two years. Unfortunately he was promoted before his shoddy workmanship was discovered, and by that time it was swept under the metaphorical…thing. Was it a rug?
I paused the repair to think about what the saying was. If I had an implanted augmentation I could’ve looked it up but I didn’t.
I didn’t trust them. I don’t know why I have this obsession with losing myself in the machine, another line of code in an endless program and yet hesitate to place the machine itself in my body.
I pushed the old argument away as I turned back to the task at hand.
I held the tablet with the instructions in one hand and used the other rearrangement and replacement of key attachments.
Everything had to be just so, not only for my own satisfaction but for the machine itself to thrive.
It was in this that I lost myself. The feeling of doing hard work necessary for something bigger than myself blanketed me. I was no longer my anxious self but part of a machine. A cog that supported and maintained the lights across the level above.
I could lose my worries, the times I messed up or hurt others, forgotten. I felt a connection to the collective of parts, the wires, circuits, and controllers.
It was in this fashion that I received the email from Human Resources.
Received is a funny word, in this case it would be more accurate to say I intercepted an email from HR to the CEO of RuCorp, Hugo “The Credit-Minded” Hedgeless-Cramer.
The message lighting up the corner of the tablet revealed the header, someone was getting terminated.
I paused my repair, placing all the needed tools and parts in neat rows, and read the email.
To: RuCorp CEO Hugo Hedgeless-Cramer
Subject: The decision to terminate an employee and implement cost-cutting measures
The decision to terminate an employee and implement cost-cutting measures has been made in order to improve efficiency and financial performance within RuCorp.
Management has decided to reduce the workforce, focusing on improving the essential skills of many Electrical Technicians to enhance the company's performance. This change is significant and will help us meet our targets. Due to quotas and projected algorithms at this time we have decided to let go of a single employee.
E.T. Maris Bluerisk has not been actively contributing to the team and has not engaged in company initiatives, spending time at the watercooler instead. As a result, we have determined that his role is no longer needed and will proceed with termination.
In order to cut costs, we will need to terminate E.T. Bluerisk immediately. By starting the liquidation process now and only notifying E.T. Bluerisk at the end of his shift we can ensure he remains productive for the day and possibly recoup costs for facility usage.
Please note that non-employees using the company cafeteria will be charged for their meals and any other company facilities they access including the watercooler station. Additional surcharges will be imposed and may be substantial.
With an emphasis on increasing profitability,
Maorian Besk
RuCorp Chief People Officer and Talent Acquisition Specialist
Human Resources
I blinked slowly at the load of nonsensical phrases shoved together in an attempt to be coherent.
When I first came across the higher level corporate emails I had assumed they were encrypted or encoded to prevent spies or saboteurs but it turns out they even spoke that way to each other in secret meetings.
Their corporate jargon was specifically engineered, if you could use that word here, to be as roundabout as possible and prevent “loss of productivity due to hostile interpretations of managerial decisions.”
Freaking psychos.
I still couldn’t make heads or tails of the corporate jargon. Luckily I didn’t have to. I ran my translator program on my tablet.
While it was running I looked up the phrase. And yes, it was a metaphorical rug.
The translator program flashed green and displayed a small set of text, summarizing the email as well due to the many redundant phrases the corporate jargon uses.
It boiled it down to simply that they would fire an employee who had my job title and that they wouldn’t tell him until after he ended his shift. Not only would he not get paid for the day he worked but also have to pay for the use of any and all facilities he used during that time.
Scumbags.
It was actions like this that made me hate my job and most corporations in the Arcology.
The work I did was too vital for the pulse of life of Macroon. It needs to be maintained. If I left then it would slowly falter as system after system fails due to poor maintenance and corruption.
That didn’t mean I did this for charity, I made RuCorp pay for what they do to others.
The translator described the grievances against the RuCorp employee as being not overly enthusiastic for working for the company, slow repairs, chatting at the water cooler, not sending HR gifts / bribes, etc.
If I was still being watched like any other employee I would be in trouble for the same grievances, that and stealing company technology and hacking their servers.
Well…maybe not the same grievances. I didn’t really talk with other technicians often nor did I have slow repairs. But I most certainly did not send Human Resources any gifts.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
I placed the current circuitry into the toolbox next to the node and rolled my neck. I needed to get to Maris before the Corporate liquidators because they sucked.
Also I assumed he doesn’t want to work an entire shift unpaid.
I patted the walls, my own silent promise that I would return soon to fix it, and headed to where E.T. Maris Bluerisk was working. According to the information I had on the tablet, he was supposed to be working in the holographic park A Waiting Dream situated between Sapphire Plaza and the Lapis Lounge.
I slid down the catwalk, keeping an eye out for loose cables obscuring the footpath and felt sorrow for leaving this place when I found the ladder to the Sapphire Plaza. Like I was leaving a warm blanket for the cold exterior of the street. But in this situation the Sapphire Plaza was a lot nicer than where I was leaving.
Still made me uncomfortable.
Climbing the ladder I found myself in a nice neighborhood of condensed apartments with large balconies open to the large breathsphere located in the middle as a place for relaxation.
The rich never felt the cramped claustrophobia of the tons of steel and technology overhead but it didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
While the Sapphire Plaza wasn’t that rich…it was still a lot nicer than the sub-ten floors. It was even richer than other neighbors on the fifteenth floor.
The current weather setting to the plaza was rain and the place felt peaceful and slightly drowsy.
Moving toward A Waiting Dream, I absent-mindedly avoided the scans of various cameras.
I am not perfect in my anti-surveillance, I have appeared multiple times in the chatrooms and emailed reports but I wasn’t worried even if I was doing something illegal.
If the recording was reviewed they’d see an average height Electrical Technician in a RuCorp gray-blue jumpsuit, a toolbelt and the company issued Tablet to their side, gray long sleeve shirt, and a blue Engineer cap and respirator mask covering the lower half of their face.
The complete image of a company engineer, indistinguishable from any other. I had no visible features that would set me apart, and I used that to my advantage. I am the faceless technician, even my Employee ID on the clothes was so generic it was forgotten at a glance.
Twisting to put a resident between me and the watching electronic eyes of Macroon, I pulled my cap down further to hide my face. My nerves spiked when I spotted an apartment complex with an open balcony set over the holo-park.
My breath came quickly and my vision narrowed as darkness encased the edges.
I turned away quickly. I had never been here before so I didn’t know it had the same architecture as the Cat’s Eye Parkway, but I should’ve known. Why not make all the exclusive communities look alike?
Tightening my grip on the toolbox I held, I focused. This wasn’t there. No one should recognize me here, I am but a faceless technician.
I repeated that to myself as I moved down the street to A Waiting Dream.
As I stepped into the park I knew I didn’t belong. A smell of vegetation bled through the respirator and the variety of exotic plants loomed around in a complex arrangement of sizes, shapes, textures, and colors.
My past life’s ghost vanished in the greenery as I never liked plants, not then and not now.
Why does the holo-park have life like plants? I assume it was because of a large contribution from the residents of Sapphire Plaza.
The uneasy feeling I had around the plants grew as I lost sight of the familiar tones of LEDs and streetlights in the distance. In a curated jungle I slowly placed on foot in front of another.
It wasn't a wonder that drove me, but the alien feeling of being beyond your station, like eating a steak on a stomach made for poorly processed cereals.
The richness of this place almost sickened me but I had an objective, I had to get to Maris.
Weaving through the winding walkways I found the glimpse of the tech, at the green-painted junction box for the park and I moved in that way with a relieved breath I didn’t know I needed.
I saw the figure in RuCorp gray-blues. Reaching Maris’ location I found him starting to open a panel to access the junction. Stealing myself I approached.
“...”
I opened my mouth and nothing came out.
Realizing I haven’t spoken to another human being in a couple of days I paused. I worked my jaw and then I cleared my throat first to try to reboot the vocal functions I was supposed to have.
This was the hardest part of stealing Company tech, speaking to others.
If I just took it and ran it would be easier but then Maris would be responsible for the missing company asset.
Sighing, I began again.
“Maris Bluerisk” I said, my voice rasping from disuse and nerves.
He glanced up to find me standing a meter away. His bearded face scruffy and his hair a touch longer than my own but the same dark brown as mine. “May I help you?” He asked in friendly but confused tones. Maybe they were friendly, I wasn’t sure of the emotions of Maris.
Emotional inflections weren’t as simple as server security or when machines sound signals. My mind blanked for a second as he stared at me with piercing hazel eyes. There was no recognition in his eyes. I was safe.
I fell back to a familiar stance, one that I made a dozen times before, arms behind myself in an almost parade rest that the private military companies use. “Maris Bluerisk, I regret to inform you that you’ve been terminated. As of this morning Human Resources has issued your liquidation and will be fining you for any time spent on company property and use of RuCorp equipment.” Just pretend I was in the Mesh, I did plenty of social engineering online this is just more of the same.
No it wasn’t roleplay in that since, it was…robbing people by lying. Huge difference and a lot less implied sex.
Pretend I have the power to take away their equipment, flash a couple lines and wave a clipboard and most people will assume I am supposed to do it.
I didn’t have a clipboard but I did have a company issued tablet, as did Maris, but mine looked a little different from my modifications and I pulled up the liquidation procedures to sign off on Maris’ termination.
I had a script for this, lots of numbers to confuse and numb the person in front of me while I saved them the displeasure of the actual liquidation process.
The real one had security step in and interrogate the exiting employee for any and all secrets they may have held against the company and force them to sign a non-disclosure agreement that would bankrupt a CEO if they broke it.
I had the script ready, the tablet number memorized and everything when Maris pointed at me and said, “Am I really terminated?” Confusion filling his tone.
I nodded, flipping from the termination checklist to the email I turned the tablet his way.
He held the tablet in his hands and sighed. “Ya know, I can’t read even a quarter of this garbage.” Rubbing at his nose he handed it back. “What does it say?” he said in a gruff voice.
He was leaning on the junction box, with folded arms awaiting my response.
“Mr. Bluerisk” I began, “This is the correspondence that approved your termination. I am here to carry out that termination. May we begin?” I put steel into my voice with the last phrase, more of an order than question.
Pulling up the checklist again I moved down the list as I asked the required questions.
Finally, back on track.
“Have you ever taken company property outside the worksite?” I asked in a monotone.
“I mean I may hav-” he responded but I cut him off.
“No, good.” I placed an X on the line and continued. “Have you felt that RuCorp has had a vested interest in your well being.”
Confused, he spoke again. “Not really, they scheduled me for a sixteen hour shift-”
“Yes, good.” I said and added a check mark.
Maris took a step forward to look at the tablet over my shoulder, he was more than a head taller than me and I tried not to flinch at his presence.
The checklist I had open included all the needed questions and consequences for answering incorrectly.
The last two had a fine if they were answered in any other way.
Maris laughed after a moment and followed along, smiling as he gave his actual opinion as I wrote what HR wanted to hear in the text boxes under the questions.
It continued like this until I reached the last question. “Do you feel your manager supported your success?” and I was in the middle of writing the ‘correct’ answer when Maris guffawed “Who? Benelli? Never.”
I paused.
“Lewis Benelli is-was your manager?” I asked.
“Yeah, that sonnovabitch never gave me the correct tools and always demanded that the repair was done in a convoluted way that took longer than necessary. Me, Menet Corden, and Derin Fowl all had unreasonable requests.” He was pretty heated about it and I could sympathize.
Looking at the penalty for answering incorrectly, I winced at the amount they wanted.
I reached in my pocket with my free hand and pulled a credit chip from my wallet and inspected it.
Sighing I pulled a second before handing Maris them.
He watched my actions and then checked the penalty himself before cussing.
“That’s bullshit, how can they charge that for the truth?” He said, his voice thick with anger, his lower floor accent appearing in full force.
“Slander laws” I said simply and after a moment he sighed and took the chips from my hand.
“I would’ve asked you to keep my real opinion of him on there even if you didn’t pay me back. Benelli was the bane of my existence here, and I live on the 6th floor.” He said.
As I finished a detailed report of Benelli’s shortcomings, Maris read them over, whistled and looked down at me. “I guess my team aren’t the only ones who hate him.”
“Have you ever repaired something he worked on?” I asked.
At the shake of Maris’ head I continued, “It is like electronic cancer, something that spreads and kills the system if not treated.” I pulled an image up from a previous job I worked on and Maris grew visibly angry, his face flushing red.
I didn’t want to dwell on Benelli any more than necessary, I still had a job to fix that was his mistake. While Maris was fuming I wrapped up the checklist, had him sign his thumb print and then grabbed his tools.
I was about to walk away when I paused. “Do you have a resume?” I asked, looking back at Maris.
He started to nod before shaking his head. “I do but it isn’t the best, I think I can make it to the next job with these.” He held the credit chips up.
I set the toolkit down and quickly put a resume template and any recent job listings that resembled electricians and sent it to his augs. His eyes glazed over as he reviewed them.
“I would apply to Korso Corp or Falter 3 Inc. as soon as possible, before they hear about this. Your liquidation will be officially posted at the end of the day.” I said. Looking him in the eyes without thinking about it, I added: “Apply before lunch, you may get a free meal in the interview.”
He snorted a laugh and said “Whatever kid” and in our musings I felt somewhat comfortable, relaxed even.
I felt so relaxed I turned back to him and smiled behind the respirator I had on.
He was going to laugh but when he focused on me he met my gaze and the guffaw froze in his throat. I was confused until I saw a semblance of recognition in his eyes.
I quickly broke eye contact. Spinning around and moving away with the Company issued tools and tablet, all cataloged in the liquidation process. As I moved purposely away I heard his voice behind me.
“You’re Pe-” I froze in place and threw a gesture to the side while my back faced him.
“Don’t!” I interrupted him with force. My nervousness being around people wasn’t from social anxiety but out of fear of recognition. He recognized the only real characteristic that was telling. The stark yellow eyes I have, something I could’ve hidden with contacts or a visor but I still hoped to be able to be me still.
It backfired again.
I heard him take a hesitant step closer.
“You don’t know me.” I said sternly, I was ten or more years younger but I threw as much authority in my voice as my old job gave me.
“You have been liquidated as detailed on the form. You are free from RuCorp, if they need to check the camera footage, let them.” I pointed to the camera hidden in the holo-park, I didn’t look at it directly and I didn’t turn to see what expression Maris had.
I didn’t want to see the accusatory look he probably had.
Or worse, the pity he might have for me.
There was a long pause and then Maris finally answered. “...I understand…liquidator.”
Nodding his way I set back out through the holographic park, this one warmed by the artificial sun that I still had to fix in the Sapphire Plaza.
I let my anger at being recognized guide my feet as I set back through the twists and turns of A Waiting Dream holo-park.
As I fumed, I ran through a familiar internal monologue. Pushing my self hatred and anger into what I felt toward RuCorp.
Skilled Electrical Technicians are crucial to the life and business of Macroon, the arcology needs those to maintain the electrical grid alongside the water systems, without both everyone is in trouble. I was an ET only because I am not liquidly inclined and that it was needed for the continued survival of everyone in the arcology.
I love my job, but I hate my employers.
My work is needed but that doesn’t mean I won’t do all I can to prevent the corrupt narcissists that run RuCorp. from getting richer or that I don’t get my own enjoyment that I deem I deserve.
My file in RuCorp has been edited so much it is unrecognizable, any time the higher-ups access the file name, it redirects them to a random other ET. It means I won’t get any promotions but that’s fine.
I already make twice as much as other ETs, how?
I have a fake file of an ET that doesn’t exist, and that fake ET works in the same section, a section that I take care of alone to prevent any interaction with anyone else.
I set up a timed sequence so that when I fix something in Fake ET’s area that it doesn’t appear finished until I finish mine.
Remote access was one of the first things I learned at RuCorp, I tried using it to help other ETs but I found instead of being thankful and working on the next problem, they drank and slacked off if their work was magically finished for them.
I left A Waiting Dream and instead of returning to the service tunnels, I purposely walked in front of cameras with all of Maris’ company issued gear so they could see a liquidator had picked it up, then into an elevator to the main floor of RuCorp in this section.
The shiny interior of the chrome contraption reflected my average visage back at me slightly obscured. I am a visible ghost. Something to be seen but not identified. As long as they don’t see my eyes.
I stepped out into the bustle of the multitude on camera and vanished.
Or at least it appeared so.
From my perspective I was actually pushed and shoved as I made my way in the crowd to a less populated section, all the while crouching to hide myself from the cameras and getting an elbow for all my troubles.
Sliding into the corridor, I ducked back into the camera blind zone. Here I made my back track to the service tunnel. Near the entrance was a power junction. I carefully opened a wall panel, reached past the wires and junction boxes to a hidden door to access the air vents.
Opening the slick galvanized metal I found the crate of spare tablets and ET tools. Connecting to Maris’ tablet I scrubbed it clean of any personal data and then opened the device. I needed to remove a couple of chips and even a resistor to allow for a complete overhaul of the device.
This was a tried method to remove any oversight that RuCorp had on the technician’s tablet, something incredibly important for someone who uses them like a personal device and hacks into the corporation’s top level servers.
I didn’t use these bricks to do so, I used the Mesh which wasn’t really accessible from these. The virtual space was incredible but these mediocre smart devices didn’t have the capability to allow for an actual traverse of Mesh space. But they had enough keys on them to allow for plenty of exploits on the other side.
I didn’t have time to modify the tablet right now, the liquidation process and retrieval of the tools already took long enough to prevent a speedy repair of Sapphire Plaza’s artificial sun. RuCorp might actually get suspicious if I didn’t repair it in a normal amount of time and if they start poking their heads into my section they’ll find I was the only living electrical technician present.
I opened the tablet and removed the power supply to prevent any tracing. Placing today’s haul into supply, I replaced everything before heading back to my worksite.
Thinking to myself as I strolled past the gray walls and low tones of the corridor. Most people had Augs of some sort, or a personal device to access the internet.
Like Maris had his Augs, I don’t like it. What if someone hacked them, turned off the vision in one of your eyes. Uploaded annoying music, started shopping or crypto mining with your own brain, how could you pull the plug?
No, using the RuCorp issued maintenance tablet was much safer, especially after I modified it. And if anything happens, I just got another so I can just toss a hacked, bricked device for another.
Someone once told me that they were sentimental to their Personal Device, as they had it for years…I don’t do emotions like that well. I don’t think I will react the same if I ever have to make that choice, I would do it logically…right? Further inquiry required.
The only thing harder to replace would be my Mesh gear but I only used those sparingly and carefully controlled their firewalls to prevent tampering, and even then I was scared of someone doing something terrible to my mind due to the neuro-connection.
Heading back to my repair, I found something strange. The tool box I left was in the same place but there was something foreign to it. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Opening the panel I also felt the strange itch again, sliding the glove of one hand along the wall I noticed there was a residue on my hand. A thin almost black grime appeared after almost an hour of being absent.
Strange…
I grab a cloth from the toolkit and begin cleaning. The pulsing magenta and teal are not helping the cleaning efforts so I resort to using a flashlight from the kit. I clip the light to the brim of the gray-blue cap and proceed in the systematic removal of the foreign material.
Staring at the grime I have no idea what it could be, it doesn’t remind me of anything synthetic…
Just then the lights went out.