Challenge The Proud

An Exemplary Life

"please consider the environment before printing this reply" - Challenge No.23

BEN HAD ALWAYS LED an exemplary life. He woke at ten past six each morning, except on Sunday when he lingered in bed until exactly seven AM. His Entertainment Module was up-to-date and programmed to broadcast solely Decency approved feeds. He listened to Bach as he brushed his teeth - precisely six hundred brush strokes in total. He showered for exactly ten minutes. As he ate a loaf of toasted bread and a 0.10lbs apple as he listened to the Morning Special. The traffic report came on while Ben walked across his one room quarters heading to the wardrobe. Ben always chose to wear a white shirt and black pants. He left his home at a quarter to seven each morning (Sunday was the exception when he left at eight), and took the One-Pod to his office floor.

Ben worked at JJKCo and was responsible with the JJK employee performance daily reports. He didn't love his job, but he didn't hate it either.Numbers and precise data entry felt safe. Tables and formulas ensured precision.

"Hey, the little one wants to see you," Secretary Mot announced Ben one day.

She had a skip in her step and always held a pen between her fingers as if it were a cigarette, which was odd because cigarettes had been outlawed for over ten years. Secretary Mot was his boss's secretary. His boss was 'little one'. Not because he didn't have a name, but because he was a mousy old man, only 4.6 ft tall.

As soon as Ben entered the imposing office, little one's voice boomed through the sound system, "Take a seat, Ben Hass."

Between him and little one were 40 feet of fluffy, red carpet. Ben's feet sunk into the fabric, making every step linger more than necessary.He stopped right in front the large mahogany desk, complying to his boss's request as he sat on the usual employee-issued metal stool.

Little one was hidden behind an opened file.

Ben remained silent, patiently waiting for his boss to speak.

"I see here you've been filing 1.8% less reports lately," little one's voice burst through the loud speakers.

That didn't sound quite right to Ben. He had been carefully documenting his work and he was certain he had been filing the same amount of reports every day for the past six years.

"Your information is wrong, sir. I have been -"

"Wrong?" little one's voice thundered. "It cannot be wrong. It says right here in the performance daily reports I have on you."

"I thought I was the only one doing employee performance daily reports at JJK."

"You thought wrong."

"In any case, the report is not accurate," Ben insisted.

"Reports are accurate. Employees are not accurate."

Ben chose to remain silent. What did it all mean?

"We are letting you go, Ben Hass."

Ben no longer had a reason to wake up at ten past six every morning. But he did anyway.He was determined to find a new job.

Ben Hass applied to every job within his expertise he could find. He folded the query envelopes and sent them via Tube-Task to all fifty-seven legally registered companies in Vetrox City. It would be a while until any of them would send Ben an answer.

The Entertainment Module kept him distracted. He learned to speak some basic German and found out how fossils were created. The Decency approved feeds were always educational.