U T S U: The Arrival

Chapter 1

Allie's lap was heavy with a bag full of her stuff. The day was bright and early with a clear sky. Her last checkup was yesterday evening with her attending  doctor.

He looked about middle age but in great shape despite his busy schedule. He sat next to allie and looked her in the eyes. He went over her progress and what kind of aftercare she was expected to complete. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. Allie had an inkling what he was about to say. " Allie, you have gone through so much. Your body is still in the process of healing, if you need to talk to someone  I strongly believe you should see a therapist. I can recommend a few great ones if you consider seeking one out." He quickly hands over five thick feeling cards. He smiled before getting up to leave my room.

As I am being rolled out of the front lobby. I see my ride share vehicle waiting for me. The person assisting me quickly unloads my things into the open trunk. I slowly get up from the wheelchair to the open car door to take a seat.

I sat silently as the car drove past the hospital then downtown hub. I had looked at each of the cards the doctor had given me and decided it was best to process my feelings alone for a while. Maybe therapy will be helpful once I have a chance to settle into my life once again. I need to figure out what I am going to do for work.

I had put in a two week notice. I don't feel comfortable knowing that my workplace knows I have been assaulted in such a brutal way.

It feels unprofessional to have my life discussed by everyone when I am not around.

I have some money socked away from the divorce, I could live on that for at least a few months.

The driver pulls up to the guest house. She graciously opens the trunk and delivers my stuff onto the front porch. I hurriedly get out of the car and stare at the apartment. I feel a chill creeping up my arms and my body sweats in fear.

Damn, him. I don't think I can stay at the apartment any longer. Its promise of protection has long gone. The sweet Lola who rented it to me will be disappointed but understanding I am sure if I move out.

I jingle the keys in my hand and open the door. Everything inside looks innocently pristine. I grab my stuff from the ground before waving at the driver goodbye.

Closing the door, I make my way to the bedroom and turn the tv on, leaving it on whatever channel it was on. The silence of the apartment erred me and I wanted some white noise. The hospital was always busy and sometimes noisy so after a couple weeks there I had gotten use to it.

I lay on the bed willing myself to go to sleep. I can put my stuff away tomorrow. I want to rest some more before deciding what to do.

I am at the cusp of starting to sleep when unintentionally my ears concentrate on what the tv starts to say. I hear silence then some official sounding music. A female voice excitedly speaks
" Hey,  are you looking for a great job? ....with great benefits and the opportunity to travel for free. Here at the United workforce it can be possible. Free job training for the job you want. Free medical care onsite and sleeping quarters....."

My eyes pop open and I stare at the tv. I wonder what type of job they are advertising for?

Never heard of the United workforce before this. My curiosity peaks. Maybe this is God's way of pushing me out of my comfort zone and delivering me from one of my problems.

I hastily take out my device from my bag of stuff from the hospital to project its floating screen. I press the microphone function "Hello, Allie how can I help you?" A generic female voice chimed. "Anna search for United work force, please" I told her.

I see her sifting through various search results on the floating screen. She discards several results before refining the list.
" Here is the search results beginning with the most relevant"

" Thank you Anna" I mutter quickly, not wanting to get a long winded scolding from a machine. She is only one of many entities who correct my manners sometimes. Its annoying but she says it is to ingrain the population with common courtesy and politeness. More like obedience but whatever.

Anna is short for Autonomous Artificial Neural Network Assistant: Universal Search Engine. Abbreviated AANNA USE, she is the new replacement for the last generation of smart search engines made by humans.

The Internet is tightly controlled and monitored by the government. Other forms of search engines have been mostly outlawed. I should know I had tried to use an antiquated search engine some years ago to quench some nostalgia.

A letter was promptly sent to my old house with a warning from a partial precinct within a few days, that made me stop trying to use it indefinitely.

Books are now back in vogue among the people who can afford them for uncensored information. I being part of the common folk, know that I would never be able to afford such a rare privilege. So I got this thing, an annoying and snoopy baby sitter.

I look at their website swiping and enlarging different parts of the pages to read. I go to the about us page.

Aaandd.

I roll my eyes in exasperation. Should have known that those kinds of job benefits came with some serious backing. In the last paragraph of the about us, it detailed the collaboration of the company with our Earth Minister.

I laid down with the device on the bed. I stare at the wall contemplating.

This could be my only chance at a bonified adventure with no strings attached. I had already been married and divorced. My children are all grown. My ex is expected to spend some hard time in prison and its debatable if he will become a quarter. I could care less about dating any one right now and all the prospective people I have seen on the web are lacking at best.

Essentially I really don't have an excuse to stay here and I feel that I have already passed all the major life milestones I wanted to accomplish.

Here goes nothing... On the page for applications I scrolled down with renewed determination skimming the available jobs and reading each description. On the first page nothing really sparked my interest.

Line cook: No

Security: No, not really ready to be a partial

Food distribution coordinator: god, no.

And the list went on. May be the second page will be better.

Janitor: no

Cable distributor: maybe, I get to work with machines and not so much with people.

Electrician: better, but I am not sure about getting into super small ducts.

Computer technician basic support I: ok

Repair engineer: Something I think I would like, a clear winner in my eyes.

In the job description it said that the job would entail everything from small jobs like replacing a light bulb to helping the master ship engineers repair huge sections of the ship.

Its something I had never done and I would be able to walk  around for a bit. With some urgency I sit up on my bed.

I retrieve my resumé from my cloud drive and start with my top pick. I choose at least three other jobs in case I don't get the one I want.

Each of the job applications, they specified that the job applicant must submit to a physical before being approved to the job training program.

I am not in the greatest shape but I think I will pass. After clicking the submit on the last application I let out a big sigh.

I hope I get the job. Or for the matter any of the jobs I applied for. I can only hope and see if they call me back.

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