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Small Hive fiction story written by jfrazier.
"Efficiency, Care For Your Work...."
The man stood in a clean room, devoid of any color or life lifting and placing small particle glass under a larger machine that would routinly come down, pick up the particle, leaving the space empty for him to place another piece in its place. The man did this routine religiously without emotion, without concern, without any outside thought of what else life contained beyond these white plan walls. Alone, he noticed the boxes of glass particles were neatly and systematically positioned in place, as they always had been. However, the bottom box was noticeably out of place. There was a heavy red line marked through it with the mysterious words/numbers SO2CO2 on the side. Then, as if anyone around would have given it a second thought, the words, "Caution" were in heavy black letters.
Against his timely efficiency, and routine system of his work, the man suddenly felt a strange feeling come across his timely and unfettered brain: 'Curiousity'. The nature of something he hadn't felt since the pre-plantetfall days. One of many feelings he was sure he had forgotten since the days of his new life following the all powerful God Yang. He tapped the bottom box with his left foot. The white sneakers he had been wearing were not really as clean as they should, so having to put on a plastic protective cover took time away from his work, but nevertheless, it was accomplished before he started his shift. The box shook gently from his touch. This did nothing to resolve the man's curiousity. He seemingly became more curious than before and decided to actually lean over and pick up the box, but hirst would have to keep his pace, otherwise, an inefficiency alarm may go off bringing in a security or investigation team.
He gently placed the glass square particle on the machine in front of himself and in the same bold stroke, bent over next to him to lift up the box in question. This took some managing duties with two hands and some foot coordination. He failed in his efforts, yet he did manage to seperate the box from the rest. He was now able to give the box some further review. His next feat would have to be more dramatic. How could he look into the box while staying on time and on target with his work? He decided to use his foot to open the flaps of the box while he worked, thereby staying efficient. The box kept slipping from his foot preventing his opening it up wide enough to see inside. Finally, after much effort, he was able to prevent the flaps from closing back being able to make out some familiar red square boxes nicely and neatly protected in the box. Great care was put in to the packaging the contents of this box, he noticed. The man kept working, but now had something to think about the rest of the week.
The next week, the man was led into a larger white room than before. He noticed a lot of little red squares sitting on the tables next to what looked like a small army of workers. All dressed in white, each looking like the next, was placing the red square devices into the top of the tripods sitting in the middle of each table. The metal tripods were open at the top where the little red squares would fit nicely into. Suddenly, without notice, the computer voice could be heard throughout the solemn room: "You are instructed to care for the property of the government with your life", said the voice as it continued, "remember that your day is not a success if you don't work for it".
The man sat across the table from two other individuals. One female, the other a male, and only noticeable distinction from the two is the female had some type of breasts. The man assumed the female was once much prettier, but decided all thoughts of prior pre-planetfall would be corrupt and he may be detected from having these thoughts, therefore, in the name of the good of the state, he rejected all his thoughts of the female from his mind. His mind, a pure collection of suppression of unnecessary thought, was the way of his people. Any thought could be controlled. Efficiency, care for your work, good of the state, were his three etiquettes in life. The man began to take a red square out of a box and place in in the tripod on the table, following the actions of the othere two members at his table. Without talking, the room was quiet and full of fast working people, doing what they believed was for the good of the people.
At the bottom of the box, a red paper was found, and immediately, a security guard saw the man with the paper and summoned a manager. The manager quietly came over to grab the man's arm and lead him to another room. There was a long line the man stood in. As he waited, he could not see what lie ahead and stood motionless, expressionless along side the security member. Everyone in line had a security member at there left side, waiting, quietly, motionless, expressionless. As the line slowly began to move, he noticed a larger tripod in the middle of this large white and plan room. People were walking inside of it and receiving a long stick object as they passed through an adjoining doorway.
The stick was nothing more than a hollow plastic tube. Each member put the hollow tube at the specified locations on the large tripod then, along with a security member, was led back into the smaller room he had been sitting in before. Again, a computer generated voice came over the room: "Efficiency is nothing without loyalty"...."Work and be happy in providing for the greater good of our world"...."With time, we will be a utopia within a utopian world".
Before the man had sat back down to empty another box, he noticed a team of people in blue shirts all walking in a single formation to the room he had just come back from. The blue shirt signaled high-grad tech workers, some of the "elite" contributors to the utipian society he so hard and dedicatedly worked for. Without warning the computer voice came on again: It was the Chairman himself..."It is time, my children...to look beyond our petty chemical reactive body suits, to look beyond our limits and to carry out our dream of this utopia to the other lost children of this world. We...are to provide our system to all those that are weaker. We are to provide a secret that will shock the world over. You , my children have worked so well and now, we are to send this message to all those that interfere in our sacride life. Today, we shall drop the bomb of humanity and strength to all those that oppose us. We shall provide a doomsday to those that took this life for granite and waste it away in humanitarian efforts, or biblical causes. We...shall witness the first type of superior weaponry our great nation has provided. And, the world will be in awe of the renewed destruction we are capabable of if we are renounced. Tonight, our enemies will flee and we shall begin a world of utopia. Good work, my children. We now pocess the bomb of all bombs and we shall fear no one."
The man slept well that night.
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