A Tale Of Doings Read online

  The spirited and stimulating leader bobbled his head and waved the arm with the sapphire armband, and he leaned confidentially toward the camera. “Owning yourself is the greatest pleasure in life. When you own yourself, like I do, well, you can truly enjoy your life of labor and use anything or anyone you want as you were created by Xchange to do.” He waved the arm toward the screen and then back to himself. The CEO armband glinted silver blue; he clenched his fist over his heart. He rubbed his armband as he lifted it up high.

  Each Nnectonian felt their brands stimulate. David smiled, deeply drawn into a moment of rapture.

  “A spiritual blessing on you all. Dream with me, Productzens of Nnect: let us be the first company to have a one hundred percent Self-Purchase rate upon each of your retirements. Market yourself aggressively each day, and you can reach this amazing goal. You may live beside me in Freedom Purview if you but work hard enough. Reflect on this goal. Let us each internally prepare for Branding Week.”

  David and those around him ceased cheering. David closed his blue eyes contemplatively; the empowerment of the CEO encouraged him and collided in his inner being with the uplifting stimulation of the brand. He rubbed his blue brand habitually.

  The speech began broadcasting to the entire city. “To all of Xchange: it is time to commence the week of festivities for the new quarter, new branding, and new products!” The display suddenly shifted from the Nnect brand background to the Xchange City background—a strong fortress built upon the four corporate pillars of Nnect, Ssential, Thrive, and Tertain. “Once all Productzens have received your gratis brand upgrades from your respective companies, make your way to Freedom of Marketing Square for the kickoff of this year’s New Year holiday festivities.”

  David shivered in pleasure. He loved the festival week. He wasn’t sure why. He loved working, too, but festivals were special.

  “This year I have already decided: I will join the raging Storyworld clubbing scene!” David boasted to Dan and Kendra. “I have a prepurchased premium membership for the upcoming season.”

  Mac chimed in, “I’m going to participate in the Real World club event.” Real World let people pay to live in a virtual reality where they could build a life as a free person.

  Kendra added, “I never miss the live Sports World club. And the Orns air-surfing event.”

  But David loved the Storyworld club scene the best. Real World was the only major competitor to Orns’s Storyworld; people always said that you either clubbed with Real World or with Storyworld. Live sports were only peripheral profit centers when it came to the entertainment powerhouses. Even so, there was something for everyone.

  A brief note of clarification scrolled across the screen as the CEO paused. “Note that Orns products and unemployed members of society have no days off.” David never read the small print. He knew that the governing agents wanted the best for him.

  The CEO continued, “Remember that later we invite for the first time into adult society the next generation of younger siblings and future workmates. You adults may be related by blood to some of the new stock, but once they have been branded with company lineage, we will all be related by something much deeper and more meaningful. Our corporate blood, blessed objectives, and sacred aims flow through us and unite each one of us as we attempt to build the greatest human society of all time. We will brand these youths. I task each of you to help them integrate into adulthood and full maturity. I remind you that you were each sixteen once and freshly branded.” The man stood tall and imposing before his listeners. He rubbed his blue band. “If you get caught, get caught doing.”

  A tingle of energy stirred in David’s brand. He could not resist the sudden urge to smile broadly, and it spread from his face to his soul. He stared at the screen in anticipation, as if the CEO were going to step out in the field to face a giant, just like knights in Storyworld would do.

  The CEO paused, then ended, “Do your best, be your best, and look your best!”

  Caught up in the inspiring moment, David-23 released his clenched white knuckles from the rail of the workstation in front of him and slammed his fist against the hard surface, his heart beating with sincere emotion and determination. “One day, Twenty-Three, one day you will buy yourself as well; you will be like CEO Saul himself,” he fervently swore to himself. He pumped his fist once more with a dull tap-tap against the smooth composite projection desk that composed the majority of his work space, and he smiled. His projection touch screen computer blinked and turned off. Too hard again. The computer’s 3D images popped back up in response to a voice command, and David-23 continued his work project until he was called for the gratis brand upgrade.

  “Team member of the customer integration programming squad specializing in communication mobile devices,” the voice said.

  “Rex himself wouldn’t be able to determine my job title!” David muttered as he heard the overly long description of his job title. I still don’t know why the company insists on using titles that I can’t even understand. And I work here.

  The voice continued, “You have been granted temporary workstation leave. Please report to the rebranding station for your gratis upgrade. You have one hour to comply and report back to project leaders. QC will be on hand to orchestrate and expedite the process. Ask questions if you don’t know what to do, and assist the interns that you see.” David looked around at his workmates and scoffed to himself. No one in their right mind stopped to help the interns. A year-old stock needed to fend for itself.

  David saw several others duck their heads and giggle to themselves. A mime with a goofy smile and stock number popped up on his screen. David hit “ignore” so a manager would not see it.

  The robotic voice continued, “Follow the instructions on your workstation screens. Look good and have a blessed new stock year. After six p.m. you are released for public holiday festivities at the CGB.”

  “Got to get in line first,” David said to the team secretary as he hustled into the jungle of hallways. “I want the best choice of tattoo and to get ahead on my project before the holiday. ‘A win-win mind-set forms killers,’ as Mindmonks likes to remind us!”

  The word nnect was spaced evenly along sapphire stone walls of the pristine corporate hallways in snowy-and-russet swirling marble letters. Convincing and flashy but intimate and appealing advertising screens were stationed next to the marble words. These marketing images extended from ceiling to floor and showed crystal-clear 3D projection videos that displayed future product offerings. This building’s manager enjoyed palm trees and had planted green-and-brown king palms in under-the-floor boxes that emerged merrily into the hallways. The majestic greenish-bluish branches hung high overhead, reaching to just below the glass roof thirty feet above the marble floor. Each branch was tinted blue. The trees grew in blue-dyed soil that transformed the plant to fit in at Nnect. Through the glass ceiling, an expansive azure sky was speckled with white puffy clouds. It was a merry day, and David’s heart skipped a happy beat as he hurried along to get his free rebrand.

  David passed a majestic central courtyard that was at the heart of the Nnect corporate campus universe. The flowers and plants hanging all around the “brainstorming” space created the appearance of a lush, shiny gem garden. In the center of the garden courtyard stood a giant statue of CEO Saul.

  “May he be blessed.” David bowed slightly. The giant stood above his world.

  David did not cross through the courtyard. He imagined that his coworkers wouldn’t see him if he snuck through the building to get to the branding lines before them. He wanted to one-up them. He looked at his old tattoo; he was excited for a new look and feeling.

  A twitch of pain ran down his arm. “Stock be sold! Waldar’s dog can bite.” His arm still ached occasionally. “I wonder if the bite from the canine will affect how the brand sets into my arm.” He hoped not.

  A door swung open in front of him. He slipped through and tapped the lock pad. He smirked. That will slow them down. He fe
lt a slight stimulating buzz from his blue brand. He closed his eyes and hummed. Productzens often took the brand for granted, forgetting that it was not something they were born with. Thank goodness for gratitude mindfulness psychology, David thought. The Mindmonk tutors mentored the people in the ways of the brand. The tattoo rewarded actions that aligned with productive doing, and Mindmonks preached to the masses about brand attentiveness.

  The brand sensation was a slightly stimulating physical wave of energy that rushed through the tattooed lettering and into his body. It consisted of a mixture of satisfaction, pleasure, and adrenaline. The small nudges of pleasure rewarded “decisions of doing” at work or during his day. On top of his personal initiative and internal motivation, which were significant, his brand conscience was always an underlying instigator for success. Branded employees had coined the phrase “work drug,” or “workie,” for stronger experience of the brand. The workie helped keep human-doings securely on track when life and quotas got tough; it kept human-doings productive even in the face of such innate human deficiencies as boredom, laziness, compassion, emotional attachment, reflective silence, humility, and much more.

  “Cage the laziness,” he muttered as he hurried through an empty corridor. The born-human machine was far from perfect. The brand was a stimulus that perfected the brain and heart and helped everyone become their best self. A brand conscience was the sure path to human happiness and freedom. David knew this, and he was grateful for such a solid guide. He caressed his brand. “You are all I need. Guide me to righteousness.”

  David walked hurriedly up to the section of the complex known as the Nnect Rebrand Division. His fleeting tinge of happiness turned to envy when he saw that Ella, Kendra, and Mac were already in line. David cursed the stock. How did they beat me with the shortcut? These three must have snuck ahead of him through the compound. Dan too! David now saw Dan, who was an overachiever, run past him back toward their office with fresh ink. Management suck-up, David thought enviously.

  “The stock only knows how they beat me here,” David muttered, “Take my manager!” He quit his cursing and put his corporate smile on. Fighting the jealousy, he attempted a cordial greeting.

  “Pleasant working to you.” David smiled and brushed back his hair. Kendra was looking so cheerful, gyrating in a circle, that David forgot his momentary vendetta of jealousy. His blue eyes winked as he joked, “That arm brand of yours is looking outdated, Kendra.” He grimaced humorously. “Better get a new one. BTW, how in Xchange did you get here before me? I could have sworn I left before any of you were out of your seats.”

  “Oh, David, you work yourself too hard. We have our ways.” Kendra’s perfect white teeth flashed. She spun around. “Bless the stock. I hope you have your quarter goals aggressively planned.” She waved a slim branded arm in a circle at the four of them. “We need to grow as a team.” She pulled back her long red hair and arched her back in a curve.

  Before Kendra could continue, Ella said, “Team shite. Kendra and Mac want us to earn more freedoms so that they can get out and satisfy their Spender cravings!” Ella was witty. “With all these new product marketing shows happening this week, I am sure the two of them will be hard-pressed not to buy too much.”

  “There are such innovative answers to human needs revealed at the annual product shows!” Mac defended all Spenders with a point to his latest flashy skin watch. “We cannot all be Savers and investors like you two.”

  Arching her back again for a deeper stretch, Kendra chimed in, “Why wait till you’re old and too feeble to enjoy life?” The two chuckled. The teasing was just that, only teasing. When David argued with other Spenders, such as Uriah from his storage unit, it was usually much more aggressive.

  Mac answered David’s original query: “How did we get here so fast? Well, well, you might remember—or maybe you were distracted with work—but we had a special assignment during the past quarter, and our interhallway door key code is still active.”

  Ella raised her access hand and wiggled her middle finger, displaying a silver access ring. “It allowed us to slip through the Special Assignment Labs to get here first. Don’t be jealous, darling!” Ella was a fit brunette who had scored a 70 percent on the loveliness charts—way above the average 45 percent marks. Her only downfall was height. She was a little too short, which meant she was not eligible for marketing career tracks. Neither was David, for that matter; he was not a photogenic smiler, and to top it off, he had a fake tooth, which the Thrive mouth specialists had not been able to color match satisfactorily. His freckles were not a desirable marketing feature, either, and his ears stuck out a little too far, with a goofy pointy notch on the upper edges. There was a litany of reasons for marketing to reject him as being “too bland.” Marketing knew the reasons that most human-doings were not good enough. Despite her 70 percent on the loveliness charts, Ella was a proficient chat room analyst; David was glad she had not been sent to marketing. She was a smart one.

  A staunchly built QC officer stood with diligent attention beside the lab door at the end of the line; the clean digital blue nameplate read door 56. The officer wore a mundane gray uniform with a black-and-white shield-and-rifle logo upon his broad chest; “Quality Control” in sleek letters marched down the right side of the man’s uniform. He wore a menacing stun gun on each hip, and his alloy utility belt had an elevation-ascension claw, air cuffs, and an air gag hooked neatly along it. QC officers were known for jumping out of flying vehicles and efficiently launching their ascension claws into a building hundreds of yards away in order to rocket themselves into windows to stop crimes. Insane the sorts of things the QC officers would do to maintain a strict order. A human-doing needed to carefully stay within the lines of corporate quality.

  Ella was called into the branding room, and door fifty-six swung wide open. Kendra, Mac, and David shuffled forward, waiting their turn. Kendra’s soft freckles and pale smooth skin were complemented by her light-tan blazer and skirt. Short blue heels reflected the light, matched the Nnect letters, and clicked as she shuffled forward in line to make room for David behind her. “You think my brand is old? Would you dare say that to my face? It’s old? What should I get, Twenty-Three?”

  “Go with something more futuristic looking—that’s what I recommend.” David watched as Kendra swirled, in an obvious good mood, and showed her bare arm to David and the others who were now lining up behind them. nnect was written in digital grabber blue letters from her neck to her left wrist in a wrapping pattern. David looked at all the others who were standing in line behind them. Kendra’s smile and attitude roused an unusual cheerful outburst from David.

  “Ready to get rebranded and take over the market, fellow Nnectonians?” he shouted to those in line.

  His left shoulder tingled with encouragement, and his heart skipped a beat as he felt a thrill that jolted from his neck down to his wrist. A moment of nausea followed the wave of pleasure, and his knees buckled slightly. He stiffened and caught himself before he fell. He had not been receiving strong arousals from his aging brand recently. “A workie.” It felt so good. The effects of the brand wore off as it got older. That was the primary reason for the continual and expensive rebranding requirements. But David savored the feeling and thought of the pleasure he would get from the new brand. David-23 raised his arm and declared, “I will be the best product ever.” And more seriously, so that no one could hear, “Just you watch me shine.”

  “Oh, stop being a management sucker!” Kendra leaned in close in a sensual, flirty manner. David was momentarily turned on by the proximity. She stepped away and held his shoulder with a firm grip. “You show-off—you stupid ignorant object, you. Have you been listening to your Mindmonk ‘Self-Management in a Quarter’ sessions again, or is that Selfie of yours filling your head with high hopes?”

  Mac slid over next to David and Kendra, putting his wide arms around his teammates’ necks. “Look, you’ve gone and inspired a Nnect unity rally without even being asked to.
We’d better watch this one closely, Kendra, or he will get promoted before us.” Mac let go of the two of them as his product number was called by the branding specialist in a white lab coat. Shortly after the wave and signal from the specialist, the computer above the door announced, “Productzen Ella-46 complete. Productzen Mac-14, please enter the station for branding.” The computers in the doorway could identify each human by their brand imprints. The gorgeous Ella came out and smiled, showing off her newly branded arm. She pumped her left shoulder one time for her three workmates, whirling enthusiastically. “See you guys back at the grind!” Yelling, she went skipping out of the room. She excited David a bit.

  Mac rejoined Kendra and David after his brand upgrade, noting in a serious voice, “Isn’t it your twenty-third year, David?” When David nodded, he said, “What an opportune stock cycle for you. Coincidence means significance.”

  Then David-23 was called into the lab. A green-cloaked attendant seated him on a medical chair and pulled a computer with brand designs in front of him. He shifted through the human prototype options still available until he found a serpentine sapphire Nnect that he desired. “I must have it.”

  It took only moments in the floating branding chair to receive his refreshed mark. His adrenaline pumped up high as the robotic arms went to work on his body. His heart raced through a slew of reactions. The new brand shot waves of pain, fear, pleasure, energy, and ecstasy in varying degrees through his left arm and heart. And then it was done.

  “Step away from the machine.” A fat older assistant, looking bored, handed him an energy booster drink that tasted like honey and pineapple, which revived David after the draining emotional experience. The assistant’s groggy, bored eyes were focused on a greasy sandwich and did not pay much attention as he hit the “reset and next” command. David drank the energy booster, sucking in the energy source like a starving man. David staggered to the hallway.