re.occurrence

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I: The latest volunteers who, rather, were involuntarily volunteered by their participating organisations.

 

Robert stopped, just as he neared the parting automatic doors. He gestured with a kind expression, offering another TBR-to-be disembark first ahead of him. She mouthed a ‘thank you’ in return and stepped down the two steep steps and off the bus.

   Without a similar show of appreciation, another passenger went ahead of Robert. Then another. Then another. Then another. Then another. Then another.

 

The automatic doors shut. The bald-headed driver dug into his nose as the graffiti-wrapped bus hissed and left the sixteen TBRs-to-be standing in sunshine and rain. ‘Boobs’, ‘suck’, ‘arse’, ‘disease’, ‘husk’, ‘vaggina’ and ‘Liams mum’ became harder to make out as it rolled away out of the private carpark freckled with semi-expensive cars.

 

Robert bumped his elbow more than twice on the repurposed shower cubicle’s fogged plastic divider as he stripped out of his own clothes and changed into the striped sickly navy and expired cream collared shirt and trousers. He raced the shuffling sounds of the others changing in their neighbouring cubicles.

 

The same date-expired cream shuttle to the building was a one-minute-long journey.

   In that very brief time, there were clues that some stomachs onboard were more nervous. Robert smelt two or three farts. Attention on the third was cut short by an alongside cyclist attired in the same stripes and a lopsided helmet.

 

“Put a hand up when I call out your name and organisation.”

   The first Company worker stood nonchalantly ahead of the new group. He held a clipboard in both hands. Literally. A separate clipboard in each hand as he spoke into a microphone held up close to his neck, not his mouth, with an unintentionally leaning stand.

   “If you cannot hear me, or for any reason cannot raise your hand or you do not have hands, please now raise both hands. Now. Raise both hands now,” his voice descended, “If any one of those are a problem. For you. Do not raise hands for someone else.”

   No single person in the group moved.

   “No hands. Fantastic.” The first Company worker shouted, “Molly. Sate- Sat- Satan Technologies. Satahn Technologies.”

   A woman near to Robert raised her left hand.

   “Molly, you’re assigned to Supervisor Sto. If you look to the four Supervisors to my right, Supervisor Sto has his hand raised. Please do not be alarmed, Molly, though his hand is raised, he is not raising his hand because he is Molly, sent from Satah Computers as well. We do not want that confusion again.” The first Company worker cleared his throat. “Please stand behind Supervisor Sto.”

   Molly walked to Supervisor Sto.

   “Mustafa. The Yellow Bank.”

   “Faye. The Yellow Bank.”

   “Greg. FLS.”

   “Wesley. Quiet Productions.”

   “Robert. WTT.”

 

Sat down at a computer, Robert rested spread fingers on thighs and watched the screen as his supervisor, Supervisor Grant, hung over his shoulder and tried to log into the system. It first required a password. The clue for which, was ‘The name of your only daughter’. Supervisor Grant took a minute to think about possible answers. The name of his only daughter?

   He typed ‘Mollie’… in all caps… with no spaces… Wrong. He added the number nine… written numerically… Wrong. Finished with an exclamation mark? Right.

   Next, he needed to enter the number four correctly answering the question - ‘How many traffic crossings are displayed in the images below?’

   And after that, he used a second device to receive a code, entered the received code on the second device which generated an eight-digit code that needed entering on the computer. The eight-digit code did not work the first time. Nor the second time. Nor the third time.

   The eight-digit code changed. The fourth time then, it worked.

   “When you have watched the three videos, there’ll be a series of questions to test your knowledge on Company and the process of Reduction. You have one attempt at the test,” Supervisor Grant told Robert. “If you fail, nothing will happen. There are sixteen questions. You need zero correct answers to pass and prove you understand your position. Knock on the door once you’ve completed the test and I’ll let you out.”

 

 

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II: Robert buttoned the collar on his striped shirt for his first performance review with Supervisor Grant.

 

Robert put a hand on Supervisor Grant’s shoulder in the private room.

   The creases in Supervisor Grant’s shirt reshaped. Thin shadows in the ripples moved as though there were a tide to the fabric.

   “It’s okay,” Robert said to his supervisor.

   Supervisor Grant wanted to reconfirm, “And you then took your hand away?”

   “I did. Yeah,” Robert reconfirmed, while not yet taking his hand off his supervisor. “But he stayed how he was, leaning forward. His head was still in his hands. He was still crying.”

   Supervisor Grant backed up. He took his shoulder out of Robert’s feel and glanced at the possibility of an imprint. A visible stain of emotional support. “Do you regularly make physical contact with the teachers paired with you?”

   Robert knew no, it wasn’t often. Whether it was to comfort the teacher or Robert. “No, I wouldn’t say I do it very often. It felt instinctual on this occasion.”

   “Do WTT teach you to touch teachers?”

   “No.”

   “Do you touch the teachers because you think they should teach it? WTT, I mean. Not the teachers teaching teachers to teach the children to touch.”

   “No? I’ve thought there’s a time and a place to touch the teachers. And it’s just when it feels like the best support.”

 

 

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III: Supervisor Grant suggested four BCs (Brain Changes) for Rober’s first Reduction.

 

“I have asked Robert from Wide Teachers Therapy, that for the moment, he make no further physical contact with his customers. Clients. With his clients. The teachers. In his third session here, he touched one. I’ve encouraged he not to do so again, but ask you, my line-manager, to approve for this to be a BC in his first Reduction?” Supervisor Grant looked across the table and the bowl of bananas to his line-manager. “Thoughts?”

   “Let me ask first, you say he touched one of his clients. He’s touching teachers? Do you mean he touched them… inappropriately?”

   “Would hand on shoulder be considered inappropriate?”

   “I’m unsure, Supervisor. Is a shoulder sexual?” Supervisor Grant’s line-manager paused. “I don’t know? Ooph. It’s one thing to be suggestive specifically towards female coworkers. That’s fine, in that… we can ignore it until it goes away or need to deny it, but the touching of a shoulder…?” His line-manager eyed the bananas. “I’d like you to show me.”

   “I’d like to show you around more than the Supervisors packaging room.”

   “No, the shoulder touch, Supervisor Grant.”

   “Oh. I see.”

   Supervisor Grant moved up in his seat. He rolled up his sleeve. He reached forward towards his line-manager and when he couldn’t reach, he stood up out of his seat and reached a little further over the bananas. Still, he couldn’t reach, so his line-manager rose from his lumber-supporting desk chair and leaned enough forward for the Company workers to finally connect palm to shoulder.

   They waited there.

   They assessed how they felt emotionally while simultaneously disallowing emotional responses to align with strict Company policy.

   “I’ll need to ask the Company,” Supervisor Grant’s line-manager said. He then decided, while not moving from where he was as one part of a two-part Company worker anatomy bridge, “But, yes. Make it a BC.”

 

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IV: Bright tape was laid after one TBR tripped on another TBR’s Reduction pack cable rendering that TBR in their packaging unreducible and the TBR who fell, a piñata for Company worker passive aggressions.

 

Robert stepped over the neighbouring packaging’s cable which was prominently unstuck from under three scrappy lengths of cream tape intended to hold it down.

   A Company worker grabbed Robert’s packaging by its bottom end which grazed the shitty, stained, speckled lino floor underneath it and held it up to his waist. He peeled apart the zip-lock seam. The zip was missing. Therefore, the lock could not correctly lock. And therefore, the packaging was essentially broken.

   “Move over here,” he ordered Robert.

   Robert moved over there. Below the hooked-up top of the six-or-so foot packaging where it connected to plastic scaffolding, pipes and electrical cables.

   “Squat.”

   Robert squatted.

   Once inside the transparent bag, Robert looked about the other four or five packs.

   Two had TBRs inside. A sheet of paper stuck with a short strip of the same blue tape to both of their packs. The sheets displayed the names and organisations of the TBRs inside the separate packs and the BCs included in their next Reductions.

   “What does the packaging do?” Robert asked, curious, and motivated to learn.

   “It packaging does.”

   “What?”

   The Company worker caped the packaging over Robert, “Once the Reduction starts,” he said through the plastic, “do not regain consciousness until I blow my whistle.”

 

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V: Rober attended his second review with Supervisor Grant following six more sessions with teachers (untouched) after his first Reduction.

 

“Did it-? Does it make sense to you?” Rober checked. His fantastic grin was preparing to die. “Because it- the-”

   “Yes. It did in that I understood it. However, I don’t agree that what you said was anything to create joy. Only the Company should choose when to refer to any part of itself in a transparent or a light-hearted manner. Not its TBRs, certainly not its TBFRs. Not you, Rober.”

   Smile dead. “I’m sorry.”

   “Let’s imagine that it’s possible I can be wrong. I can’t, if I’m one with the Company, but…” Supervisor Grant paused. He turned down to his notepad and continued with his pen sketch of a man with a gun literally through his bean-bagging face and out the back of his head. “How do you know she found what you said amusing?”

   “She laughed,” Rober answered.

   “How did they laugh?”

   “How? I don’t- know, I- I don’t know how to describe it. She laughed from her mouth? It wasn’t too loud. She moved in her seat when she laughed. She went… ha. Ha-ha.”

   “That doesn’t sound like an actual laugh. Which suggests that actually they too, would more likely agree with the Company and I that it was not funny what you said.”

   “No. She didn’t laugh like that, like I just did, she was laughing. Like this, like- she covered her mouth.”

  “The joke was inappropriate. They covered their mouth because they felt discomfort in the moment and were intimidated by your unprofessional demeanour. And worried you were going to comment next on her lips. The Company would think that you misinterpreted the reaction. That’s what I think. If and until the Company agrees.”

   “I don’t think so. Based on everything that I’ve learnt over six years in this same job-”

   “You made light of her experience. Of really wanting to launch a pencil sharpener at a child-”

   “No-”

   “…At the disclosure and the reason for why she was referred to your organisation.”

   “Not at all. No. No. I listened to her. I showed compassion. I made the joke when it fit. I understood the risk that I took, to try to meet her with humour. It worked. She asked when our next session was. Did you see that?”
 

 

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VI: Having marked the wrong Thursday on his calendar, Supervisor Grant was late to the next Reduction submissions review (RSR) with his line-manager.

 

“…the last BC I submit for approval. Though they appear well-timed and to the profit of the client’s happiness and wellbeing, Rober in his pre-Reduction experience, developed a tendency to use honest jokes. These jokes told to the clients, the teachers, attending sessions with Rober consume time and therefore, are not cost effective.” Supervisor Grant looked up from his notepad and to his line manager. Across the bowl of bananas. “Should we take away his ability to create laughter?”

 

 

 

VII: Robe was irritated by an ulcer in his third performance review. The type of ulcer Robe has was a physical side-effect transmitted by the Reduction process. These ulcers which develop are also known as ‘Symptom Through Experimental Subtraction and Shrinkage’ or

 

“I understand your pain,” Robe said, “is what I said. I said, I understand your pain… like… I understood her pain. If that makes sense?”

   “I’m not sure it makes any sense,” Supervisor Grant replied.

   “Because I don’t understand her pain. Can I? I don’t understand her pain. I don’t have a brother. And that brother I don’t have didn’t have a heart attack in a crowd and die at a flight show where my daughter, who also I don’t have, was there to see it all happen. Happen so fast. So fast, she said,” Robe’s eyes ascended to Supervisor Grant’s unphased expression. “So…”

   Supervisor Grant offered no response.

   “Do I? Have any brothers?”

   “I don’t have that information.”

   “So, I could? Do you think if I did, he might’ve died too, at a flight show where my-?”

“I’ve been told almost nothing about who you are. Making you the most efficient version of an employee in your role to provide personal mental health support for teachers has nothing to do with being personal.” Supervisor Grant scratched his head. “I don’t know why you don’t know whether you have family. That’s… not expected. I hope that didn’t get reduced by accident. Don’t- don’t mention that again.”

   Robe nodded, “Mention what?”

   Supervisor Grant was impressed, “Exactly-”

   “That I don’t know whether I have any family?”

   “Fuck.”

   A man laid in a hospital bed with no visitors in Supervisor Grant’s notepad. Bandages wrapped the entire bottom half of his head. “Returning to what you brought up… when clients disclose personal hardships such as heart attacks… the Company, until it is no longer optional for you anyway, would ask that you try less to imagine how it would affect you. Could you be less empathetic with the people you’re employed to support?”

 

 

 

VIII:        no longer had any paid leave left for the remainder of the financial year at WTT after his tenth Reduction. Because the Company wrote days assigned to Reductions as the TBRs and TBFRs paid leave. Supervisor Grant forgot to communicate this during       ‘s sequential performance review.

 

“What was the issue?” Supervisor Grant wanted to know.

   “I’d rather not have to admit it.”        acutely cowered. He moved one arm to his own lap. “I felt that I failed.”

   “How did you fail? And more importantly, will it affect the Company negatively?”

   “I hope not.”

   “Did you read from the document provided to you? As you were strongly encouraged.”

   “I did,”        sat up straight. “I did. I followed the chart on the document.”

   “The brief flow chart.”

   “The brief flow chart. I used the responses it said to use. All three of them. Was the document double-sided?”

   “No. The document was not double-sided. The Company glanced over a minute or two at one of your many hour-long sessions and felt that was enough to know and to decide that exactly three responses were effective in responding to all your clients. They felt another page would’ve only made matters… unnecessarily convoluted. If they seemed unsatisfied, I wonder… did you use all three responses? Are you sure that you did?”

   “I’m sure. But, like you said, the sessions are each one hour long. She expected more than three responses.”

   “They did?”

   “Yes.”

   “Did you not repeat the responses? The three provided on the document.”

   “Can I do that?”

   “I’ll ask the Company for confirmation. But… for the moment, I think it’s better to repeat the work the Companies made, even if it feels unnatural and like the completely wrong time to use it, rather to than instead try to use your own substantial knowledge and experience to resolve the issue you’ve shown to solve before.”

   “Repeat the same responses? Word for word?”

   “Yes. Unless the Company approves of any more words. Your clients might not repeat their selves that same way, they’re unfortunately less reduced than you. But really,        , when you pay less attention to the client and to what specifically they’ve experienced, you’ll see… they all expect one of only three responses. And you now have those three responses ready to use.” Supervisor Grant climbed a ladder of verbal enthusiasm. “The Companies saved you a lot of the work that would’ve been motivating. Try again, repeating the responses. If they fail, it’s likely something you’re not getting right. We’ll make you think that at least. Wouldn’t that all make the most sense?”

 

 

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IX: With his eleventh Reduction,        broke the record – The To-Be-Further-Reduced (TBFR) with the most Reductions.

 

“Who came up with this system?” a worker in the Packaging room asked out loud, squinting at the sheets of paper on the outside of the packs, hoping to be able to still differentiate the TBFRs.

   “I told you, tell someone in management if you disagree,” his coworker emphasized, as he readied a roll of blue tape.

   “You agree? You agree it’s idiotic, right? I’ll repeat the context over in case there’s anyone who might not be aware of what I’m referring to even though there’s no one else in this room beside the two of us. The names of the TBFRs. That we keep track of the number of Reductions they’ve undergone by taking a letter away from their names for each Reduction. Now they’re all named        for banned word sake.”

   “You can’t tell        and              apart?”

   “It makes more work for us,            , I don’t get why you’re not as upset.”

   “I told you,           , tell them how you feel about it.”

   “No, what’s the point. I’ve never said anything to them before, but they’ve never listened to what I’ve said before.”

 

​

 

X: As well as through BCs, Supervisors assess TBR and TBFRs performances and will press changes upon their contributing organisations services also.

 

“…in protest of the new regulations.”        said, rolling his tongue around his gums and the multiplying and intensifying sore white swells. “They were intentionally reluctant to speak.”

   “In protest of new regulation, they were not going to speak?” Supervisor Grant replied.

   “They spoke. They were however, less encouraged to start speaking in our most recent session. Usually they are-”

   Supervisor Grant interrupted, “Which new regulation?”

   “The seventy-five percent reduction to the length of each session.”

   “Substantial time saved instead there, for both staff and customer. Sessions should be shorter. My line-manager believed it was such a cost-effective suggestion, I’m pleased to say, that he has taken the idea of mine and communicated to the Company that it was his own. So, the Company will be pressing upon WTT to shorten their sessions with customers to fifteen-minutes. How emotional to waste the limited time that is granted ‘in protest’ of time being reduced.” Supervisor Grant cleared his throat. “Let’s move on. These performance reviews are not as long as they were just last week and it’s difficult to still discuss all points effectively. How did you do otherwise?”

   “The customer spoke. When they were speaking, I recognised the familiar trust. The regular need to use me as output and reassurance. Because they still say their partner is closed off when they return home. But the reluctance wasn’t completely over. They seemed frustrated for the duration of our fifteen-minute session.”

   “That’s unfortunate. Not sure what to do, if what they want is clearly more time in sessions.”

   “They said the cut to how long we had to talk was another disappointment in their life. Another reason not to trust anyone who looks at first to be supportive of them.”

   “Why would they want more time in sessions? Do they realise they are paying the same but for less time? We are giving them that time for free. They could be doing anything less therapeutic instead.”

   “I think they thought the sessions were helpful.”

   “If they continue to hold a grudge, then you know what you do.”

   “I continue to be understanding and supportive?”

   “No. You refer them to Complaints. And communicate that Complaints have three-hundred working days to reply.”

   “Yes. Of course.”        agreed. “And. I should add...”

   “Go on. Be quick.”

  “The customer opened up about their parents. How the customer was when they were a child. They reflected on single moments. Unfortunately, I became disorganised. I lost focus, and instead of communicating my confusion to the customer, I pretended I still followed. I’m uncertain… but my impression was that the customer recognised that I was pretending when I confused a statement about his father for that of a whistles salesperson. From another customer’s anecdote.”

   “Did the customer express further frustration with you?”

   “I think out of similar discomfort to mine, they chose too, to not address the issue. Which, this time, was obvious miscommunication.”

   “Why could you no longer follow what they were saying to you?” Supervisor Grant inquired.

  “I turned my attention to the teleprompter. I’m so sorry, I- I’m sorry- not to- to criticise, it’s a small screen and because of where it is, on the arm of my seat, I, idiotically, I’m so stupid, I incidentally covered it where I rested my arm to try to pretend to be natural and then when I focused on trying to read the generated responses, I stopped listening to the customer.”

 

 

 

XI:       was close to being RC, Supervisor Gra believed. Still, he had further suggestions.

 

“We might be wrapped on BCs for        from WTT. It’s successfully uninspiring. He’s been reduced to the most unoriginal, noninnovative and subservient version of himself. Indistinguishable from the rest of the Reduction Completes.”

   “That’s what we achieve,” the line-manager answered. “How many Reductions has he undergone?”

   “Past six, I couldn’t count. His name’s gone, I- I am now uncertain. I will find out for you, though.”

   “Please. Do find out. I want to be sure we charge the therapy for hungry hungry teachers no less than what’s intentionally poorly written.”

   “I don’t think ‘Wide Teachers’ refers to the-”

  Supervisor Gra’s line-manager moved a banana. “Do you have any further submissions for Reductions? If so, please… say fast, these meetings are now much shorter than what I need.”

   “A further change should be made to the prompter which displays the suggested verbal responses to       ‘s customers. The prompter is currently located,” Supervisor Gra gestured, “…on the arm of       ‘s seat. Which caused disconnect between        and the customer. Never mind the disconnect in trust,        said in his performance review the prompter was blocked by his arm. We can’t dare risk that he uses his own initiative to think of a response to offer the customer. Therefore, I suggest that we move the prompter…” Supervisor Gra moved his hand and pointed across a way. His fingers looked involved in a game of rock, paper, scissors, mediation. “…to behind the customer. Over their shoulder.        would not then need even to move his head to read the responses. We could rely even less on him.”

   “Sure. Submission approved. I’d say well done, Supervisor, but you understand praise was reduced for its inefficiency in making profits. Instead, I will say… the work you’ve done is above average, but you will see no acknowledgement for it.” The line-manager sipped on literal black and white coffee. He scrunched his face up, “I can taste colour.” He then wiped his mouth. “Have you read, Supervisor Gra? Ninety-eight percent of        customer’s in their feedback strongly agreed and emphasised that a present therapist is extremely valuable in these sessions. But I think, what they’re really trying to tell us is, do we need a therapist at all?”

 

 

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XII: Despite repeated actioned attempts, the tape was not secured properly. There was a further incident involving a certain TBFR and the important cable connected to their packaging.

 

As he looked too long at El from Getup Dance Group in her packaging, Supervisor Gra stumbled. The point of his shoe slipped under uprooted cable between two, yes, uniquely weak taped points. He fell forward with exceptional vigour. The cable ripped up with his foot and away from the tape, disconnecting from the packaging it was plugged into.

   In his unplugged packaging,        started to twitch. The plastic made acute noises.

   A small crew of Company workers scuttered about the fifteen packages in the space.

   “What the cost?” one exclaimed, dashing to plug the cable back into       ‘s packaging.

   “Supervisor Gra, there was a sign! There was a sign!” This Company worker stared at Supervisor Gra, “You costed up.”

   “My mother-costing targets, no! No! What do we do? Have we just plugged it back in”

   “We need Company to tell us what to do. That’s another TBFR cut short. This is the third time this exact thing’s happened. How many times do we have to change nothing to stop this happening?”

   “Pudgy Teachers will pay the damage.”

   “If it’s Company’s mistake, wouldn’t we cover the damage?”

  With daggers, one Company worker fixated on the other. His frustration looked barely restrained. “Are you suggesting that we would cover the cost of our own damages?”

   The Company worker was slow to answer, “Yes?”

   The stare went on longer. “You were accused of something.”

   “What?”

   “You were accused of something. Something not good.”

   “What are you talking about? What accusation?”

   “I haven’t thought of it yet-” He pointed, “I mean, I haven’t recalled yet.”

   “You’re making this up.”

   “No. No costing way, no, nope. It doesn’t matter. I can’t tell you. It’s confidential. It’s confidential. I didn’t say a word. But you watch out.”

   “What the fuck is going on?”

   “Woah!”

   “Hey!”

   “Cost me.”

   “Supervisor Gra, that is not Company language. Alright, let’s look like we’re cleaning this up. Pull        from Pudgies from his package, see if he’s done like the last two TBFRs U’d. Be careful while you’re doing it. Don’t come up with any original thoughts that’d work better and wait for Company to tell you exactly what you want to do after you’ve checked.”

 

 

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XIII: Supervisor Gra had some original thoughts during his performance review with his line-manage, Supervisor       .

 

“Supervisor Gra, what the cost?” Supervisor       started, seated behind his bananas. “Take your seat.”

   “Can I stand?” Supervisor Gra asked, the automatic door to the office closing behind him.

   “Can you stand?” his line-manager, Supervisor       repeated. “I’d… I’m not aware… you usually sit, so… I- Let me-” He referred to a choice of two responses on a one-sided document on his desk. “‘I hear you’…” then to something over Supervisor Gra’s shoulder. “‘Unfortunately, on this occasion,” statically, he said, “you may not stand.”

   Supervisor Gra pulled his seat further from the table, and the bananas, and the telephone in shrink wrap. He landed in it and faced the digital time which engulfed the entire behind wall.

   The time counted down from ‘09:59’, flashing in red with every second removed.

   His line-manager turned to check the time. He cocked slightly back as if the extra centimetre would make any difference in being able to read the enormous digital clock. Once he turned back, he said, “Supervisor Gra, did you not see the near-unseeable sign warning there was a major safety hazard in the TBFRs packaging room? What did you expect? That the serious concern to Company workers health was going to be resolved?”

   “No, oh, no, of course not!”

   “Do you feel capable reading any near-unseeable signs which indicate dangers unlikely to be resolved.”

   “Yes.”

   “Can you repeat that back to me then?”

   “I feel capable reading any near-unseeable signs that indicates haz- hazards- I’m sorry, could you repeat what I must repeat?”

   “There’s not enough time. It’ll be in your inbox.”

   “Thank you.”

   “You’re welcome.”

   “May I ask, Supervisor       , why is this specific issue with the cables in the TBFRs packaging room not being resolved? It’s caused costly damage to three TBFRs.”

   “Costly not to the Company.”

   “Why do the participating organisations not argue that the Company cover the cost of their errors?”

   “Because.”

   “Because?”

   “Because.”

   “What?”

   “Because, Supervisor Gra. Because because. Is that not a good enough reason? No? Well then because we don’t tell them what the additional costs are. And they don’t ask questions because because, and so they don’t, and so they should continue not to and do instead trust us to negatively streamline their workforces. Looky looky.” Supervisor       held up paper. One of the only three documents splayed on his desk. “Look at the data the Company provides for us. I have it here. Of the participating organisations whose feedback was not lost during an unforeseen, logically impossible IT malfunction that we, without evidence, assure was no fault of the Companies and was in no way respondent to any severely negative feedback or in any way connected to the coincidental, hypothetical coordination of an ‘IT malfunction’ planned through executives’ emails… sixty percent confirmed zero decrease in customer satisfaction with their services. And no change to retention. So, Supervisor Gra, you see… things have not got worse because of our work.”

   “Have they improved?”

   “Can that really be objectively answered?” The line-manager sat back. “Our objective is not change. It’s profit. And continuity.”

   “Aren’t Reductions the opposite of change? Reductions, the process of changing volunteered workers, was a change from the initial name for the process which was ‘Changes’ which was confused with BC. Which stands ‘Brain Changes’ which is still in use.”

   “But Changes isn’t. We don’t call it Changes anymore. The point is redundant.”

   “But still, BCs and the process itself. The rest is unchanged.”

   “Yes, unchanged. Unchanged, not changed. That is my point.”

   “What?”

  “Supervisor Gra.” Supervisor       looked down again at his one-sided document, “‘I hear you’. Before we can further discuss these concerns… oh. But… I’ve remembered that I’d like to make some notes. Unfortunately…. I have left both my pen and a paper in the Supervisors Packaging room. You’re closer to the door, I think it is most efficient to agree that you would retrieve the pen and the paper from the referred to packaging room.”

“I agree. Mind you… first… Supervisor       , if you don’t mind, I should step out of the building and call my- er- my- my daughter whose name is…? And I should let her know that I’ll be staying late to further address these concerns.”

“How long do you need?”

“How long would one need to run to the gate outside?”

“Interesting question.” Supervisor       checked his document. He turned it over, re-realising it was one-sided as he did so. He then glanced to the thing over Supervisor Gra‘s shoulder. “Let me ask the Company.”

 

 

 

XIV:                                                                                                                                        .

 

        from WTT sat upright in his seat in the occupational practicing room.

   A glowing red light appeared on a short switchboard of sorts with very few buttons.         rechecked instructions typed onto a printed one-page document before he tapped a key close to the red light on the board and it changed to a white light.

   “Hello?”

   A separate screen next to the board displayed a generated reply.

          hit another key.

   “Hello,” a generated voice replied.

   “Hi,” replied the calling customer. “How do I start this? I’ve never had a session or really spoken about myself before.” They paused. “Can I know your name?”

   The board processed the customer’s speech and question, and the screen again displayed a reply.

          hit the correct button.

   “Although I assure you I care, it is preferred if I do not have a name.”

   “O- Okay.”

   “Please be aware, this session is limited to one session,” the processed voice communicated. “…you have four minutes.”

          checked the instructions for the board again.