David's Meeting

David goes to a meeting he was called to.

I look good, I know this, he thought to himself. The promotion was just around the corner. He could feel it, he wanted it. David had been part of the company for about twenty two years now, spending most of his life dedicated to its mission, “Connecting the World, for a Better Tomorrow.” He knew it was more than that though. It was more than just a slogan, it was a community, a family, and one that he knew cared about him. 

He still remembered his first day at Mirron, he was only twenty five, and a fine young man he was. Graduating from a prestigious university in his home-town of New York City, Mirron had been looking to expand their outreach force, and he had studied economics and marketing. He knew he was the perfect fit. The interviewer walked in, and sat down professionally, and with only six questions, six answers and six comments, he was in. He was now an employee. A family member.

Throughout the years, Mirron had expanded vastly, especially after the Mars extension, and mining carried out on the planet. He was part of the group that found the miners for Mirron, and he stuck with them through the riots and the outrage and the legal battles, David was a true member of the Mirron family. 

He watched, as the riots and the outrage continued, the world became less and less clean. He thought, if only they let Mirron do their job, there would be no pollution, the dust and dirt would not be plaguing the streets, the garbage would not be in the parks and there would be less overpopulation. He knew the ones who opposed Mirron, they were the least in our world, he thought, they did not understand how to work, he knew.

David knew that it was a good company, he understood the mission, he knew it was a good mission. They made his TV, his food, his clothes, his car, his house, his money, and his city. They broadcasted the news, the advertised the truth, and they sold him what he wanted. Mirron kept David happy, so David kept Mirron happy. 

He was now sat at his desk, the city far below. The desks were a dark brown, with the silver letters “Mirron” printed at the bottom left corner. The cubicle around him was a medium gray, and the carpet was a dark blue with a nice, simplistic design. The windows we always surrounded by clouds, and rain, and the glow of the city was the only clue it was there. Fluorescent lights hummed a bright teal white and he sat surrounded by his family members, in identical cubicles. He had put on his finest suit and his finest shoes. He did this every day though, as it was his uniform. He was waiting at his desk, which was unusual. When David was at his desk, he was always working, only taking the necessary breaks and continuing wherever he left off.  There were posters all around him to remind him to work, but today was different. This morning he had gotten a prompt on his monitor, it read:

David, our valued employee, and member of our family:

This is a memo to let you know that;

Manager Emily; 

Has sent for you to come to her office.

Arrive at: 2:45. 

Not a Minute late. 

[----Mirron---- ]

The time was only 10:00, and even though it had only been four hours since work had started, he already felt that it had been an eternity. He was sure that it was for a promotion, I mean, it had been twenty two years. David looked up, Manager Emily was standing above him. 

“David, are you alright?”

“Yes, yes, I am just so excited for this afternoon’s meeting.”

“Oh, I see... Well, do not let it impede on your work, there is still much to be done.”

“Yes, sorry, the anticipation got to me. I apologize, Manager Emily.”

“Do not worry, David, the meeting will go well. Continue your work. I accept your apology.” She turned and walked away robotically.

David looked towards his monitor, it had Mirron printed in the silver letters on the bottom frame, and the Mirron OS occupied the computer. He did not mean to anger Manager Emily, and he was sorry about it. It is just they way that my head works, he thought, not something I can control. The screen had its numbers on it. His job was outreach, and he had to sort the numbers into groups based on the value that he felt of them. He had never been told how this had to do with outreach, but after Mirron had interviewed him, they determined it was best for him to do outreach. He did not question it. 

He continued to sort the numbers until it was lunch time. He had an hour for lunch, they are so generous, he thought, always allowing us to get a full stomach on the job. He got in the line for lunch. The large room looked very similar to the rooms with the desks, except that there was a long counter from which to get lunch from, and there were not cubicles surrounding the tables. The fluorescent lights hummed and patterned carpet still lingered.  

He got in line, it was usually pretty quick to get food and today was no different. He payed with his Mirron Credits, and sat down at a table. He did not have any people he often talked to at work, or at home for that matter, and he usually ate alone. Usually people did not talk when they ate, and they often either sat in silence, listened to music on their device, or watched the news broadcasts. But never talked much, I mean, it was incentivized not to by the posters hung around the rooms. “Speaking is a sign of inefficiency” or “Silence is a virtue of the Powerful”. 

Today, he ate slowly, he was not in any rush to get back to work. Usually he would go back early, but today he did not want to. He was not nervous about the meeting, he knew he shouldn’t be. But he had a fraction of a doubt. Why would they schedule this meeting at the end of the day? Good news usually came at the beginning of the day. Bad news was saved for the end. The lunch time bell rang, and everyone who was left in the lunchroom got up and marched back to their desks. David followed. 

He continued to stare at the monitor, the numbers were determined by his head to be positive or negative, as Mirron said, yet David felt the numbers. Some were scary, some were happy, and some were nothing. He wondered what the ones that felt like nothing were. 

It was now 2:15. The anticipation was building and David was getting ready to go to the meeting. He went to the bathroom to fix up his appearance. He straightened his uniforms collar and he combed his hair with the putty he snuck into work today. He made sure all was perfect and went back to his desk. This time, David only pretended to work, a visit from Manager Emily would not be good this close to the meeting. But he knew that he could not work. Minutes had passed and he started walking to the meeting room. It was five minutes away by walk, so he started off at 2:35, as to be there a little bit early. 

He walked through the corridors, past desk after desk, it seemed like they went on forever. The meeting room was around the corner, and the time was now 2:41. A bit longer of a walk than usual, he thought he had walked more quickly. Manager Emily was already in the meeting room. She had blonde hair, and a face not discernible from any of his peers, though he did not know any of his peers faces as well. She sat there, with nothing in front of her but a piece of paper and a pen. Both Mirron brand. David walked into the room. 

“You’re early” She said, in a monotone voice, but the quickness implied a bit of annoyance. David stopped at the doorway, and when Manager Emily signaled, he sat at the table. The table was the same color as the rest, and the same carpet, and the same lights, and the same windows and the same weather. There was contrast, but none at all. There was quality, but nothing to compare the quality to. 

“I am sure you have been wondering what this meeting is about.” Manager Emily remarked, with the same tone.

“Yes, indeed.” Said David.

“Well, I apologize...” She looked down at her paper, “David. You are fired.” The same tone again, the same quick and unimportant annoyance in her voice, yet no emotion. David sat there silent for a minute. 

“Fired?” rolled off his tongue, “But... I don’t... why?”

“Sign here.” Said Emily. He did, and without a word, she left.

David sat there, frozen in confusion, anger, and dejection. He was left in the empty meeting room without any direction. A poster on the wall read, “Admitting defeat is a wise man’s dream.” 

David left the room, he walked the five minutes to his desk in ten minutes, and he did not know why he went back, he never had any personal items at his desk, but I guess he wanted to see it again. He looked upon the emptiness where he spent so many years, and tried to remember anything about it. He could not though, I guess every day was the same as the last. 

He walked to the elevator that brought him back to the ground, back into the city where he would be for the rest of his life. He walked home today, he had nowhere else to be. He had never walked home before. The world was so gray in the city, the garbage was clean, the broken streets were spotless. Mirron was plastered on every building, every billboard, every store, every piece of clothing and every car. He continued to walk. For such an overpopulated and large city, there was a lack of life in the streets. He only passed a person every so often, and they were usually a policeman or a Mirron worker. Nobody else. He turned down the alley that led to his home, though he did not know if it actually did because he was going there for the first time. He was just following the directions on his device. David then recognized the station which he got off the work train at the end of every day. It was so empty. He knew his way from here and soon arrived at his home.

He got home and turned on the TV. This had always helped him relax. But when he did, there were no broadcasts but Mirron broadcasts. He sat on his couch. He did not have anything else to do, he had a desk to eat and a bed, but nothing else. He decided to wait for dinner. What did I do? It was the first time he though about the days events since he had gotten home. He though, I worked so hard, I always showed up, I always did my best, and I dedicated so much time to the company. I had to have done something wrong. He could not stop thinking about it, the name “Mirron” was everywhere. It had to have been my fault, he thought, I had to have done something to deserve this. 

David sat at the window, and looked down to the city. He did not have a nice apartment, he did not have good food, he did not have a wife or anybody for that matter. What was he going to do? Mirron was the only place to work, and they did not want him. He could wait until his money ran dry, but that would be torture. Mirron was everywhere, and he would never stop thinking about it. David decided to get some “fresh” air. The rain had subsided to a light mizzle, and he though that this would help him think. After walking up from the elevator he opened a door to the rooftop. It was as bare as the rest of the city. There was nothing on it but the stains from the rain, and the small gate that surrounded the edge. David looked upon the city below, and to the Mirron towers above. He was now condemned to the place he had so desperately tried to escape so many years ago, but this place had changed. It had become unrecognizable.

The next morning was the same as the one before, and the one before, and the one before. The sun rose turning the dark clouds to lighter ones, and the city woke up and left for their work at the same time. The desks in the Mirron towers were the same as always, as well as the carpets and lights. The people were all the same, and life was all the same. On the street below, there was a police officer and an ambulance, surrounding a taped off area below an apartment building. There was a stain on the once spotless street, a stain of blood, a shadow of a person. The officers cleaned up the mess, as quickly as they could, but could not completely get the stain out, and David’s body was whisked away in an ambulance. Nobody cried, there was no funeral.