A reading of 'Wilde Geese' by Mary Oliver

 

My reading of The Book of Tides, by Angela Readman

My reading of Chapter V of T S Eliot's Little Gidding

https://soundcloud.com/sarahhorne-1/little-giddings-chap-5-2nd-sh

A bit from a sci-fi novella I'm writing...

1 

As X sat at her smooth, ergonomic desk, her computer blinked into life. 

“Good morning X”, smiled an androgynous-looking woman from behind the screen.

“Morning Minerva ”, replied X.

A tiny machine whirred up towards X, holding a breathalyser, and she breathed hard into it. 

“You drank alcohol last night.”

“Yes”. 

“Third time over the recommended limit – I have scheduled a counsellor’s appointment for 11.00am.  Next X pressed her finger into the slot beside the screen.  “Your temperature is a little high – but your period is scheduled...are you on your period?”

“Yes”

X stretched and yawned, glancing round the office.  Row upon row of white desks gleamed out before her.  Most desks were occupied by workers, some by robots. 

“Desk number 55, please begin work now”  A disembodied voice came through the speakers. Minerva smiled and was gone, to be replaced by a spreadsheet.  Overhead, the Eye kept watch. 

A female voice sounded out over the PA system, “Alert at desk 55, medic to desk 55” 

Damn.  X had accidentally pulled out the heart monitor lead.  With a sigh she plugged it back in. 

“Desk 55 vital signs normal” A small robot whizzed up and, upon hearing this, sped away.

Sombre music beamed through the PA system.  X stood up – a mark of respect.

“Desk 18 – L.  L has served the Company for3 years, during which time, he has made several new contacts of great importance, and brought in 5 new clients. L would like to say goodbye now.

A husky voice cracked over the PA... “I’m leaving this fucking nightmare...I...” 

Thank you L, that will be all. L has now reached an age where he must be terminated.  Thank you L, for your commitment toward the Company, we appreciate it.”

X craned her neck, but desk 18 was too far away.  She imagined the scene.  Would L be crying, or just resigned? She vaguely knew L, had spoken with him a couple of times. The music became more serene, and she knew then that the high intensity laser beam would have evaporated L completely, leaving a vacancy the Company would fill in less than an hour.  The age at which you would be terminated varied, and depended solely upon your health.  Minerva, the company interactive robot, kept detailed records, and was relied upon to state the time of termination.  It didn’t always happen at work of course, but it was the preferred method.  

X sat down again, and continued working.  Another computer whizzed by, and she pressed a buzzer.  Instantly, the Robo-cafe changed direction, and hovered by her side. 

“Coffee please” 

“the usual?”

“yes”

“you sound tired today. Here, have a green tea instead, looks like you need the anti-oxidents after last night!”

X knew it was useless to argue.  She took the tea. 

“Hey”  She looked up.  The guy standing next to her looked new – he had the faintly happy aura of one not yet adjusted to working in this place and the enormity of knowing the walls served as a prison.  People never left the Company.   

“My name is Robert.”

“Shhh.”

X glanced around;  she was pretty sure everything got logged.  The really was no escape.  People learned to talk in codes, or or whisper, or pass notes scribbled out of view of any known cameras if they had anything important to discuss or impart.  Paranoia became a way of life very quickly.

“We go by initial only here,” she said, awkwardly.  “Have you not had the induction?”

“I have.  I keep forgetting it’s forbidden inside the Company.  Look, do you want to go for a drink sometime?”

X had to laugh.  They always started like this.  A confident air that belied the induction, which would have told them their every move would be monitored, both in and out of work.  Some pleasures were allowed, some encouraged (those that deadened any ideas of rebellion.)   Fraternising with work colleagues outside of work wasn’t one of them. 

X rolled her eyes impatiently.

“Maybe,”she replied, already kicking herself for replying like that.  She had witnessed too many terminations to want to allow herself to get close to anyone. 

“Desks 54 and 55, please resume your work, your expected output for this hour is crucial to the Company.  Thank you”

Suddenly, a screaming could be heard.  X’sblood turned cold. 

"I hate this, I hate you all, you bastards..." 

The screams turned into sobs, great wracking sobs and explosive noises.  Both Robert and X watched in horror, as the man fell to his knees on the carpet near to them. 

“Medic to desk 48”, stated the pleasant voice over the PA system.

“Noooooo, noooo, pleeeease,”  More sobbing.

A small robot instantly whizzed over and fired a laser beam at the sobbing man, and he gradually became calmer.

“What the fuck is going on?”  hissed Robert.

 “Oh,they’re probably erasing some of his memory to calm him down.  Either that, or restructuring his neural networks, if he is prone to depression.” 

Robert looked aghast.  His eyes spoke feelings he could never givevoice to.

“Welcome to the Company”, said X.

Copyright - Sarah Horne 2013 © 

The Edge of Sanity

~Scene : A generic, open-plan call centre office, somewhere in the UK: ~
[Aphex Twin playing in the background]

Customer Advisor (CA): Hello, it’s Laura… how can I help you?
Customer: I would like to place an order please.
CA: Fine! Have you ordered from us before? 
Customer: I think I ordered some frogs, a marrow and some biscuits.
CA: [Typing in background] Ah yes I can see you did. Also you ordered a day of splashing about in a local pond. Did you enjoy that?
Customer: Yes I did.
CA: Good! We can also augment your pond experience with an inflatable lilly pad. Would you like one?
Customer: Yes please.
CA: Good! And for the rest of today’s order…
Customer: I would like a dose of badgers, please. And perhaps a concrete snail.
CA: Marvellous! And anything else?
Customer: Well my car is having trouble starting in the mornings, so I would like a complementary llama.  
And… a recurring dream... When I was a child I used to dream of singing with Alanis Morrisette.  [Pause]  There needs to be a red phonebox in the dream.
CA:  Yes, we can arrange that for you.  There will be an extra fee for Alanis... Royalties, you understand.
Customer: Yes of course.
CA:  Anything else?
Customer:  A box of lightbulbs, please.  They... they must be smashed.  Completely broken.  And I would like a life-size hologram of David Hasselhoff.
CA: Done!
Customer: Thank you! 
[Scene fades out]
[Ends] 

The Long Dark Tea Time of Love

 The scene is a random Call Centre somewhere in the UK. 
‘Can you feel the love tonight’ is being softly piped through the PA system.

Customer Services Assistant (CSA): How can I help?
Customer: Well, it’s about my car…
CSA: Yes?
Customer: it… [lowers voice to hushed whisper] it… knows what I’m thinking.
CSA: Err. Right. How can you tell?
Customer: well, it stopped by itself at the garage the other day, just as I was thinking about petrol. And today, I found myself cruising around Soho…
CSA: Hmmm.
Customer: I live in Devon.
CSA: Well. [Pauses] We have no precedent for this, and it’s kind of hard to prove. I mean, are you sure you don’t have narcolepsy?
Customer: No.
CSA: Schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, mania, bi-polar, motorphobia or any other form of diagnosed psychiatric disorder?
Customer, No.
CSA: Are you just a bit… sexually frustrated?
Customer [impatient]: Well yes… Me and the wife haven’t made love for 27 years. But I normally wouldn’t take a detour of 200 miles on my way home from work… I mean, that’s just mental.
CSA. Right. What are you thinking, right now?
Customer: I’m thinking of David Craig in Skyfall. I don’t know why. He’s just so butch in that film... [Deep sigh] I am having a bit of a mid-life crisis…
CSA: OK, right. And what is your car doing?
Customer: [looks outside] Oh shit…
CSA: what?
Customer: it’s… it’s got Craig David in it… Craig David is sitting inside my car, hammering at the windows…
CSA: Good! Well that clears it up. You have formed a loving emotional bond with your automobile. I believe this is known as objectum sexuality. [Pause]. And your car also appears to be directly responding to your thoughts - albeit in a slightly menacing way. It also appears to be dyslexic.
Customer: [Panicking] What the f*ck do I do?
CSA: I don’t know. Good luck! I’m resigning. I have an MSc in Deep Ecology for Chrissakes. I’m not equipped to deal with this shit! [Falls to his knees, sobbing while making wild and some might say, overly theatrical, clawing actions in the air]

[Scene zooms out to reveal hundreds of rows of identical white desks stretching out ad infinitum]
[Ends]