Subterranean Antebellum by J. E. Tremulant

Author:J. E. Tremulant [Tremulant, J. E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: N23
Publisher: Inflatable Satan
Published: 2021-05-22T04:00:00+00:00

Workplace Sampler

Throughout the interior of the Big Data’s walls, going from the various Entertainment Zones to the factories and offices and beyond, snaked a series of ducts that piped in constant cold air from the coldspots. The coldspots, subsectors run by the Department of Utilities, was an area in the lower level where the big temperature machines worked. Each coldspot contained an industrial air conditioner—big silver metal beasts half buried in snow, covered in ice chunks and icicles, large ducts snaking off of it like the branches of a massive metal tree.

On the ground and in the rafters and scaffolding alongside the ducts, countless service workers toiled, working to ensure a smooth-running sector. Many of these employees wore warmsuits, spherical suits of leather that were warmed by self-contained systems or connected to long tubes that also piped in fresh air, leading to systems in the warmer top of the coldspot. The employees used a mix of tools to keep the ducts free of ice, including heaters, hand tools such as pickaxes and hammers, and ‘heaters’, chemical flamethrowers that spat volatile liquids that mixed and burst into flame.

Various machines—drones, service units, sentient tools—and androids toiled alongside the puffy employees, usually venturing into areas much too cold for human safety, though a few drones would freeze up crash in the snow… a nifty way to gauge a temperature in an area and gate it off for the safety of the others… The androids would inspect the work, coordinate efforts, or simply assist in areas human employees couldn’t, being easily identifiable by wearing nothing but a thin, foil suit instead of a full warmsuit. One such android was leading a group of new hires through the area, giving them a tour, addressing the group in a stilted voice:

“So, you see, this is just one of several coldspots in the company,” the android explained. “There’s one of these for each sector, all to keep their inhabitants nice and comfortable, whatever their standards are.”

The android stiffly led the group of new hires in a shamble, more so than usual, to the door of a snow vehicle used often in the workplace. The android attempted to climb onto the wheel of the vehicle to enter the door, but his arms and legs failed to bend, and after a minute of attempting to move, he turned to his assistant, a red headed, jolly woman in a warmsuit.

“Ms. Richie, can you assist me please?”

“Certainly,” the red-headed woman replied with a smile, fiddling with the levers on her heater and while the android stepped off to the side alone. When the heater was ready, the woman promptly sprayed the android down with the chemicals, which ignited and set the synthetic alight. The android waited patiently for a minute as he burned, unflinching, before taking a few smooth squats and making several motions with his arm before climbing onto the snow vehicle with more fluidity.

“Thank you, Ms. Richie,” the android addressed the woman and turned to the others to continue the tour, speaking as he still burned.

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