The Situation (ss) by Jeff VanderMeer

Author:Jeff VanderMeer [VanderMeer, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781906301149
Google: VAhJLgAACAAJ
Amazon: 1906301131
Publisher: PS Publishing
Published: 2008-03-14T11:00:00+00:00

so when Slumber finally decided to put an end to the fish project. The fish with my Manager’s face was dis-carded, the prototype set loose to live or die roaming distant halls. I had an image of it in my mind’s eye, scav-enging scraps and croaking to itself, devoid of any educational purpose other than survival, held together by its magnificent dorsal fin.

I felt sorry for it. I could sympathize, for soon Slumber hooked up to the worm tendrils of Leer’s network and began to ignore me and my suggestions. Two more employees had been moved into what was now effec-tively Scarskirt’s office. I was the only member of the creative team not in that office. Scarskirt frequently visited Slumber on the fiftieth floor and would come back with her slug pulsing and a sickly smile on her vacant face.

For this reason, the next time Slumber came down to our floor, I intercepted him and asked him to visit me in 23

my office. After an hour of speaking to Leer, Scarskirt, and the rest, he finally stood, reluctant, in my doorway.

He was as wide as two normal people and had but a single hair that he grew in a circular fashion across the mid-dle of his head and chin, and down his chest. He smelled like melted beans and cheese.

“What do you need?” he asked. “I have meetings to go to.”

“I am having trouble with communication,” I told him. “The others are discussing projects and brain-This FREE pdf copy of The Situation is brought to you courtesy of Wired.com and PS Publishing—www.pspublishing.co.uk storming and going to lunch without me. I need to be attached at the ankle like the rest of them. How can I be proactive if I am ignored?”

Slumber frowned. “You’re not being ignored. Nothing of importance is being discussed. You still attend the status meetings, and we discuss everything there.”

Yes, the status meetings. During these meetings I now learned what Leer and Scarskirt and the others had decided during the prior week. I learned what lack of role I was to have during the next week. I would stare at Leer, willing her to return my gaze, to understand from the pained look on my face just how much this was hurting me. But she never did. Scarskirt would stare, though. A kind of measuring look. An appraisal. I did not like the hardness of that glance, given while she told a joke. A stolen glimpse to test my resolve.

24

I tried to argue with Slumber, but he cut me off. “We can always give you another leech if you like, to cure your discomfort,” he said. “But don’t worry, we all value you.”

He left, and five minutes later was laughing and jok-ing with Leer and Scarskirt.

BCBCBCBC

Now I had to send out my beetles as spies, just so I would know the basics of what was happening, just so I could do my job. But beetles are not meant as spies; they

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