Once Lisa got the memo that the government would shut down, she smiled. It was a benevolent smile, full of purpose and poise. She had wished that many other sectors of the government had been removed permanently.
She walked across the room, her heels clicking. She logged onto the site. She noticed gaps in the control room. Little black squares with microphones off and no image of her fellow workers appeared.
“Volman, what’s going on?”
Mark Volman served as a senior vice president. An Army officer veteran, he had achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel upon retirement.
Lisa herself snapped him up and knew that he could be a soldier for her.
“Because of the shutdown, people are exiting our ranks en masse. The shutdown has crossed from the State to private businesses. It’s nothing we can’t handle. A lot of them are just skittish. The AI systems have already kicked in, but customer service is going to get hit.”
“People want to speak to live agents….” Lisa surmised. “How do you persuade the partners who are still here?”
Volman chuckled lightly. “We just weather the storm. There’s no telling when this thing will be lifted. Only politicians can determine what happens.”
“Thanks, Marcus.”
“Just Mark, ma’am.”
“Right. And just call me Lisa.”
“Roger.”
Lisa got up from her desktop and made coffee. Once the black liquid had been ready, she sipped. The notes of almond and lemon danced on her tongue.
She returned to her computer and more black dots appeared. She barked into her monitor.
“This is my company, goddamnit! I’m not going to let bureaucrats just ruin everything I’ve built. Why not get rid of the agency that governs drugs, or enforces drugs, or calls for the conditions of the environment to be determined by some politician.”
About the Creator
Skyler Saunders
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Comments (2)
Lisa’s power seems built on domination, not resonance. I write from ancestral rhythm, not Ayn Rand’s gospel. Different realities.
I love how I can just jump into your writings and how they hold my interest.