The Promotion.

Jared stared blankly at his computer screen, feeling numb, displaced by it all. Life. Everything. Sometimes it just seemed like it was too much for him. Today was too much for him. He took it all in, as he took nothing in; his small cubicle, desk, the hallway outside, the building where he worked. All so metallic, so shiny, so listless. Twirling the locket with Marissa’s picture in his hand, he looked down at it. She was so beautiful. He wished he could be with her. He leaned back and let out a heavy sigh. It was almost time for his promotion. Everyone had been telling him for weeks that he should be excited; one more day, he only had to wait until the day after tomorrow and he could leave this cubicle behind. He could leave this whole building behind. He had a more important place to go. He should be excited, but he wasn’t. He was dreading it, but he didn’t know why. Surely anything would be better than this.

He decided to take a walk. He got up and paced through his building, observing his coworkers, their small, vacant lives. Maybe he wanted a change, wanted something to change, and he didn’t think his promotion would give that to him. He thought about why they were all here, how this world had come about, so metal, so high tech, so empty. Maybe the people before had wanted change; maybe that was why the great war had finally taken place; change. They had got change all right. Boundless jumps in technology, but by the end there had been so much destruction. He looked over at one of his coworkers, Dave, trying desperately to get his terminal to unlock so he could continue his higher calling of giving technical support. Jared grimaced. So much change, and so much stays the same. Change was supposed to be good, everyone said it, but the more things got better, they usually seemed to stay the same, and always seemed to get worse.

He took his locket out of his pocket and popped it open again with the small button on the top of it’s heart shaped form, holding it by it’s intricate chain, all coloured by a delicate gold polish. He hurried and stowed it away when Dave came over though. Possessions were good to have, but you weren’t really supposed to be that into it, he thought.

“Hey, what’s up?” Dave asked, letting out a sigh of his own. You looking forward to moving forward?”

“I . . . guess,” Jared replied, not really thinking about his answer.

“Well . . . you better be a little more excited, if the boss comes by.” Dave didn’t look much different from Jared. They both had short brown hair and unassuming features. Everyone in that place kind of looked the same.

“I guess I’ve just been thinking about Marissa.”

“Oh yeah,” Dave answered, slowly, with a strange expression.

“Yeah,” Jared said. I’ve just been thinking, you know, it might be nice to be with her. You know, instead of just moving up, to have something like that. Something . . . good.”

Dave stood uncomfortably, his concern growing more evident. He stood there a minute, looking at Jared like he’d just spilled the kool-aid. “Jared . . . you know she's not here right? I mean, they don’t exist . . . anymore . . .” Dave trailed off, obviously not knowing what to say. “Jared, it’s good to remember, but she’s . . . that’s all in the past now.” It’s good to keep memories with you, but they're supposed to help you move forward, not hold you looking back. Come on man, you don’t want to see the counselor again do you?”

“No,” Jared replied instantly, he definitely didn’t want to have the boss send him there again. The counselor had tools he used to help workers who couldn’t think right, but the treatment usually just left him not knowing how to think.

“Good,” Dave said, returning slightly to normal after sensing Jared’s curt answer. “No one wants that buddy. Just make it through one more day, and you won’t even have to deal with this place anymore. That’s gotta put you at ease, right”

Jared thought it best to nod, but he only wanted the conversation to end. “Yeah, I guess Dave. I’ll see you later, alright?”

“Yeah, see you later buddy,” Dave said, still a little concerned. “Try to get some sleep tonight. It’s only one more day, you’ll get through it.”

Shortly afterwards Jared left the building and started walking home. It was dark and raining hard. No getting wet though. The shield lay overhead, pale, blue, translucent. It was like an upside down bowl, protecting this part of the city and dividing it from the rest of the metropolis. The shield protected his apartment building as well as the building where he worked for the company, and the surrounding area. He shuffled under the rain walking home.

He went to bed early, but couldn’t sleep. He took out his locket again and looked at Marissa. She had a soft face with gentle features, and softer eyes. They were a rich brown, like her long windswept hair trailing down to shroud her noble countenance. The picture only showed her face, but that didn’t bother him. She was so beautiful, most of all her smile, which lit up the photo. He wished he could remember when it had been taken but he could remember some of what it was like when she was still alive. He longed to be with her.

The next day he made his way to work even more somber than usual. He had barely sat down when his boss, Steve, appeared.

“Hey, Jared,” Steve cooed, like he had just witnessed someone sneaking a hand into the cookie jar. “Come have a talk with me, hmm?” It wasn’t really a question, and Jared knew it.

“Yes, sir,” he said meekly, and got up to follow. They walked to Steve's office, a room only slightly bigger than Jared’s cubicle. Jared’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the counselor, Quinn, waiting for him. Steve took the chair behind his desk, and Jared slumped into the only other empty one, beside a seated Quinn. Both men waited a moment, as though to emphasize the importance of the situation.

Finally, Quinn said “we heard that you’ve been having some trouble, Jared.”

“I . . . I’m just, that is . . .” Jared stammered, trying to think of what to say. He didn’t want his last day here to be spent in Quinn’s office. “I’m just looking forward to my promotion. That’s it, just looking forward to it. Last day jitters, that’s all, that’s all it is.”

Quinn cocked his head a little, like he didn’t believe him, but it was Steve who spoke next. “You know it’s an honor to be promoted, don’t you Jared? A real privilege. It’s a privilege just to work here, you know. Just to be here at all, really.” Quinn nodded his approval. Steve went on. “Life’s been hard since the war, you know that Jared. For everyone, for the whole world. Just look at what happened to everyone in the war, just look at the rest of this city, at the rest of the world. You're lucky to live in this district, to work in this building. You remember the importance of the program, don’t you? Of the company? We’ve given you everything, Jared. And all we ask in exchange is for you to go with the program. You do remember, don't you?”

“Yes sir,” Jared said quickly. “We do what we can for those who died in the war, for all those that came before. We work to keep life going. We work to keep moving forward.”

“Good,” Quinn said, smiling. “We know you’ve only been working here for three months, and sometimes people get used to where they are and want to stay a bit longer before moving up, but the promotion isn’t just good for you. It’s good for everyone.”

“I remember,” Jared said. “It lets someone else take my position, it gives someone else the opportunity to work here. So the company can go on, so the program can go on.”

Both men stared at him for a minute, and then Quinn said “let’s take a walk Jared.” He looked at Steve and he nodded. Jared gulped and got up once more to follow. Jared was relieved when he saw that they weren’t going to Quinn’s office, but alarmed when he saw that they were headed towards the project room. It was the purpose of the entire company. Jared had always felt uneasy inside that room. He had to follow though. They came to it, and Quinn led him inside. This room was massive. Jared looked out at all the vats, containing the prize of the company. He knew as well that this is the room where he would accept his promotion the next day. Quinn stopped just in front of him, and turned. “Jared, no one wants you to have to spend the last day of your employment in my office. I know no one likes that, but I have to know you're onboard. I have to know you're not taking your past too seriously.”

“I’m not,” Jared insisted.

“I hope not Jared. You need to remember that all of us have a past. It helps us, but we have to move forward, keep life going. We can’t dwell on it. The company gave you all you have, and now it wants to give you a future. I need to know your’re okay with that.”

Jared knew there was only one right answer. “I am.” “I’m okay, I know it’s our responsibility. Really.”

Quinn evaluated him a moment longer, then said “alright, I’m going to let you go home then. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. You should be too.”

“Yes sir,” he said.

The next day he made his way to work slowly, in awe of what was going to happen. When he finally slinked inside, all his coworkers were waiting to greet him. They cheered him on as he was brought to the project room by Quinn and set down in the chair. Quinn walked over and held up a needle filled with black fluid. “Are you ready for your promotion, Jared,” He asked? Jared didn’t know what to say. He looked at the needle, and knew it would be painless. He looked out over the vats, at the clones that would replace him, and everyone here, eventually. Three months wasn’t a long time to live, the technology wasn’t complete that was left after the great war, but they had no problem turning more of them out. Keeping life going. Preserving the last vestige of humanity, here on the last habitable piece of earth. They had to keep it going as long as they could. Honoring those who came before, embracing his future. He got to move on now. He got to move forward. As Quinn hovered above him, he took out the locket, and opened it one last time. The memory they had given him of a time long before, that wasn’t really his own, to give him a sense of being. Suddenly he couldn’t take it anymore, and he bolted. He ran, and ran, and ran. Nobody even tried to catch him, they were too stunned. No one had actually tried to run before. Where was there to run too? He broke out into the street, and ran for the shield. He had to get away, he had nothing to lose. He ran through the shield, and into the acid rain. Rain caused by a special kind of radiation from the war. Instantly his body started to melt. It was very painful. He reached for the locket, but it was melting too. He began to condense into a puddle. He should have taken the promotion.