Chapter 5:

The Paladin and the Peon

Project:Harbinger

“Unfortunately, due to the high complexity of our expected future workload, we no longer have the need for your position in our company anymore,” the bug-eyed bald man with smudged glasses said to me, a crooked grin forming on his face.

“H-High complexity?!” I protested. “Wouldn’t you need me and all the help you could get if the workload is becoming untenable? Train me now so I can support you well into the future!”

And yet, not a single word escapes my lips. I couldn’t help but smile and nod at the man who gave me a chance… and robbed me of my future. Though he offers words of commiseration, his eyes stare right past me.

He already found a replacement, the individual I passed by in the swanky waiting room on my way to the executive’s office, no doubt. Someone who will offer him more for less.

My former colleagues warned me that working for an organization of this renown is a double-edged sword. In these tumultuous times, everyone wants to work for a large organization for protection, so bright-eyed workers sell their services for less. As profits soar from the reduced costs, the organization becomes more powerful and more desirable. And the cycle then repeats.

Though “cruxits” are the universal, nationwide currency, nowadays every publicly traded corporation backs their own currency for exclusive use at their own establishments. In fact, when organizations purchase real estate, the property becomes annexed under the private ownership of the corporation that buys it.

And before long, organizations began paying their employees in the company-exclusive currency, forcing employees to trade their currency, often at grossly subpar rates, for currency from organizations that specialize in food manufacturing, energy generation, and waste disposal, just to meet our basic needs.

With the government long disbanded, the major Police divisions have stepped up to restore order within Crux City. Yet, public services have all been left to the wayside, forcing citizens to secure their own essentials either by joining up with a corporation or stealing supplies from others.

As a new ex-employee of Paladin Enterprises, I receive a monthly ‘paladiminium’ allotment. Unfortunately, my former employer specializes in the manufacturing of weapons, leaving me to scramble to exchange my monthly deposit for a more practical currency.

“This is a difficult decision for us,” the ravenous executive admits halfheartedly, placing his hands on a desk easily worth more than my annual paladiminium allotment. “You’re smart, so I know you understand our desire to optimize the return on our investments. The sooner we reach our targets, the sooner we’ll take back our future.”

Though I believe his sentiment, how could I believe him when he’s frothing at the mouth at the potential of replacing me with someone who will accept a pittance of useless currency as payment?!

“Now, there is the question of your severance…” the executive grumbles, directing me to a touchpad that extends from the side of his sophisticated desk. “You’ve been here for about six years, so how does six months of paladiminium sound?”

“That sounds very reasonable,” I exclaim. A satisfied smile emerges on the executive’s face as I use the tablet to… send six months of paladiminium from my hard-earned savings to the executive’s account. Though the transaction was processed in an instant, my heart sank as bile invaded my upper chest, scorching its way into my throat with no signs of abating. As a whole, I walked away with scarcely any savings to my name, despite working myself to the bone these past six years.

See, the other downside when working for a large organization is that once you are employed by the organization, you become branded by them. While working for said corporation, you are considered an asset that is under the corporation's protection. If any asset is damaged, destroyed, or stolen, a third-party insurance broker would send a strike team to investigate.

Though useful while employed, should one lose their job, you will still be considered an asset under that organization, which is problematic when trying to get employed by a new corporation. In theory, working for another employer would render you a jointly owned asset and listed in the financial books of both employers. But in practice, jointly owned assets are never as valuable as solely owned assets because insurance claims for injury, theft, and death are split evenly between all employers who jointly own the asset. Conversely, a single employer will receive the full insured amount if they are the sole owner of an employee.

The intention of this branding policy was for organizations to rehire experienced candidates and avoid the possibility of employees leaking secrets to the competition. But now, corporations use the branding scheme as a means of collecting money from their own workers.

That’s where severance comes in. When losing one’s job, the employer will offer their former employee an opportunity to expunge the organization’s ownership over that worker from the insurance agency’s records. The longer you were insured for, the more records that must be erased, resulting in higher severance costs for employees of longer tenure. Following the expungement, you’d lose your protected status as an asset, but at least you’ll be more attractive to other prospective employers.

“And that's a wrap!” the twisted executive childishly spouts. “Do see yourself out now. Hoy! Hoy! Hoy!” the twisted man belches his signature laugh.

“Thank you for your leadership. It was an honor working under the tutelage of an executive of your pedigree!” I courteously announce with a shallow bow.

As I lean forward, I bite my lip and tighten my chest to avoid vomiting. After all, he’ll charge me at least another month’s salary to cover the cleaning costs.

“Hmm, when you put it that way…” the executive trails off. “Maybe, I should have charged you more. The experience you garnered here will last a lifetime!” The once laid-back executive pierces me with steely eyes. That look. That’s why he’s an executive.

That’s no doubt the look he gave when he laid off the rest of my team.

That is the face of a man who broke his chains of subjugation in exchange for a slice of the city.

I bow again, deeper this time, lest I rouse his ire. How much deeper must I bow, how much more must I demean myself? I start to get dizzy as my blood rushes to my head.

“No, I will reward your obedience. I cut your team down to size, and you continued ahead like normal. You’re a reasonably productive worker, I suppose,” the executive confides before turning his chair away from me. “Leave.” The executive initiates a call with one of his subordinates, and in an instant, he is absorbed in the conversation, ignoring my presence completely.

I straighten my back and lift my head, retreating from the executive as per his request. On my way out of the office, I see that bright-eyed young man again, my presumed replacement. We make eye contact, and I stand in place. He stares back, pleasantly smiling at me to ease the tension. The secretary walks over, quietly rolling up the rug leading to the executive office.

Ah, that rug is made from animal fibers, a precious commodity in this concrete jungle. Did they believe me to be so unworthy, so filthy that I tracked in grime from the streets, polluting the executive's precious upholstery?

CLICK!

I see…

The young man brandishes a small pistol, with me in his crosshairs. Tears streamed down his face.

“So, this is your first assignment, huh?” I surmise.

He says nothing as he continues to smile through the tears.

That repulsive man! He made me pay severance just so he can go ahead and collect the insurance money from my death?!

He never intended to process my expungement; he was simply after a dead man’s meager savings!

I heave a defeated sigh.

“Do it,” I concede, spreading out my arms as a symbol of my defiance and submission.

“And make it painful.”

“Make it so painful that if I am ever reborn, I’ll remember this pain whenever I think about Crux city.”

“So that I know never to come back to this cursed place.”