Monday: 1.17pm Urgh... Do first aid.
You manage to regain consciousness in time to avoid bleeding to death in the filing cupboard and crawl outside to the nearest first aid post. With your undamaged hand you manage to open a first aid kit and you just about manage to competently apply a field dressing [5]. You still feel a bit weak and queasy though.
Morale Boost! Avoided bleeding to death in a cupboard!
Fail! Depressed!
Task Assigned! Complete a first aid resource usage statement form!
Task Assigned! File the rest of that data!
Failure Rating: 14.
Morale: -10
WARNING: Your morale level indicates that you are close to depression. This will affect your ability to work. Kathryn gives up-the American way!-and goes to have lunch.
Deciding that computers and those responsible for their upkeep aren’t worth the trouble, you go and have lunch in the GenCorp Canteen [3]. You get a sandwich and a can of GencoCola. The sandwich is alright. It might have been made fresh this morning.
As you sit on the cheap plastic seat in the grey and soulless canteen under row upon row of glaring fluorescent lighting, the waves of hysteria and patriotism that you were enjoying not so long ago pass as you reflect on the mundanity of your existence. You pick a thin slice of limp cucumber out of your sandwich.
Morale Drop! Mass hysteria complete!
Morale Drop! Mass patriotism complete!
Fail! Should have got started typing by now!
Success! Ate a quick and cheap lunch!
Task Assigned! Minute a teleconference recording!
Task Assigned! Sign up for some fire training!
Failure Rating: 21.
Morale: 3.
Whistling to himself, Sato went right back outside and began tidying up the dumpster area again. Sure is a nice day to be outside today, he thought, blatantly ignoring the events happening in front of the building. Out here in the back, it was just him and his cleaning equipment, and he could get lost in his work easily, giving him plenty of time to think and plan. Maybe when he had worked this job awhile and put enough money in the bank, he could open a small business. Nothing big, just a place for people to bring in appliances, computers, and other electronics to be fixed. Maybe he could customize and repair bicycles, too. Even if it was only moderately successful, he would be content. Still whistling, he got to work.
Heading outside and ignoring the carnage you pass at the GenComplex’s main driveway, you start to tidy the dumpster area again, sweeping back and forth [5], trying not to question the sense of tidying an already tidied area [1]. Damn it, they’re treating you like a fool! They must think you’re nothing but a common janitor. You’ll show them! You’ll… you’ll work this job awhile and put some money in the bank and open a small business! You’ll even customise bicycles, maybe even painting flames on the downtubes and hiding anti-GenCorp sentiment in coded paint schemes on the chainstays! Gah… at least it’s nice and sunny today! Even the gunfire seems to have quieted down a bit.
The sound of your whistling fills the nearly spotless dumpster area; the sun shines.
You feel a bit hungry, but you’re quite lost in your work.
Morale Drop! Slightly depressing introspection!
Morale Boost! Nice sunny day!
Success! Re-hygienificated the dumpster area!
Task Completed! Re-hygienificated the dumpster area!
Failure Rating: 13.
Morale: 10.
Warning! Your Morale is so high that you are beginning to look suspiciously happy! Remember folks, we are here to work, not to have fun! Scream in pain! Oh, the bad luck! But this won't get in the way of my ability to KILL THE PLANT! ROLL AROUND IN THE WEEDS TO SPREAD THE WEEDKILLER ON THEM TO KILL THEM DIE HORRIBLE BADLUCK WEEDS DIE!
As you blindly run about in panic, arms waving in the air like some kind of inflatable wavy armed machine, you suddenly come to your senses [5]. You scream in pain! And then you realise that, soaked in raw GenCorp Industrial Strength Perpetual Weedkiller, you are become an engine of vengeance! An engine of plant destroying chemical death!
You roll about on the floor, spreading the GenCorp Industrial Strength Perpetual Weedkiller as you writhe in burning skin agony, destroying swathes of weeds as you go, pustulating buboes all over the shrivelling and yellowed grass. The instant desertification is glorious and complete!
You still can't see very well though.
Morale Drop! Burning skin!
Morale Drop! No shirt!
Morale Boost! Wanton weed destruction!
Success! Killed those damn weeds!
Task Completed! Killed those damn weeds!
No Task Assigned! Failure Rating: 11.
Morale: -7.
Back to work!
You start on your way to your desk to get back to work [2], but the moment you rise you realise you are quite drunk. You’ve just downed an entire bottle of wine! You manage, just about, to get back to your workstation, but that seems to be the only thing you’re going to be able to manage for a while.
Slumped over your desk, you fight against sleep. The phone rings.
Morale Boost! Quite inebriated!
Fail! At work!
No Task Assigned!Failure Rating: 13.
Morale: 13
Warning! Your Morale is so high that you are beginning to look suspiciously happy! Remember folks, we are here to work, not to have fun! Tracy sighed and rolled her eyes. Another day at work? With a shrug she went down to the bus stop and boarded the next bus heading to GenCorp.
Shrugging with apathy but then considering the attraction of working four hours and being paid for fully four and a half, you finish off your lunch and get down to the bus stop [6].
You've not even been waiting 20 seconds when the bus pulls up, and you hop on. The bus is pretty full though and there's no seats left: you're forced to stand right near the front and you can feel the middle aged bald man on a seat a few rows back eyeing you up. Ewww. A couple of stops later an old lady boards the bus; there's no seats free still so the middle aged bald man gives his seat up for her and moves to stand towards the front also - just as you start thinking, ah, maybe I was wrong, maybe he isn't such a dirty middle aged bald man after all the bus jolts to a stop. You feel a hand on your backside. You turn round to give him an earful, but as you do he is already apologising sheepishly,
"Terribly sorry miss, I slipped when the bus braked" - you guess it's kind of plausible, so you bite your tongue.
A couple of minutes later though, the bus is cruising along close to the GenCorp complex when you feel a hand on your backside again! You turn round before he expects it and as you look him in the eyes a strange expression flashes across them. Anger overtakes you all of a sudden; you violently raise your knee! He coils over clutching himself, he falls to the floor! He is nearly struck down! A woman who was sitting a few seats away stands up.
"You go girl! That dirty middle aged bald man is always trying it on with every young woman on this damned bus and nothing ever gets done! He is a pest on upstanding young women everywhere! He always swore it was an accident and I always swore if I caught him again I would make sure he got a good kneeing! I saw him do that and I will testify in a court of law!"
She gets up and walks over to the prostrate deviant fiend and kicks him in the stomach a bit.
"You dirty old middle aged bald man!" she cries, striking him with her bag. Suddenly three young women from the back of the bus come forwards.
"Hey! It's the dirty old middle aged bald man! The one who tried to touch my backside! Hey we saw it happen! Let's call the police! Come on Tiffany, your turn! Kick him Angelique!"
The three young women start kicking the middle aged bald man as he lies sobbing on the floor. The old lady who took his seat stands; she hits him with her walking stick. The bus skids to a sudden halt, and several police officers board. They beat the middle aged bald man with their truncheons a little, then slam him to the floor and cuff him and lead him away. The sergeant addresses you.
"Miss, you have done your community a great service today! He has been molesting 19 year old typists and phone operators for months but we have never been able to catch him redhanded! I would be honoured to escort you safely the rest of your journey, although only if it is a short one, and I will tell your boss how much of an honour you are to his company! Yes sir! If I had a son I would wish for him to marry a strong and beautiful woman such as you!"
As you descend from the bus every passenger rises to their feet and gives you a standing ovation. The driver stops you before you walk away.
"Oh, miss Tracy! You are such a fine young woman. You may ride free on my bus any time you like! You are such an upstanding young citizen! You make me proud to be an American!"
He all but swoons.
...
As the police sergeant drives you up the main drive to the GenCorp Complex, you see lines of armoured police vans; wreckage strewn about; what appear to be... - no, they couldn't be corpses could they? It must have been some kind of staff exercise. Emergency readiness or something. Mr Halford always did seem such an insightful and forethinking man.
You get to the boss's office, but he's not there yet informs his assistant. He wants you to go and assist on main desk reception for a while though, and he'll come get you when he's ready. You're still beaming at your new found hero status.
Morale Boost! Righteous vengeance!
Morale Boost! Protector of womankind!
Morale Boost! Standing ovation!
Morale Boost! Free rides to work for ever!
Success! Community Hero!
Task Completed! Got to work!
Task Assigned! Assist reception!
Failure Rating: 9.
Morale: 5.