OBSOLESCENCE
Michael stared up at the night-time sky. Thousands of commuters crisscrossed above him, zooming by at the speed of sound. Seeing the commuters made him wish for home, but he still had six more hours left on the line. Then he could go back to his family. He thought of Billy and smiled. I’m off the line tomorrow, buddy, he thought. Then we can play that game of catch like I promised. A horn screamed across the complex. Break-time was over. The line was waiting.
Back on the line, Michael put on his protective suit and manned his station. When the commuter vehicles drifted up to his station, his job was to apply the magnetic field. The suit prevented arcs of energy from injuring him – or worse. He waved a hand in front of a panel to let the mainframe know that he was back. Three of the commuter vehicles flew by him to other stations up the line. The fourth one stopped in front of him and hovered. He pressed a large blue button. There was a hissing sound as metallic gas particles surrounded the vehicle. Then he pressed the red button. The cloud of particles attached to the outside of the bird-shaped machine. A push of the green button sent a surge of energy through the outer shell – magnetizing it. Once the process was complete, the vehicle zoomed off. It would now go to the color station – then the interior station after that. As soon as it departed, another vehicle took its place.
About an hour after Michael came back on line, Jerry’s voice sounded over the intercom and told him that Mr. Pritchard wanted to see him. Michael’ d been working at the factory for just over three years and had put in a request to have his salary increased so he could better take care of his family. He thought about how happy Jenny would be that he’d gotten a raise. She may finally be able to get Billy that new hover-board that he’d been asking for over the past year or so. He approached the main office, placed his hand on the sensor by the door. A white light scanned down the length of his palm, then back up.
“Access granted,” Jerry’s voice announced and the heavy metal door slid open. As Michael walked into the outer office, he thought for the thousandth time how adorable Jerry’s voice sounded to him. He wondered, not for the first time, what she would look like if she actually had a body. He stepped up into a large chamber in the center of the large outer-office.
“Please raise your arms,” Jerry’s voice said. Michael obeyed. Another line of white light scanned down the length of his body and then back up again. When the scan was completed, Jerry said, “Please exit the chamber, Michael. Mr. Pritchard will see you now.”
Mr. Pritchard’s office door was already open when Michael stepped out from the chamber. The heavy-set man sat waiting behind his desk, smiling. On either side of him were his two assistants, Mr. Thompson and Mr. Dale. Michael could never tell them apart. Not only did they look exactly the same, they always wore the same color suits.
“Take a seat,” Mr. Pritchard said. After Michael sat, his supervisor continued, “Hello, Michael,” he said, folding his hands on top of his desk. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“No problem, Sir,” Michael said.
Mr. Pritchard cleared his throat.
“Well Michael, I’m not the beat around the bush kind of man, so I’ll just get to it. I’ve got some bad news.”
“Bad news, Sir?” Michael didn’t expect to hear bad news. “My family, sir – are they okay? Billy…”
“Calm down,” Mr. Pritchard said. “Calm down. Your family is okay. This isn’t about them, Michael. It’s about you.”
That’s when the real fear showed in Michael’s eyes. His throat went dry. He could feel his body temperature begin to rise. This isn’t what’s supposed to be happening right now, he thought. But it is…it is happening. He knew where this was heading, but all he could say was, “Ahhh…Me, sir?”
“Yes, Michael. There’s a new unit coming in tomorrow that will automate the magnetization process. You understand what that means?”
“Am I going to have to learn a new process?” Michael responded. Stranger things have happened.
“No, Michael,” Mr. Pritchard said. “It’s going to do everything that you currently do.” He waited a few seconds to see if recognition would show in Michael’s eyes. When it didn’t, he said, “I’m very sorry, Michael. You’ve been coded obsolete.”
I can’t be obsolete, Michael thought. I just can’t be. I have to play catch with Billy like I promised. I have to provide for my family. “Sir,” he said. “This can’t be. I’m supposed to get a thirty day notice.”
“I know, son.” Mr. Pritchard said. “I am truly very sorry.” He stood and held out his hand. Michael stood as well, he legs feeling wobbly under him. He reluctantly took his boss’s hand. “You’ve done a great job here, Michael. This decision is in no way a reflection of your service. I hope you know that.”
Michael nodded. There was nothing else he could do. The decision had been made.
“Good,” Mr. Pritchard said. “Good. Your retirement ceremony’s been scheduled for tomorrow. Your family’s already been notified.” He walked around his desk with his two assistants following him, patted Michael on the back, then led him toward the office door. “If it makes things any easier for you, your family is extremely upset.”
At the door, Michael turned around.
“My family,” he said. “Who’s going to take care of them?”
“Don’t you worry about that,” Mr. Pritchard said. “We’ve got it covered. Dave, from the interior decorating department lost his family in an unfortunate commuter accident last month. We feel that he’ll fit nicely.”
“Dave’s going to take care of my family?” Michael asked. “Who the hell’s Dave? It’s my family, not Dave’s! They’re my responsibility!” Anger finally overtook him. He lunged at Mr. Pritchard. Mr. Thompson and Mr. Dale grabbed his arms and dragged him out of the office. A small alarm sounded. Mr. Pritchard’s office door slid shut. Michael fought the twins as hard as he could, but in the end, he couldn’t match their combined strength – or the electric shock that they sent through his neck, rendering him useless.
When he woke, Michael found he couldn’t move. Standing on the very platform where he’d watched so many other fellow workers retired, he knew that struggling was useless. He was obsolete. When a job is terminated, he must be retired. That was the law. Below the platform, thousands of workers were already gathered – silently watching. A door slid open to his left. Mr. Pritchard walked stepped onto the platform, followed by Michael’s family.
“Billy!” Michael called out. “Billy, I’m sorry. I wanted to play catch with you!”
Billy began to cry, turned away from Michael, buried his face in Dave’s side Dave patted the boy’s back and told him it would be okay. That this was the natural order of things. Michael looked to at Jenny, but she was looking down at the floor. Her husband, Ken wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close.
“I know you’ll miss Michael,” Ken said. “But, I’m sure that Dave is going to work out just fine. He’s a newer model, you know? That’s good – right?”
Jenny nodded and wiped her eyes. She still refused to look at Michael.
Mr. Pritchard walked out to the center of the platform and stood beside Michael.
“We’re here today to say goodbye to Michael – model number 57. He’s been an outstanding producer and will be missed.” He turned to Michael, patted him on the shoulder. “Just so you know, Michael – I would’ve been more than happy to give you that raise.”
Michael didn’t say anything, couldn’t. He knew it wouldn’t make a difference. Also, it would only make things harder on his family if he fought. He looked over at them. “Take care of each other,” he said. Then, to Dave, “Take care of them. Play catch with Billy. I promised.” When he was finished, Mr. Pritchard nodded to Mr. Dale. Mr. Dale nodded back, then opened a small panel on the back of Michael’s neck.
“Goodbye, Michael,” Jerry said, her voice booming over the small chatter coming from the crowd “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too,” Michael said. He looked back at his family, then the crowd. “I’ll miss all of…” Mr Dale cut a cord in the back of Michael’s neck. His head fell forward.
THE END
