22:59

06:00

The meeting began as usual.

The representative for the Security Department was given the first word. He went over the latest statistics, reminded those gathered of the upcoming fire and electrical safety training, and made special note of the names of several employees who had especially zealously interposed themselves into work processes, due to the their noting of violations of the safety rules. They were encouraged to do this not only verbally but also with pleasant bonuses at the end of the quarter. Roger heard about this from colleagues.

Next up was the head of the Project Control Department who dryly read through the results of each department and finally passed the baton on to one of the staff psychotherapists.

Roger loved this part of the meeting, every single time the team of doctors came up with new exercises to get the company staff ready for a working day that was productive and as stress-free as possible. Sometimes the staff wrote mini-essays on different topics such as: "Today is My Ideal Day", "Half an Hour in Tahiti" or "I am grateful to this world for..." Sometimes these were practical exercises during which they were divided into groups and asked to discuss a given topic. More than anything Roger remembered the day when they were told to "put on rhinoceros skin" before going to work. At the time he was embarrassed, blushed and mumbled that these were all childish games, but inside laughed at the sight of his colleagues "pulling on" thick, impenetrable, heavy hides. They stretched them up to their very heads, and on their faces adorned a mask with a huge horn and small eyes. He became so engrossed in the role that he could have sworn that he could even smell the scent that would come from the skin of a rhinoceros if you climbed inside it. He felt a sticky weight on his skin, and he felt safe.

Today they did not gather into groups, nor did they shout or dress up as rhinos or anything else. The Psychotherapist handed each of them tablet computers with a questionnaire containing 10 questions and then asked them to answer simply "yes" or "no". Such surveys were also not uncommon and were carried out every two weeks with a single purpose in mind, namely to assess the general emotional state of the staff in order to identify any warning signs of accumulated fatigue, discontent or other conditions that could cause destructive reactions in the body and lead to the plague of the 23rd century. Roger scanned the questions, nothing new.

"Have you been feeling tired in the morning during the past two weeks?" Roger thought about it, remembered that today, perhaps, he had been exhausted since morning, but he blamed it on an excessively strenuous workout. He thought, tapped his fingers on the table, tried to spy on the answers of a fellow worker sitting next to him, sighed and wrote "no".

Next question, "Have you had any problems with your appetite over the past two weeks?" That was easy, he ticked "no" right away and moved on to the next question.

"Have you missed any sessions of physical activity in the last two weeks?" Roger clearly remembered that he had missed three whole workouts last week due to staying late at work. The new position was extremely involved. He thought about it. If he wrote the truth, he would most likely be forced to go to the therapist who would begin to engage him in long conversations about his childhood, marriage, or his work relationships. He decided to simply attempt to get back on his old schedule and not disrupt his training regimen for the next two weeks, and then, if he didn't succeed, he would say so during the next survey. Satisfied with his decision, he wrote "no" and moved on to the next question.

"Have you been in pain anytime in the past two weeks?" Roger thought about the morning and the fleeting fear that had gripped him at the barely noticeable pain in his solar plexus area. He tried to remember if the sensation went away after eating breakfast, but he couldn't. The feeling of fear returned again, and again he took five deep breaths, trying to focus on something pleasant. He usually tried to remember his last vacation. They had a tradition of flying to Tahiti with the whole family once every three months, as the doctors advised. The last time they were there was only two months ago, and the memories were vivid; sun, sea, sand, piña coladas, grilled meat and soft music. It was as if the afternoon sea breeze had blown over him again, and he could have sworn that he felt a salty taste on his lips and the grinding sensation of sand on his teeth. Back to reality, Roger paid attention to the sensations he was experiencing now. There was only a feeling of pleasantly well-fed heaviness from an omelet of two eggs, a couple of toast and a glass of juice. Deciding to watch himself for the next two weeks, Roger put down "no".

The other six questions concerned family and work. He confidently ticked "no" everywhere and pressed "send" on the tablet on which they were taking the survey. The allotted five minutes was over. It was believed that if you thought about a question for too long, you were in doubt, which meant that you automatically get an in-person appointment. He made it in time.

After that it took another five minutes to read out the names of those who were invited to meet with the therapist. Stone was not on the list.