Island of the Unemployed

A BAD MOVIE

Jayla sat on her tattered couch staring at a wall in her work pod, in a daze. I can't believe Mila is gone! Of all the people, she was the last one I expected to be fired. Her vision blurred with tears. I miss her so much! Should I ask Sara about her? No! I'd probably just get in trouble, and Sara would lie to me anyway.

"Why are you crying?" Sara asked.

"Oh. Am I crying? Nothing. Just thinking about something. That's all." Can't I even grieve quietly to myself? Are they going to start reading our minds next?

"Bobbi's asking permission to enter."

"Send him in, please."

A body flashed. Then Bobbi appeared.

"Bobbi! Thank God you're here!" Jayla said, with far more drama than she intended.

"Why? What's the matter'?" His accent was swallowed by the communication system.

Jayla looked up at him, tears filled her eyes. "Oh. Nothing." She wanted so badly to tell Bobbi what she was feeling. How the loss of her best friend was tearing her apart, but if Sara knew how upset she was about Mila, she would get extra scrutiny. "Just glad to see you. That's all."

"Glad to see you too!" He didn't have to wonder too hard why Jayla was upset. He missed Mila too.

"Can I get you a drink?" she asked Bobbi. "Sara, what do I have left in my account?"

"Just barely enough to watch a movie," she replied. "Would you rather have something to drink?"

Jayla looked at Bobbi. "I'm sorry!"

"No worries. What movie do you want to see?"

Bobbi was just as outspoken as Jayla, and his avatar showed it. He had thinning blonde hair, a protruding brow, and a weak chin. It had gotten to be so bad he considered changing his ways a few times. Be more accepting of his situation, more compliant to the corporation. Each time it only took him a few moments to tell himself Screw it. I'm not doing that!

"I don't know. Something exciting."

"How about the one with gladiators? You know. The one about ancient Rome."

"Isn't that the one where the volcano buries an entire city, and everyone dies?"

"Yeah! That's the one!"

"What's the point of that? Everyone dies!"

"That is the point. Don't you want to see it?"

"I was thinking something a little different. Something like...The Deadline! Have you seen that?"

"The Deadline? Isn't that the one about a company project where they try to meet a deadline?"

"That's the one!"

"That looks like a terrible movie. What's interesting about that?"

"The lead actor. He's hot!"

Bobbi let out a slow audible sigh. "Okay."

"You sure you don't mind? Come on. Sit here." Jayla patted the seat next to her on the couch excitedly.

"Sara, play The Deadline."

The lights dimmed and the work pod transformed into a work office.

"The Deadline! Starring Patrick Cumberland!" the announcer said in a deep dramatic voice. The lead character appeared at a desk only a foot away from Jayla. He intensely focused on a molecular structure hanging in the air in front of him. He moved it around, as it followed his hand motions, examining different aspects of it, frowning, in deep thought.

"Bobbi! That's him! He's right there! Isn't he darling?"

"It's up to him to solve the puzzle that mankind has been working on for decades, and he only has a week left!"

Bobbi rolled his eyes.

"He's so handsome, isn't he?"

"And the lazy employee!" The announcer boomed. They heard a door slam behind them. Jayla looked back to find a person with a big nose and balding head entered from behind them. He walked right through Jayla's shabby couch, and went up to the leading character, tripped, and spilled coffee over him.

"Hey! Watch it!" The actor stood and brushed hot coffee off himself.

"What's that!" the lazy employee said, looking at the hanging molecule.

"That, my dear friend, is the secret to one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs of our time." He hung his arm around the other character, and smiled at him.

"Hmmm." The lazy employee replied.

Bobbi stayed quiet as the movie played on. It didn't take long for Jayla to become bored with the film herself. She looked over at Bobbi thinking how nice it was of him to put up with this horrible movie for her sake. She hoped it would get better. If anything, it got worse.

In time, Jayla found herself rooting for the lazy employee. He constantly messed up, putting the project further behind. Whatever the stupid project was attempting to accomplish, it was sure to benefit only the investors. Did the company really think the average employee cared anything about the investor class? Was this the best plot line they could come up with?

"Sunny Days!" the announcer boomed as the room suddenly transformed into an island paradise. There were elderly people scattered about, all with smiles on their faces, sitting in chairs on a sandy beach. Surrogates brought them drinks, and waited on them hand and foot. "The perfect ending to a lifetime of hard work."

That was it! That was about all the company propaganda Jayla could take in one sitting. What was it that Mila's father said? If I just can't take it anymore to go to level one sector thirteen? That was a strange thing to say. There is no sector thirteen. Everybody knows that.

"Pause the movie please," Jayla requested.

Sara stopped the movie. Jayla's work pod returned to being a studio apartment. "What's the matter? You're not enjoying it?" Sara asked.

"I just want to talk to Bobbi for a minute." She turned to Bobbi, and opened her mouth, then closed it again. How could she ask him to come with her to level one without sounding utterly ridiculous?

"Bobbi!"

"Yes."

"We always do the same thing, day in and day out, right? Don't you think we should mix things up a bit? Try something different?"

"Okay. Like wat?"

Jayla could tell from Bobbi's expression that he was playing along. He understood Jayla had something in mind that she didn't want to reveal to Sara.

"Oh. I don't know." Jayla pretended to think. "Like exploring places we've never been before."

"Okay. That sounds like a good idea. But, we've already been everywhere on level five. We aren't allowed to go any higher than that."

"You see! That's just it! We always go to level five. Why don't we go someplace new?"

"The places on level four are not very good."

"No. I'm thinking someplace really different." She pretended to think again. "Oh! I know! Let's explore level one. That should be exciting."

Bobbi's face went blank.

"I can recommend some places on level four," Sara said, chiming in as she was prone to do. "Trust me. You won't find level one very interesting. There's a reason no one ever goes there."

"See! That's just it! No one ever goes there. So, it will be like exploring." She turned to Bobbi again. His face was still blank. "What do you think?"

"Ah...yeah. Sure. Why not explore level one? Let's do someting different."

"Sara, send us to level one sector ten please."