Chapter 5 (Cont.)
And the corporates carry out the crucible of superiority amongst themselves and the fight for its possession continues as usual. But this society knows. That the corporates are the ruling class. Both cybernetics engineers and surveillance agents are in the same class of the society. The surveillance people know things we don't know. And thus, even if interactions between cybernetics people and surveillance people were rare outside of projects, they were often made by the surveillance agents' demeanour into the impression that: "we are colleagues within the same corporation. Thanks for asking about my well-being and I hope you too are at the summit of well-being. I'm afraid we don't have anything to talk about beyond that scope". I don't mind them ever. I never tried to initiate a conversation with them in my four years at Datamangle so far. It's not my concern. However, maybe some of them looked interesting to me. This woman, by now, I'm almost sure I have seen at Datamangle cybernetics HQ's cafeteria. I believe she was all by herself even there. She has a rather memorable face, it's no wonder I remember her even though I only see the surveillance agents as a corporate entity than a person. Since ordering her drink, she has only looked back two times thus far. It's one of those times I spotted the insignia. Although there's no formalised uniform in any branch of Datamangle and most corporations in Tatterstown down, corporate workers are expected to adhere to a certain dress code in their time at the firms and other field businesses. Everyone in cybernetics division, from my own department of marketing to other departments like logistics, manufacturer, R&D, maintenance and basically all field have a flexible yet sophisticated dress code. Even though the insignias are different, such a small device could not be adequate to detect surveillance agents who are seen at cybernetics facilities. Indeed it, even coupled with their demeanour is not sufficient. Surveillance division has a somewhat recognisable dress code even though it's based on the same corporate opulence that other branches are subject to. However, I feel like there's a degree of solemnly mythologised air about their professional attire, in colour and design alike. I bet the sense of distinctness is a deliberate drive behind the design of the dress code. This surveillance woman here at Les huits is in informal albeit sophisticated attire. Her insignia is not placed in the way to flash status but as a mark of identity. Minutes have passed since I entered Les huits and she hasn't shown any interest in anything of the bar other than the drink. If we were in the same position as we are now, in the different context of professionalism, things wouldn't seem anything strange at all. Me, a cybernetics corporate, minding my own business at the grand cafeteria. She, a surveillance corporate, minding her own business at the grand cafeteria. It's not her headquarters, she's away from there in our domain as a collaborator in a project. She only interacts professionally with my other colleagues at Datamangle Inc. Cybernetics. But now, we are both in an informal situation. In a bar no less. In a nostalgia bar, all the more importantly. How strange is that, a woman in the context where her livelihood holds the view that old world nostalgia is not preferable but merely tolerable? Maybe strange situation requires strange deviations? If I was in the Datamangle cafeteria, I would not even approach her for exchanging pleasantries. But here, I feel an curious desire to start a conversation with her? How could I start it though? Only person here she's spoken with so far is the bartender for ordering purpose. And I suppose beyond her own disinterest, her intimidating aura is keeping anyone in the bar to act on their own interest. An uninitiated citizen would not be able to tell the miniscule differences between the insignias of Datamangle's surveillance and other divisions, but the base insignia of Datamangle is well-known in Tatterstown and even broader NWF since Datamangle is one of the leaders in both local and international cybernetics market. So maybe the people in the bar, I believe most come from various non-corporate background, would view the woman with an otherness. "Hey, that woman is beautiful but she is a Datamangle agent. Scary! Better keep our distance". And as I'm currently off-duty and not wearing the insignia, I'm blended in the atmospheric demographics and started viewing her as an otherness, she's an otherness even if I was wearing the cybernetics branch insignia right now as well. Then the people in the bar would think "Hey there's a corporate man here as well and he appears to be from Datamangle as well. Two corporates in a nostalgia bar, how strange..."
Funtitled #40
Spinelineage I / Pedagogy of the Rebel with his Personal Writings Dying a Happy Death at the Trial