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T
he ever-increasing population of the world caused countries to band
together. Food was rationed and businesses were put under strict
regulations to conserve resources. Because of humanity’s failure to heed
to the drastically changing weather patterns, the Earth was constantly
covered in clouds accompanied by a perpetual rainfall. This rain steadily
beat on the countless buildings of the world, all similar except for a large
label plastered on the side of each building. In a building labeled Business
and FinanceCompany #7639, amannamedAminworked. He had the same
clothes, shoes, pens, and haircut as all the other people on the planet.
Amin glanced away from his company-issued computer, identical to the
computers of his coworkers. From his cubicle, he could see an endless
sea of cubicles, identical to his own. Every worker had the same cubicle,
the same company-issued computer, the same hologram of a desk plant
sitting exactly three inches to the right of the same holographic keyboard.
If an employee looked to their left, a bland, black and white motivational
poster reading, “Work is Important!” in large, capital letters was nailed to
the wall of the cubicle. All of a sudden, a loud noise played through every
computer in the room, the sound echoing throughout the cubicles.
“The International Society Preservation Organization is hosting another
event,” the clipped tone said politely, sounding like the voice one would
hear in an ancient early 21st century airport.
“Everyone is eligible to enter, and was automatically entered in today’s
function. Please check your ticket to see if you have been chosen as one of
the few to help advance the human race.”
The voice resonating from the computers stopped abruptly. A friendly
blip sounded from Amin’s computer, along with the blips coming from all
his coworkers’ computers. A giant image of an envelope had appeared on
Amin’s computer screen, covering the documents he had been working
on. Amin hesitated, then clicked on the envelope. After an excessive wait,
a letter emerged from the envelope, with the words, “Congratulations,
Recipient. You have won this event. You and a lucky few will work together
with the government to create a better world for us all. Rejoice in your
victory and celebrate.”
Amin sat back in his chair, shocked. He had won. The chances were so low,
but he had won. He was in a daze, barely hearing the cheers or seeing the
Scott Kim
Click
Lea Broudo (Colored Pencil on Paper)
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