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Career Opportunities

Post by handheadcase » Sun Mar 20, 2022 10:31 pm

Will be updated as new "chapters" are added. Hoping to finish the next chapter this week.

--

Part One:

1986 - Chicago

"Today's the big day" Susan Walker, the Senior Vice President of Marketing at ABM, said as she entered the elevator with her associates, Vice President Deborah Williams and Karen Anderson, one of their managers. The trio turned and waited for the elevator doors to shut before speaking further. Susan glanced down at her watch, and Karen, seeing her reflection in the glass of the elevator, fluffed her perm with her fingers and made sure her makeup.

"Are we on time?" Deborah asked. "Someone stole my watch while I was going through airport security on the way back from Tokyo last week. I keep glancing at my watch and staring at my wrist. It's driving my crazy."

"By the time we get to the conference floor on 84f, we'll be about eight minutes early" Susan replied. "Do you think that's too early?"

"Could be" Deborah said. "You never know how those crotchety old men are going to react. Sometimes, they want you to arrive just before the meeting starts. They won't shut up about how you could be downstairs, finishing tasks to maximize your productivity. And sometimes they want you to get there fifteen minutes early so you can talk shop."

"When they do want us there early, it's just because they want to ogle us, like we're slabs of meat" Karen said. Susan silently agreed, though she thought it was a tad ironic Karen said that while she meticulously checked her appearance. Susan supposed Karen was just playing the corporate ladder game - and you needed to be liked by the people at the top if you wanted to move anywhere but down. She suddenly became hyperaware of the fact her corporate attire always consisted of sharp black heels and a skirt.

Her eyes wandered to the dashboard on the right side of the elevator. They were only at floor 20. As much at technology had advanced in the past three years, these damn elevators were just so slow.

"I think we made the right choice today. We want to get there before Mayor Lasky and the liaisons from the feds get to the top. Don't we?" Susan said.

Karen and Deborah murmured in agreement. The conversation lulled as they waited for the elevator to reach its destination. Susan turned away from her subordinates and looked through the glass elevator, watching as the stark white lobby of ABM's headquarters got further and further away. The people lingering down there seemed to get smaller and smaller until they could barely be seen. Susan remembered the first time she stepped in these elevators. It was the highest she'd ever been off the ground. The glass elevator seemed so futuristic and beautiful. And she never thought she'd be allowed to ever rise so high in the corporate world, either. But there was no going back for her.

Susan turned back to face the elevator doors. They were about halfway up the building. "We're a team, the three of us" she said. "We may report to Reed, but he just wants to use us and our work as a stepping stone on his way up. But he wasn't the one to come up with the marketing strategy ABM is going to implement. We did. So don't let some man push you around. He's like a barracuda. He'll sense any opportunity he can to push you down and elevate himself up. So we need to be sharks. If you see an opportunity, you take it. Even if you don't have a plan." She turned and made eye contact with Karen and Deborah, who stared back knowingly.

The trio stared up at the elevator door as they felt it slow and heard the arrival bell ding. Karen and Deborah glanced to Susan, who took a breath and stepped into the wide conference room. To her dismay, it was already busy with executives and officials. The CEO, Mr. Morris, was already at the head of the conference table, speaking to what looked like a few government reps from the EPA and Commerce. Other officials executives of all ranks were mingling with each other around the room.

"Hi, Susie" Reed said, approaching them. She hadn's een him when she walked into the room. He must have been waiting for them near the elevator. Susan hated it when Reed called her Susie.


"Good afternoon, Reed" she said, extending her hand for a handshake. He smirked at her and did not reach to meet her hand.


"11:52. You're a few minutes early for the meeting. Glad to see you were being productive. But didn't you get the memo from me and Young? We wanted everybody up here at 11:30 sharp to meet the feds" he said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at a group of officials. "But don't worry. You weren't missed. I made sure to fill them in on our marketing strategy."

"You didn't send us any memo" Susan said. She was trying to sound diplomatic, keeping her professional tone, but she could feel her frustration seep into her voice. Reed seemed amused. Susan noticed his gaze creep down past her eye level. She hated him, with every fibre of her being.

"Didn't I? I thought I sent it to you well in advance. Check with your secretary when you get back. I'm sure she has it" Reed said.

"Say," Reed said, turning his gaze towards Karen. "What's this one doing up here? Managers weren't invited. This is an executive-only function."

"Karen was instrumental in developing our marketing strategy, so I invited her." Susan shot back. It was a lite - Susan was relatively new to the company, and wasn't particularly involved with planning the strategy. But, as one of her managers, she would be important to further marketing efforts, Susan reasoned. And Susan really just wanted more women in the conference room. It made her feel like the glass ceiling could be shattered.

Karen gave a fake smile to Reed. Reed kept the same amused smirk on his face. He must have been planning something. Perhaps he was looking to get her into trouble.

"Alright, Reed, well, we're going to go sit down and prepare for the demonstration. We'll see you over there" Susan said. She briskly walked past him, with Karen and Deborah quickly following suit. She didn't turn back to look, but she was certain he was staring at her behind as she strode away. Reed is such a jerk, she thought. She couldn't wait for him to get tired of waiting for a promotion and jump ship to some other company. She didn't care if she didn't get his job, she just wanted him gone. Surely, anybody hired as the new President of Marketing could not be worse than Reed.

The trio took their seats, giving polite welcomes to people as they passed by. Susan saw a few people she liked across the table. Michelle Sato was there with the rest of accounting. O'Brien from Engineering was there, too, and he seemed alright. They'd have to catch up after the meeting.

"So... where is it?" Karen asked.

Susan turned and looked towards the corner of the room. She discreetly gestured towards a sealed door in the east corner, which led to another conference room. "The lab rats will bring out the prototype to demonstrate it. Deborah and I will lead that presentation. We're going to demonstrate how the device can be used to minimize waste and landfills around the city. If it goes well, the EPA is interested in utilizing it nationwide. I'm not sure who all these officials are, though. Commerce has people here, but I don't recognize some of those other logos."

"I think I saw an NSA man here" Deborah said. "And DOJ, maybe."

"Weird..." Susan said. She wasn't briefed on that. But, knowing Reed, he probably declined to give her the full picture.

"Anyway, Deb and I know the routine. We opted not to use the video, as we think a live presentation will be more engaging for the stakeholders" she continued. "Lab rats have the samples. As long as Reed doesn't open his mouth, it should all go swimmingly".

Susan turned and saw Mr. Morris stand up. Executives and government officials alike took their seats as he cleared his throat, waiting to address the room. Susan expected Reed to come sit next to her, and was shocked to see him sit down right next to Mr. Morris's. Normally, that's where the VP of the company or sat. Susan didn't like seeing this. Reed was up to something. She wondered what Reed planned with Mr. Morris.

"When the device is brought out, we go right to it. Don't let Reed get a word in. He's up to something" she whispered to Deborah.

Everyone took their seats. Mr. Morris smiled, and began speaking.

"My friends and associates, I am pleased to gather all of you today. Advanced Business Machines is proud welcome representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, DOD, DOJ, EPA, and the NSA here with us today in our headquarters in Chicago" he said. He paused, allowing everyone at the table to clap. Susan joined in, though she never quite understood the corporate ritual of clapping after someone says something. Or maybe she just didn't like seeing Reed, the snake, getting applause when he presented something to the board.


"After months of intensive research - which we were able to pursue, thanks to generous grants from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy - I am proud to call all of you here to show our stakeholders the breakthrough technology our engineers, physicists, and the rest of ABM have developed."

"ABM, like many corporations in Chicago and elsewhere in America, have contributed greatly to the development of our great cities. Advanced technologies were unthinkable at the turn of the decade, six years ago. But - thanks to the McQuaid Revolution of 1981 - technology has advanced so radically that the very way of life and doing business in America is being disrupted each and every day, especially here at ABM. Our new headquarters - built in 1983 - stands as the tallest building in the Midwest, a testament to progress. And the various other technologies - such as the Automated Police Patrol Bot, the Improved Electrical Word Processor, and the Indoor Climate System - have contributed greatly to improving the quality of life many Americans enjoy, streamlining work, play, and benefiting both the public and private sectors."

"But, as you are all aware, not all is perfect in America, as wonderful as our country is - especially thanks to the Reagan Administration's close working relationship with ABM. Think back just a few years. The trash strike of 1981 was horrible for New York. The city government had to contract temp workers to clean the streets when their disposers decided it was in their best interest to strike. We've had plenty of other problems as well - and plenty of potential problems on the horizon. The failures of the Soviets have shown us that nuclear energy, while efficient, is highly dangerous. And, not to mention, all those industrial zones and smokestacks are an eyesore to everyone."

"Envision the city of the future. Clean, spacious, safe. We want to make that a reality. The cost of doing so might be high - especially as we continue to roll out our improved products across cities to build up the infrastructure we deserve. And, we'll admit, we've contributed to pollution in no small amount. It's not easy generating all of the electricity needed to power our headquarters, or to keep all of the networks that wirelessly communicate between our headquarters and our automated police force online. And we'll need more power, more energy, as we continue to expand.


"But we don't want to make the world suffer in order to lift ourselves up. We thought about converting out automated police into automated trash collectors. And, while we will definitely broach that subject with city officials in the future, we are currently thinking bigger. Or, as my associate, Mr. Reed Valentine, is about to demonstrate, we are currently thinking smaller."

Applause. Susan saw Reed stand up. She rolled her eyes. Mr. Morris was supposed to introducer her and bring out the machine. She couldn't believe Reed was going to cut her out. He probably didn't even know how to properly utilize the machine. He was going to screw this whole thing up. Susan shot Deborah a glance. Get ready to move, it said.


"Thank you, Mr. Morris" Reed said. "And thank you all for coming. You may be asking yourselves why the President of Marketing is addressing all of you now. To which I say: fair enough! But I'm here for a reason: to demonstrate how by thinking smaller, we're going to do big things. Very big things, indeed."

"Earlier, Mr. Morris brought up the trash strike of 1981, and nuclear failures of the Soviet Union. I'm here to remind you that there are many, many problems in our world. Think about it. Tensions with the Russkies - pardon my French - are quite high. While I know Mr. Reagan wants to end the cold war, we can't ever be sure that we're safe from a bomb. And for those of us who don't have the luxuries of penthouses, private travel, and means to afford food - real food, not our Genetically Grown Produce - the environment could take a turn for the worse and ruin lives. And that's to say the least about urban sprawl. We're at a risk of being overcrowded. To put it bluntly: we can't build ABM's City of the Future as our cities currently stand."


Susan felt confused. Was he trying to scare the investors off?

Reed continued. "Well, I'm not here to tell you we can snap our fingers and make the world's problems go away. But we have a start. We worked with several departments and closely with both the Environmental Development Agency and Chicago's DOT to come up with solutions for reducing the amount of waste around us, increasing the supply of resources available to us, and increasing the livability of our cities. And it is my honor to introduce to all of you our newest, life-changing product: ABM's Advanced Miniaturization Processor."

He waved his hand, giving signal for the "lab rats" to come in with the machine. Two girls from R&D and Engineering, dressed in white labcoats, wheeled a huge, mechanical-looking machine out on a carted platform. The entire room let out a collective gasp of awe as the two lab rats turned on the machine, making robotic whirring machines and beeps as it powered up. Susan furrowed her brow. She knew one of the rats, Mary Crawford. But she had coordinated the event with John Walkman. John wasn't here - instead, there was a redhead woman she'd never met before. Perhaps she was Reed's agent.

"This is the Advanced Miniaturization Processor. It may look complex, but it's relatively simple. It features a ray that allows us to compartmentalize and condense matter into a smaller, easier to handle state. The implications of the device for urban planning, energy, energy renewal, and waste disposal are revolutionary, and are the main reasons why we developed the device."
No! He's stealing my presentation, almost verbatim! Susan thought. She stood up, suddenly, angry. She wanted control. It was her work. She wanted credit.

"Oh! One moment, Susan. We'll get to your part of the presentation in a moment. Folks, this is Ms. Walker, our Senior VP of Marketing. She's got a special demonstration planned for us, don't you Susan?" Reed said. The eyes of every person in the room turned to her.

She felt her face flush. She couldn't yell and risk the sale. "Yes. I'm just getting ready" she said, begrudgingly.

"Great. Why don't you go stand over by the techs?" Reed said. Susan, her head hanging low, obeyed. Oh, how she hated him. She heard Deborah get up and follow her.

"Think about what this device could do. Let's think about the trash strike again. Trash piling up? No problem. We could use our device to reduce the amount of waste quite literally, preventing trash pileup from becoming a problem. In fact, we could probably fit an entire landfill's worth of trash in the back of a pickup truck, if we wanted. For our urban customers, this means cleaner streets, and the peace of mind that comes with it. Environmentally? We reduce the amount of waste that impacts our arable soil and drinkable water. Pollution would be decreased drastically."

"What are we doing?" Deborah asked Susan as the two approached the machine.

"We're still doing the demonstration. Just pick up there when we have the chance" she replied.

"But, that's not all. We know that pollution doesn't just come from waste. It comes from how we produce energy. Coal will run out someday, and oil is always in demand. But with our device, we could, with further development, stretch out the amount of coal we have. One ounce of coal could be enlarged many times its size with our device, increasing our supply and preventing our economy from relying on trade and mining. Now, we're still prototyping the enlargement machine, so we won't demonstrate that today, but, with your continued support, we expect to have that phase complete in six months. And, once we complete that, we could then use both of our Processors to adjust how we plan cities. Skyscapers such as ours will still dominate the landscape, of course. But, we'd be able to fit many, many more floors - and people - inside of it with novel Miniaturization and Enlargement technologies" he said.

The room applauded thunderously. Reed, smirking, pointed to Susan. "Susan! Please demonstrate the ray with the presentation we prepared."

Susan put on a plastic smile. "Thank you, Reed!" she said through her teeth. "While the enlargement process is still under development, we are prepared to demonstrate the ray for you today. Deborah Williams and I are going to demonstrate how the ray works on this marble statue we've made of Jules Verne - one of the favorite authors of Anne Gorsuch Buford, who is in attendance today" Susan said. Anne was Reagan's head of the EPA. The audience turned and clapped for Buford, who smiled graciously.

The massive statue was wheeled out by a few burly security men from the same room the ray was stored in. They positioned it in front of the conference table and the massive window, giving the attendees a view of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan. Susan and Deborah approached the statue, demonstrating that it was, in fact, marble - and it was heavy.

"Now, we'll have our lab rats calibrate the machine. We want this statue to be reduced to a 1:6 scale - small enough to fit on Mrs. Gorsuch Buford's desk" Susan explained.

Susan felt a bit nervous as she saw the techs tinkering with the machine. Mary, she trusted. But this redhead - she wasn't in the office before. When was she hired? Susan couldn't shake the feeling she was involved with Reed, somehow. The redhead looked up at Susan and smiled at her.

Susan turned towards Deborah. "Go sit down, now. You want to be at least five feet from the machine when it fires, or it could affect you too." Deborah smiled to the crowd and sat down. Susan readied herself to move. Mary wouldn't fire the machine until she heard Susan give the go ahead... but what about the redhead? Susan didn't want to be the first human test subject.

"Now, when I give the signal, my lab rats will fire the machine, reducing it in size. How's it coming, lab rats?" she asked.

"Just fine" the redhead sang back at her.

"We are still developing measures to refine the shrinking process. Once we take this out of prototype, we intend to add safeguards to prevent the machine from reducing anything on accident. We hope to do this by calibrating the sensors so that it is only capable of impacting a specific material, like marble, but, for now, I advise you give us a little space. We wouldn't want anybody to be actually miniaturized!" she said in her rehearsed cadence.

For a moment, she believed her suspicion towards the redhead was just paranoia. No, there's no way this can go wrong. I must have met her before. ABM can't risk the presentation going wrong. If a person was shrunk before we got approved for human trials, our funding could be- Susan thought to herself.

Her thought was cut off by a sudden bright purple light and a loud crackling sound.

One moment, she was glancing over at the machine. The next, she was staring at the heeled feet of the redheaded lab tech, who was approaching rapidly. She craned her neck up and saw the smiling redhead, speaking to the crowd in a loud voice. At least, it sounded like a loud voice. Everything sounded loud to Susan now. She turned and craned up at the platform that, minutes ago, barely came up to her waist. Now, it towered above her like a building.

Susan recoiled backwards as the redhead's heels came crashing down just feet - or was that inches, now? - away from her. She looked up and saw the redhead pick up the statue, hoisting it up in both of her hands. "As you can see: it's much lighter, more portable, and easily manageable now!" she exclaimed. "Here you go" she said, handing it to someone who approached the platform.

"Thank you, Sam" Reed's voice boomed. Reed walked away for a moment. Probably giving the statue to Buford. As he walked away, Sam - the redhead, turned her attention to the miniaturized Susan, smiling down at her. Susan stared up at her, dumbstruck with fear. She could barely move as Sam's hand descended towards her. The only thing Susan could compare it to was watching a hand grab the lens of a camera - it seemed to be all-consuming in that moment.

She yelped as Sam's fingers wrapped her, wrapping around her torso and squeezing her a bit too tightly. The hand went horizontal, tipping Susan backwards, and causing her limp little arms and legs to dangle helplessly, swaying with each movement of Sam's hand. Without warning, Sam stood up rapidly, causing Susan to fly upwards with her hand like she was in a rollercoaster.

Sam turned and displayed the miniature Susan to the crowd, standing her up in her palm like she was a bowling trophy, on display. She turned Susan to face the room, rotating her slightly.

"And thank you to Susan, who volunteered just this morning to be our first human test subject!" she said. Susan, disoriented from being grabbed and shown off like a caught fish, could do nothing to protest. She didn't even know that the ray was approved for human tests - if that was even true. As far as she knew, that phase couldn't be tested until the growth ray was perfected. Years away.

Susan felt Sam's hands grip her left arm, making her wave to the crowd. She knew Sam was able to move her entire arm with little effort - like manipulating a doll's arm. "Well, she's got a few meetings to get to, so let's all say goodbye to Susan for now!" Sam said. Susan felt her heart drop as she made eye contact with Deborah and Karen, who stared at her, horrified at what just happened.


Sam then turned her arm inward, bringing Susan face-first towards Sam's stomach. She wrapped her other hand around Susan's legs, securing her in place, and briskly walked away. Susan's couldn't see where she was being taken, but, as she tried to protest, she felt Sam give her a squeeze, reminding her to be quiet.

Susan heard a ding and knew Sam was taking her to the elevator. She felt Sam step onto the glass surface, and then felt as her hand let go of her legs and pushed a button.

Sam lifted Susan up to her face, tilting her backwards slightly. Susan looked up at her, horrified at the smiling face of the now-gigantic woman. She felt warm fingers probe her exposed legs, stroking her bare calves and the parts of her thigh that weren't covered by her skirt. She began to panic. Was this Sam kidnapping her? She tried to crane her neck to see what floor they were heading to, but Sam pinched Susan's head between two fingers and turned her head, forcing her to look back at her.

"You're pretty cute at this size. But Reed says I can't keep you. Yet. I'm supposed to send you to Mr. Morris's office for a meeting there at 1 pm. He, Reed, and - well, I'm not supposed to ruin the surprise. But you'll see" she said.

"You can't do this! I'm an executive. I have a job to d-" Susan protested. She was cut off by Sam's gigantic forefinger, which she shoved the tip of into Susan's mouth, gagging her.

"Shh shh shh. We're almost there, Susie" she said.

Susan heard the familiar beep of the elevator. Sam dropped her arms to her sides and briskly walked out, carrying Sam at her side like nothing more than a book or an inanimate object. Susan was shaken with each step violently, disorienting her. She tried to still herself enough to see where she was, but she couldn't focus her eyes enough to make out any details.

"Hi, Val" Sam said.

"Hey, Sam. Here with the package from Reed?" Val asked. Sam lifted her arm up and flashed the disoriented Susan to Val, who seemingly expected this delivery. She didn't react in the slightest to the sight of the miniaturized Susan.

"Oh, no" Susan thought. She knew where they were. Val was Mr. Morris's secretary. She was being taken to his office.

Sam pushed a door open, and entered the office. It was well lit, with a huge glass window that changed the color of the natural light every few seconds. Though the rest of the building was high tech, Morris's office was old fashioned and dark.

Sam went to the desk and stood Susan up on it. "Stay right there" she instructed. Susan collapsed as soon as Sam let go of her. She was dizzy and weak from being handled so carelessly. Sam, either not noticing or uncaring, walked away for a second.

"Alright, pipsqueak. Everyone will be here soon. So make yourself look pretty and your friends in marketing will get you back in no time. And don't look so glum. This is a good opportunity for a woman like you" she said, in a gloating voice. Susan tried to dart away from Sam, though she wasn't fast enough. Sam had a large, old fashioned lantern in one hand. With the other, she caught Susan, tossing her into the glass prison and shutting it tight.

"You don't make a very good candle, pipsqueak. But I'm sure someone will find another use for you."

Susan pounded on the door, trying to free herself. Sam smiled down at her one more time, but her lip, and then sauntered out of the room. She shut the lights off as she went, leaving Susan in near total darkness.

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