Employee of the Multiverse and His Darling Cat

17| Log 005 Pt. 2

The announcements continued:

"As you go about your day, you may see new potted plants being placed in the hallways and offices. Those with allergies and sensitivities need not be worried, as these are hyper-realistic artificial plants. We hope the addition of this greenery will add ambiance to your workday."

I gave a mental nod of approval. It was best practice to be cognizant of employees' health conditions.

"As you may have heard in the news, a new law has been passed enabling citizens' pronouns on IDs to be shared publicly between personal communicators."

This was a complete surprise to me. I needed to pay more attention to the news.

"At noon, communicators worldwide will update and the default setting will be 'opt-in.' If you do not wish for your pronouns to be visible to strangers, please be mindful to change your settings to opt out immediately upon the update."

It was fascinating that this world's government got so involved in social politics. At face value, it seemed like this change would benefit the people.

"As for CenUMR, as a government organization, we have decided to make pronoun sharing mandatory between work communicators. Please be assured that the pronoun field will remain free-response and may be filled however you are comfortable while facilitating efficient and respectful communication between yourself and fellow CenUMR employees. For those that still find difficulty with the change, please be aware that you can submit personal petition forms, located on the intranet, via email to HR.

That concludes the morning announcements. Have a productive day at CenUMR, Providing the Ultimate Reality Check."

I nodded to myself, thinking I'd be truly enacting our cheesy slogan moving forward as an RRR employee. At least it wasn't the old slogan. According to Darcy, the same creative genius who saw no issue with CUMR also overlooked the iffiness of "Shaping Reality for the Greater Good." It was fortunate other politicians who let CUMR slip by were quick to spot the issue with this slogan, and a different one was chosen before it ever reached the public.

A few moments after the announcements ended, the staff member from earlier came back to the counter carrying a small black tray with something slim and silver in the middle along with a smartwatch.

I approached the counter and pointed above our heads. "That speaker is unnecessary."

They laughed. "It's quite loud, innit? They made sure not to put one right where Holton broadcasts but didn't consider that you can hear him from right here."

"You should request it be removed."

Though their smile remained, the shifting of their eyes showed discomfort or confusion.

"At the least, they can rewire it so sound doesn't come out."

"You know, I've never thought of that. You think the Tech Department could do it?"

"If it's clear that everyone finds it unbearable, I'm sure the request would be approved. Cutting the connection is a simple task. There's a tech named Darcy who could do it in a snap."

"Well, I'll be darned. No wonder you're joining the RRR Vesties." They placed the tray on the counter and then pointed to the tiny, flat piece of metal. "This here is your new comm, all ready to go. Please sign out your account and turn in your old one."

Staring down, I raised an eyebrow. "This little 7mm sliver of metal is a communicator?"

"Yep, special type just for RRR field workers. Full hologram display, though you can also use this e-watch's face instead. There's a manual included. Go on and take the watch. It's already synced and you'll want to view your task list first."