Economic Science Fictions

by Davies, William;

  Tech trends led to a stabilised economy.

  Progression in [3D] printing, the surge in popularity of plugin culture, along with evolutionary programming all contributed to bring different conditions for work.

  Algorithms were streamlined, made everything more efficient. At least things were more manageable now.

  She smirked.

  …

  The buzzer on the coffee machine sounded.

  She picked up the cup and returned to her station.

  Back then data and information had been seen as a playful pursuit and users had contributed for free.

  People had been so consumed with the economies of the self and looking to the future.

  But that slowly changed over time.

  They didn’t have the right algorithms back then.

  They still hadn’t figured the predication to action ratio.

  Algorithms were more robust now.

  Algorithms of fate, as lower-level users called them.

  They calculated everything for you.

  Depending on emotion and mood, they were synced community-wide at regular intervals.

  Things were better this way.

  There was order and clarity.

  She looked at her screen.

  The sun was breaking through the haze.

  She looked down, searching for her Portable Device.

  She picked it up, looked at the black screen and powered it on.

  …

  The morning passed with little interruption.

  The silence enveloped her and she quickly conducted her morning tasks.

  Throughout her day she would manage her platform’s traffic and maintain its stability, while updating Content at regular intervals.

  The management of these traffic loads marked her day, and during peak hours it took priority.

  She was still adjusting to her new position.

  With new freedoms came new responsibilities, new quotas to understand and new performance ratings to achieve.

  Her manual had provided her with all essential details of her new role.

  The new Dashboard was similar to the one she had used in her previous role.

  New widgets had been added with new activities to learn.

  In addition to the management of her Dashboard, she was also expected to practise the mandated Physical Sequences.

  They were essential, according to the manual, but she struggled to find time to perform the routines.

  Ten minutes of each hour were dedicated to them.

  These movements – exercises – had been proved to enhance work.

  Data had been shown to improve attention and concentration and enhance work productivity.

  She struggled with them, and her last performance review had shown her working capability stat down.

  The worry of her upcoming review sat at the back of her mind.

  The notification on her Dashboard sounded.

  Time for a pause.

  She stood up and went to make her morning meal.

  …

  Her tenure as a Content Moderator had been longer than most others.

  Previously the work had been…straining…but the advancement of machine learning had altered the nature of the work and the position had become coveted.

  A large part of the work had then become automated and many had been laid off.

  A few algorithmic incidents changed that, however, and a small number of moderators were redrafted into the roles.

  There were few positions. She had been lucky.

  She had also excelled at the work – exceeding her Content Quota Targets from the first week.

  She had outlasted many in the position.

  Other workers found it monotonous, repetitive, and didn’t last more than a few months.

  She couldn’t understand how.

  The workers were reassigned to other departments.

  She wasn’t sure exactly where but she had heard about Algorithm Process Reconfiguration.

  Those departments weren’t automated.

  Workers who did not meet their quotas were often reassigned there.

  Not the direction she wanted her career to go in.

  But her performance reviews had surpassed expectations, and after some time she received a communication notifying her of her new role.

  …

  She cleaned her dish, returning it to its position on the shelf.

  Before returning to her desk, she stopped at the window and began her morning Physical Sequences.

  She looked out on the compound courtyard, keeping count of her routine.

  She noticed two other workers below.

  Both on Portable Devices, staring intently at their screens.

  …

  Unusual they are out at this time.

  …

  Positions were so few to come by.

  Why were they ignoring the morning protocols?

  Workers were not given access to the compound until after peak traffic had subsided.

  She tried to spot the Employee_ID number on their jackets.

  …

  Her Dashboard notification sounded.

  There was no time to gather more information for a report.

  Morning Peak Traffic had begun to arrive.

  …

  She worked intently for the remainder of the morning, focusing only on the task at hand.

  It was her part of her task to ensure that access to the platforms was constant.

  Her recent experimentation with delivering Quality Content meant that Traffic on her platforms lingered longer.

  Her platforms were busiest in the morning and evening but work was continuous throughout the day.

  Slowly Traffic dissipated and gave her, finally, a moment to pause.

  …

  She got up from her desk, taking her Portable Device with her.

  Her Employee_ID hung next to the door.

  She grabbed her jacket and headed to the communal area, picking up one of the prepackaged lunches left out.

  There were other workers in the hall.

  She exchanged brief salutations and hurried to the compound.

  Although she shared her shift with others, she preferred to eat alone.

  Social relations between workers were instructed to be minimal during working hours.

  She preferred this.

  Less interference to her schedule throughout her day.

  She walked briskly towards her assigned seating area.

  Although the sun was shining there was a chill to the air.

  She placed her jacket over her shoulders and quickly scanned the patterns on her Device.

  …

  Everything looks OK.

  …

  She sat down in the designated area.

  This section of the compound was lush with green.

  A small pond in the middle contained small colourful fishes.

  The perimeter of the pound was decadently decorated with delicate sculptures.

  It was luxurious in comparison to the compound she had previously resided in.

  She glanced quickly around.

  She was the first to arrive.

  Maybe one or two more others may come.

  She quickly took out her Portable Device, and scanned the Dashboard stats.

  She tore open the paper on her lunch and took a few initial bites, never looking away from the screen.

  …

  The work allowed for Portable Devices to be used during the workday.

  In her previous role, her work had tethered her to her station throughout the day.

  This Portable Device was both a source of freedom and unease.

  …

  I am still adjusting. It’s OK.

  …

  The Devices came preprogrammed with limited functionality.

  They were for monitoring only.

  She wasn’t sure why they were configured like this.

  Not that she was questioning it, but it had ca
ught her out in the first week and she had had to race back to her station to resolve an issue on her platform.

  It had impacted her performance severely and had unsettled her.

  She always cut short her lunch now.

  Still, she enjoyed the time outside away from her station.

  The compound lifted her spirits, as they said it would.

  …

  She finished her lunch and began to make her way back.

  She walked past where she had seen the workers from her window earlier.

  Some workers still lingered in the area.

  A worker looked up briefly from their screen and saw her.

  She waved.

  The worker nodded an acknowledgement and returned to their screen.

  A notification from her Portable Device interrupted her.

  Twenty minutes until break end.

  She dismissed it.

  Looking up from her Device she noticed that the worker had left through another exit.

  She picked up her pace as she returned to her station.

  …

  It was important not to be late.

  During work hours there was little time to check company communications and bulletins or even personal communications from her family.

  She was kept busy during her shifts and the overtime.

  The administration of these was not permitted during office hours but there was an expectation to stay informed.

  Sitting at her desk she quickly scanned what had arrived in her announcements.

  Two bulletins but no performance review.

  Two new messages on her family thread.

  She would get to those later.

  Unsanctioned personal communications were not allowed during shifts.

  She recalled her favourite company mantra: Time is an asset that you are always spending, and it can never be replenished or replaced.

  Effective time management was a highly regarded trait.

  She always ensured she was utilising her time budget in a constructive, systematic manner.

  This careful, meticulous prioritisation and planning kept her on track to reach her target quotas.

  There is always time if you make time.

  That is what they believed. What she believed.

  …

  She opened the communication she had received that morning.

  There was still some time in the break.

  She liked to take some time to read them before break ended.

  They were tailored by algorithms for each worker and pointed out areas in which you could make improvement.

  They were too important to neglect.

  Besides, there was a spirit to them, a tone to the words that she found relaxing.

  They reassured her in some ways.

  She was beginning to measure her work performance by the communications she received.

  They reminded her to achieve her best.

  Once or twice they had repeated but she would still watch and read them attentively.

  These internal communications were healthy and central to their success.

  …

  Her success.

  …

  This one contained a simulcast from the senior executive. She smiled, recognising the face.

  The skin was flawless.

  Without imperfections.

  She ran her hand over her face and turned up the volume.

  Hopefully, some good news.

  In the last quarter there had been reassignments.

  Concerning, but these decisions were not made lightly, and it was important to keep their trajectories on track.

  …

  Time, like water, is fluid and continuous and should be treated as such.

  Unfortunately, most of us have a tendency to schedule tasks into fixed, discrete time blocks that are generally too rigid and too large.

  For those of us with flexible work stations, we experience a type of autonomy that few others enjoy.

  This autonomy can be liberating; it can also result in tremendous inefficiency if one does not develop effective time management tactics.

  …

  Ah, yes; time management.

  She breathed out, sighing slightly.

  She must have logged on late.

  The boot-up must have delayed her.

  …

  Why didn’t I get up?

  …

  She tried to inhale and exhale slowly.

  She should have got up.

  Trying hard not to become even more anxious about the impending performance review.

  …

  Priorities are an important part of any time management. Decide what’s important in your life.

  Although priorities will naturally differ from person to person, I might suggest one thing: your duties as a citizen should come above all other goals.

  Without these, in life, you will not be successful, nor will you be able to enjoy your successes.

  Remember your team.

  They count on you for support, and you will need their support when the going gets tough, as well.

  Without this support network, you will never be successful. We will never be successful.

  …

  She often worried about her teamwork stat. Clearly, it needed some attention.

  …

  I’m going to let you in on my tactics.

  I call my tactics the ‘five “B”s’: bits, budgets, buffers, bounds and barriers.

  If something happens to end early or take less time, we end up wasting the extra allotted time. To solve this problem, I recommend viewing time as a much more fluid resource, or at least one that can be spent in smaller bits.

  Maintain a task list at all times.

  Take a larger task and divide it into bits.

  It makes your tasks less daunting and you will be surprised how many ‘time bits’ you have during the day and how much you can accomplish by breaking tasks into these bits. Before taking a break, use a time bit to start a new task.

  One of the most difficult aspects of getting things done is getting started.

  Start on a larger task now to eliminate the cost of context switching later.

  Spend your time well.

  Always have a goal.

  Budget your goals, and spend your time with that goal in mind.

  Have a goal and be purposeful about how you budget time in pursuit of that goal.

  …

  She looked at her clock.

  Soon the traffic would start again.

  She opened another part of the screen to prepare.

  The simulcast continued in the background.

  …

  Use a deadline as a bound for declaring victory; create a deadline if one doesn’t exist.

  Beware of time thieves, particularly those that masquerade as ‘productive activities’.

  Many interrupt-driven activities steal our time in fits and spurts.

  Non-work-related communications are not always urgent.

  You can always wait to reply.

  Always be purposeful about leisure activities.

  Ruthlessly protect your scheduled time. Learn how to say ‘No’.

  Certain people may have biases or ulterior motives, even the people you trust. Calibrated, trusted opinions from management are invaluable.

  Establish time barriers.

  No one should bother you for a non-work-related request during these times.

  You are not reachable.

  This is our time.

  …

  The simulcast ended abruptly.

  The notification on her Dashboard sounded.

  She went back to her work.

  …

  The afternoon was spent in silence.

  Sometimes she listened to the radio, but today she did not feel like listening.

  Besides, it was nearly always the same.

  Economic reports about trade between compounds.

  Each compound was connected.


  Nodes in a network.

  Working together towards the common goal.

  She knew these connections were important and hoped she might visit one in the future.

  Her favourite was the social discussion about the latest fashion and fitness trends.

  In her new position she earned enough currency units to afford such luxuries.

  Her new personal Device was the result of such spending.

  The broadcasts of their announcement had been on repeat but, now that she had purchased it, they had culminated.

  Something new would soon come next.

  Sometimes she tried to predict the next item.

  But she never guessed correctly.

  …

  The afternoon passed with ease.

  Her work kept her occupied.

  She didn’t notice the darkness setting in.

  The traffic had hit a lull before it began again.

  She switched on her desk lamp, and stifled a yawn.

  Getting up from her desk, she began some preparations for her evening meal.

  She would have some time now before the last shift of the day.

  Maybe there would be no overtime today.

  She looked out on the compound.

  The sun was setting and the solar-powered lights were slowly growing brighter.

  The scent of the coffee she was making filled the room.

  She picked up her cup and filled it to the top.

  She stood looking out of the window and waited for the sun to set or the notification to arrive.

  Whichever came first.

  …

  The sun set.

  …

  She sat in silence. Waiting.

  …

  The notification interrupted her thoughts.

  She went to sit back down at her station.