Welcome to Dystopia
Page 3
Here, we’re all getting very nervous, wondering which country will be next.
When I first came to Germany, I never thought too much about NATO, never considered it an institution that had anything to do with me, really. My attitude changed when I met Maksym. His hope was always that his country would be able to become a member of either the EU or NATO, to discourage Russian aggression.
And then the US withdrew from NATO—leaving Eastern Europe ripe for the plucking, it seems. A present from a grateful president for services rendered, helping him into the White House? Who knows.
All I know is that Russia is very interested in taking over its former satellite states again. And with a friendly US president, a weakened NATO and an EU in disarray, it’s a real danger.
*Sigh*
I talked to Dad, and he’s going to try to get a direct flight for Rebecca and Daniel from Frankfurt to Seattle by the beginning of April. Then I can see if there is any way I can get to Maksym. I got a very cryptic message from him the other day, from an Internet café, he said. I don’t know what happened to his phone. But at least I know he’s alive, which is a huge relief. Cross your fingers for me that Maksym soon finds a way to communicate more regularly. Just one short email from the war zone, and it’s like I’m walking on air.
If I haven’t heard from you within a week, I will assume that I used too many keywords in this message and will have to make like a criminal and get a burner phone to communicate with you in future. *g* But I’m still hoping that it was the subject of my previous email that made it disappear so mysteriously. We will see.
Love,
Jenna
From: Annie Furlan
To: Jenna Furlan
Date: March 21, 2019
Subject: Re: Rebecca and Daniel
Ah, Sis, I don’t know if I would have the courage for humor if I were in your situation.
Dad and I will be at Sea-Tac on April 3 to pick up your kids. I hope it won’t be too traumatic for them to fly alone at the ages of only six and four. But they are pros, after all. I don’t think I’d flown anywhere yet when I was Rebecca’s age—and she’s been to the States three times, not to mention your vacations to Mallorca and Tenerife!
I love you so much.
Annie
From: Jenna Furlan
To: Annie Furlan
Date: March 24, 2019
Subject: Re: Rebecca and Daniel
The courage for humor? Humor is about all I have left, courage not so much. I’m not quite sure how I am going to be able to put my kids on that plane next week. I haven’t heard anything from Maksym since the Internet café email. I hope he manages to get a new phone soon so that I will have a bit more of a clue than the name of a town I’m supposed to go to near the Ukrainian-Polish border. For a song, I bought an ancient Ford Focus that doesn’t meet the emission standards in Stuttgart, and as soon as the kids are safe in Portland, I am off to try and find the love of my life.
Wish me luck.
Love,
Jenna
From: Annie Furlan
To: Jenna Furlan
Date: April 3, 2019
Subject: Re: Rebecca and Daniel
Hi Jenna,
I’ll call later before I go to bed, when it isn’t the middle of the night in your part of the world, but I just wanted to make sure that you will know Rebecca and Daniel arrived safely, as soon as you get up and check your email. They had many stories to tell of how they were treated on the way. Carts through the Frankfurt airport! Ice cream on the plane! They even got to visit the cockpit and talk to the pilot before the other passengers got on. Right now they are sleeping blissfully in one of Dad’s spare bedrooms. I have to go to work tomorrow, but I’ll come over again in the evening to have dinner with them. And on the weekend, we’re all going to the coast to play in the sand and eat crab.
Love you,
Annie
From: Jenna Furlan
To: Annie Furlan
Date: April 10, 2019
Subject: On the border
Hi Annie,
I’m in Chelm, Poland, now, near the Ukrainian border. The last time I heard from Maksym, he and his parents had made it to a town by the name of Kovel between Kiev and the Polish border. He has a phone again, but no Internet. Not to mention no car and very little money. His car was “seized” outside of Kiev by a group with guns, and he and his parents have walked most of the way with the other refugees fleeing the fighting. His phone was stolen shortly after he arrived. The coverage with his “new” phone (used dumbphone) is spotty, the battery weak, and the opportunities to recharge rare.
Maksym doesn’t want me to cross the border into Ukraine. He’s afraid if I do, we might not be able to get back into the EU. I’m sleeping in my car, and hoping we will all get out of this mess alive. Polish officials on the border are refusing to allow Ukrainian refugees to enter the country. Huge crowds are gathering on the Ukrainian side, while Poland is putting up more makeshift walls as quickly as they can on the Polish side of the River Bug. Maksym has a visa for Germany—but will they recognize it? And of course his parents do not.
I don’t know what to do.
Jenna
From: Annie Furlan
To: Jenna Furlan
Date: April 12, 2019
Subject: Re: On the border
Jenna, please, don’t do anything rash. I can understand you wanting to get to Maksym, but he may well be right that you won’t be able to get back across the border.
The media here is claiming that Poland (!?) marched into Ukraine, and Russian allies are fighting the aggressors, protecting the Ukrainian people. Hard to believe that the info we’re getting is so skewed.
The kids had a great time on the coast, but now that we’re back, they’ve started asking when you’ll be here with their Papa. At least they’re safe.
I hope you get Maksym and his family out of there soon. I’ve found some online news sites that are closer to what you describe than the official version in the mainstream media, and it sounds even scarier than what you’ve told me.
*hugs*
Annie
From: Annie Furlan
To: Jenna Furlan
Date: April 18, 2019
Subject: Re: On the border
Hey, Jenna,
I haven’t heard from you for over a week. Please let us know you’re okay. The online news site I found says that Russian troops are now moving in the direction of the Polish border. I can only hope you found Maksym and his parents and are on your way back to Germany.
Love,
Annie
From: Annie Furlan
To: Jenna Furlan expatjenna@dt-mail.de
Date: April 21, 2019
Subject: Re: On the border
Jenna, we’re getting desperate here, please. I’ve tried calling multiple times, but your phone no longer seems to be working.
Annie
From: Annie Furlan
To: Jenna Furlan expatjenna@dt-mail.de
Date: April 23, 2019
Subject: Please contact
Let us know you’re alive, Jenna, any way you can. We’re frantic with worry.
US Embassy Warsaw
Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31
00-540 Warsaw, Poland
April 25, 2019
Dear Mr. Furlan,
We are writing to inform you that the passport of your daughter, Jenna Furlan, was recovered near the banks of the River Bug east of Chelm, Poland. As we have been unable to determine her whereabouts, we are contacting her next-of-kin, according to consular record.
I am afraid I have no further substantiated information other than the finding of her passport. There were several drowning death
s on the Polish-Ukrainian border in a flash flood last week, but none of the bodies recovered matches the description of your daughter. We have put in a request with the proper authorities to be notified in the event that anything relevant turns up. In such an event, we will naturally contact you.
If you have had any news from your daughter, please let us know, and we can inform the Polish police that this need not be regarded as a missing person case.
Sincerely,
Joseph Riddle
Consul General
EVERYTHING IS FIXED NOW
K. G. Anderson
To: Dawayne Johnson-QA
From: Liz Ferry-PRODUCT GROUP
Subject: Limit QA scope on Vibrante
Dawayne,
Engineering’s getting out-of-scope questions from someone on your team about the Vibrante data.
Reminder: your team is supposed to be looking for issues with ease-of-use and accuracy for the Vibrante device personal fitness features (steps, heartbeat, weight). I understand there may have been confusion because of the additional data fields coming in.
Just ignore those. That additional data is being QA-d by a third-party, overseas group.
And it wouldn’t hurt to remind everyone of their non-disclosure agreements.
Thanks,
Liz
Liz Ferry
Manager, Vibrante Fitness
DataNex
To: Samantha Cook-QA
From: Dawayne Johnson-QA
Subject: Product Group request
Take a look at the email from Liz Ferry I just forwarded. I’d appreciate your help in addressing her concerns about the data scope. So just ignore that “extra” data. It’s nothing we need to be looking at.
And please check with me in the future before sending any questions to Engineering.
Cheers,
D-man
Dawayne Johnson
Manager, Quality Assurance
DataNex
To: Dawayne Johnson-QA
From: Samantha Cook-QA
Subject: Re: Product Group request
Dawayne,
Did you know that extra data is medical data? Heartbeat patterns, respiration, pulse measurements, etc. Looks like we’re going to market the Vibrante as a medical device after the FDA is phased out in 2019.
I contacted Engineering because the heartbeat data was in an alert zone for three users in Comette’s employee fitness incentive program. They said not to worry, but I did some digging and it looks as through these three people are experiencing periods of ventricular tachycardia.
My sister died of sudden cardiac arrest playing softball in high school. We found out later that she had undiagnosed heart problems and probably had ventricular tachycardia before she went into sudden cardiac arrest.
Someone in Liz’s group needs to contact the companies who have those employees in the Vibrante program and advise them to get them to a cardiologist (a regular medical exam won’t detect this type of problem). Also, to have them stop doing the fitness program.
—Sami
Samantha Cook
QA Specialist
Vibrante Team
DataNex
To: Samantha Cook-QA
From: Dawayne Johnson-QA
Subject: Re: Product Group request
Thanks for your vigilance. I’ll pass your message up to Liz’s team in case they haven’t already gotten it from their QA contractors.
Cheers,
Dawayne
Dawayne Johnson
Manager, Quality Assurance
DataNex
To: Dawayne Johnson-QA
From: Samantha Cook-QA
Subject: Re: Product Group request
You’ll need to give Liz the IDs for the users with the cardiac data issues:
5-2889 (female, 49, Comette group)
8-3445 (male, 24, Lumar Electric group)
8-0871 (male, 45, Cebardok group)
The first two are assigned to a 3x/week, high-intensity cardio program—very scary!
—Sami
Samantha Cook
QA Specialist
Vibrante Team
DataNex
To: Liz Ferry-PRODUCT GROUP
From: Dawayne Johnson-QA
Subject: User data—3 alerts
Liz,
See below from Samantha Cook. It looks like she’s spotted a serious problem with three of the employee fitness program participants. You’ve probably already had this reported by the outside QA group, but I wanted to make sure.
What with medical data, employee confidentiality, that sort of thing, this is probably a little tricky. Obviously, I’m not sure what agreements we have in place with the participants or their companies.
Best,
Dawayne
Dawayne Johnson
Manager, Quality Assurance
DataNex
To: Dawayne Johnson-QA
From: Liz Ferry-PRODUCT GROUP
Subject: Re: User data—3 alerts
Dawayne,
Not to worry.
Our QA contractor has spotted that data and we’ve contacted the companies. All taken care of.
Just a reminder: No member of your team is authorized to contact any individual user, or any representative of the customer companies that are implementing the Vibrante program with their employees.
Best,
Liz
Liz Ferry
Manager, Vibrante Fitness
DataNex
Sticky note left on Dawayne Johnson’s desk:
5-2889 is still doing the cardio. Another episode of v. tachycardia. Can we contact this woman directly? Need name, contact info.
—S
To: Samantha Cook-QA
From: Dawayne Johnson-QA
Subject: Short meeting
Stop by my office after lunch and let’s talk about progress on your new project.
Dawayne
Dawayne Johnson
Manager, Quality Assurance
DataNex
Instant Message, 9:07 a.m.
To: Samantha Cook
From: Dawayne Johnson
Where are you? We missed you at the 8:30 meeting.
Instant Message, 9:21 a.m.
To: Samantha Cook
From: Dawayne Johnson
Urgent. PHONE me.
To: Dawayne Johnson-QA
From: Liz Ferry-PRODUCT GROUP
Subject line: Serious issue with QA
Dawayne,
Tried calling you. I just got a call from the director of HR at Comette.
She was approached outside their company fitness facility this morning by a young woman who saw her wearing a Vibrante device and then asked “some odd questions” about her health. She said the young woman approached four other women wearing the Vibrante. Call me immediately.
Liz
Liz Ferry
Manager, Vibrante Fitness
DataNex
To: Samantha Cook-QA
From: Marcus Jiang-Hewitt-HR
Cc: Dawayne Johnson-QA
Subject: Probation Period
Samantha:
You have been placed on probation for a period of six weeks, beginning today. During this time, your attendance and performance will be monitored and feedback provided by your manager on a weekly basis.
In addition, you are advised to meet with a counselor from one of the third-party agencies available to DataNex employees. A list is attached.
Please contact me or a member of the HR staff with any questions.
Best regards,
Marcus
Marcus Jiang-Hewitt
Manager, Human Resources
DataNex
To: Samantha Cook-QA
From: Dawayne Johnson-QA
CC: Prisha Joshi-PRO
Subject: New assignment with Simplix-Tone
Hi Sami,
Starting Monday, you’ll be doing QA for Prisha Joshi’s team on the Simplix-Tone. They’ve got a desk set up
for you in L Building. I think you’ll enjoy them.
I’ll send you meeting requests for the follow-ups HR wants.
Cheers,
Dawayne
Dawayne Johnson
Manager, Quality Assurance
DataNex
To: Samantha Cook-QA
From: Dawayne Johnson-QA
Subject: Good news
Hi Sami,
Just talked with Product Group.
Liz Ferry asked me to let you know that the users you were concerned about have been removed from the Vibrante program.
Thought you’d want to know.
Hope you’re enjoying the work on Simplix-Tone. Looking forward to hearing about it at our Thursday meeting.
Cheers,
Dawayne
Dawayne Johnson
Manager, Quality Assurance
DataNex
To: Dawayne Johnson-QA
From: Samantha Cook-QA
Subject: Re: Good news
Dawayne Johnson-QA wrote:
Liz Ferry asked me to let you know that the users you were concerned about have been removed from the Vibrante program.
“Removed from the Vibrante program”?
Lily Pang was removed from her job. I tracked her down. When Comette let her go, they didn’t tell her anything about a heart problem, or advise her to see a cardiologist. They just mysteriously “eliminated” her job.
And she was the lucky one. Mark Richardson? The 24-year-old guy from Lumar Electric? He’s been “removed” too—because he went into sudden cardiac arrest and died.
Comette and Lumar are using our data to find employees at risk for heart problems—maybe other health problems—and get rid of them! Does Liz’s team have any idea?
—Samantha
Samantha Cook
QA Specialist
Simplix-Tone Team
DataNex
To: Liz Ferry-PRODUCT GROUP
From: P. Ellis Nevars-LEGAL
Cc: Marcus Jiang-Hewitt-HR, Mariette Prudomme-SECURITY
Subject: Changes at OSHA
Liz,
You are correct. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s mandate to investigate corporate whistleblower-retaliation complaints (The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, Pub.L. 101-12 as amended) was largely eliminated as of March 15. There was an exception for the transportation industry.