Steven Sayers was an average worker in what might be considered a somewhat ‘large’ corporation. He was often in a perpetual state of stress, very high strung that was making his hair turn greyer a lot sooner than it should. He was in his early thirties, with mostly black hair though clean shaven. His job was as an accountant, sorting out various budgets and creating ‘cost-effective outcomes.’ He had a few other workers with him, such as a hedge-fund manager, various assessors… In truth though, his office was but a small outpost in the grand scheme of things. Orders came down from up high as they worked away to the bone.
There was a small trophy on the wall, dedicated to their boss… Steven disliked looking at it, because it always seemed that he got the credit when things went well.. but when things went wrong, suddenly Steven was the one in the firing line. His boss, Richard Thompson, was quite a difficult ‘taskmaster’.
“Steven, can I see you in my office?” He said gesturing for him.
Steven sighed.
“Good luck,” Robert the hedge-fund guy said quickly. “I hear he’s proper mad about something today. Some meeting didn’t go right.”
Steven wasn’t sure what was up. This wasn’t the first time he had been called in like this… but perhaps he was nervous for nothi-
“This report is incorrect Steven! What is this, you’re making us all look like idiots!”
…or yeah, maybe he had every reason to be nervous. He felt sweaty as he looked at the paperwork. “They- They were correct last week-“
“Last week? Last Week! Things change! The cost of borrowing has increased, making these figures completely of. New taxes to deal with, budget constraints… I thought you were keeping this under control.” He stared down at him leaning into the desk a bit.
“I- the changes… were unexpected. I didn’t expect such sudden swings in the markets. They are… not typical. I couldn’t re-write the whole thing in the time since then.”
“Hm… I know.”
Steven blinked. “You- know?”
“Yes. That is why.. I’ve hired some extra help. I should introduce you to her.” Richard smiled. “Come on in Florance.”
Steven stared at the girl as she came into the boss’s office. He had… never seen anything like it- er- her. She had pure white alabaster toned skin… with strange antennas on the side of her head. She was wearing a dark black pleated skirt and stood of average height. Her hair was this odd mix of blue and green, with her eyes showing ‘on/off symbols instead of actual pupils. The girl gave a soft smile, clearly not devoid of emotion that her cold outward exterior might seem to imply. “Hi- I’m Florance… thank you for giving me this job.”
Steven was not quite sure what to believe… how was… who… was this a dream? Had robots finally taken over? He didn’t even notice the gloved hand being extended out to him as he shook it. She felt warmer then expected… and there was just the barest ‘hint’ of electrical energy making the hairs on his arm rise. “N-Nice to meet you.” He said with curiosity and wonder.
“Heh Florence is going to be helping you out…Stevey boy,” Richard explained. “She’s got a knack for these things.”
“Yes. I have a photographic memory. I can process all changes in the laws and tax-codes as they arise and anticipate new legislation through ‘game-theory’ based on personality probability of all politics in play. I can create reports at the speed of thought alone.”
“You’ll be training her a bit.” Richard explained. “You know… to help you out.”
“I… see.” Steven gave a neutral look. So… he was training his replacement, then he would be given some other role, something terrible… or be forced to walk out on his own. Perhaps he could bide some time. “It would take a few months to train her-“
“Not really Steven. We can just upload all the things you’ve done into her brain. She comes with a USB port on her neck.” He gestured to the girl over with a slight grin.
Florence gave a slight blue ‘blush’. “I- um- yes. I can interface with technology… wirelessly as well as wired.” She looked a bit embarrassed to admit it. “I was born here so… I am compatible with your technology.”
Steven was still not quite sure how to process this. Robots… didn’t exist! They were not real… yet here Florence was, a robot-girl who was now about to take over his job. “…Well… what do I do?”
Richard gave a curious look. “Steven, why don’t you take a few days off… we’ll have a look to see what other roles are available. Florence here is.. a unique asset to the company but.. I do want to make sure it works the way-“
“She.” Florence stated. “I- am female.”
“Uh- I want to see how she works out,” Richard explained. “Let me show you to your desk…”
Just like that, Steven realised the world was different… he wasn’t too sure ‘how’ or why or even ‘when’ it happened. Suddenly there was a robot girl who was taking his job away. When did this happen?
He stepped on the bus, seeing a family of what looked like fox-people. A mother and father, a few kids… one a teenager wearing very little. Steven looked startled, staring at their orange fur and bodies… he turned his eyes away to look back on his phone for some kind of ‘explanation’. There was only talk about the usual ‘refugee’ crisis- wait- what? “Refugees’ from another world seeking safety on Earth…”
He pulled up some basic news reports. Apparently, there had been a crisis where some refugees from another world had been coming to Earth for decades now. Most had settled and had families… even mixing with humans. Yet Steven, who was ‘very’ politically knowledgeable had… no knowledge of this. There were not too many in the past, but recently more and more had been arriving. “This isn’t normal... it isn’t right…” he kept saying it to himself.
The fox-mother glanced at him. “What isn’t right?” she asked with a tilt of her head.
Steven stared at the woman with a shocked expression, as if the very ‘idea’ of a fox able to talk was just- well- crazy! “It’s just… uh… nothing…” he had to research this more.
Finally he found his stop…
Steven lived alone… in a small apartment. He had no friends and most his family were scattered about. He was for the most part very isolated. At first, he thought it was a good chance to make some money, perhaps get noticed by the company… but as the time wore on, with bad boss being replaced by even worse bosses, he kept on sticking around hoping for a change in fortune. A change which never came for him.
Oh he had seen other people leave the company. Some did well, others did badly… being where he was felt ‘safe’ enough that he didn’t want to rock the boat. That is until… a robot literally replaced him.
Steven never ever watched TV any more, but he had to check. Had he been ‘this’ out of touch? He saw… products beings sold for ‘harpies’ to deal with eggs? Brushes to deal with excess fur… there were a few adverts for dealing with human issues too thankfully which seemed to still be the majority but… every now and then, commercials sprang up for these odd ‘furry’ immigrants. He felt more uncomfortable with each passing second… he had to call someone.
“Mom?” He called out.
“Hey sweetie! Long time no hear. How’s your work doing?”
“I’m-” Steven never wanted to make his mother worry about him. “Doing… well,” he lied. “I- I wanted to ask you about these immigrants…”
“Oh! Yes, they are quite a fascinating group. We have had some neighbours that are some kind of demon-folk- but nice as can be! They are so unbelievably polite. The little one has the cutest set of hooves…”
“D-Demons?!” Steven gulped. “Mom- this isn’t normal-“
“Steven? What’s wrong with you, of course it’s normal… it’s perfectly fine. They are usually quite a nice bunch of people…” She sounded concerned. “Has someone put something in your head? We do have to help everyone we can. These people have travelled dimensionally for a place to settle. They are no different from us.”
“That- That’s not what I mean…” Steven realised he was sounding like… well.. some kind of ‘racist bigot’ to his own mom. How could he explain that they shouldn’t even exist! That none of this was ‘normal’… “How… long have we been doing this for exactly? When did you see the first one?”
“Well…” His mom tutted a bit. “I suppose the first one was working in the grocery store. A little working bee- quite literally!” She laughed. “Nice enough fellow. You always liked him as a kid I thought.”
Steven felt himself shaking. His mother was describing memories that never happened… he never had such interactions in his life! This isn’t right… “I- see… I got to uh- get dinner sorted…”
Had the whole world… gone mad?
