RIP Story (Random Image Post) May 19th, 2024
Welcome to a RIP Story. I go into a random image finder and write a story about the image I get. I have been going this on my typewriter and I figured I would being the proctice here. What I like about the typewriter version is that the image goes away after I’m done with my short story. There is something about the interpretation of the image I was looking at that appeals to me. For these RIP Stories, I will leave the image above and as the post header. Anyways, enjoy
Technological Display
Fredrick’s part of the program had been done for weeks. Every other day someone else on his team was being pulled onto another program. He was shocked he had been here so long after the Program Head signed off on delivery. I’ve been turned into government waste, he thought to himself but he remembered the wall unit he was saving for to organize his gaming systems and collectibles at home. I mean, what happens if something does break? Some idiot here is bound to break something he concluded then let the entire thought stream leave his mind.
Rather than dwell on how his tax dollars were being mis-spent, he took to time to admire the global display at work. His team had been asked to merge 250 different data sources into a single global display. They spent a year working on this display. The Program Head was impressed with their work. Every basic function they didn’t ask for was there and several others the team had built in. Everyone was please especially pleased with the process as the outline was simple but the possibilities were up to the team. Leadership trusted the team could make the display do enough to be useful and the team given freedom to do what they are good at.
Fredrick has the benefit of being a day one member on this team so he knew all the ins and outs of the display. he knew what it was capable of and he knew how everything connected in the background programming. The questions that came his way during these weeks were few and far between. The group using the display was content to use the training material and get used to the display’s functions in their own time.
“Four more weeks Stallings,” the Program Head said to Fredrick.
ANOTHER MONTH! Fredrick thought to himself. “Very well, Sir,” Fredrick replied.
Week 1
The first week of Fredrick’s extended stay garnered no questions in the first two days. He decided to jump into the developer view and see what they were up to with the data. The focus was on young people, their internet use and databasing who was gathering based on searches the government had listed as dangerous. “Mark that group” and “Add them to the list” were the only audible commands Fredrick heard on the floor. He sat there and listened to the sound of keyboards and middle managers making decisions. He decided to pick a few of the flagged groups and follow their activities.
Week 2
One of the commanders hung up a phone and said “program is online, we need to finish the preliminary list”. Fredrick jumped to the list of those groups he was following. Two of them had a digit added to the end of their internal ID. They must be on the list he thought to himself. He navigated to the data log to see what they had been getting into. It was clear from their collective search histories and movements around town, they were young political activists. Fredrick was not privvy to the program details but the change in group ID clearly meant something.
Week 3
Meh, abandoning, not feeling this one. The idea is that a group of young people somewhere in the world are going to be “relocated” and Fredrick assumes the worst. In retaliation, he will go into the display and set a ticking trap that will shut down the whole thing after he leaves. I feel like there had to be more time in the story timeline and more development in the pieces. Maybe I could have figured out a way. Maybe I can figure out a way in the future, but I don’t have it on this one and I don’t want to sacrifice more time to a RIP Story.
Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow.
