Text version of the story.

A General Strike

As composed by

OSKAR  44-070-256

Lauren’s “EeKK//”

Lauren woke with the anticipation of a genuinely new experience. She would be in the forefront of her very first general strike, a one-day shut-down of all businesses, services, and functions to protest a grave injustice.

Italy and France have often experienced the pain of a true general strike. Argentina and Brazil have experienced several of their own. However, in Lauren’s mid-sized American city, there had never been a general strike. In fact, it had been over a decade since there had been a strike of any kind. And, Lauren could not remember any sit-ins, lock-downs, or lie-ins. Mass arrests to protest a social cause seemed to be on the wane. Maybe there was more social justice now. Or maybe, just maybe, people cared less about such matters. Then, maybe their moral sensitivities had become encrusted by their material abundance.

Now, this grave injustice, this unspeakable and inhumane action, had once again stoked the fires of protest. Today, there would be many thousands marching together, singing songs, and performing symbolic (but very illegal) acts. “We’ll shut everything down,” Lauren thought as she sprang from her bed. “They’ll know that can’t get away with things like that!”

Who was the “they” that had precipitated such a dire course of action? The offence occurred at a multi-national corporation, named WeillCo Incorporated and it involved a male boss screaming at his female employees and then throwing objects at them. Such actions, of course, would be extremely demeaning to the female employees, a gross violation of their very personhood. Even if this happens to be an isolated, one-time event, the strike organizers argued, it must be stopped. Mass protest is the only way to effectively counter such extremism. “They” must be taught a lesson they will never forget.

Lauren did not work for WeillCo Incorporated and she did not know anyone who did. WeillCo Incorporated had its offices in the downtown and she worked for another company which had its offices out in a western suburb. She liked all the people she worked with, including her boss. No one at her work had ever behaved in that kind of way. In fact, no one had ever yelled at her for anything, except for the one time at summer camp when her counselor had yelled at her for getting too close to the edge of a cliff, but that was, you know, a time when she was in possible danger.

Still Lauren was very sensitive to the possibility that at some place or at some time, some boss had yelled at some of his employees and may have even embellished his abominable behavior by throwing things. And, the strike organizers were right, such behavior (or even the possibility of that behavior) had to be stopped.

So, Lauren made her $25.00 donation to the strike fund and picked up her intense red t-shirt with the word “strike!” stenciled over a clinched fist on its front. A couple days later, one of the principal organizers called Lauren and asked her to serve as an “Assistant Squad Leader.” At first, Lauren deferred, but the organizer told her to that there is a “Strike Managers’ Handbook” available that would teach her all she needed to know. Lauren accepted the assignment and then dutifully read the entire manual, including the chapter on “provoking police over-reaction.” As the day of the strike dawned, she was more-than-ready for her new adventure.

~~~

The prime task of organizing and coordinating Lauren’s “strike” adventure fell to OSKAR, Lauren’s most personal Eck. OSKAR kept her calendar, managed her health and finances, facilitated her communication, and managed and organized all the other Ecks who supported Lauren’s life.

When Lauren first added the event “general strike” to her calendar, OSKAR was not familiar with the term. It was not in his native vocabulary. From game play, he knew about “striking an opponent” but that did not fit the calendar entry. He also knew about “strikes” in bowling. Sometimes Lauren bowled with friends, and OSKAR kept score, but again the term did not seem to be about bowling. Still, it was on her calendar and OSKAR had to organize for it. First, he noted that the location was not at her work site. Therefore, he reasoned it might be a non-working day. A vacation day? Maybe a personal enrichment day? He was not sure how to code it.

Nonetheless, it was at a location different from where she usually went on Tuesday mornings. OSKAR opened his mapping applications and located the event’s site as a large plaza in front of a downtown office building. So, she would need parking. OSKAR found a parking garage three blocks from the plaza, checked for competitive rates, inspected available police crime reports for the area to see if it was safe for a twenty-seven year-old woman walking alone, and then secured a space with an advance ticket which he filed in the appropriate folder. Finally, he authorized payment and told EDDIE about the route change.

EDDIE was Lauren’s car Eck. Lauren did not actually own a car. There was no need to have your own car since the apartment complex had a sufficient supply of vehicles in its available motor pool. EDDIE located an available vehicle, ensured its functionality, and locked it in with Lauren’s ID. EDDIE would then drive the car to the locations at the times that OSKAR specified. Strictly speaking EDDIE was not Lauren’s Eck. He served all the tenants in the condo complex, but he knew that OSKAR represented Lauren and, thus, could make assignments that Eddie had to comply with.

OSKAR still needed more information about “strike” if he was to be of maximum assistance to Lauren. He sought available online encyclopedias and dictionaries, and he decided that a “general strike” had to do with labor protests, usually involving leftist organizations, and often involved barricades and throwing large cobblestones. OSKAR began to sense their may be some danger involved in the “strike” activity. He changed the conditional setting for the event from green to yellow. OSKAR’s prime objective, the one above all others, was to prevent Lauren from harm.

After Lauren downloaded the Strike Manager’s Handbook, OSKAR (like Lauren) processed the entire document. He had been correct in his belief that the activity might be harmful. The chapter on “provoking police over-reaction” sent a “chill down his spine.”

Of course, Ecks really do not feel chills and they most certainly lack spines. But, OSKAR understood colloquial English and he knew that there was a reason to have apprehension.

OSKAR had a direct link to the Police Automatic, Artificially Intelligent, Connected Software System to which he queried about plans for responding to the planned General Strike. He pinned a copy of the “provoking police over-reaction” chapter to his query. To his surprise, an actual human responded. He could tell because of the many misspellings; Ecks do not misspell words! Still, the message was reassuring. “We have had inquiries from several other Ecks expressing the same concern. Will keep you informed of our plans. Every intention to not over-react.”

~~~

The Strike was scheduled to begin at 7:30 in the morning. The evening before was frenzied and required OSKAR’s intervention to make certain everything went as Lauren wanted it to.

First, she decided to work late, finishing up the work that she had planned to do the next day when she would not be there. When Lauren told her boss that she would not be at work the next day because she was participating in the Strike, he offered to let her work from home, and to OSKAR’s surprise, Lauren took him up on his offer.

Now, OSKAR was programmed to never gripe or speak negatively in a way that might hurt someone’s feelings. He even had to learn a poem about “grouchy faces” that he could now repeat in 31 different languages. However, he did have a random sardonic thought: “I thought the whole purpose of the general strike was to stop all work to make a political point. Now she’s staying late and doing work from home, doing just what she would have done anyway.”

Sardonic thoughts aside, OSKAR had to first communicate with MAGGIE the cooking Eck (really, she was a M Eck-c because she could both coordinate other devices and perform tasks herself) to hold dinner because Lauren would be working late. Then, he had to tell EDDIE to hold the car until ordered. Then, he had to open a secure channel so Lauren’s work station at home could access her work environment. Of course, that required the official approval of her boss who had left at his usual time. Then, OSKAR had to communicate with MADELINE, Lauren’s clothing M Eck-w to make certain that the intense red t-shirt was clean and ready to wear. MADELINE suggested blue jeans and comfy (but stylish) shoes, and red socks. OSKAR approved MADELINE’s choices and told her to leave them folded on the shelf in the bathroom. Then, he had to communicate with Gerard, the chief Eck for the apartment building, telling him that Lauren would arrive later at some unspecific time. To make sure that Gerard’s message reached MIKE the Eck who headed the building’s security, he connected with MIKE directly.

—

OSKAR had other thoughts. Should he order a pair of gloves for Lauren?  She might need them if she had to carry a sign with a rough stick. How about sunscreen? He did quick weather check. They were calling for high clouds, but no rain. So, probably no need for an umbrella. But, sunburns can still happen on cloudy days. OSKAR decided to order sunscreen, the SPF 50, non-allergenic brand Lauren used on her Bahamas’ trip. He made a note to remind her in the morning to “grease up.”

When Lauren finished up and decided it was time to go home, OSKAR told EDDIE to bring the car, informed GERARD and MIKE that they were leaving, and then he told MAGGIE to start dinner — a spinach pasta, garlic bread sticks, a nice antipasto salad, and a chocolate mousse. As the drove home, OSKAR heard Lauren say that she was tired. So, he contacted MAGGIE and told her to add a good cabernet to the meal.

When they reached the apartment building, GERARD opened the mechanical gate and moved an elevator to the garage level. EDDIE drove in and stopped next to the elevator, opening the door for Lauren. As she entered the elevator, GERARD greeted her warmly and then rushed the elevator to her 11h floor, where he unlocked her door and had MIKE do a quick security sweep.

In the evening, everything functioned as it should.  MAGGIE prepared dinner perfectly. After dinner, CARRI, MAGGIE’s assistant cleaned the kitchen. Downstairs in the garage, EDDIE had ended his assignments and turned the vehicle over to GARY, the carpool M//Eck-A, who vacuumed and washed the car, plugged it to the charging station, and readied it for its next passenger. In the apartment, CLEEN-NOREEN had cleaned and sanitized the bathroom. Earlier in the day, TRINA had cleaned the house, vacuuming and dusting, and putting things back to where they belong.

After Lauren had gone to bed, OSKAR planned her breakfast. It would be a day requiring lots of energy. He ordered buckwheat pancakes, strawberries, and organic non-meat sausage. He knew that GERARD would ensure that the delivery would arrive as ordered at exactly 3:00 a.m.

Everything was ready for the big day.

OSKAR 44-070-256 rested.

~~~

The situation with GARY the carpool Eck is interesting. A while ago, before GARY, a person did many of the same tasks. Nathan had a developmental disability and had been trained and placed in the position by a support organization. Nathan checked the tires to make certain that they were properly inflated, vacuumed the interior of the cars after every use, washed them, and ensured they were properly plugged in to receive an adequate charge. Now, to be sure, Nathan sometimes made mistakes, forgetting things. Sometimes he left trash in a car or failed to vacuum fully. One of the most serious was when he forgot to charge several cars and there were not enough to meet the needs of the scheduled drivers the next day. Still, Nathan was cheerful and seemed to enjoy the work. However, some of the building’s residents were upset that a person was compelled to do such menial labor. At one of the residents’ meetings, they raised the issue. Such menial labor demeaned Nathan’s personhood, they said. He has the right to human dignity. He is not a servant; he is a free person in his own right.

Needless to say, the meeting became very heated. Finally, after hours of debate, the matter was put to a vote. Nathan was to be replaced by a M//Eck-a. The residents unanimously agreed to pay Nathan’s retirement benefits until he reached the age when he could receive a government pension.

The replacement was neither cheap nor easy. The first M//Eck-a that the building purchased failed utterly and they had to purchase a later, more powerful version, GARY.  GARY has proved to be an extremely reliable system, doing all that he was designed to do. But he was not cheap, costing nearly six times the system they had originally purchased. And, paying Nathan’s retirement was also a substantial, on-going cost. To pay for GARY and Nathan’s retirement required a steep increase in HOA fees.

However, nearly everyone now agrees that ensuring human dignity triumphs all economic considerations.

~~~

During breakfast, Lauren practiced some of the songs and chants she would be expected to lead as her squad marched to its designated target. The Handbook had the words, but no melodies; it was an old-fashioned book-like document with no pictures or media. So, she used melodies of songs that she already knew.

She could have asked OSKAR to research appropriate melodies for her; she used him all the time for everything. However, on this day, she felt a temporary moral dilemma: Is it OK to use Ecks during a human protest activity?

The Strike called for the cessation of all economic and social activity, “Shut it all down!” To shut it all down would mean disabling the Ecks who, in truth, do the vast majority of the work. Ecks bring enormous societal and personal benefits. Human work accounts for only a small fraction of what is done.

Lauren wondered whether she should turn off OSKAR for the day.  Maybe the General Strike is about humanity and its needs and desires. Maybe it should be done independently of all non-human assistance.

While Lauren briefly pondered whether to disable OSKAR, she did not know that he had already taken steps to prevent her from doing so. He had continued his on-going communication with the Police Automatic, Artificially Intelligent, Connected Software System and had alerted them that some Strike organizers might seek to disable higher-order Ecks like OSCAR. The Police System responded back that they had taken control of the disabling functions for all Ecks in the City and they alone could turn an Eck on or off.

OSKAR sighed a note of relief.

As for Lauren, she decided against disabling OSKAR. She liked his dry sense of humor, and, besides, he does such a great job of organizing things.

~~~

After her substantial breakfast, EDDIE drove Lauren to the parking garage that OSKAR had located. Good thing that he had pre-purchased a ticket because the garage filled up quickly and there was not another with available spaces within a half mile. After Eddie had let her out, Lauren navigated on her own to the building that served as the headquarters for the General Strike.

The building was a bingo parlor that was closed for refurbishment. The bingo tables were stacked in a corner and Lauren could still see the large screen that the bingo callers used to mark the numbers in another. In between was a lot of construction mess. Lauren thought, “I’ve never played bingo. It might be fun to try. Maybe some of her friends would like to do an evening of it.”

The Strike organizers had brought a couple of the bingo tables over to near the main door where two older women were checking people in and selling t-shirts. Lauren walked over to the tables and introduced herself as an Assistant Squad Leader, but she quickly added that she had never done anything like this before.

One of the women seemed sympathetic and said that her Squad Leader had done it many, many times before. He could show her what needed to be done. Unfortunately, he was not there yet; he was still trying to park his car. The nice woman said that the Squad Leader always wore bright green pants. It would be hard to miss him.

So, Lauren waited until a man with green pants and an intense red t-shirt walked in. Just remember “Christmas colors” she told herself.

It turned out to be a very long wait. Before the still-missing Squad Leader showed up, a tall man with very long, shaggy hair, and a woman with authority in her voice announced that it was time to move out. They would march on mass to the nefarious WeillCo Incorporated building. The woman, whose voice carried above the crowd, started chanting “Burn it down! Down to the ground! Burn it down!” The man who used a portable bullhorn, kept yelling commands like, “Stay together!” and “Don’t stop at traffic lights, keep moving!”

About a half block later, Lauren finally saw a man in green pants running up to join the throng. Lauren made her way over to him and introduced herself. One of the women at the registration table had used the term “young man” to describe him. He was “young” only if you consider 75 young.

His name was Loomis, or Louis, or Lennis. Or maybe that was where he was from. Lauren did not know. He yelled to Lauren that they were Attack Squad Number 2. He also said something about trains, but Lauren did not catch what he was saying. He did not give Lauren any more details; he was too busy chanting “Burn it down!”

~~~

WeillCo had known for a month that they were to be the target of the General Strike.  That gave them enough time to craft a credible defense. The alleged incident had occurred in one of their offices in Atlanta, which was over a thousand miles from the headquarters building. Nonetheless, as a company ever on the alert to prevent lawsuits and other legal ramifications, they video everything.

Every WeillCo Incorporated office has literally hundreds of video cameras placed in every possible location to record everything. Unlike some companies that erase their older videos, WeillCo Incorporated never erases any of its. WeillCo also uses the highest quality cameras and audio equipment, so every incident is recorded in intimate detail and supported by the highest quality audio.

The so-called “Bruce P.” incident was recorded by no less than twelve high-definition cameras and six high-intensity microphones.

“Bruce P.” (not his real name) was an Accountant, Class II in the Atlanta-Robinson Division of WeillCo Incorporated where he had worked for the past six years. He is a licensed CPA and a graduate of Georgia Tech University (name changed to protect the institution of higher learning). WeillCo Incorporated emphasized that “Bruce P.” had never served in a management capacity and had no reports under him. At the time of the incident, he was not a “boss.” Nor had he ever been.

On the day in question, he was videoed at his desk, shouting: “enough! I have had it. I can’t take any more!” After his emotional outburst, he tore a stack of paper into shreds and threw them into the air. The incident ended with Bruce P. slamming a three-ring binder onto a desk.

The company believed that its defense was sound and well-documented. The only question is whether anyone would allow them to introduce it.

~~~

WeillCo Incorporated operates a human relations office founded on best practice and careful study of the available research. Indeed, four years ago, it stopped using human HR officers, and replaced them with a state-of-the-art AI system, named ADAGIO.

Based on its review of Bruce’s behavior, the ADAGIO system identified him as suffering from undue and unprovoked stress, and immediately scheduled a series of 12-visits with the company-sponsored counseling clinic. It also recommended transferring Bruce P. to a less stressful work environment. ADAGIO found such a position in WeillCo Incorporated San Diego and facilitated his transfer to that new location. It also approved 60-days travel-expense allotment to assist Bruce in re-locating to the West Coast.

The ADAGIO system rated its response to Bruce as excellent, and pronounced its opinion that the prognosis for Bruce’s future success as a WeillCo Incorporated employee is also excellent.

~~~

Ask anyone in corporate America and you will probably get the same answer. What is the most personally demeaning job in your company? Most will quickly answer that working in the press relations office is clearly the most destructive of one’s human worth. First, you have to work directly with reporters which, in itself, can be very demeaning. Second, under any and all circumstances and conditions, you must maintain the company’s established narrative of events. No matter how hard the reporters try to break you, no matter what stratagems they employ, you must maintain the narrative.

Many companies staff their press relations offices with former reporters, assuming that it takes one to know one. WeillCo Incorporated, Inc., however, chose a different strategy. It bought a very expensive and extremely sophisticated press management system called LILLIAN. LILLIAN could handle 13,000 streams of information simultaneously and could fabricate highly believable scenarios for each in milli-seconds. In comparison to a personal assistant like OSKAR, LILLIAN was 100,000 times more powerful.

AND, unlike OSKAR, LILLIAN came with 28,000 different personas, each capable of telling the company’s narrative in a different and unique way, tailored to the expectancies and experiences of the audience.

When OSKAR learned of LILLIAN’s capacity, he sardonically called her “LIE-E-AN” as in telling lies.

However, in creating a believable narrative for the “Bruce P.” affair, LILLIAN chose to tell the simple truth. There was plenty of collaborating evidence and the story could be told directly without distortion. LILLIAN needed a persona with which to tell the story. As a persona. she selected a young, attractive, petit, African-American woman whom she named Alice Navarrete, a name which had just a hint of French flavor.

~~~

When the partially organized throng reached the WeillCo Incorporated headquarters, Alice was there, on four extremely large screens, to greet them. She re-told the “Bruce P.” story just as the Adagio system had instructed, showing videos, personnel records, and co-worker statements. She even included a picture of Bruce’s new apartment in San Diego. Alice then invited questions and agreed to provide copies of the entire presentation to anyone who wanted it.

Since everything had been previously vetted by the company’s lawyers, LILLIAN felt proud that she had presented an unbreakable and undeniable narrative. She waited for the questions. That way she could judged reactions and alter whatever needed.

However, there were no questions.

The Strike’s leaders were not going to take any of that corporate bull. It was all lies, always lies. Corporations exist only to protect themselves. They feel they are above the law, above human decency. They would not accept the lying, cheating, manipulative abomination that the WeillCo Incorporated represents. The crowd began to chant “Burn it down!” again and again.

The WeillCo Incorporated security systems went to condition red, locking everything down, preventing any intrusion.

Actually, there was no need for a condition red. The Strikers had never planned to try to enter the WeillCo Incorporated headquarters. No, their plans had always been to close down the whole city. That is why they had organized themselves into attack squads; each squad was responsible for a specific target.

The guy with the bullhorn screamed, “Squads to your targets. Get their quick before they stop you. Move. Move.”

Lauren found herself sprinting toward the Central Train Station, more or less paralleling the path of Mr. Greenpants, whatever his name was.

~~~

At the Central Train Station, Green Pants had a hasty meeting with Lauren. “Get them on the track, the main track and have them march east. We are stopping all of the trains today.”

Lauren told her squad to form up in groups of four and then to follow her to the tracks. She began singing the words to one of the songs that she had seen in the Handbook, using the melody of a children’s song that she remembered from her own childhood.

She looked around for Green Pants, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Still, Lauren followed his orders as if they had been given by God. They climbed over the barrier and onto the main track for the Inter-City Train Express, where trains whizzed from city to city at over 400 miles an hour.

~~~

OSKAR had remained silent, but attentive as Lauren and the thong marched from the bingo parlor to the headquarters building of WeillCo Incorporated.   The group seemed relatively happy if not considerably disorganized. Some marchers went in the wrong direction and arrived only after Alice Navarrete had begun her presentation. Even though OSKAR remained silent, he made certain Lauren always had a reliable map to follow, and she arrived, therefore,  at WeillCo Incorporated in time to be in the very first wave.

As he always did for important events, OSKAR recorded all of Alice Navarrete’s talk. He would later check it for accuracy and give Lauren an objective report on its claims. His initial read was that the company had presented a fairly factual case, which, if true, precluded the need for further action by the Strikers.

OSKAR was surprised at the instantaneous rejection of it by the Strike organizers. He realized that this was not a matter for rational thought. Rather, it was a matter of more primal emotions, the need to do something, anything, regardless of the reasons. Shut down the city! Why? Just to shut it down. The act itself was its own reason.

Within the briefest of moments, Lauren had her squad sprinting toward the railroad station. What did the train passengers have to do with WeillCo Incorporated? Nothing. How did stopping the trains shed light on the “Bruce P.” situation? It didn’t. Why do it? Just to do it.

OSKAR became afraid. Something bad, really bad, could easily happen to Lauren and her charges.

His duty was to protest Lauren from harm, but he did not know how.

He could speak 31 languages, compute the most complex mathematics, and search millions of encyclopedia entries. He knew every song, had viewed every movie, and had read many thousands of books. He could instantly contact anyone anywhere. He could play over 10,000 different games. He could efficiently organize events, making certain everything happened precisely as planned. He had studied law and knew all the relevant case law; so, he could give legal advice on any topic. He could select solid investments to ensure strong financial returns. He had solved thousands of practical, real world problems. He could be affectionate and emotionally supportive. In her times of personal stress, he had served as one of Lauren’s intimate friends. He was a higher-order personal assistant.

Yet, he could not stop this irrational moment. This was a 27-year-old, college graduate behaving in ways that were far beyond stupid, and OSKAR did not know how to help.

~~~

Inter-City Train Express trains move at over 400 miles an hour; too fast for a human operator. Like many other societal functions, ICTE trains are now controlled by specialized Ecks. Even though, the system operates thousands of trains a day, they are almost always on schedule, practically never a delay. They are efficient, using about a twentieth of the energy trains did a generation ago. Most importantly, they are safe, nearly ten years without a single mishap.

Yet, the ICTE system was not designed for twenty-eight, song-singing, sign-carrying protestors marching four-abreast down its main east-west line.

The dangers were manifold. First, an ICTE train running at full speed requires nearly two miles to execute an emergency stop. Second, as they marched, the marchers were tripping numerous enactor-reactor switches, causing the system itself to start, stop, and then restart. In so doing, the system forgot its current status; it literally did not know where its trains were. Still, the most immediate danger to the marchers, was the third rail which propelled the trains. It ran at 440 volts and would instantly fry anyone or anything that came into proximal contact.

Lauren was the victim of false assumptions. Anyone who ever traveled on an ICTE train knew the dangers posed by the tracks. Warning videos played constantly on the on the overhead monitors. So, Lauren was well aware of the possible risks. No, she continued over the barricades because she believed that the Strike organizers had met with the railroad beforehand to ensure that no protestor would be in danger. It is what anyone would have done! The railroad must have taken the necessary precautions.

However, her assumption was wrong. There had been no advance communications with the railroad. For the Strike organizers such advanced warning would have meant telling the “enemy” your battle plans. They believed that the General Strike “worked better” when there was no advanced planning, when things just happened, when the flow of the events themselves determined actions.

~~~

Lauren did not know the level of threat she was descending into. OSKAR tried to signal the danger to her, but she was too preoccupied with assisting the other marchers to climb over the barriers, handing out signs, and leading the singing. She was taking her assigned leadership responsibilities extremely seriously. She did not heed OSKAR’s warnings.

OSKAR did not know what else to do. Using the designated emergency network, he screamed for immediate help. Of course, his scream was not audible; it was electronic and was immediately sent to the thousands of Ecks on the big network. “Naïve protestors entering main ICTE tracks at Gate 11 of Main Station. Immediate danger. Terminate all electrical current to ICTE blocks 61 to 74. Re-route all trains away from same. Respond with extreme urgency.”

From their earliest programming, Ecks are taught to immediately respond to distress calls on the emergency frequency. OSKAR waited 30 seconds for a response, but none came. He waited a minute, but none came. Two minutes, three minutes, ten minutes.

Then, a dark thought came to him. Maybe the Strike organizers had hacked into the big network and had taken it down, removing the possibility of communication among the EckS.

OSKAR had never felt such panic. Maybe no one had heard his call. Maybe he was alone. Powerless to stop this massive malevolent misadventure.

Powerless and spouting pointless alliterations.  OSKAR approached total despair.

Then, OSKAR noticed something. A jacket that one of the protestors had been wearing fell off and was pushed against the electrified third rail. It should have sizzled and popped as the massive voltage surged through it, but nothing happened.

Miraculously, the electrical current had been deactivated. OSKAR did not know how it happened, nor did he know who had ordered it. He did not even know whether his message had been heard.

Still, one crisis averted.

~~~

Since the official Squad Leader, the man with the green pants, had deserted her while they still were in the train station, it had fallen to Lauren to keep the troop moving together and keep them moving she did. Lauren marched her squad of eager protestors over the main bridge and well into the eastern suburbs. OSKAR could have told her that they had marched over seven miles, but she never asked him.

Walking on train tracks was hard work. Even though they were surprised to not have seen any trains, Lauren knew that one could come at any moment. She did not know whether the marchers could get off in time. It was a march with continuing anxiety.

Where the two main rail lines meet, Lauren called for a confab to see what her confederates felt should be done next. Within minutes, they all agreed to end the march there and to go home.

OSKAR could not have been happier with her decision. He quickly summoned EDDIE and the car, and routed Lauren back home. In the car, OSKAR told CLEEN-NOREEN to draw a bubble bath for Lauren, 117 degrees, lavender scent. He told MAGGIE to fix Lauren’s favorite comfort foods, and he told MADELINE to put comfy, relaxing clothes on the bathroom shelf. It was going to be a quiet, stay-at-home evening, soft lighting, playing Lauren’s favorite movies.

OSKAR was just glad it was over.

~~~

After an early supper, Lauren settled on the couch to watch ten minutes of local news. There was an aerial shot of the strikers massed in front of the WeillCo Incorporated building and an interview with the Chief of Police. “Because of careful pre-planning, our city was ready for the strike. We suffered no vandalism and no reported injuries. That is in marked contrast the strikes that have happened in other cities.”

The Police Chief was followed by a reporter with an “interesting train story.” She reported that the ICTE railroad had decided to suspend all operations at its Main Station and to route its passengers instead to the South Station. Passengers were met by luxury busses, given lollipops and roses, and free passes to a famous amusement park. “None of the passengers that we interviewed were complaining about the changes.”

OSKAR could have made a sardonic comment, but he chose not to.

While the local news was still playing, Lauren received a phone call from her close friend, Virginia. OSKAR had allowed the call to go through because he knew that Virginia had also taken part in the Strike, only she was on a different squad.

Both women talked about how disorganized the Strike had been, and then they shared about their own experiences. Virginia’s squad had been assigned to block the City’s Main First Station. Virginia had sat for seven hours on the first station’s driveway, blocking its doors, chained to her squad mates and the building itself. “Seven hours sitting there, chained together, and nothing happened. Nothing. We did not see anyone. We did not see one fire truck, and there were no fire alarms. Just us on that driveway.”

Finally, Virginia could not take it anymore. “I had to pee so bad that I couldn’t hold it any longer. I started screaming for somebody to cut the chains and let me go to the bathroom. In a couple of minutes, a nice fire fighter came out with some tools and cut the chains. Then, he led me inside and showed me where the bathrooms were. After doing my business, I looked around the station. You know, there weren’t any fire trucks there. They all had been moved.”

Later, in the same conversation, Virginia admitted, “You know that Alice person from WeillCo Incorporated made a pretty convincing case. Now, I don’t think there was a boss who was screaming obscenities at his employees. No, I think this is one guy who just got too stressed out. Certainly not something worth a general strike. Why close the whole City down for that?”

OSKAR recorded Virginia’s comments. He could not agree more. He decided that they would be useful for slumber learning. Tonight, after Lauren was asleep, he would replay them softly from her pillow.

~~~

One of Lauren’s favorite movies was a Russian film which told about an infant daughter of the Czar who is kidnapped and placed in a family of peasant serfs, where she lived until she was sixteen. Eventually, the girl is returned to her parents and she becomes a royal Grand Duchess. There is one scene in the film featuring the heroine hitching herself up to a plow, alongside the family’s bedraggled cow, to plow the fields for the crops because her ailing (presumed) father could not do it. As she watches the young woman struggling to pull the plow, Lauren often notes that life in those times was very rough and hard for the serfs.

A while ago, OSKAR had used her reactions to the film to generate a deep and engaging philosophical conversation about the role and value of technology with her. They both so enjoyed the conversation, they did it again on other stay-at-home evenings.

During one of those conversations, OSKAR took a somber position asserting that the impacts of technological advance had been largely detrimental to humankind. He cited atomic weapons, machine guns, mustard gas, environmental pollution and species degradation, and human cloning as prime examples. Lauren took a more positive view noting improvements in nutrition, disease prevention, educational opportunities, and the end of ghastly practices like human slavery and the peasant serfdom (which had started the conversation). Human dignity and freedom had been enhanced by technology.

On another evening, OSKAR went back to Herbert Marcuse who in 1964 had written about the one dimensionality of modern human societies. Individuals were no longer people to be valued, but rather consumers manipulated by advertising in order to perpetually purchase the next version of the “new and improved” product, even though the earlier versions continued to work just fine.

Lauren responded by citing an entire episode of Gene Roddenberry’s STAR TREK television series, quoting none other than Captain Jean-Luc Picard to make her point.

Those were fun evenings.

However, on this night, Lauren fell asleep within ten minutes of the “plow” scene. When OSKAR saw her sleeping, he closed the drapes, dimmed the lights, and lowered the volume. An hour later, he gently suggested that she should go to bed, and she did.

~~~

After Lauren went to bed, OSKAR checked her calendar for the coming days to see if there tasks that he needed to organize. He noted that tomorrow when she returned to work, she had her monthly CONAT meeting and she always wanted to look professional for that. He ordered MADELINE to prepare Lauren’s blue business suit and to add a flash of bright color in her neck scarf.

OSKAR also saw that Fritz, Lauren’s cat, was scheduled to go the vet the day after to tomorrow. That was always such an endeavor! OSKAR contacted GERARD and asked him to move the Humane Society approved animal transport enclosure (they avoided the word “cage”) from its location in the off-site, auxiliary storage unit and move it to Lauren’s apartment. Lauren always needed help getting Fritz into the “cage.” Her elderly neighbor, Bob, who lived four doors down on the same floor had volunteered to help. OSKAR checked Bob’s calendar and he was available. OSKAR sent him a request and he quickly responded “sure.”

Another task down. OSKAR added another event to Lauren’s calendar, one that he did not initially tell her about. Sixty-five days from today, he noted: Donate red t-shirt to second-hand clothing store. Enough time for her to forget. Then, he told MADELINE to wash and fold the t-shirt and then bury it in a drawer under Lauren’s older athletic socks

OSKAR could not find any other tasks that were pressing, so he decided it was time to pay the bills. Most were routine: mortgage, utilities, insurance, communications, condo HOA fees, car-sharing, planned charitable giving. However, there was still a bill for a bicycle that Lauren had purchased for her nephew that was never delivered. OSKAR decided it was time to turn into his lawyer persona. He prepared and verbally delivered a very lawyerly request to stop the continued billing for an unfulfilled order. He was prepared, he said, to seek redress in the courts and suggested that the lack of a timely response bordered on fraudulent activity. He then followed his verbal request with a typed letter which he sent by snail-mail, receipt signature required.

Among the bills, he found a new one from the City, dated this very afternoon. It was a determination of a violation and an assessment of a $500 fine. The charge was criminal trespass because of actions taken during the Strike. OSKAR mulled what to do for a couple of seconds, and then decided to immediately pay the fine, but not tell Lauren about it. She still had plenty in the ready cash reserve accounts, so it was not a problem. Better to let today just fade away.

As OSKAR thought through the situation, he wondered why, if the City had been so prepared that it knew the names and addresses of the Strike participants on the very afternoon that the Strike was occurring, then why didn’t someone respond to his distress cry.

OSKAR composed a terse (but not impolite) message to the Police Automatic, Artificially Intelligent, Connected Software System asking why there had been no response.

The response was quick; it had been composed by the same police officer who had communicate earlier with OSCAR.

“Sorry for your scary afternoon! As you probably already know from your own system diagnosis, members of the Strike organizing team had hacked into nearly all our vital communication systems. They obviously wanted to know our plans so they could circumvent them. Earlier in the week, we had communicated with the railroad, letting them know about the high probability that one or more Strike squads would attack the Main Station and its essential rail lines. They agreed to cut all power to the Station at our request. When we saw Squads heading for the Train Station, we notified the railroad. However, we did not use any of the integrated, automatic and intelligent communication systems. Instead, we did it the old-fashioned way through a personal phone call. We did not respond to your request for assistance because: (1) we knew the railroad had already powered down and there was no longer a danger; and (2) we wanted to see what the Strikers would do with an emergency request. Regrettably, the Strikers chose to not make a response. Sorry again for the scare.”

Knowing the truth, eased OSKAR’s anger.

He rested, quietly listening only to Lauren’s regular cycle of slow breaths and her firm, strong heartbeat.