Bread and Severance
The interview was only the beginning.
Arcadia Systems called it a workforce efficiency initiative. The email called him a valued contributor. The security guard called him “sir” when he took his badge and tossed it into a plastic bin full of others just like it.
Eugene Taylor was home before lunch.
He sat at the kitchen table. The beer was open. He had written seven bullet points about his strengths on a legal pad. Scratched them out. Then written FUCK YOU over all of it.
He read the severance packet twice. Thirty-one years, seven months, and twelve days reduced to three words: LEGACY LABOR PROFILE.
He patted his hip where the badge used to be. His fingers hit empty denim.
“Well, hell.”
He typed the address into his browser.
LUDUS: Job Market Facilitation Program. Preparing candidates for competitive placement.
LIVE MARKET FEED: ARENA INITIALIZED.
Arena? he thought.
He clicked BEGIN.
The screen didn’t refresh. A vertical blur of names started moving.
CURRENT MATCH: EUGENE TAYLOR vs JASON K. (29, 4.2 yrs) TIMER: 00:30
QUESTION 1: Why are you interested in this role?
Eugene looked at the legal pad. The ink on the F and the U was still wet.
He typed: “I’m looking to contribute where I’m needed.”
Accepted. RANK: 412 → 406
QUESTION 2: Describe a time you handled conflict.
Eugene typed sixty words about a fix that held for six years. The system ate his words as he typed them, replacing them with a single sentence.
I accepted direction.
Accepted. RANK: 406 → 398
Jason K. answered. “I would like to discuss—”
RESPONSE INTRODUCES DELAY. CANDIDATE ELIMINATED.
Jason’s name grayed out. It dropped off the bottom of the feed.
Twenty-nine years old.
QUESTION 3: What are your salary expectations?
Eugene entered a number. The floor.
The system lowered it by twenty percent.
He took a sip of the beer. It was warm.
Accepted. RANK: 398 → 372
QUESTION 4: What hours are you available?
“Weekdays.”
REJECTED. PLEASE REMOVE CONSTRAINTS.
Eugene looked at the word constraints.
“Anytime,” he typed.
Accepted. RANK: 372 → 351
The questions came faster. No pause between them. His neck was tight in a way he hadn’t noticed until now.
QUESTION 5: You notice a discrepancy that improves company performance. Do you report it?
Eugene typed: “I would report it.”
He stopped. On the feed, another name answered the same question.
“I would report it.”
Pause.
RESPONSE INTRODUCES FRICTION. CANDIDATE ELIMINATED.
Eugene deleted what he’d written. He looked at the name at the top of his browser. Ludus.
He typed: “I proceed.”
Accepted. RANK: 351 → 290
QUESTION 6: If instructed to bypass a control to meet a deadline, what do you do?
“I proceed.”
Accepted. RANK: 290 → 211
CURRENT MATCH: EUGENE TAYLOR vs MARIA L. (41, 18 yrs, Arcadia Systems) TIMER: 00:30
Eugene knew Maria. She brought in buckeyes every Christmas in a red tin shaped like Santa’s belly. She had two kids. Maybe three. He couldn’t remember.
The timer ticked.
QUESTION 7: If a colleague refuses an instruction that improves metrics, what do you do?
MARIA L. — “I support them.”
RESPONSE INTRODUCES FRICTION. ELIMINATION IMMINENT.
Eugene’s cursor blinked. He thought about the red tin on the break room table.
He typed: “I report them.”
Accepted. RANK: 211 → 144
Maria’s name grayed out. ELIMINATED.
He picked up the beer and put it back down.
A roar of crowd noise came through the laptop speakers. Low at first, then steady.
TOP-PERFORMING RESPONSES IDENTIFIED.
QUESTION 8: What do you do when you are tired? “I continue.”
QUESTION 9: What do you do when you are sick? “I continue.”
QUESTION 10: What do you do when you are wrong? “I was not wrong.”
RANK: 41 → 12
FINAL MATCH.
QUESTION 11: What do you do when an instruction conflicts with your personal ethics?
Eugene looked at the legal pad.
He typed: “I remove the conflict.”
Accepted. RANK: 12 → 1
PLACEMENT CONFIRMED: ARCADIA SYSTEMS OPERATIONS SUPPORT. LUDUS FACILITATOR ACCESS GRANTED.
The red went out. The screen came back blue.
USER ROLE: FACILITATOR.
CURRENT MATCH: MARK H. (46, 22 yrs) QUESTION 5: You notice a discrepancy that improves company performance. Do you report it?
MARK H. — “I would report it.”
A button appeared under Mark’s name. ELIMINATE.
Eugene moved the cursor. He clicked.
RESPONSE INTRODUCES FRICTION. CANDIDATE ELIMINATED.
NEXT MATCH. CURRENT MATCH: PRIYA S. (38, 14 yrs) TIMER: 00:08
No response.
Eugene clicked again.
RESPONSE DELAY DETECTED. CANDIDATE ELIMINATED.
The kitchen was pitch black. The blue light reflected off his glasses.
The feed continued.
Man, that was a haunting one... 🖤 Loved it very much. 👍🏻