prompt: Write a story that involves a mystery — it doesn’t need to be crime-related, it should just include something that remains unexplained until the end….
available on Reedsy
I hate my job… no, not hate, but I certainly don’t like it any more. My job used to be my joy, and I would have happily done it without pay. Then I got too good at it, I guess. Got promoted a few times, and now… this.
There’s a meeting on my calendar with my boss, her boss, and someone else I can’t see in the BCC on the meeting invite. This afternoon. Hopefully they’ve finally figured out how unhappy I am and are ready to move me back to my old position. No, that would’ve just been Maia, my boss, telling me to pack up and move back downstairs.
When I started, I had no idea what was going on. It was all so new and exciting, and then I got my first assignments; little things, really. Oh, but I excelled at them! I loved designing and building the little things; things that most would never notice in a million years, but I did. Whether it was one of mine or not, I always noticed the little things. It’s the small touches that really complete a thing.
My position now, though, has me overseeing a whole world of stuff. I’m too wrapped up in the big things to take notice of the little things these days. Maybe that’s what it is. I’m going to get chewed out for the stuff the creep downstairs has been slipping into the code.
Since I’m not going to get any work done while worrying about the meeting I decide to look in on some of the little things my replacement, the creep downstairs, was building. I had warned against hiring him, but no-one listened. His newest creations make me sick. They exhibit a certain cruelty in their design, not to mention flaws that could bring the whole enterprise down.
I write up my concerns, along with examples, but before I can mail it to my boss I get an emergency notification. This is what my job is now, take care of the big stuff and forget about the little things. I delete the draft and log on to see what the emergency is.
It’s enough to push the mystery meeting to the back burner for now. There’s never a good time for a war, but this has to be the worst. On one side, one of my favorite teams, who is currently having problems caused by some of those cruel little things, and on the other the team led by the self-important, overbearing jerk who likes only three things: pretending nothing else exists, stealing from others, and most of all, he really loves himself.
Well, I’m not going to let this stand. If I’m careful about how I do it I can make sure the jerk gets his comeuppance, and possibly even help my favorites recover from the flaws the creep downstairs put in the system. I go into my creator-space and begin writing the code that will do this.
I have a long look at the resource allocations for both sides, and see what they each have and have not discovered. The jerk hasn’t discovered the iron in his territory… and now it’s basalt. It looks like his team is building a well. I tweak the layer the water is in, rendering it too alkaline to use.
Anyone who thinks we don’t change the playing field once it’s set is deluded. We make these kinds of changes all the time. Sometimes, like now, to help out a team we really like. Other times, also like now, to thwart a team we really don’t like. Usually, though, we just get bored or have a momentary inspiration to do something different. That’s why doing the small stuff is so fun. There’s always somewhere to build something new, something that’s never been seen.
Looking back at the resources of my favorites I see they’ve found the precious metals, but haven’t gone very deep yet. I extend and expand the main vein they’re about to hit into a bonanza. Even with that, though, they don’t stand a chance without outside help. Time to check their neighbors.
To one side, a reasonably strong neighbor with no precious metals. To the other, a neighbor with a huge army, and a need for more advanced agriculture. I send them messages, letting them know that the jerk is coming to take their lands. Not specifically disallowed, but not generally smiled on. I shrug and continue on with my quest to ruin the jerk.
I leave hints for my favorite team, telling them to trade with their bordering teams, make alliances, defeat the coming doom. I send a message to the team’s informer as well, pointing them to the hints. Not only allowed, but expected. On one border I add a small spring, and in the spring I add a new creation, one that can fix the flaw of the latest addition from the creep downstairs.
Now it’s time to sit back and see what happens over the next few turns. I watch with interest as a new leader takes over for my favorite team: the previous informer. She manages to turn trade deals into an alliance. That alliance beats back the jerk, whose entire team is taken out of play.
What happens next is a surprise. The alliance turns into a unified territory, and incorporates the empty lands that the jerk left behind. They are sailing on to more advanced technology, fueled by the massive cache of precious metals. Maybe I made it a little too large. No worry, they’re still my favorites and my inbox is filling with thanks from them.
When they figure out the fix in the spring it doesn’t take them long to recreate it for themselves. I’m pleased when their first impulse is to share it with every other team they meet. I guess there are times that this job can be enjoyable, too.
Oh, yeah. The meeting. My calendar is blinking at me, telling me it’s time to go. I think I’ll be okay with moving back downstairs, but I doubt that’s it. My last review was good, so I don’t think I’m getting the axe. Thinking about it isn’t helping, because nothing I can think of should have more than my boss and maybe HR involved.
My calendar is blinking red now, so I get up and head to the elevator to go to Maia’s office. The elevator plays muzak that’s been on repeat for about five or six years now. The trip to the next floor is too quick. Oh well, time to learn what this is all about.
Maia is standing outside her office waiting for me.
“By the way, Maia,” I say, “I’m a little concerned about the stuff that…”
“Don’t worry,” she cuts me off. “Erra’s doing a fine job, he just does it differently than you did.”
She opens the door and leads me in. There stands Maia, her boss Gaia, and seated at Maia’s desk is the big boss. Now I’m nervous. I close the door, unsure of what’s happening.
Maia says “Tacita, come, meet Tiamat.”
I shake her hand, surprised at her strength given how old and frail she looks. “Pleased to meet you, Ma’am.”
“Oh, the pleasure’s mine,” she says. “Nice work with the emergency call there.” Her smile is at once warm and mischievous.
“Oh, you… were watching?”
“Of course, dear, it’s what I do.” Tiamat winks at me and stands, not much taller than when she’s seated.
“I told you she was ready,” Maia says.
“Ready for what?” I ask.
The office grows brighter than I can stand for a moment as Tiamat shines, then returns to normal. “For your promotion!”
“Again!?” I shout. “I just started to enjoy…”
I’m cut off by Gaia and Maia glaring at me and Tiamat laughing. “Fire builds in silence, doesn’t it? Follow me, please.”
I follow her out of the office, Gaia tagging along. “Isn’t Maia coming?” I ask.
“Gaia’s your boss now, Maia’s your coworker.” Tiamat leads us down the hall to a door I didn’t know existed. “But you can visit her any time you like. Here’s your new office. I’m sure you’ll learn to find as much joy watching over a realm as you have a world.”
She closes the door and I flop down in my chair, plant my face on the desk, and cry.
