Faint rays of light shone through the reinforced metal binds that were welded to the window frame. It doesn’t provide much warmth due to the strong filters built into the glass of the window. At least it provided a small bit of light, not really enough to brighten the overwhelming gloomy and dark room. The faint hum of machinery echoed in the background like white noise. Several small LED lightbulbs flickered on and off. As the rays of light slowly moved along with the rising of the sun, an alarm rang.

A small hand reached out from under the heavy blanket and slapped the wall where a large button hung. The blaring sounds stopped immediately.

“Good morning, the time is 9 AM Wednesday the 8th of the May year 218 of the Corporate calendar. Today’s weather is 29 degrees centigrade with winds blowing North East at 4kmph.”

The monotone voice repeated the announcement three times before it stopped.

With a grumble, the person the small hand was attached to slowly kicked the thick blanket off themselves. Sat upon his bed, the boy scratched his belly as he yawned. His eyes still closed, and his hair was as wild as a patch of unmanicured grass. He wore a grey, skintight overalls with sleeves and pants legs that only reached up to his elbows and knees. There were no designs or logos on what he wore, it was just very plain and grey, but at least it looked clean. Beams of light from the window landed upon his head as he sat up, revealing his grey hair. It was not platinum blond, nor white, but rather a disgusting looking shade of grey that looked like ash.

As the boy opened his eyes, his dirty brown pupils stared at his wall of LED lights.

“Morning Zin.”

The lights on the wall all lit up at that moment.

“Morning Gin.” The wall replied with a monotonous tone.

“What are my morning duties today?” Gin asked Zinfandel, his personal AI assistant.

“Area 17 and 18 require watering today but the drone experienced technical difficulties yesterday. Tech support requires the maintenance team to attend to them today. Due to the size of the drone, Micro technicians are required. You will report to Supervisor Gamma at 10:00 AM.”

The monotonous voice of Zin spoke without a hint of pausing. Thankfully, Gin was used to his assistant’s speed and monotony and got all the important information in.

“Difficult work so early in the morning…,” Gin sighed. “Why can’t they just recycle those drones?”

“Resources are limited by the Corporate Resource Allocation team. Drones that can be fixed will not be replaced.”

Zin replied to the rhetorical question.

Gin could only sigh again. Some days he felt like his constant sighing will significantly age him if his work didn’t already do that. He wasn’t born with grey hair after all. Tough was the life of a Micro technician under the Corporation. At least benefits are good enough to ensure Gin wouldn’t complain to his supervisor.

A large slot opened from the ceiling and a pair of orange work overalls descended into the room like a ceiling light. It was glaringly different when contrasted with the dim gloomy room and the faint lack of colors.

Without taking off his current clothes, Gin slipped on the orange overalls. It felt like it was several sizes too big for his small body, but after the entire suit was put on, it was shrink wrapped to be skintight as well. This one was long enough to reach his wrist and ankles.

A pair of black steel-toed work boots rolled out from under his bed and a pair of white gloves popped out of the walls like bread out of a toaster.

Gin slipped his foot into the boots and tightened every single strap as tight as he could. He didn’t want to risk exposure or any loose pieces. The leg of the orange overall then seemed to meld into the top of the shoe connecting into a single piece. Gin slid the gloves on as well. The gloves were coated in several layers of protection, including thermal resistant, radiation resistant, and even cuts and blunt force trauma resistant. They were a pair of super heavy-duty gloves. The sleeves of the orange overalls also melded with the gloves forming an airtight seal.

With most of his body protected, Gin reached out and pulled a pair of goggles from under his pillow. A slot opened on the side revealing a place where a chip could sit.

“Come on Zin, time to go to work.”

A small chip ejected from the wall as the LED lights quickly dimmed. Gin took the chip and carefully slotted it into his goggles.

As he wore it, a protective slime poured out from the goggles and formed a sealed bubble over his neck and head. It looked like an astronaut helmet from the days of old.

“Systems are all online, environment sealed. Ready to go.”

Zin replied in Gin’s ear.

As his personal assistant, Zin went everywhere with Gin. It is both company policy and the best benefit the Corporation gave him. With the help of the assistant, Gin was never in trouble and never felt too lonely. Some AI assistants even developed a personality over time. Sadly, Zin was too new as Gin started his work just a few months ago. His personality hasn’t developed yet.

An alarm rang as a small hatch opened in his room. Quickly, the room was depressurized. Without his bubble helmet, Gin would rapidly feel the effects of asphyxiation right now as the oxygen concentration dropped dangerously low. Even the pressure on his body felt vastly different than before.

Wearing orange overalls, white gloves, black steel-toed shoes and armed with his personal assistant Zin, Gin set forth out of his cabin into another day of work for the Corporation.

______

Area 17 of the Corporation’s high-altitude bio farm. This feat of modern engineering by the Corporation helped solve the world hunger issue the world faced after the collapse of modern society. Although many were lost in the nuclear wars of yesteryear, not everything was vaporized by the explosions. Enough survived that a small semblance of society can reform. The Corporation was born out of this society. The survivors were used to one thing, a business. Many of them worked common jobs and know of nothing but their work. They felt having a business run everything allowed for them to feel more secure. Plenty of company policies and standard operating procedures ensures nothing goes wrong. They also receive a wage and company benefits like dental, healthcare, and everyone’s favorite part, a personal AI assistant.

Gin looked outside at the magnificent city that looked like an enormous tower of metal, lights, and rock. Several large animated billboards advertise the latest products and entertainment shows. Although the Corporation was the sole owner of the city, its multiple departments competed against each other. Competition was strong motivating force for advancement and thus the economy was built upon this.

The city expanded from a valley and built straight up into the sky. They didn’t expand horizontally but rather vertically. The Corporation and its employees dug deep and built high. The population grew along with the expansion. Soon there were to many people for the company to keep track of. People who weren’t registered as an employee wouldn’t enjoy the best parts of the city.

But one thing was certain, every resident of the city enjoyed company benefits if they worked.

Gin sat on the transport vehicle as it slowly approached Area 17. Two enormous drones, originally in charge of watering, pruning, and maintaining the farm in that area, laid dormant on the side. The farm served as a very important source of food for the city. If even one area was down, you can expect the price of food to go up significantly. This made Gin’s job as a micro technician essential to the Corporation. There are incredibly small areas within the giant drone that adults could not fit into. If they could send in a repair drone, it wouldn’t have the dexterity to fix complex issues. Thus, micro technicians gained a stable job market.

At the age of 18, Gin seemed to have stopped growing since he was just 13. He was as short as short can be. He didn’t have any health problems that he was aware of that affected his growth, he just stopped growing at a young age. Thus, his job as a micro technician was almost guaranteed. After 5 years of job training, he finally started his full-time job at the Corporation a few months ago. He got his work benefits and his first biannual salary.

Gin’s supervisor sat at the front of the transport vehicle. Besides him were two senior technicians.

“Drone A17-1 requires extensive maintenance. A few rodents somehow got into its inner workings and chewed through some very important cables. We need to dispose of the pests and fix the cabling. Bio scans show that inside the drone are 19 rodents. Follow the standard operating procedures and report anything unusual to me.”

The supervisor was extremely serious as he spoke. More like a military commander rather than a blue-collar worker, his face was scarred and rugged, his eyes revealed countless years of experience. The two senior technicians were his right-hand and left-hand men. They split up the group into three teams.

Gin could feel a certain level of bloodthirst that radiated from the three men. They certain had seen their share of combat over the years. Especially when their skintight orange suits reveal their chiseled muscles that years of manual labor had slowly built up. Gin couldn’t help but compare his small limp body to those three technicians. Maybe one day...

“Team Bravo, you four go inspect and repair the left-wing. Team Charlie, you four go inspect and repair the right-wing. Team Alpha and I will inspect the spine and the main control panel.”

Everyone in the vehicle nodded in confirmation. This was a standard job as long as everyone followed the proper procedures.

Gin was one of the two micro technicians that were put in the team. It was decided he would follow Team Bravo while the other followed Team Charlie. The left and right wings have some extremely cramped areas that only micro technicians could reach.

The transport vehicle slowly docked on the side of the drone. A maintenance hatch on the side of the drone was revealed to everyone as the door of the vehicle opened. The Supervisor took a glowing key card out from his chest pocket and waved it in front of the door.

“Authority confirmed, opening maintenance hatch.”

The drone buzzed as the hatch slowly opened, revealing a large enough tunnel for everyone to walk in a single file.

“Project start, our deadline is three hours from now. Agile methods are appreciated but if all else fails, remember to follow the standard operating procedures.”

The teams walked in and split up at the fork.

Team Bravo slowly walked through the narrow tunnel in a single file line. The senior inspector had a scanner out and was scanning for biosignals ahead. Two of the other inspectors were covering the left and right walls, inspecting for any areas of damage.

Any wires that were exposed and damaged were quickly spliced or replaced. The repairs were quick and efficient. They were well-equipped thanks to the Corporation’s resource department giving them proper tools that morning.

Soon, the senior technician held up his fist. Everyone stopped what they were doing and waited as they held their breath.

Over the intercoms, the senior technician’s voice softly whispered.

“Four biosignals ahead, two large, two small ones. Draw your weapons and set them on Lv2.”

Each of the technicians including Gin took out a small device. It did not look like a gun but rather more like an ear of corn. There were countless nublets on the device. Gin plucked two nublets off and held one in each hand. As his body temperature heated the nublets up, they expanded, revealing what looked like a mix between a harpoon gun and a crossbow. The other one turned into several metal bolts.

This was a Lv2 weapon for technicians. It only inflicts physical damage and does not damage hardware nearby unless it hits directly. It was good for small compact places as the weapon is small and doesn’t need to travel far to inflict damage. It also provided them some range, so they don’t have to engage in a melee in such small spaces.

The official name of the weapon was just a series of letters and numbers, but the technicians gave it a nickname, The Bolter.

With weapons ready, the four technicians slowly walked forward again. They could hear the sound of claws scratching against the metal surface. A low growl that was a mix between a squeak and a roar faintly echoed in the enclosed area. They turned off their lights and left only the bio scanner on as their eyes.

Soon, a large rodent was spotted. Its fur was in shambles with only a few patches that were intact. The rest was covered in large radiated infected pustules. It was significantly larger than its ancestors. The rat was a meter in length from head to butt, its tail made it even longer. The pest was nibbling on the wires that stuck out from the walls.

The senior technician slowly took aim. The putrid rodent hasn’t noticed them yet. As soon as the senior technician locked on, a confirmation screen appeared across the bubble helmets of the other three. It allowed them to auto lock-on where the senior technician was pointing to. This aim assistance allowed a group of random individuals to display high levels of teamwork and improved upon their ability to work together. Everyone silently confirmed with their AI assistant as their Bolters aimed towards the rodent.

The trigger was pulled, and like clockwork, the other three Bolters followed along with only a few picoseconds of delay. Four metal bolts directly impaled the rodent. A blood-curdling screech echoed the dark maintenance tunnel as the rodent breathed its last. The bolts had penetrated several vital spots, including the heart, brain, neck, and lower spine. The senior technician placed markers on all the spots and the aim assist allowed the others to automatically hit the stationary target like shooting fish in a barrel. The wonders of modern-day technology have greatly surpassed the age of steam.

Although the sickening rodent died, the technicians didn’t relax and quickly reloaded. They knew from experience that the screech from the dying animal would surely rouse the others. Soon, another large rat slightly larger than a meter, along with two smaller rodents only thirty centimeters long came out from the darkness. They lunged at the technicians like rabid creatures.

The senior technician quickly took aim. The aim assists for the others were still connected. As soon as the senior technician fired, the others also shot their metal bolts. Two bolts hit the large rodent while one each hit the two smaller ones.

“Reload!” The senior technician roared. His AI assistant quickly ejected a bolt from his right sleeve, and it landed on the bolter.

Without saying anymore, their fired again. The dying rodents were once again impaled. Once the bio scan showed that all life force from the four corpses have been depleted, everyone relaxed a little.

“Good job, go fix the wires they were chewing on.”

The two technicians nodded as they began repairs. They didn’t put away their weapon though. There were still at least 15 more rodents on the drone.

“Up ahead is a small area, Gin, you’re up.”

Gin nodded as he walked ahead. The ceiling slowly started to slope as the area got smaller and smaller. Soon Gin had to get on his knees and crawl on all four. Eventually, he reached an area where the two smaller rodents were chewing on exposed wires everywhere. Gin sighed as he got out his tools. Splicing and replacing, that’s the job of a technician on a drone. Only the supervisor had the skills to temper with the drone’s code and operating system.

“Zin, scan the area for all damages. Make a list and display it in the corner.”

Zin quickly and quietly scanned everything in front of Gin. A list of damages appeared in the corner of the bubble helmet. A total of twenty-seven areas of damage.

A small port opened up on his white gloves. Gin took another nublet off his ear of corn and it became a small-sized welding torch. It attached it to his index finger and as the electricity flowed from the glove into the torch, a small flame shot out from his fingertip. Gin started welding the areas that required reattaching. Spare wires appeared as Gin took out several more nublets from his corn.

Suddenly, Gin got a warning from Zin.

“Lifeforce detected 10 meters ahead. Small size, possible pest detected. Caution must be advised. Weapons loaded and hot.”

Gin tensed up. He lifted his bolter slowly and tried to be as quiet as possible. The rodent slowly appeared in his view. It was attracted by the heat his blow torch produced. These rotten creatures were very sensitive to smells and temperature changes. Thankfully, Gin’s full-body suit prevented his scent, and his body temperature from being detected by the creature.

Zin’s aim assist started to calculate. Adjustments were made to Gin’s posture as the bolter slowly aimed directly at the rodent’s forehead.

Soon, the rodent stopped and sniffed the air. Gin took this chance and pulled the trigger. A twanging sound echoed through the small area as the metal bolt was ejected from the bolter. Following it was a muffled screech as the rodent was impaled in the head.

“Lifeforce weakening rapidly, life force vanished. Confirmed kill. Updating public pest count.”

Gin sighed with relief. There were only 14 more possible rodents in the drone.

“Back to repairs.”

“Affirmative.”

The two went back to what they were originally doing. It was a very standard repair job for the life of a technician under the Corporation.

Thus, was the life of Gin.