Squeam Headquartes, X country, XY month of the XXY year.

In a moonlit office, a shadowy figure watched the city in the distance.

His round face and plump body wobbled a bit as he looked through the glass window, staring at the lights beyond.

- Mr. Shabe Newell, the personal applications have arrived.

A woman in a pale pink employee suit entered the office. The suit consisted of a knee-high skirt and a finely-cut blazer. Her beautiful legs were covered with the finest of silk thigh high socks. Her tempting buttocks were hidden beyond a veil of high quality fiber, while the beautiful breasts’ form could be faintly seen under the white shirt she used. The exquisite neck and lips formed a mature, resolute face, but the roundish glasses and the innocent expression gave the woman the feel of a timid, quiet person.

- Good - said Shabe Newell in a deep, coarse voice.

- Sh- should I let them at your table, sir?

- Yes. Come and let them right here.

Shabe put his finger on a place on top of his irish-cedar table while looking the woman in the eye.

- Y- yes sir.

As she approached him, his hand light extended at her waist line, touching her on the back.

- S.. sir…

- Leave those papers there and come with me tonight.

- I… I can’t sir, my husband…

- That trash of a man isn’t worth of you.

Shabes’ hand lightly touched the womans’ hair, and she blushed as her whole body tensed up.

Shabes’ expression soured a bit.

- I guess what I’m doing could be said to be employee harassment, couldn’t it?

The woman was surprised, her eyes opening wide.

- S. sir, i..

- It’s okay.

He faced the window again.

- My body isn’t of anyones’ liking, and as much as that trash of a man isn’t worth of you, I won’t be forceful like him either.

The woman in pink looked downwards, staring at the carpet.

- If you want it, just say it. I will give you enough money to live the rest of your life somewhere else, and won’t trouble you anymore.

The woman felt intense surprise once again, for the second time in that night.

- Sir, I! I never!

- I can also transfer you to another office. You could be anywhere you want in the world. I obviously will keep your salary the same as it is…

Shabe was suddenly grabbed from behind.

The woman’s arms weren’t large enough to embrace his whole body, but this time it was Shabe who felt surprise instead.

- Sir… no… Shabe…

- Yes?

- I don’t mind. I don’t care what you do to me. I want it. But i…

- You can’t take the lead to do that.

The woman softened her embrace.

- Yes, that’s why…

- Shush.

Gabe turned towards her, embracing her waist and approaching his body to hers’.

- Then…. Shall I help myself to your lips ?

****

Morning of the following day.

- So, these are the profiles of those interested in the job.

- Yes sir.

The window allowed for the warm sunlight to illuminate Shabe Newells’ office.

There, a man and a woman would talk to each other while only half-dressed. There was enough clothing so both would be composed, but not formal at all. Those were Shabe and his secretary, Samanta.

- I remember saying that I wanted everyone with a criminal record taken out of the picture. Why are there people with records here?

- I’m sorry sir. Is just that the requirements for the job were too high, so not enough people could be hired on this city alone.

Shabe was the kind of guy who loved to do what he did. His work was a masterpiece made to separate gamers from their money, but also made with passion, love and hardwork to guarantee that said gamers would always receive what they paid for - if not even more.

As for Samanta, she was a fantastic secretary, one of the best in the world. And now, not only that, she also looked more like a mature and seasoned woman, brimming with the sensuality only those who have gone beyond certain stages of life. Her disheveled hair was a perfect frame for the beautiful lips and now passionate, satisfied eyes.

- I see - Said Shable.

Squeam was about to launch a new tipe of MMORPG. One which would include never-before-seen technology and unique features. Such progress would mark a huge leap not only in gaming, but also in entertainment as a whole.

- Well, I guess we should just give them non-speaking minor roles then. What about the ones without a criminal record?

The job Jack was applying to was unique, and a feature of said game. However, the requirements were quite strict.

First, the person couldn’t have a criminal record. None at all. Then, the one applying for the job had to accept to live on Squeam Headquartes, were they would receive minimum wage minus food and lodging expenses. Which meant they would barely have any pocket money at the end of the month.

Then, they would also have to spend most of their day available for work, not to mention that they could be awaken at any time of the night to work more. Their mobility would be reduced, and they would have to leave all belongings outside of the building once entering the workplace.

They also had to accept a curfew of over 20 hours a day, accept to have their personal life tracked, including all communications with the outside, and then sign a very strict contract which would mostly make them slaves of the company.

Of course, the individual couldn’t have any serious mental illness or terminal disease as well. Being crippled was fine, though.

Such harsh working conditions wouldn’t be accepted anywhere in the country, but this job was a special one. It wouldn’t require any laws to operate.

Of course, these conditions drove most of the possible applicants far away from the job, and only those with very clear profiles ended up being accepted.

Those would be NEETS, who didn’t care for the outside world, those who desperately wanted a job, no matter the cost, and those who were running away from the outside world - be for whichever reason it may be.

From these three profiles, most of the last one couldn’t really make it past the criminal record checking, so they made part of a very small selection of applicants.

In summary, there were the NEETS, the Job Hunters and the Runners. Besides a few Weirdos as well.

For each and every one of these profiles, a certain occupation was most appropriate inside of Shabes’ new project.

The NEETS, obviously, would be given the most reclusive roles, while Job Hunters would be given the most active ones. Runners, by their time, would be given special jobs which didn’t require much in terms of player interaction.

And then the Weirdos were just there to fill in the vacancies in the project.

- Now, all we need is someone for THAT, I guess.

- We have gone through all files multiple times sir. I don’t think anyone is quite qualified for that position.

- No one, uh…

Every single one of those appliance papers were as valuable as gold. The personnel there were the cream de la cream of modern corporate slavery material after all.

- Then, this one.

- Jack, no last name given. Are you sure sir? This one is suspect. We couldn’t find anything about him from the last 16 years. The last record of him being alive at all was his graduation album from high school…

Shable smiled a bit. Maybe it was because of the relaxed atmosphere of the room. Maybe it was because his mind was filled with pure satisfaction and pleasure from the last night - the fact is, all work done so far had been done under the pink lens in the eyes of a man who satisfied his lover, as much as she satisfied him.

- That’s exactly why his history is so believable. Besides, he almost begged the psychologist to be accepted in the Project, didn’t he? And his motive is… “because I want to be a NEET for the rest of my life”. Hahah.

- If you think so, sir.

- Yeah, I do. Give him that role. If things go bad, then they don’t know they will be on Early Alpha still, so we just need to find a substitute.

That day marked the first time Jack got accepted at a job.