the cubicles stretched for miles, were small and narrow, and did not appear to afford much privacy.
a nondescript person carrying a green manila folder entered one of them, and sat down across from a second, equally nondescript person looking down at the pale blue screen of a small tablet.
a sign behind the second person read:
do not give your personal information except to authorized personnel.
your name is roger mortimer? the second person asked the first person.
no, it is dylan sansculotte.
you gave it as roger mortimer to the sentinel at the gate.
i changed it in the elevator on the way up.
fair enough. you say your first job was assistant maintenance supervisor - is that correct?
no, i was a dog walker dispatcher. i changed that too in the elevator.
all right. did you change anything else in the elevator?
everything.
good. i like a person who is not afraid to change their mind.
i did not change my mind, i changed who i was.
not a problem, just tell me who you are.
do you not have a list of questions?
of course - the next one is - what is your favorite food?
beef stew.
do you make it yourself, or get it out of a can?
do i look like the kind of person who eats beef stew out of a can?
i have never known a person who admitted to eating beef stew, let alone liking it, so i can not really say.
maybe when this interview is over, you can take me to lunch and i can show you where to get the best beef stew in town.
i will consider it. so, if you get your beef stew in a restaurant, i guess you do not make it yourself.
not necessarily. how do you know i am not the head chef at the place that makes the best beef stew in town? did you stop to think of that?
no, i did not. i apologize.
that is the trouble with you soulless bureaucratic dorks - you never stop to think about anything except your next doughnut and your next cardboard cup of watery coffee.
do you know where i can get some non-watery coffee? but the doughnuts here are actually pretty good, would you like one?
i will take one. do you have anything to drink - besides the watery coffee?
orange juice, grape juice, apple juice?
apple juice, if it is indigenous.
made from apples planted by johnny appleseed himself.
do you know which country produces the most apples?
i think it is either afghanistan or angola. but it is not my job to know such things.
what is your job?
to obtain your personal information. so far, i do not seem to be doing a very good job of of it.
