Written and Narrated by William E. Spear
Produced by The Three Fifty-seven
3 March 2024
(Cold)
Okay, yeah, still. It’s me, The Messenger. No hands, no feet, no arms, no legs. Still . . . stuck inside of a computer. You heard me . . . digitized and cloned to work for two people. One of my clones has a lousy mustache. The other has naturally curly hair that could walk around by itself.
Worse, much worse, the people we work for are emotional train wrecks. Not just, “Oh, I’m having a bad day.” Train wrecks. They’ve fallen off the bridge. They’re now sinking into the Raritan River. Train wrecks.
(Theme for Romance 20 Minutes Into The Future comes up)
Hello my name is William Spear and this is The Three Fifty-seven’s series titled ROMANCE 20 MINUTES INTO THE FUTURE.
The Messenger is navigating computer systems and human psyches to get a project on track.
All that and more in Episode Three titled How Did It So Soon Get To Be So Late So Quickly?
(Theme for Romance 20 Minutes Into The Future fades under and out)
Yeah, I’m back. Messenger. My alleged self is back. With my alleged staff. I’m really annoyed about that. Two clones are trying to salvage a big project at Global United Conglomerate but our contacts are stumbling around through emotional deserts.
Laura and Jason are struggling. It’s really pretty sad.
Both were successful in their careers and received numerous awards, titles, and promotions. Both received invitations for a night out to attend a party with colleagues and co-workers. Both desperately wanted to – craved to – cultivate friendships, enjoy the companies of their peers, and be normal – whatever that is, however they choose to define that.
The Boss’s real intent now calculated. It wasn’t saving a potentially failed product launch with a favorite client. It was healing two fractured people.
But all I had were two virtual bots whose humanity was measured in bits.
Alone in the computer, my digital eyes watered. I heard The Boss: “Is the dust bothering you?”
I spun around yelling: “Do you think I’m crying? I’m not crying. You must be crying. I hope nothing short circuits in here. Show yourself!”
Without warning there was a Woosh! And another Woosh! FRED and FRIEDA were back. They had updates for Laura and Jason respectively, but I shushed them with, “Both of you listen to me. We need to find a way to get them to forget work and go to those parties.”
“Forget work?” “Go to parties?” FRIEDA and FRED looked at me as if I was challenging capitalism. I tried a different approach: “We need to manage our managers.”
One Whoosh! Two Woosh! They were gone in a flash. Then . . . it couldn’t be but . . . it was . . . but it can’t be . . . voices echoed in the wires.
One was Laura. She was laughing – laughing of all things – and playing musical trivia with FRED. She asked the three most popular songs of the last five years and he said: “THE SUN WILL COME OUT WHEN IT WANTS TO. I LEFT MY HEART IN CENTRAL NEW JERSEY.” And everyone’s favorite, “YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO GO BUT I’M GLAD YOU DID.”
Meanwhile, three floors away, Jason was choosing random cartoon characters and then asking FRIEDA to quote their most famous lines. He said The Frisky Frankfurter and she said “No, I said put the mustard on before the relish.” He said The Tongue-tied Turtle and she said “There were no words only mumbling sounds.” He said the Little League Baseball Team from Walla Walla and she said “Who Has the Baseball-ball-a.”
Both duos carried on for hours. The parties came and went – absolutely shot that chance, that opportunity is gone – and they were still laughing. It was eleven-o’clock in the evening and I wondered how did it got so soon to be so late so quickly?
Jason paused and said he was hungry. FRIEDA suggested, “Let’s try the vending machines on the fourth floor.” FRED took the cue and said to Laura, “If you are hungry the vending machines on the fourth floor are open.”
Hold the mobile phones. Could FRED and FRIEDA, two digital personal assistants with all the humanity of a shortcircuited motherboard, be playing matchmakers? A real life Michaleen and Michelle Oge Flynn? FYI, the reference is to THE QUIET MAN movie. I rushed to the fourth floor and the vending machines.
(Theme for Romance 20 Minutes Into The Future comes up)
You have just listened to Episode Three of Romance 20 Minutes Into The Future.
Music is through the courtesy of LESFM.
William Spear wrote and narrated the series and The Three Fifty-seven produced it.
Thank you for listening and come back for the next episode when The Messenger asks FRED and FRIEDA, “What do you mean you don’t have exact change? Okay, okay. How much could it be for a couple of pastries? FOUR AND A QUARTER each? For a week old vegan doughnut? And the coffee? SEVEN-FIFTY per for a machine-made sugar-free, sodium-free sriracha with a shot of organic vanilla? No wonder The Boss quadrupled my pay.”
(Theme for Romance 20 Minutes Into The Future comes up and fades out)
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