Chapter 23 - 23

Words : 1521 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Adam went right back to work, sitting back down at the desk computer to explore his options while the Protectron remained activated nearby, standing as still as ever. Adam immediately turned his attention to the Safe option. He wasted no time in unlocking it. With a satisfying click the safe beneath his feet opened and he once more moved from the seat to examine the safe contents. It was a good find. The safe was mostly full. For the most part it was full of files in manilla folders, some labeled CONFIDENTIAL, and some unlabeled, but truthfully none of it really mattered. What was he supposed to do with a Manager of Corvega's files from 200 years ago, it was going to be useless. And even if it wasn't he was definitely not in the mood to spend the next 2 hours reading through to see if there is even a single useful piece of information in them. So, satisfyingly, he threw them over his shoulder letting the papers fly into the air and then float down. He was creating a mess but truthfully it was worth it. Papers aside he noticed there was a laser pistol inside the safe with a few fusion cells next to it. Strange, why would a manager have a laser pistol? It isn't exactly the sort of thing Civilians had easy access to, not to say they didn't. But it was more something you'd see on army bases not in a manager's office of all places. Still, Adam was far from looking this gift horse in the mouth so he took it gleefully and threw it on the side pouch of his backpack for easy access. Truthfully he liked laser weapons, he preferred them in the army when he served, but he did already have two good guns, so he might not need it. He can leave that for later though, he had it, that's what matters. Though all that has been said was nothing compared to the last thing he found in the safe, besides some old photos he didn't care about. A large gold bar. Adam had seen gold bars in movies and the like but never actually seen one in real life. It weighed more than he expected to. It was solid gold. Or so he hoped. It was an amazing find. This made his trip worthwhile. This alone made all the efforts he went through valuable. Hopefully Chuck would buy it for a great price. Adam was feeling giddy as he threw it into his backpack next to all the other things he had found. Finding a gold bar truly ignited his imagination and passion for the scavenger hunt part of this new lifestyle. It truly made his near death earlier today seem like a small hurdle he had to overcome to win this prize. Adam once more glanced up at his protectron guardian which remained quiet and unmoving, other than the soft sound of its head sensor spinning, and then looked back at the computer. He still had time, it was getting late but his Pip-Boy had a light, he had enough time to read the entries in the computer. He was curious. And besides it was the last bit of proof these people lived, perhaps it was his way of honoring their last memories. That was likely an excuse though. So, once more sitting down in the chair, Adam boots up the computer again and opens the [Corvega productivity notes]. [Corvega July Productivity: up 10% I streamlined one of the manufacturing processes to cut out a needless inspection. The cars always pass inspection, so it's fine to just ignore it. 10% increase in exchange seems more than worth it] [Corvega August productivity: up 23% new servos delivered and assembled by our teams have increased production. Orders from overseas have increased by almost the same factor, I am pleased with our output levels.] [Corvega September Productivity: 11% I like to claim it's because I fired Janet that our productivity increased, she was always yapping away to the other employees and never doing her work. But the promise of a Christmas bonus coming up likely has more to do with it than me, they know the hard workers get a bigger bonus. Lucky me.] [Corvega October Productivity: Down 78% DAMN YOU CEO. The factory was running very well before the new CEO decided he wanted to muddle things. Now it's going to take months to get productivity back up to where it was before. The CEOs like to talk big but it's people like me that have to deal with the consequences.] Adam was now even more curious what the letter from the CEO was about since it clearly impacted the manager's disposition and the production figures. [Letter to all upper management; I am moving the company in a new, stronger direction, one our shareholders will appreciate. In partnership with RobCo we will be replacing a majority of the low-end jobs in all our factories across the nation with special branded robots who will handle the tasks more efficiently and without overhead. As such we will begin transitioning out our human workforce. Effective immediately anyone without a Green level management position will see salary reductions of 40% starting next month, in addition it is on management to make the workers uncomfortable at their jobs enough to quit so we do not have to pay them a severance package. Productivity quotas are expected to still be met during this transitionary period. Robot workers will begin to arrive within the first quarter of next year.] Adam leaned back in his chair. Well that explains it. The workers, and apparently the Manager, got mad that people were being phased out, not like it mattered in the end, the world ended, but he can't blame them for being upset. But now Adam was thinking about all the things that go on behind closed doors of companies that the public never knew about. It brought to his mind, once more, the thoughts of Second Life. What were they doing? Did discussions like this go on behind his back? It wouldn't have changed anything even if he knew but his mind couldn't help but be drawn to it. Adam stood up, still feeling a bit lost in his mind as he began scanning the bookshelves for books worth bringing back. As expected most were just technical manuals, old car magazines, car inspection reports, and a lot of paperwork. But there was a section that was likely the manager's personal library he would read when he was free. In it he found a few fiction novels that he figured he could bring home with him as well as a copy of Lying, Congressional Style, which tracked for what he had to deal with the last month before the world ended. However, as he was pulling books off the small personal bookshelf there was a thin red book hidden behind all the others he hadn't noticed before. Reaching his arm in further he learned that the book was more than just behind the other books but instead wedged into the seams of the bookcase itself, almost hidden behind the wood, and pulled it out with a little bit of effort. After retrieving he flipped it around to look at what book had put him through all this effort. Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual. "What the fuck?!" Adam said with some shock. How the hell did this end up here? Adam looked around the room like he was going to suddenly spot a Chinese spy, or a listening device, or any other thing that might give him answers. Which, of course, there were none. His eyes then fell on the seat of the manager. "Was… the manager a spy?" Adam asked himself aloud with only the protectron hearing him. Of course again, there was no answer. He had already finished looking around this office, if there was any indication that he was a spy it was not here. This book was an extreme oddity. But as quickly as Adam had become heated and concerned he calmed down. The war was over. Everyone lost. What use was there getting bothered about it now? The manager was dead, so if he was a spy, time took his life, now all that was left was this book. Adam looked down at the book again and then sighed, putting it into his pack as well. Maybe he could read it later, if nothing else it might make for a good read. After all that is why he is bringing some books back with him, to give him things to do in his downtime. With another deep sigh and now a very full backpack Adam turned to the protectron and then spoke. "Alright buddy, let's go." However just as he was leaving through the doors to the office, protectron right behind him, he could hear distant voices speaking. Deep, strange voices, not human ones.

Chapter 23 - 23

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