London
Telegraph
one morning and I learned about a Danish company that employed autistic people to test mobile phones. It turned out that people with autism spectrum disorders were obsessed about details and doing a job the same way each time. If the company required one hundred tests for each unit, the employees would never shirk and lie and do ninety-nine tests. They were honest, reliable, and never complained about overwork.
“So I thought … why not hire enforcers with psychological or neurological issues that allowed them to stay calm when they neutralized a target? A calm but efficient enforcer would never experience a surge of adrenaline. Gradually, I found individuals all over the world who matched my new criteria. Our current enforcers rarely get arrested and always obey orders. It’s been a great success,Mr. Davis. The bank’s clients are pleased that the neutralization process is handled in a businesslike manner.”
“I think you’ve made a mistake, Miss Holquist. My last job involved speech-recognition systems.”
“My staff have entered a variety of databases and we’ve accessed all your files.” Miss Holquist reached into her portfolio bag and took out a flash drive. “Every fact about your life is contained on this flash drive. I know all about your childhood, your college years, your work for InterFace, your motorcycle accident, and your two months in the hospital. A variety of psychiatrists and neurologists have said that you have Cotard’s syndrome. You think you’re dead.”
“Yes. But that doesn’t mean—”
“I think you have the qualities to become an excellent contract employee. You’re intelligent and college educated. You don’t drink alcohol or take drugs. If you neutralize someone, you’re not going to feel tension, fear, guilt, or any other psychological issues. All the doctors who have examined you state that you appear to have no friends or family relationships and you are incapable of any sort of empathy. In short … you’re perfect for this job.”
“But what if I don’t want the job? Aren’t you taking a risk talking to me? I could go to the police and tell them about our conversation.”
Miss Holquist smiled. “Tell them what? No one named Holquist works for the Brooks Danford Group and this office was rented for the day by a shell corporation. If you went to the police, a bored desk sergeant would listen to your story, fill in a digital form, then delete it five minutes after you left the precinct house.”
We stared at each other for a few seconds and then—without thought or intention—my head nodded. Yes. She was right.
“When you say your employees ‘neutralize’ someone, that means … kill?”
“We rarely use that word, Mr. Davis; it describes an act, not an objective. What we do is different. You are going to neutralize the future negative behavior of people who have broken promises or violated agreements. When thieves cheat and steal from us, it shows disrespect for our clients and the bank. Do they think thatwe’re weak and foolish? Really? Well,
I’m
not weak and foolish … as a great many people have discovered.”
I was surprised by the job offer, but it didn’t generate any of the emotions that Jean LeMarc portrayed in his catalogue of facial expressions. Since my Transformation, I saw the world clearly. There was no inherent value in any object or action. The woman who said she was my mother was the equivalent of a doorknob. A pigeon flying in the park was equal to an apple falling from a tree. If I neutralized someone for Miss Holquist, it would simply be a new kind of activity performed by my Shell—like tying my shoes or opening up a bottle of ComPlete.
“I still think you’re talking to the wrong person, Miss Holquist. I don’t know how to search for people or shoot a handgun. I hunted rabbits on my uncle’s farm when I was a teenager. That’s about it.”
“You would be trained at a private facility in North
Telegraph
one morning and I learned about a Danish company that employed autistic people to test mobile phones. It turned out that people with autism spectrum disorders were obsessed about details and doing a job the same way each time. If the company required one hundred tests for each unit, the employees would never shirk and lie and do ninety-nine tests. They were honest, reliable, and never complained about overwork.
“So I thought … why not hire enforcers with psychological or neurological issues that allowed them to stay calm when they neutralized a target? A calm but efficient enforcer would never experience a surge of adrenaline. Gradually, I found individuals all over the world who matched my new criteria. Our current enforcers rarely get arrested and always obey orders. It’s been a great success,Mr. Davis. The bank’s clients are pleased that the neutralization process is handled in a businesslike manner.”
“I think you’ve made a mistake, Miss Holquist. My last job involved speech-recognition systems.”
“My staff have entered a variety of databases and we’ve accessed all your files.” Miss Holquist reached into her portfolio bag and took out a flash drive. “Every fact about your life is contained on this flash drive. I know all about your childhood, your college years, your work for InterFace, your motorcycle accident, and your two months in the hospital. A variety of psychiatrists and neurologists have said that you have Cotard’s syndrome. You think you’re dead.”
“Yes. But that doesn’t mean—”
“I think you have the qualities to become an excellent contract employee. You’re intelligent and college educated. You don’t drink alcohol or take drugs. If you neutralize someone, you’re not going to feel tension, fear, guilt, or any other psychological issues. All the doctors who have examined you state that you appear to have no friends or family relationships and you are incapable of any sort of empathy. In short … you’re perfect for this job.”
“But what if I don’t want the job? Aren’t you taking a risk talking to me? I could go to the police and tell them about our conversation.”
Miss Holquist smiled. “Tell them what? No one named Holquist works for the Brooks Danford Group and this office was rented for the day by a shell corporation. If you went to the police, a bored desk sergeant would listen to your story, fill in a digital form, then delete it five minutes after you left the precinct house.”
We stared at each other for a few seconds and then—without thought or intention—my head nodded. Yes. She was right.
“When you say your employees ‘neutralize’ someone, that means … kill?”
“We rarely use that word, Mr. Davis; it describes an act, not an objective. What we do is different. You are going to neutralize the future negative behavior of people who have broken promises or violated agreements. When thieves cheat and steal from us, it shows disrespect for our clients and the bank. Do they think thatwe’re weak and foolish? Really? Well,
I’m
not weak and foolish … as a great many people have discovered.”
I was surprised by the job offer, but it didn’t generate any of the emotions that Jean LeMarc portrayed in his catalogue of facial expressions. Since my Transformation, I saw the world clearly. There was no inherent value in any object or action. The woman who said she was my mother was the equivalent of a doorknob. A pigeon flying in the park was equal to an apple falling from a tree. If I neutralized someone for Miss Holquist, it would simply be a new kind of activity performed by my Shell—like tying my shoes or opening up a bottle of ComPlete.
“I still think you’re talking to the wrong person, Miss Holquist. I don’t know how to search for people or shoot a handgun. I hunted rabbits on my uncle’s farm when I was a teenager. That’s about it.”
“You would be trained at a private facility in North
Similar Books
