A Grey Room

    Once, I had interests in the world. It was such a magical place.
    I would get tired and the sun would go down. I would sleep, and when I would wake up, the sun would be back up. Amazing!
    I had all of these cool things, everything.
    But then it all changed. Everything.
    “Wake up!” my boss calls from somewhere. Of course I am already up, because I can’t ever sleep.
    I get up, go to the other side of the room to my computer, and wait for instructions.
    “Find the information file on subject 1551.” I do that. “Delete it.” I do that too, even though it means that subject 1551 could be killed, and no one would know. I know better than to rebel.
    “Read this article by work subject 33.” Work subjects are like subjects, but with a higher rank. I read the article. It looks good. “Does it look good?” I press the check mark, answering yes.
    “Subject 1378 says it doesn’t.” My heart skips a beat: did I make a mistake? Would this be the end of my career, my life?
    “Delete the information file on subject 1378.” I do that, and I am relieved, even though subject 1378 will probably be killed. I survived another day.