by Saul Garnell
“Uhm, next week. Probably Monday,” he cautiously admitted.
“Well then let’s schedule a few hours on Monday yes?”
Shasta made some notes in their shared calendar and then looked at him. Noticing his perturbed state, she coolly leaned back in her chair and gestured calmingly with one hand.
“Look, this really is no big deal. However, I realize how emotional layoffs can be. I’m sure they pointed out that it was a matter of planning, unrelated to your performance.”
“Yes, they said that.”
“Well, it’s true. Customers frequently get hit by this mid-deal. I know it has nothing to do with you.”
“Really?” Sumeet retorted cynically. “Then what does it have to do with?”
“It’s just how the machine works.”
“The machine?”
Shasta considered her thoughts. “Well, the system, if you like. You see, no one person is critical. It runs more holistically. Yes, companies need great employees. But except for the most senior execs, individuals have only marginal effect. And with this knowledge we can happily be employed or unemployed as we like. We are simply intricate parts of a great machine.”
Sumeet frowned. “It doesn’t sound so great. If true, we become mere objects. Commodities!”
Shasta held up a fist. “Yes! But knowing you’re a commodity is power,” she sniggered. “You can detach yourself emotionally from work and freely move with the system. If you get laid off, don’t let it aggravate you. Just empower yourself with self awareness.”
“It sounds simple when you frame things like that,” Sumeet said.
She smiled. “Oh, it’s nothing to fret over, Sumeet. Now let’s move on and finish all this when you get back. Okay?”
Sumeet considered his options and nodded slowly. “Fine, then. I’ll take your advice.”
“Wonderful! See you then. Ta-ta!” Shasta said, affectionately wiggling her fingers.
Huffing angrily, Sumeet hung up and slunk back in his chair. Clearly, there was something very wrong with Shasta’s argument. But even with all his education, he remained mystified where it faltered. He looked up at the ceiling to contemplate, and took a sip of his coffee. It was cold and sour.
But before he could refresh his mug, Sumeet’s phone rang again. It was from Hiral, and she had several emergency markers embedded. This confused him until he realized they had not actually spoken face to face for two days. He glumly picked up.
“Hello, my love,” he said with trepidation.
Hiral’s image appeared beautiful as always. Like a bird of paradise, she gleamed with jewelry and fine clothing.
“Why haven’t you called me?” she squawked angrily.
Sumeet’s heart sank. He knew things were about to get worse.
“Well, I left you some video messages and...”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Wait, please...”
“I expect you to call me when you are done with work. I tried so many times to get you online. But you either don’t pick up or I go right into your mailbox.”
“Hiral, listen. It’s been stressful here.”
“Stressful!” Hiral frothed. “I sit here every day waiting for my fiancé to call, and you think your situation is stressful?”
Sumeet sighed. “Look, I can’t really argue with you right now. I’m busy with work and...”
“Always work! We’ve had this argument so many times. It’s not a reason, it’s an excuse.”
“Hiral that’s not true! I want to call you but there’s always something getting in the way.”
Hiral stabbed her finger at Sumeet like an angry mother. “If that stupid job of yours won’t let you have a minute to call your family, why don’t you just quit!”
Sumeet found himself enraged. Slapping one hand angrily on his table, he stood up and pointed at Hiral with the other, completely livid.
“Fine! Since I’ve been laid off, I suppose you’ll get your wish!” he hissed.
Silence struck them both. It stood between the two like an invisible wall. Gradually Hiral sat back in her chair, horrified. Sumeet could see the shock in her face, and he regretted his words. But it was too late now. There was no turning back, and like a rudderless ship he drifted into turbulent waters.
“You’ve been laid off?” she whispered.
Sumeet dreaded this discussion and sat down, wringing his hands over and over. Staring bleary eyed at Hiral, he searched for some iota of understanding. But her gaze remained vacant, full of incredulity and mistrust.
“I’m sorry but the company is...re-orging.”
“For God’s sake!
“Please listen.”
“How could you let this happen! What on earth did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” Sumeet exclaimed harshly. “The company wanted to lower costs, and I was selected at random.”
“That’s ridiculous! They always say that, but everyone knows it’s a lie.”
Using both hands, Sumeet threw his hair back in frustration. “Believe me, Hiral, nothing can change this. It’s finished! I’m leaving Chindo.”
Hiral looked back dourly. “What about the wedding? And our new home? We need to stop everything!”
“No!” he pleaded with both palms outstretched. “There is no reason. Shasta said it doesn’t matter. I can still close next week.”
“Are you a fool?” Hiral taunted. “If you’re not working, how can we pay for everything?”
Sumeet looked down at the floor and sighed deeply. “I’ll find a new job. It’s only a temporary situation. There’s no reason to put aside all our plans.”
“Well, then, let’s postpone. Why commit ourselves until you get a new job?”
“Look, I’ve already spoken with Shasta. She wants me to sign on Monday and I’ve agreed to it. Let’s talk more about this later.”
Hiral sat back and crossed her arms in disgust. “Okay, do as you like,” she said, looking away. “Obviously, my opinion doesn’t matter to you.”
Sumeet looked for some sign of forgiveness. “Don’t say that, Hiral. I’m just doing what I think is best. For both of us!”
Hiral said nothing as her image faded away. Sumeet jumped out of his pod and walked about the office aimlessly. Fury welled up within him, looking for any outlet to escape. He wanted to kick a nearby wall, but restrained himself.
He returned to his chair, upset and agitated. Reports lay before him to analyze, but his psychological turmoil blocked any hope of concentration. For one hour he just brooded alone until he decided to walk along the Nihonbashi River and clear his head.
It was hopeless though. Meandering dolefully along the canal, Sumeet hardly noticed the richly gardened path manicured to perfection by countless teams of small garden crawlers. Thanks to a fortuitous mix of global warming and genetic engineering, Ume and Sakura trees bloomed all year long, a treat for visitors walking along the canal’s bamboo paths tiled with rough slate and black river stone. The water too was a technological wonder, teaming with life. Giant koi and rainbow trout glided past, ignoring everything except the Baiji dolphins, happily ignorant of their return from extinction. Without a care in the world, they playfully splashed in the crystal clear water.
Sumeet envied the dolphins. Their life was simple. And like so many humans before him, he cynically contemplated whether man’s modern lifestyle was really worth the anguish and despair that accompanied higher intelligence. That question lingered for quite some time until another call arrived. Looking at its identifier, his mother’s name “Bijal” appeared in bold letters. The final blow, he thought dismally. With a sigh of abject misery, he gave in to the inevitable and picked up the call while taking a seat on a nearby bench.
“Hello, Amma.”
“Why must I find out all the trouble you’re in from Hiral!” she boomed. “Is it really too much for you to call?”
“I’m so sorry,” he apologized. “I meant to, but I’ve been distracted and...”
“You’ve lost your job?” she said, cutting him off harshly.
Sumeet made no response. He just shrugged with embarrassment. Bijal’s fiery scowl beamed back with contempt.
“Now you listen to me, young man,” she scolded. “I’ll tell you exactly what to do. You march back there on Monday and tell that boss to undo it! I can’t believe...”
“Amma!” Sumeet forcefully cut her off. “I want to make my own decision. Teeke? We’ll talk when I get back. Things are going to work themselves out somehow.”
Bijal shook her head and waved a finger. “Oh, you talk like everything is just fine. Don’t you forget the com-plex, and your marriage! Huh!”
Sumeet maneuvered himself into position, ready to kill the phone. “I will talk with Hiral about those issues when I’m home.”
“But Sumeet!”
Bijal protested widely as Sumeet hung up. Taking off his filters, he rubbed his temples in a circular motion. His head ached and he wondered when all of this would go away. The thought of arguing his jobless state with Hiral and family loomed over him like black clouds.
No more, he thought to himself. He would call the outplacement agent and push for something. Perhaps the market would simply re-absorb him. Any position would do. Yes, he thought to himself optimistically. That certainly would take care of the big issue. Life would go back to normal.
Adjusting his filters, he found the links provided by Pamela the day before. Even though he resented her attitude, he was happy to find her emails. With his hand about to dial out, he stopped to notice an incoming call. Who was it this time? Hiral again, he figured. Or maybe Shasta.
He paused.
A single name stood out: S. Friemann. He didn’t recognize it. Odd, too, was the lack of company affiliation or ID tags embedded in the header. Normally an unidentified call wouldn’t get through his filter. Still, without spam tags he had little reason to disregard it. Maybe it was a headhunter, he thought. That certainly would be welcome, given the circumstances.
He slowly pressed the call pickup, and Shinzou appeared before him, casually dressed in a cotton jacket and simple white tee shirt. They stared at each other, unsure who should go first.
“Who is this?” Sumeet asked guardedly.
“My name is Shinzou. I am calling about the audit at Shinkei-Kenkyu?”
“Oh, I see.” Sumeet fumbled. “I didn’t get very far. Sorry, where exactly do you work at Shinkei?”
“I was an external consultant on the project. I’ve got some other projects there, but I heard you were investigating the fab job for Sri-Ooti years back. I thought I’d offer some help. Assuming you need any.”
“That’s...very nice of you, Mr....”
“Friemann, but you can call me Shinzou. Everyone does”.
Sumeet eyed Shinzou warily. “I’m not the person you should be helping. My friend Ganesh in Bengaluru just asked me to assist him. You see, I happen to be in Tokyo for other business. And Ganesh had no other way to access the database from the outside.”
“I see,” Shinzou said. “Your team at Sri-Ooti covers other parts of the system, I assume?”
“Me?” Sumeet laughed slightly. “Sorry, no, I don’t actually work for Sri-Ooti at all. I work for...Chindo Securities. I’m in finance but was doing the audit as a personal favor for Ganesh. He works for them.”
Shinzou nodded with disbelief. “Oh, now I get it. Fascinating! You’re auditing in a completely different field? You’re pretty brave.”
Sumeet smiled. “Thanks, but you’re mistaken. The work is by the numbers, and without result so far. I’ve been going in circles, to be quite honest.”
“No, it’s really impressive. I didn’t imagine a finance guy would even try it. Tell me, are you familiar with the DNA encoding sequences used on those artificial non-stop boards?”
“Not really. However, I minored in biotech at IIM. There was a time when the medical field was my target in life. I’m able to read the documents and gauge them a little. Honestly, my goal was more on the project management issues, looking for operational anomalies. From that point of view, a business and finance background is applicable.”
“I see your point,” Shinzou said, nodding. “Well, I have a strong background in cross technology. I’m also fairly knowledgeable with the wet side of this, and happy to assist you if you like. For fun!”
“That is...very kind of you,” Sumeet replied unconvincingly. “Though I am not sure if I can invest more time. It was only a favor. I really have a lot of issues to deal with at Chindo.”
Shinzou looked back inquisitively. He noticed Sumeet’s uncomfortable body language, and decided to pursue the conversation in a more personal direction.
“Yeah, I worked at a few big companies years ago. I know what you mean. They can be brutal at times, especially during shake-ups.”
Sumeet sat up with interest. “Oh? Which firms?”
“Well...,” Shinzou began. “ASPAU Goldman before they got bought out by the Chinese, then Tata Nano Technologies in Bengaluru.”
“You worked for both?” Sumeet said, duly impressed. “That’s incredible. Where are you now?”
“Now? I’m independent. And to be quite honest I have never been happier. The pressure was unbearable. And the constant threat of layoffs took its toll on me. Honestly? The last one was a godsend.”
Sumeet was thoroughly intrigued. Was it because Shinzou spoke about things which seemed to matter? His words were precise bullets, hitting invisible psychological targets from miles away. Was it mere happenstance? There was a nagging within Sumeet, urging him to learn more. Cautiously, his natural mistrust ebbed as he further explored Shinzou’s line of thought.
“You know, that’s an interesting coincidence. You see...” Sumeet paused momentarily for thought. “It’s a little hard to admit this, but it would seem that Chindo is going through that too.”
Shinzou raised his eyebrows perceptively. “Oh, I see. Then maybe you’re more interested in my experiences on that topic?”
“To be quite frank...that is, if you don’t mind,” Sumeet asked sheepishly.
“Of course I don’t mind,” Shinzou exclaimed. “I wish more people who enter the corporate world were trained up front for such eventualities. It’s almost unavoidable and nothing that’ll kill you in the long run. Let’s see, my first downsizing happened over twenty five years ago. Sadly, I was too emotional, and it made me feel like...well, how would one put it?”
“Worthless?” Sumeet offered cautiously.
Shinzou aimed pistol-like with his index finger. “Exactly! Even if you’re the employee of the year, it’s all for nothing. Oh, there may be excuses concocted by human resources, like a need to reengineer business processes and all the rest of their malarkey.”
Sumeet nodded with enthusiasm. “Or that it’s not performance related.”
Shinzou laughed. “What imbeciles! I suppose your boss gave you a template answer, about how he fought tooth and nail to keep you.”
“A little, but mainly he claimed a Sentient made the call.”
“Really? No!”
“Yes, that’s how it is now.”
“And no possibility for works-council intervention?”
“They rubber stamped it.”
“Incredible! That’s not how the system used to work.”
“Times change.”
“Is that so?” Shinzou said. “So, how are you handling it? Looking for something new? May I suggest you take time off to think about all this? Reflection and contemplation are important.”
Sumeet sighed. “I wish I could, but the timing is awful. I have plans. My upcoming marriage, you see. And I’m buying a com-plex on Monday.”
Shinzou looked disappointed. “Marriage, huh? I suppose it’s a matter of the heart, so there’s no point discussing its sanity. But a com-plex? Where’s the wisdom in that?”
“It’s funny you should say that. It worried me too. I wanted to put it off, but the broker convinced me to go ahead. That’s because.
..”
Shinzou finished the sentence. “Because the bank is lending to you, and not your employer. I know the story. The bank assumes you’ll slave away for them the rest of your life.”
Yes! Wasn’t that the truth? Sumeet couldn’t believe how quickly Shinzou read into his life, ferreting out self-denial from seemingly intractable conditions. Finally, he’d found someone who understood precisely what was going on. Sumeet glanced down in the water and noticed some of the multi-colored Koi that swam about. The smell of cherry blossoms also became apparent for some reason. It felt good, and he could hardly believe his good fortune.
Sumeet chortled happily. “She didn’t put it that way. And...well, I don’t think it’s quite so bad.”
“Sure!” Shinzou said, quite amused. “The broker will never say it that way. But that doesn’t mean such isn’t the case. Tell me, have you ever read anything by Thoreau?”
“Who?”
“Henry David Thoreau. He was a nineteenth-century American author. Quite famous for his ideas on materialism.”
Sumeet shook his head. “I’ve never heard of him. But I have read Gandhi’s thoughts on the very same topic.”
“That’s not surprising,” Shinzou said, nodding. “Gandhi was influenced by Thoreau’s writing on materialism. But even more so regarding a person’s right of disobedience toward the state.”
Sumeet looked surprised. “Well, I read that Gandhi felt materialism was used like a tool to enslave India to an imposed economic system.”
“Thoreau proposed similar ideas one hundred years before,” Shinzou explained. “But that fact is often overlooked even though we still suffer from chronic materialism. We see it now and in the past. It plagues throughout all human timeframes.”
Sumeet thought about that. Economic enslavement that plagued man throughout time? Not impossible to imagine. But he wasn’t sure if it really applied to him.
“So...how does this relate to my com-plex?” Sumeet said. “Are you saying it’s an expression of materialism?”
Shinzou leaned back in his chair and looked at Sumeet compassionately. Tapping on his table in contemplation, he spoke to Sumeet like an old friend.
