Proletariat

The mechanical buzzing in the space station Eden, that hangs over the planet designated Utopia. The men, women and children work tirelessly in shifts to build a home on the planet bellow. This is Grepko Corporation’s “Utopia Project”, which the official statement said was to build a new home after the earth was destroyed by war. It is in this tower that events would be set in motion that would bring what is laughably called humanity to the brink of destruction.

Sleeping on floor 12 in room E3 is a man named David E3-12. He is one of the 4 million people in this ship, and is himself, a factory rat. Looking at David, he is an unremarkable man. Dark skin with blue eyes, after a long 14 hour shift he usually comes home and reads before going to be. His small 4 by 5 studio apartment contained a bed and a bookshelf. The books were shoved on the shelf in no order one could gather by looking at them. When David slept it was the one time he was truly at peace.

This peace was interrupted by a sickening crack of the alarm, it was 4:00, and now it was time to go to work. David stood up, he was naked and groggy. He stumbled into the hallway filled with naked groggy people. They packed themselves into the group shower.

After the shower, everyone gathered in the locker room to their respective lockers and put on their robes. This is pretty much what they wear all day. It was a simple white robe, nothing special about them. David went to use the bathroom; however, this was a busy time of day for the bathroom. This isn’t because everyone had to use the toilet, which most people did, it was more because this was the one chance a day anyone had to “fornicate”. Grepko strictly forbid “fornication” as they could not afford to feed more “refugees”. After about 10 minutes two women left stall seven, they turned and looked at David. This acknowledgement he was supposed to embarrass him if he was listening to their fun for some sort of sexual excitement. This was lost on David; it did not strike him that they were having sex in there. The only thing that mattered was the fact they had left and now he gets to use the stall.

After vacating his bowels David and the others piled into the large cafeteria and sat down for their morning gruel. No one in the room, save for two, having gruel knew why it was called gruel or really what the word gruel meant. When humans left earth it what was known as the great exodus, the only food they could bring was a kind of artificial protein paste, it was scentless, flavorless and green. This paste came to be known as gruel. After a few generations the word gruel lost its meaning.

Sitting across from David was Lilly. Lilly was light skinned with short, shaggy brown hair. She always wore gloves as part of her job. Since this was post shower she nice and clean; however, through most of the day she was covered in what she affectionately called “the black shit”. Certain parts of her skin are lighter than others, creating barely visible patterns of lines all over her entire body. Once David had asked her about this and she simply replied “It is some skin disorder that runs in my family”. She was working on the Utopia project as an engineer. While her job was vital to the project it’s self all she really did all day was check Ecorbs to make sure they were not contaminated. Once she had explained to David how this project would work. Eden was one of 16 ships that surround the planet. Each ship was placed at a strategic location and pumping gas into the atmosphere. This gas would alter the atmosphere to be inhabitable by humans. While it is true that creatures have already evolved on this planet, but as she put it “Fuck ‘em”.

The conversation was dry, the kind of conversation a couple would have after knowing one and other for far too long. Lilly and David have sat across from each other and chatted at gruel for four years now. Not that they had a romantic relationship. The thing is, living your entire life in what is basically a gray space prison doesn’t make you the most interesting person in the world. Mostly they just discussed rumors of progress, stories where all most the people had for entertainment. As a matter of a fact the greatest poet to ever live, lives in room A4 on floor 07. The inside of this room is filled with truly soulful poetry capable of touching the soul of anything that can read it. Unfortunately it will never be read by anyone other than Mrs. A4-07.

After Lilly and David got through the typical shit, greetings, anything new, ect. They said the first interesting thing that has been said between them in about a year.

“So I heard a rumor yesterday, something fuckin’ new for a change.” Lilly smiled and leaned forward over her empty gruel bowl.

David bubbling with intrigue not much is described as new on a 500 year old spaceship. He did that sound, somewhere between a grunt and an excited moan, he makes when he wants Lilly to continue.

“That dumbass Rico was telling me about the Maintenance duct that runs from floor 05 to 10. Well dumbass’s room is on the 09 floor. He says he heard something behind the wall, he says it is the ghost of that kid that died down their 100 years ago.”

“I thought that was a rumor.”

“So, look we taking dumbass’s story at the value it has, being, none.” Lilly readjusted herself “Well apparently she haunts that shaft mumbling nonsensically. Looking for revenge.” Lilly added an ominous tone to her voice strictly for effect.

“Well she is on the right track, I hear mumbling nonsensically in a maintenance shaft no one ever goes down is an excellent way to get revenge” David smiled. “Maybe she will start beating the wall with a wrench next, that’ll teach them!”

“After shift today we could go check it out.” Lilly had a flicker of excitement in her voice, cover by a thick layer of sarcasm.

David thought for a moment and sighed. There was another sickening crack of the alarm. David nodded. “I’ll see you at 20:00 outside elevator floor 05.”

The rush of the commute got David to his spot on the line and started his fun repetitive activity. He worked moving the jeans from the end of line and packing them into boxes where they were taken away to somewhere that David had never asked. He supposed to be shipped to the other stations.

To entertain himself David would on occasion launch a pair of jeans out of the air lock and watch them fall down to the planet bellow. Or just stare down at that planet. A blue mass of water dotted with what seems to be, tiny, insignificant masses of land.

“David!” Screeched Rochelle, someone Lilly described as a ‘skinny red headed cunt’. “Stop daydreaming and get to work.”

David is disinterested in fighting as usual. He simply grunted and got back to work.
Rochelle was much more interested in fighting though. She grunted mockingly, “What the fuck is that!?” she mockingly grunted again. “Look you useless piece of shit, you look me in the eye and address me as mam.“ She began to step forward.

David simply grunted again.

Rochelle reached for her prod, an electron motivator. From a distance of around 50 yards she could point it at pretty much anyone and cause the electrons in their body to flow as if in a circuit with the ground, basically electrocuting them. Every supervisor had one. Rochelle began to clack her shoes against the ground moving towards David. “You got something to say rat?”

David paused and turned around. “Fuck it,” he grunted knowing what was coming next anyways “I get that you have little man syndrome, being the only non-man supervisor and you feel that your general worth as a human being is compromised because everyone tip toes around you.” David clears his throat “But remember Timothy? You prodded him for asking for help, when one of the other supervisors punched you in the face and you got him ejected out of an airlock because he ‘hit a girl’” David adjusted himself, “maybe if you were not such a fucking cunt everyone would treat you more kindly, and care what you have to say, as it stands it doesn’t matter what anyone does, you prod them anyways.”

Rochelle smiles. “Well thank you for the input”. Rochelle only thanks people she is about to prod. This is why within seconds David is on the ground in pain. No one wanted to stop Rochelle, everyone figured she would work out her PMS and move on to shocking someone else, maybe for standing wrong, or having a penis.

There wasn’t any kind of ruckus made out of what Rochelle did more or less because everyone was used to it by this point. David was incorrect about why she was such a bitch. She was totally secure in her place, she simply enjoyed torturing nouns. When she was six she got her very first gerbil, she preceded to water board it. That is why she came to work on Eden as a supervisor.

19:00 finally rolled around David made his way up to floor 12, down hallway E and into his room C. He made sure to arrive before anyone else. There on the floor outside his door was a package. He swept it up quickly and brought it inside. Estactic he opened it, he had been receiving these packages for sometime now, somehow whoever is leaving them knows when he needs another one. He opened it up and read the title, The Picture of Dorian Grey, he set it on his bookshelf.

There are books on Eden, and David used to love them. The Submission Odyssey, Why Fornication is Evil and You Should Never Ever do it Doggy Style or Tales of Shutting Up and Doing What You are Told if You Know What is Good for You were some of his favorites. One day, four years three months ago someone started leaving books outside of his door. There seemed to be no order to it, there was a Bible one day and a Qu’ran the next. All he knew was that no one else on this ship knew about these books. There are so many people and no one bothers to check inside the rooms.

David, just now realizing it was getting close to 20:00 he rushed to the elevator. He got on it with another man, light skinned with dirty blonde hair.

“Floor 05 please” Smiled David who just noticed a pair of leather gloves in this man’s back pocket “Engineer?”

“Yes, Rico, How did you know?”
“The gloves,” Smiled David “Going to floor 09?”

“Why would I be, I live on floor 11.” Rico said a little confuse.

David shrugged, he must have misheard Lilly. Rico got off the elevator at floor eleven and David simply remained until the door shut and carried him to floor 05. It was around 19:50 David was early. He knew Lilly would not be around for another 25 minutes but he had a perpetual fear of being late. Mostly due to the fact that most of the time being late meant you would be prodded. Lilly on the other hand loves to make people wait, or rather she loves to make David wait.

David starting taping his foot looking around, when he heard a clacking sound, or at least he thought he did. He turned his head and looked down the hallway.

Clack… clack…

Yes, he was certain of it now, something was making some kind of noise before he could go investigate he felt something on his shoulder. He jumped and whimpered.

“Don’t be such a bitch David” Lilly laughed.

“Sorry I thought I heard something.” David smiled. “Guess not though.”

“Well now that you are done imagining things want to go on our little adventure?” Lilly smiled as if David had a choice.