Smartystan

What Belinda wanted most from the work she performed lay in always beating herself. She didn’t consider any competitor as such and always looked at her work with the most critical eye. Now it was no different. She inspected the learned machines. Hours poured into making them as perfect as possible. To say she was obsessed would have been an understatement. Bordering on manic, she pushed her engineers to work nineteen hour days. It wasn’t like she had her plush bed from home to nap in, either. Right under one of the desks in her office, not even in her own corner office, but just a random one, she stuck a pot of coffee and paper cups on the tabletop. She slid under the desk and slept for four hours. Rocketing out of sleep, she sipped coffee and chewed espresso beans and returned to work.

“What have we here, Frankie?”

“We have a damaged monitor that will be a hindrance to the entire project,” Frankie Overland replied. He was sort of plump but not bursting at the seams. He had dark features and curly hair. Wire rimmed glasses adorned his face. He was forty.

“Okay, how can we remedy this situation?”

“It’s going to take some doing, but we’re trying––”

“Trying?”

“I mean we’re doing everything we can to make the monitor clear and all of the data apparent.” Overland stood up straighter and talked with more confidence after being corrected.

“What can we all do right now to ensure that this doesn’t happen again?”

Overland darkened. He knew what to say but not how to say it.

“I––if we repair the circuitry and modify the components, we should be in good––we’ll be in good shape.”

“Good. Thank you very much, Frankie.” Belinda then whirled around to Elle Gaither. She was petite. Long brown hair and brown skin with a symmetrical face showed herself to be a middle aged beauty. She still worked like an army ant.

“Elle. What have you got there that you’re working on right now?”

“It’s an algorithm to help find where the learned machines venture to whenever they are out of the immediate range. There is a code that I like to put in to let people know the exact coordinates of the units.”

“Where is this learned machine going today?”

“It’s going to be in Smartystan’s forests guiding people along with the synths to the city and countryside so they may experience freedom.”

Belinda looked up and down again. It really felt like a window had poured sunlight into the prism in her mind. A cascade of colors went on full display in her head at the words that Elle had just expressed.

“Why do you do this?”

“I’m doing this because the tracker is––”

“No, why do you do this?” Belinda waved her hands about the spacious office area that had room enough for desks and for learned machines to be tested and perfected.

“Oh, I would say because I enjoy making problems disappear. Sometimes it’s tough. Sometimes I get frustrated. But then I think about you and how you built this company from the floor level on up. You’re an inspiration.”

Belinda stiffened. “Thank you,” she replied. She then walked on to the next desk. Everything was a mess. Parts to the learned machine lay about everywhere. The aquamarine apparatus looked like a dilapidated junk car.

The engineer behind the electronic heap remained asleep.

“Galadet Peters,” Belinda announced without emotion.

Peters awoke. He was twenty-eight, slight build, bright eyed and well dressed. He always came in early and left late from his role as one of the higher ranking engineers.

“Yes, Belinda. You’ve just caught me in a cat nap.”

“What’s with all of the wires and other pieces here?”

“I’ve got to reconfigure the entire setup. It’s all whacky right now. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Alright. If you need coffee just go to the counter, as I’m sure you know. I prefer to take it old school. Black.”

“Roger that, Belinda.”

Belinda Gummer’s whole agenda had to be excellence. She expected nothing less than such from everyone around her and especially herself. Each step around the place produced another thought in her head that registered and made possible for her to step forward. When it all seemed dour and like all could be out of place, she took it upon herself to be the nuclear submarine powering through the seas. Belinda chose to make her life all the better both financially and spiritually. Her wealth would’ve evaporated or never formed had she lost her zeal for creating great products. UltraMinds stood for her own mind and what she would do with it.

So, to walk around the floor and watch all of the human brains pouring their souls into their work, she relished each moment. Every time she came to a workspace, drops of joy sprang into her spirit and she knew that fortune lied not with random actions and misguided deeds. She and her team focused on problems, solved them, and kept moving. That was the beauty of the entire operation. When she came across greatness, she ensured that everyone knew about it.

Her challenges included trips and cash prizes to motivate her staff. Ironically, nobody was even worried about the dollars or travel plans. They just wanted to work. The selfish pleasure which they received from completing tasks sufficed in this environment. Belinda walked around the various stations and found all of the different quirks and idiosyncrasies that had manifested over the years. The nervous paradiddles on the knee of Allene Bishé, the soft whistle from Jasper Frost, and the faint bouncing of a basketball in the indoor gym all seemed to encourage Belinda to be the greatest boss she could possibly be.

It didn’t matter the price. No cost could make her mark down these different machines and what they had been formed to do. She looked over the desks. A somber hum was like a prayer over the place with mechanized sounds and whirring all about everything. That was her only sense of faith. She looked at the time. Three o’clock in the morning. Most people turned over in their beds at this time. The office never closed. If engineers and other professionals wanted to come in at any hour, that was made free. Belinda took in the scene and made the trek back to her desk and coffee a splendid one.