《An Orange Process》 Chapter 1: Oh Come On, Chris... ¡°Sir, I¡¯m telling you: You can¡¯t cut their pay anymore! Even these people have their boiling point,¡± Chris said to me. ¡°Chris¡­¡± I said with a chuckle, ¡°I think you¡¯ve tricked yourself into thinking that you know what these people are like¡­¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Chris¡­¡± I said with a laugh, ¡°These people¡­ They are born, they go to school, they drop out of school, have several mistakes known as children and then, this is the important part, they come to us expecting the best jobs and the highest of pay rolls. But then reality hits them and puts them in their place.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to imply?¡± ¡°Chrisssss¡­¡± I said mockingly, ¡°It¡¯s up to us to help them find their place in life. Make them realise that if they want to ruin their lives, they¡¯ll need to work hard in order to get back on track. And honestly, why make it easy for them, when you can save money and spend it on the employees who actually need and deserve it? Take me for example, I¡¯d be homeless¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding me? You really expect me to believe you¡¯d be homeless if the company pays you a few hundred less compared to the billions you make?¡± ¡°Oh come on, Chris¡­¡± I mean, the narrator isn¡¯t even describing how you talk, you are irrelevant, ¡°We¡¯ve all got to have money to live, Chris. These people on though¡­ They need to be taught that their actions have consequences¡­¡± ¡°Alright already! I¡¯ll tell Paul to-¡° ¡°To?¡± said with a fake grin. ¡°To¡­ Lower their pay¡­¡± ¡°Good¡­¡± I said before taking a sip of my coffee. Chapter 2: Just Make Me a Coffee ¡°Hey Steve, great to see you here!¡± yet again you lazy piece of grease, ¡°Still no luck on the job?¡± ¡°Nope. You wouldn¡¯t happen to have an opening for me, eh?¡± Steve said with a greasy voice. ¡°Nope,¡± I said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m sure you find one soon though!¡± Haha¡­ Steve, you truly do ruin the scenery. Walking into my usual coffee shop, I had the usual pleasure of meeting my favourite barista. I forget their name¡­ ¡°Heeey, guy¡­¡± I said mockingly, ¡°I don¡¯t want to deal with your crap today, I¡¯ve got actual work to do,¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Oh what a surprise, it¡¯s you,¡± the barista sighed, ¡°I suppose you forgot you were band from here? You know, after how you trea-¡° ¡°Oh, would you look at that,¡± I said pointing to a nearby plaque, ¡°Hmm¡­ My name appears to be on it? I¡¯m apparently an investor?¡± ¡°Here you go again,¡± he scowled, ¡°You think I¡¯ll fall for that this time?¡± ¡°Look, just make me a coffee¡­ And I won¡¯t dock your pay again,¡± I laughed, ¡°Or maybe, I could fire you instead?¡± ¡°You know what? Fine,¡± he said with a sudden smug look, ¡°I¡¯ll make you a coffee¡­¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll-¡° I attempted to blurt out before the barista turned around and started making a random drink. ¡°Alright here you go,¡± he said with a smirk. The drink was my usual drink¡­ However, the cup was roughly the height of a typical ruler. ¡°Thank you, finally,¡± I said with a fake smile as I picked the cup up. Though I might have shown a bit of my anger. Oh no¡­ There¡¯s no heat protector thing¡­ Ow. ¡°Wait! You can¡¯t drink all of that!¡± he shouted in protest as I walked away, ¡°And besides, you¡¯ve got to pay!¡± Chapter 3: Orange Waste Sitting along in my office, drinking the largest cup of coffee I had ever had, I found myself doing the same work as always. You see, I work as a manager of sorts, specifically managing where this company¡¯s money goes. I¡¯m not an accountant per se, I just make sure the right people get what they want rather than sending the money to what people think is useful. And, thanks to my work, the investors of this company are very happy. So happy in fact that my office is the entirety of the top floor of the building. After finishing the conclusion to my latest report, I found myself sitting back in my chair¡­ You know what? That annoying homeless guy and the pathetic barista¡­ If I muddled my report a bit¡­ I could take over the coffee shop on the ground floor as well as the outside of the building. I could finally get rid of them for good. Oh, and if I wanted to really get rid of them, instead of banning them from the area, I could instead call security on them and charge them with some random crime. Hmm¡­ I¡¯d say they at least deserve 25 years for existing. With that thought, I picked up my phone to call Paul and ask him the room number of the coffee shop. After the phone stopped ringing, I opened by saying, ¡°Hey Paul, I¡¯ve got a problem that needs to be taken care of, mind giving me the number of that awful coffee shop on the ground floor called The Old Wood Oak?¡± But I didn¡¯t get a reply. ¡°Hey, Paul? I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re busy, my problems outweigh yours.¡± Nothing. ¡°You know I can have you fired for not answering your superior, right Paul?¡± Oh, hang on, I don¡¯t think he even answered me? Why didn¡¯t the phone go to voice mail? Or play a sound? Or literally anything? Maybe I accidentally pulled the plug¡­ Getting up from my desk, I walked to the extension lead behind the desk. Nope, it¡¯s still plugged in. I must have lost signal then? In a really weird way that bugged the phone? If that¡¯s even possible? As I walked back to the front of my desk, I saw something in my office that shouldn¡¯t be there: A black cane with a silver top in a shape similar to a light bulb. It was simply leaning against my one and only potted plant. I know I didn¡¯t put that there¡­ I never put anything by that plant in order to not obscure the view of the window. Obviously a cane doesn¡¯t block the window, but it sure as hell doesn¡¯t complement the view. After walking up to the cane, I decided to pick it up. It was quite well made. The silver top was full of engravings of random shapes, mostly swirls, and made the whole thing surprisingly heavy. The pole was a bit cheaper on the other hand, it seemed to be either made of cheap wood or something similar. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°What do you think Smith?¡± a posh, upper class sounding voice suddenly echoed across the room, ¡°Is it up to your standards?¡± ¡°And who¡¯re you?¡± I said while turning around. I found myself looking at a young looking man wearing a top hat and a thick, woollen trench coat. The top hat was circled by an orange ribbon and the coat seemed to be slightly scruffy and worn. ¡°Oh, I really thought your standards were higher than that, Smith¡­¡± the man laughed, ¡°It should be ¡®who are you¡¯. No apostrophes needed.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t care, just tell me your name otherwise I get my security drone to throw you out of the window.¡± ¡°There you go again, shortening words that do not need to be shortened¡­ What a pity,¡± he said with a seemingly fake frown, ¡°My name is Orange.¡± Orange may be my favourite colour, but using it as a name is just tacky. I agree, but shut up, ¡°Orange? What kind of pathetic waste of space are you?¡± ¡°I know, my name is quite celebrated where I am from: Orange Waste they call me.¡± ¡°What. The. Hell. Do. You. Want.¡± ¡°I do not want anything. I am simply here on business,¡± Orange said with a sudden serious face. ¡°If you have any business with me, then it¡¯d be on my calendar. But since that¡¯s empty, I suppose it¡¯s time my drone gives you some fresh air so I can return to my work.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I do not have business with you¡­¡± Orange said before a short pause, ¡°You are my business.¡± ¡°I am your business?¡± ¡°Yes, you are,¡± Orange said smugly, ¡°In short, I have been watching your actions over the past few years and¡­ Suffice to say, you need to be put in detention.¡± ¡°Detention¡­ Are you serious? You really think I¡¯m going to go along with whatever... School play you¡¯ve come up with?¡± I¡¯m not so sure if that¡¯s what I wanted to say¡­ It sounds more, suggestive than I meant it to sound. ¡°I am afraid to tell you Smith: This is no play,¡± Orange said while slightly shaking his head. Suddenly, the cane, that I had continued to hold throughout the conversation, suddenly flew out of my arms and flew in the direction of Orange. He caught it in his right hand without even trying, ¡°And now, I am afraid to say that this has gone on long enough¡­¡± To my surprise, several white rectangles appeared around Orange almost like sliding doors and, through each of them, multiple people emerged. Half of these people looked exactly like Orange, while the other half were women who wore the exact same clothes as Orange, except one or two who wore black dresses. ¡°James Smith. I am placing you under arrest due to your seeming lack of empathy. Your sentence is 5 years in Virtual Education,¡± the original Orange said with a sudden lack of his posh voice which was replaced with a more casual voice. Then, directly in front of me, another white rectangle appeared, blocking my view of most of the people in front of me, ¡°Now, we ask that you please step inside the reception area. If you do not, we will force you instead.¡± ¡°Uhm, yeah¡­ No. I think what I really need to do is to lie down and go to sleep. Obviously you people are from whatever that barista spiked my coffee with.¡± ¡°Very well then,¡± one of the Oranges said before an orange glow suddenly appeared around me. The orange glow was connected to a wavy orange line that came from the cane of one of the Oranges I could still see. Then, I felt myself being lifted up and slowly dragged through the white rectangle. Chapter 4: Stay as Long as You鈥檇 Like Suddenly I felt myself being dropped. I tried to land on my feet but I just fell on my knees instead. I then began to look around the room I now found myself in¡­ If you could even call it a room. The walls of the room were made up entirely of a bright, white colour that was entirely devoid of texture. The walls lacked texture so much in fact, that it looked like there were no walls. Or maybe, there just weren¡¯t any walls? To the right of the room itself was a wooden table with a few chairs around it. Behind the table there was a wooden door that seemingly just stood upright with no support. The door also had a bookshelf next to it. At the back of the room was what looked like elevator doors. To the left of the room was a reception desk with a woman behind it. The woman had red skin and was busy looking at something on the desk. Behind her was a large and ornate shelf full of¡­ Nothing. It was completely empty. ¡°U-Uhhh¡­ Where am I?¡± I attempted to ask the woman while getting to my feet. However, she gave no reply, ¡°Excuse me, miss? Could you please tell me where I am?¡± Without any response, I decided to walk over to the desk. ¡°Excuse me? Could you please tell me where I am?¡± I asked yet again. Now that I was at the desk, she seemed to be looking at a monitor currently displaying a spreadsheet and also seemed to be deep in thought. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Oh sorry,¡± She suddenly said while sounding almost ecstatic, ¡°You are in a prison that is in its own separate reality. It doesn¡¯t have a name though. I simply call it ¡®Oranges Interdimensional Prison¡¯ or something to that effect.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± I said with a disgruntled sigh, ¡°Well, could you maybe help me get out of here? I feel like there¡¯s been some sort of mix up?¡± ¡°Oh, no I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t¡­¡± she said in a weird cutesy sounding voice all while having a completely smug face, ¡°Alright: Could I have your name please?¡± ¡°Neptune¡±, I said angrily. ¡°Okay, James Smith it is,¡± she said with a sigh before suddenly typing. Then, with the loud sound of a dot matrix printer, a piece of paper emerged from my side of the desk. On the paper was my name along with my supposed ¡®crimes¡¯, ¡°Okay, now simply walk to the silver door to your right and you will be taken to your room.¡± ¡°How about no?¡± I say mockingly. Giving little to no warning, I then lunged forward at the woman with the strongest punch I could muster. Only to be met with a strange blue glow all around her that resembled a ball of water. ¡°It¡¯s fine you know?¡± she said with a soft smile, ¡°You can stay as long as you¡¯d like. We will keep you fed, but there¡¯s not much to do in here so I would recommend going through those doors and getting this all over with.¡± ¡°W-What?¡± I said in a weird mix of disbelief and horror. Or maybe I was just slightly stunned? ¡°So, I¡¯m stuck here?¡± ¡°Yes¡± the woman said coldly. I then sat down at the wooden table. For a brief period of time I contemplated staying for a while. But looking at that paper again¡­ 5 years virtual education? That¡­ Can¡¯t be so bad, right? At least it¡¯s not longer, I suppose. Approaching the elevator like doors, they opened to reveal¡­ That it really was an elevator. However, stepping inside, I found a complete lack of buttons and, to my complete lack of surprise, the doors immediately closed behind me. Chapter 5: Forever Five Years After a brief wait of listening to the hum of the elevator¡¯s mechanisms, the doors opened again to reveal a surprising sight. The room the doors had opened to was pretty much a hotel room. It had a single bed, a table and various empty cabinets with one of them having an old CRT TV on top. And then there was a pair of French doors that lead to an empty balcony. The view from these doors, however, was less than pleasant. All that was there was the same white void as the reception area that seemed to give off a bright light from all directions from apparently nowhere. ¡°Okay James, welcome to your room. Let¡¯s get this over with,¡± Orange suddenly said as I entered the room. He had apparently been hiding behind the bed¡­ Alright then. ¡°Fine,¡± I said with a hopeless sigh. ¡°This here is your educational equipment,¡± he said lifting up a strange helmet off of the bed, ¡°You will be receiving 4 hours of Virtual Education a day. Though I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll feel a lot longer than that. The rest of your time is completely free to you and you may order literally anything you want using the intercom on the wall by the TV.¡± ¡°Slight question,¡± I said slightly aggressively, ¡°What the hell is Virtual Education?¡± ¡°Oh, I sometimes forget that new transfers don¡¯t know,¡± he said with a laugh, ¡°Basically, this equipment puts you in the shoes of everyone you¡¯ve affected. Some will be positive, but most will be negative. And, during those five hours, you will live out their entire lives from birth ¡®till death until there is no one left that you¡¯ve affected, hence the five year sentence.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°What the bloody hell?¡± I said while backing away from the demon, ¡°I may have done some bad stuff, but what the hell is wrong with you? This just sounds like straight up torture?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the point,¡± he said as a white rectangle appeared next to the bed, ¡°Let me say it like you would: That¡¯s the whole point, we torture these ¡®people¡¯ so that they can learn that their actions have consequences. Hmm¡­ Did I get that right?¡± ¡°I may call others I don¡¯t like people, but that¡­ That isn¡¯t me at all,¡± ¡°Oh Chris¡­¡± he said mockingly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it is. Seems you don¡¯t even know who you are? Maybe that¡¯s how you cope. Besides, it¡¯s time to start you first session of Virtual Education.¡± ¡°N-No¡­¡± ¡°Oh come on Chrissss¡­ We have special equipment in each of these rooms that automatically puts the helmets on if you have failed to do so within two minutes. And with that last warning, I shall take my leave. Good luck I suppose,¡± Orange said coldly before walking through the white rectangle. Before I knew it, my parents were dead. My soul was completely crushed, but I had to keep moving forward, less I disappoint them. I had managed to keep a stable job at a coffee shop for the past few years and it was going pretty well. However, this annoying retard kept coming in every so often acting like he owned the world. He would constantly complain about the quality of the coffee or the service or some other petty thing. Sometimes, he would even leave without paying causing a dock in my pay. And then one day, I had completely had enough of his crap and decided to give him the largest cup of coffee I could find. It was more of a joke than I intended it to be, but anything was better than nothing. Then, for the final time, he left without paying. And now, I live¡­ Nowhere. And now, I¡¯m starving. Wait no! I¡¯m not Chris, I¡¯m James! I¡¯m James Smith! An important employee of a major company. I can do to others as I see fit! This isn¡¯t my life! This is going to be forever five years, isn¡¯t it?