Ground Floor Lobby

The logo of the Tetragrammaton Corporation - a five-pointed star rendered in silver, the letters of a long-forgotten language engraved within its perimeter - shone in reflected glory from the marble floor of the lobby. Most of the people who passed through the grand entrance hall ignored the logo, but not Janitor (Second Class) Ishim. For him, it was a matter of pride that he could see the effects of his handiwork.

Ishim had come on shift just before eight o'clock that morning. In the four-and-a-bit hours since then, he and his mop had cleaned, waxed and polished over two hundred square metres of marble tiling; and before his shift finished hoped that he would done at least another two hundred. But now it was lunchtime. And as the founder of Tetragrammaton had rested on the seventh day, so would Ishim rest in the middle of the day.

He rolled his mop into a corner, out of the way of passers-by. Then, he took out his lunchbox, sat down and began to eat.

Public-accessible Levels

"And if you'll follow me ... ?"

Clerk (First Class) Elohim led the school group through the shining corridors to the viewing gallery. She enjoyed taking the curious on tours of the Tetragrammaton head office. It made a change from the endless drudge of paperwork, so she volunteered as a tour guide at every opportunity she could. However, today she was regretting her eagerness.

The tour group was made up of some two-dozen schoolchildren and their teachers. They were here to see what life was like for corporation employees. It was almost certain that the children in the group would grow up to be recruited by Tetragrammaton to fill such roles as Apprentice (Probationary), Security Operative (All Grades), Executive (Junior Grade) or even - Elohim caught her breath at the prospect of one of her charges becoming the Chief Executive. And it would all be a result of her tour.

Most of the children were bright and attentive. However, there was one who took every chance he could to cause trouble. Usually Elohim was more than capable of dealing with mischief makers. After all, her job meant that she had to cope with the ever-changing whims of the Executive grades. Besides, she could also count on the teachers with the group to help maintain discipline. However, this was not the case today.

Yetzer Hara been a thorn in Elohim's side since the moment he had arrived. If there was something that could cause a problem or go wrong today, it had. And, never far away from the cause of whatever it was, was Yetzer. Sure, Elohim had never been able to pin anything on him, but she knew what was going on. The looks of sympathy from the teachers had all but confirmed that her instincts were right.

The boy was trouble.

Now, in the viewing gallery, with all the children looking down on the rows of desks seemingly stretching out to infinity, Elohim was sure that Yetzer Hara would be tempted to cause trouble one more time. And this time, she would catch him in the act.

You're a little devil in the making, aren't you? Elohim stared at the child. But I am going to get you.

Secretarial Pool

There were more desks than could be counted. They stretched as far as the eye could see, eventually converging on some distant vanishing point. At each desk sat an identically-dressed woman clad in grey skirt, cream blouse with bow jabot, and black patent leather shoes. Each women had an identical computer terminal in front of them, with green screen and clicky-clacky keyboard. The sound of fingers on keyboards filled the air.

Secretary (Second Class) Bene glanced up from the illuminated page that she had been transcribing for the last hour. Her best friend and protégée, Secretary (Third Class) Malakim, was sitting, idly watching the departing backside of one of the junior executives. Bene nudged her friend.

"What is it?" she meemawed, her lip movements deliberately exaggerated.The noise coming from the other keyboards surrounding them made it impossible to communicate by any other means.

Malakim smiled and pointed. "Jophiel. Isn't he just manna?"

"Who? Him?" Bene giggled. "What makes you think he'd be interested in you?"

"I don't think. I know."

"Really? Go on, angel. Spill."

Malakim glanced around her, making sure that there was nobody nearby who might pay attention to the conversation. Then she leaned close to Bene. "When he walks past," she stage-whispered into Bene's ear, "he's not thinking pure thoughts. You can see it."

"You mean - ?"

"Oh yes!"

The two young women looked at each other, then burst into fits of laughter. It took Bene a moment or two to recover enough to speak. "You succubus, you! You're almost as bad as what's-her-name. You know?"

"You mean Lil -!" Malakim's hands flew upwards, covering her mouth to stop her from speaking the forbidden name. Bene did likewise. The two secretaries collapsed against each other, shaking with paroxysms of transgressive glee and apprehension.

"Ladies!" The stentorian tones of their supervisor cut through the noise and chatter of the secretarial pool. "What is going on?"

Bene and Malakim hurried to sit up straight, adjusting their clothing and setting their workstations in order. "Yes, Miss Hashmallim! Nothing, Miss Hashmallim!" they chorused.

"Good." Miss Hashmallim glared at her two subordinates. "You should keep the gossip for when you are on your breaks. Remember the Commandments. Thou shalt not - ?"

"Bear false witness. Yes, Miss Hashmallim."

The older woman nodded in satisfaction, then turned and walked away. As her backside swayed out of sight, Bene and Malakim tried hard not to laugh.

Executive Level Washroom

Water splashed gently into marble bowls, the bubbling of its passage harmonising with the sound of recorded birdsong. The intended effect of the two was to calm and relax the occupants of the washroom, but Senior Executive (Third Class) Seraphim only found it irritating. He stared at his reflection in the crystal-perfect glass of mirror that ran the full length of the washroom, and snarled. "Can somebody turn that damned noise down?"

The washroom attendant, a lowly functionary who was rarely - if ever - noticed by those who used the washroom, bobbed apologetically. "I am sorry, your excellence. I am not certain that it is possible to - "

"Just try!" From Seraphim's tone of voice and set of expression, it was obvious that he was not in the mood for disputes, no matter how petty or trivial the disagreement might be. The washroom attendant bowed and hurried away.

"It is not becoming of you to be so wrathful, Seraphim." A deep voice came from one of the nearby toilet cubicles. "Is there something that is troubling you?"

Seraphim glanced toward the row of cubicles. "And what makes that your business?"

There was the sound of flushing water, a pause, and then the cubicle door opened. "Curiosity. And a concern for your wellbeing."

Seraphim turned around and bowed. "I am sorry, Elohim." He hoped that he sounded genuinely contrite. "I shall try to be more - "

"Bullshit!" A grey-haired man waddled fromtxheopen cubicle to take a position at the basin next to Seraphim's. He ran his hands under the tap, holding them in the stream of warm water. "Now, tell me what is worrying you?"

"Yes sir." Seraphim's shoulders sagged. "It's the new account, sir. I'm not sure how to approach it. There could be serious consequences if I make the wrong calls, and that worries me."

Elohim lathered some soap between his hands. "If you do not think that you are ready for such a responsibility, then I can give the account to someone else." His tone was soft, and his words were likely well-intentioned, but their effect on Seraphim was to set his stomach cramping.

"I'm sorry, sir. I can handle it. Really! It's just that - "

"Just that you would appreciate some guidance on dealing with such an important assignment?" Elohim ran his hands under the tap once more, rinsing the soap lather down the plughole. "Well, I would be happy to pass on my wisdom."

Seraphim gaped, his mouth wide with relief. "You would, sir?"

"Of course. It will reflect well on both of us." Elohim held up his hands. They glistened with droplets of water. "Now, where is that man with the towels?"

Seraphim grabbed a towel from the stack at the end of the row of basins. "Allow me, sir."

Boardroom

Chayot Ha Kodesh was sitting beneath the Great Seal of the Tetragrammaton Corporation. As the current Chief Executive Officer of the company, it was her right and her privilege to do so. She was not just the highest-ranking officer of the corporation, bar its founder. She was its heart and its soul and its guiding light. She was also hungry.

"Mister Ophanim. Thank you for your presentation." Kodesh smiled at the portly gentleman who had just finished speaking. The rest of the board - at least those who were currently sitting around the long mahogany table that took up most of the boardroom - smiled, murmured and nodded in agreement. "Very useful." Again, there was the chorus of murmurs and the two lines of bobbing heads.

Ophanim smiled back at the CEO. "Thank you, madame." However, his smile was not sincere. He glanced around the table, trying to catch the eye of somebody who was sympathetic to his cause. They had all been so eager to show their support for him before this meeting. But now? "Does anybody have any comments? Any questions?"

There was silence.

"I think," Kodesh announced, "the board should take time to consider Mister Ophanim's proposal over lunch. It will take some time to digest the implications." She waited for the others to react to her pun, then turned back to Ophanim. "We will tell you what we have decided after we have eaten."

"After lunch. Of course." Ophanim started to gather his papers.

"But we do need to be able to come to a consensus without undue pressure from the interested parties. Our founder," Kodesh glanced up towards the boardroom ceiling, as did the others, "would expect no less from us." She frowned in what she hoped would be taken as a gesture of sympathy with Ophanim. "You understand?"

"Yes. I do."

Ophanim sat down and watched the others file out of the boardroom.

Ground Floor Lobby

Janitor (Second Class) Ishim swallowed the last of his lunch, then closed the lid of his lunchbox. it was time for him to go back to work. There was still a lot of floor to polish before his shift was over.

* * * * *

This was written for the Megacorp-themed issue of Tevun-Kruss, and it was another baffler for me. So, I resorted to another of my hobby-horses and went theological. All the names used here are those of angels. And they all have some meaning. Go on. Look them up.