Year 3000 : Contagion

Training Starts : Phase 1

HeilPharma Industries Inc

United Nations, Manila

March 23, 2992

1600H

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"Hey. At last a potential candidate! I knew you'll pass"

A girl from earlier in the back row with her vibrantly speaks to him but is not surprised. He notices four other people who look at him smiling at him. He kinda figured why. The girl looks at him and reads his facial expression. She then points a monitor above the room.

"Yeah, we all saw your interview and heard everything."

He then looks surprised. not because they saw his interview but with the reason why.

"Is there something funny about my interview? I don't get it."

He looks at everyone with a hint of worry and annoyance. They're still laughing at him and his interview.

"Man, there's nothing wrong with the way you answer. Nothing at all"

A man from the back row breaks away from his laughter and answers him. He also notices this man from the lobby before the interview. He's the first one to enter the interview. He was the shaky and nervous man who makes everyone hurry to do the interview.

"Then what's wrong with my interview then?

He took a careful assessment of everyone. They have something in common. They all wear HeilPharma Identification Badges. Meaning they are already employees disguising themselves as new applicants specifically task to cut down the number of applicants each hiring season.

"It's just that. when you said that you passed the written test. You're the only one who did. We were laughing because no one had ever been passed on that written exam in 15 years. Not even for us. Once we knew the answer to that written exam we just realized how dumb we are before."

He mustered while nodding his head. He then removes his eyeglasses, looks at them for a while, carefully checking for any dirt, and then wipes it out with cleaners and tissues. He then walks up in the hallway and proceeds to where Steven is standing.

"My name is Ryan. I am the Senior Supervisor on HeilPharma Communications and Advance Technological Advances Department. We would like to welcome you to our esteemed team. We have high hopes for you Mr. Young. "

He lightly smiled while reaching out his hand for a handshake. Steven held his hand and make a firm handshake. He then notices a severely callous hand from Ryan. He looks at him and slightly smiles.

"I guess I should say thanks! Though I wasn't able to grasp anything yet."

He said to Ryan. He doesn't have any idea yet of what's going on or what is going to happen now. All he knows is that he passed. He should be happy. This is a dream job for everyone. It's a well-paid job that can elevate their state of living. He was jobless for years, focusing on game streaming. He has parents to support and his gaming channel doesn't earn enough to cover for all of them.

"Mrs. Young, you've got a mail!"

A drone flies over their window, scanning the code on their house to confirm their address. Steven was taking his breakfast as usual. His mother, Aurora, went to the window and get the letter from the drone. He watches the drone as it hovers for a bit in their house and flies away to the next house until he can't see it anymore.

"It's from the hospital, isn't it? Put it here in the holographic reader."

They get the chip from the mail and press the button on top of it. The chip expands into a larger chip and a reader appears. His mother then inserted the chip into the reader and in the hologram, appeared a hospital bill amounting to a large amount of money.

"It's from your dad. We still haven't paid the hospital bill in full. So they add interest to it. 3% per week of unpaid bills. I don't want your father to know about it. Please keep it between us for now."

His mother's face dims with distress as she doesn't know how they will deal with this situation. Steven clunches his fist with frustration. They have hoped when he took the exam at HeilPharma two months ago. Up until now, they never reply or update them yet on the result. He was starting to lose aspiration. 

Suddenly, a loud banging on their front door echoed throughout their living room. They both looked at each other and knew exactly who it was. Her mother signs Steven to go back to his room. He slightly stands from his seat and makes his way through his room. Her mother went straight to their front door, fix her hair, and opens it. There, she was greeted by their landlady. She is a stout woman, standing at 5'4" tall, probably in her late 40's to 50's. She owns a large tenement in Malate, Manila, and that is why she is well known in the area. 

"Mrs. Young."

"Yes, Ms. Cruz. Good morning! Come in. Have a seat."

"You know why am I here right? I need your rent payment for 3 months. No more extensions!"

She said to Mrs. Young as soon as she enters their home. She doesn't even bother to greet or looked back. She pulls her fan slightly hammers it through her palm while observing the decoration on the drawer near the television. 

"I know. I have the money with me but I paid it all on Johnrey's medical fee yesterday. I wasn't aware that today will be your deadline for the rent payment. Usually, it's on the 25th of the month."

She looks at Ms. Cruz. She's obviously confused by her answer. She thinks hard before replying back.

"Even if it's still the 22nd, do you have the means of paying your 3-month rent on the 25th?"

"Yes, Ms. Cruz. Steven will get interviewed tomorrow on HeilPharma. You know how intelligent my child is. Once he got accepted to the job, we will be able to pay our debt to you."

Ms. Cruz was surprised to hear the news. Not all are given the chance to get interviewed on HeilPharma. Out of 10,000 applicants for this year, only 100 persons were selected and screened for the interview. Just looking at how prestigious the company is, Ms. Cruz eyes shined as it means that they will be able to pay not just the three months but maybe up until the next year's rent. 

"Okay. Just make sure to give me the payment on the 25th. I won't give you another extension. You know what that means, do you Aurora? I'm heading out."

"Yes, Ms.Cruz. Be careful on your way."

As soon as Mrs. Young closes the door, she looks at Steven and smiled a little bit but Steven feels her worries.

"Steven? Hey? Is everything okay?"

Steven's memories of what happened yesterday were cut off when Ryan speaks to him when they were on the Elevator.

"Oh no. Yeah, I'm good. So you were saying?"

Ryan smiled while he presses a series of codes on the elevator before it opens. As soon as the elevator opens, Steven was astonished on what he saw. It's something he never had seen during their tour. It was filled with people like scientists, techs, robots, man in suits, and soldiers.

"Welcome to HeilPharma ."

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