CHAPTER 02 — (1/3)
426 Words
CHAPTER 02 — (1/3)
The request arrives through a standard channel.
No priority flag. No escalation tag. Just a routine submission routed through the same interface that handles hundreds of others each day. The subject line is concise, compliant with formatting guidelines. The message body contains exactly what is required and nothing more.
A name appears at the top.
It is unremarkable. Common enough to blend in, specific enough to be real. No identifying markers beyond what the system requires. An employee ID. A department code. A brief description of the issue: an access mismatch following an internal transfer. Permissions not syncing correctly. Work delayed as a result.
This happens often.
The request is polite. Neutral in tone. It does not imply urgency or dissatisfaction. Whoever wrote it understands how these processes work. They have done this before, or have learned quickly how to phrase things so they move without friction.
The response is drafted automatically.
A confirmation of receipt. A reference number. An estimated resolution window. The language is familiar, carefully calibrated to acknowledge without committing, to reassure without promising more than procedure allows.
The message is sent.
A few minutes later, a reply arrives.
Shorter this time. A simple acknowledgment. Gratitude expressed in the expected way. Nothing extraneous. No attempt to personalize the exchange. The interaction concludes exactly as designed: efficient, complete, forgettable.
If this were the end of it, nothing would linger.
The request does not disrupt the queue. It does not require special handling. It is logged, categorized, and passed along to the appropriate automated process for adjustment. From a systems perspective, it is already resolved in principle, even if execution will take time.
Still, the name remains momentarily present.
Not as a concern. Not as a question. Just as a point of reference that has not yet been replaced by the next item. A minor delay in attention, brief enough to be unnoticed, but distinct from the rhythm established earlier in the day.
There is no reason for this.
The exchange contained no irregularity. The wording was correct. The request valid. The response sufficient. Everything aligns with expectation.
The queue refreshes.
Another entry appears.
The name disappears from view, displaced by the next set of fields, the next set of requirements. The system moves forward, unencumbered by what it has already processed.
And yet, for a moment longer than necessary, the interaction remains present—not as data, but as the memory of having spoken to someone who exists entirely outside the Archive.
⸻
When ready, say thank you mrs author
- Writer
