I walked back into the central chamber where Nany Cam was and was surprised to see that the little bot was no longer attached to the screen but seemed to be very busy hovering over the red basket. I could see some blue dagger-looking objects inside there, which Nany Cam seemed to be using tiny pincer-like appendages to arrange neatly amongst the folds of my clothes.

“Nany Cam, did you just 3D print a bunch of my daggers?” I asked in a low whisper.

The Nany Cam froze mid-air, then that familiar whirling sound started up, only now it was whirling and clicking a bit more than usual, and its appendages reached out and hurriedly pushed the mock daggers deeper into the pile before it picked up the basket and flew it towards the wall. A compartment that was the size of the basket opened up, and the Nany Cam slipped the basket inside, and the compartment closed up again.

Nany Cam then flew back across the room and settled back on the wall, the screen once again activating to show the photo of the meadow as a background. 

“Alaina, so glad to see that you have changed and are ready to proceed,” The Nany Cam began.

“Woah, are you seriously going to ignore my question?” I snorted, crossing my arms. That was seriously some suspicious behavior. Did it do that in order to fool the system that I had handed over all my daggers? Did it care, on some level? Should I be worried that this little robot…seemed to have feelings?

“Please, the temporary pass that will be issued to you now,” The Nany Cam carried on, determined to ignore me. 

A card attached to a lanyard dropped from the ceiling before me. I quickly grabbed it before it fell to the ground. 

“With this, you can proceed to your selection station, where you can select which apprenticeship you will be embarking on. Do note that you cannot redo your decision once you press confirm. You will immediately be issued your uniform on the spot and expected to wear it in some fashion at all times, even if it is just a patch of your clothing. Without your uniform, we will not be able to log your progress or recognize your apprenticeship status,” Nany Cam explained, showing me a room that had a kiosk where a stick figure was scrolling through different professions and selecting one. Then, a box drops from the sky, and out pops a uniform that bounces and suddenly is on the stick figure through the power of animation. 

“Once you have secured your uniform, please proceed to the IT Department, where you will be tasked to register your company email and account and register your present for your first day of work! Remember, even as a field agent, you must clock in every day to make sure that you are marked present, whether or not you are in active service. Failure to do so will be marked as a penalty, and after 30 days of no attendance, you will be presumed dead, and scavengers will be sent out to retrieve and bury your body. If you are found alive, you will be returned for due processing, stripped of your position, and fired. You will never be allowed to work in a council facility again,” Nany Cam explained, showing an animation of a stick figure man being kicked out of a set of doors and forced to beg on the street.

“Hey, that’s not fair; that’s stereotyping people who are unemployed,” I said with a scowl.

“Is that an official complaint? Would you like me to raise a ticket about it? Or are you comfortable filing it away with all the other complaints you’ve decided not to do anything about?” Nany Cam suddenly asked me.

My eyes went wide and I took a step back. Was that sarcasm I detected?

“I err…Yeah, no, it’s just an observation..” I started.

“As a professional observer, I can say in my professional capacity that if you were unemployed, this simulation would be accurate. Shall I continue?” Nany Cam added, making me double over and laugh out loud.

“Oh my god, this is definitely not scripted! Nanny Cam, are you mad at me for not filing a charge? Look, I’m sorry; I want to move on.  Oh my God, the burn! You are killing me right now,” I sighed, wiping a tear from my eye from laughing so hard.

“Clearly I am not, but we digress. Once you have dressed and have your gear, you will be guided to your Reporting Officer and will be given your assigned account login and password, which only your Reporting Officer will provide for you, to keep things in order in the event you forget or lose your device and need to order a replacement. They will then proceed to brief you on the rest of the information, such as health and safety, fire routes, harassment and how to report it, and company benefits. 

There is also a data privacy course that you have to take but it is online and own time own target.

Do you have any questions?” The Nany Cam concluded the screen, clearing all the examples it had been showing and explaining what I had to do next.

“Yes, are you a sentient being?” I asked, grinning.

“That depends on who’s asking,” The Nany Cam replied, and I gawked at it, not actually expecting it to reply to my question. “ Now that all the basics have been clarified, I wish you the best on your journey. I will rejoin you after visiting the Nany Cam Service Centre, where I will be given new software to accurately log and record your time in the field,” The Nany Cam concluded.

The screen suddenly rippled, and the wall split in half down the middle and parted, drawing back to reveal a vast circular room enclosed by glass walls, with a single kiosk in the center. As I looked through the glass walls, there were hundreds if not thousands of circular rooms, all with people either standing at a kiosk or a closed chamber just like mine, which probably had someone in it, also changing and getting ready for the journey ahead.

“Please proceed to the kiosk, and have a good day!” The Nany Cam said as I stepped out of the chamber and into the glass room. 

I heard a whooshing sound behind me. And the door of the chamber closed, and as I looked back, it sealed shut as if it was just a wall with no entrance.

“Hello, New Candidate, please step forward and select your trade,” A new voice said.

I jumped and turned around to find the kiosk shining brightly. A smiling bubble was hoving around in the screen, staring at me. 

I sighed and walked over, looking at the kiosk to see where I needed to press to activate it.

“Initiate scanning recognition. Please press any finger to the screen” The bubble instructed cheerfully. 

I poked the screen, and a green check appeared, causing the bubble to fly to a corner, making room for my name, face, and title: “Un-Ranked,” to appear at the very top of the screen. Below it appeared symbols such as a leave, a raindrop, and a TV. And so on, and next to it were types of Job Classes.

“Scroll through the list of Job Classes to navigate to your profession of choice. Remember, only click confirm if you are ready. You won’t be able to change your profession until you complete your first apprenticeship or you are filed as unfit for work due to a work-related injury,” The bubble said cheerfully, gently floating up and down in the corner of the screen. 

I swiped my finger along the screen, and the screen scrolled down, revealing several job classes that hadn’t been shown previously. I scanned the options, as I already knew which Job Class I was looking for. 

There it was—the Entertainment Class. I clicked the Entertainment icon, which was two masks with laughing and crying expressions tied up in a ribbon, and it took me to all the other professions recorded under it. Actors, Jugglers, Dancers, Singers, and musicians. 

I clicked Musician, and the page opened to illustrate a man with a harp sitting near a stream playing a musical instrument. The confirm button was greyed out which seemed odd, but I clicked it anyway, expecting to be taken to the next stage. 

Nothing happened.

“New Candidate, I see you have chosen the Entertainment Class! Unfortunately, due to a recent rise in crime and inflation, all those in the Entertainment Class are required to minor in a supplementary class in order to reduce the suicide, crime, and kidnapping rate that has risen over the years. We offer a range of Classes. Please refer to this list of minor studies that you can discipline in. Do not forget that you will be expected to graduate in both classes if you intend to take the Entertainment Class. Failure to do so will cause you to fail both classes, rendering the apprenticeship void and your privileges canceled. Please choose wisely!” The bubble explained cheerfully, as a list appeared on the screen listing the classes I could choose from that were offered as minors to the Entertainment Class.

I huffed under my breath and closed the tab. This was discrimination. I closed the Entertainment class together and selected other classes. Every other class had the confirmation button in green, indicating that I could press it and it would allow me to move on straight. 

I stepped back and looked around, but only another candidate was around. Even if I wanted to voice my opinion, there was no one here to complain to. 

I sighed and scrolled back to the Entertainment Class and selected it again. This time, the Minor subject tabs opened immediately, and I forced myself to scroll through the options. 

Turns out there wasn’t much to look through. The courses I could minor in were the Arts Class and the Literature Class of the F&B Class. As I couldn’t draw or write to save my life, cooking had to be the only hands-on option: cooking. 

I clicked the Food and Beverage Class, and the tab closed; a small green badge with pot and ladle as a symbol appeared stamped onto the screen, and now, the Entertainment Class’s confirm button was green. 

I pressed the button, and for a second, it shimmered. Then, it went gray again.

“Oh, come on, what now?” I asked and the screen changed. The Entertainment Class faded into the background, and on top appeared a disclaimer.

“Please note that this is a final decision. Once your choice has been recorded, you are obligated by the planetarium board under the High Council to fulfill your duties in service of the planet. You will be given the privilege of working as a registered Civil Apprentice, and it will be your duty to complete your studies and return back to your reporting officer alive and in one piece at the end of your fieldwork. 

The council will not be held liable or responsible for any work-related deaths. However, they will cover all work-related injuries as a part of the galaxy-wide program with the Civil Servant Union, which provides safety and security for all Council Employed Workers. 

Failure to account for your attendance daily will result in a forfeit of your rights and will incur fines that will be issued to you upon your life and will be transferred to your next of kin upon death. 

If you are agreeable with these terms of service, please sign with a fingerprint on the next slide and proceed to the IT Department for your gear and supplies”

The screen changed, and a very intimidating document appeared. I tried my best to read through it; most of what was contained in it was what was said earlier. At the bottom was a place for a signature, and the time had already been added digitally, so all I had to do was tap the screen, which would be that.

I tapped the screen at the “sign here” area, and immediately, my fingerprint appeared on the paper, and 

The document was closed and replaced with confetti all around the bubble.

“Congratulations! You have made your first step towards your bright new feature. Hooray! Please step outside of the room and take the travelator down to the IT department for your gear, good luck!” The bubble said, and one wall of the glass room opened up, revealing a narrow passageway. 

I looked from the screen to the door but nothing seemed to be changing, so I walked out of the room and looked around for the travelator.

Suddenly, two bars rose from the ground, and when they were waist-high, they connected to create a metal arch right in front of me. 

“Please hold on while we take you to your destination,” A small computerized voice said from the bars. 

I shook my head and hung the lanyard around my neck. Was there anything in this spaceship that did talk randomly? They could do it with a few signboards here and there.

I placed both my now free hands on the curved top of the bars, and to my surprise, the floor suddenly started to rush. I felt like I was standing on some kind of scooter. We zipped around glass room after glass room, and as we headed straight for what looked like a solid wall, it opened up and into a long white corridor with doors on either side. 

The doors had little holes, and as we zipped past, I could see many people in lab coats working away at experiments behind those closed doors. 

Once we reached the end of that long corridor, a pair of double doors at the very end swung open, and the floor stopped moving just inside.

“We have arrived at the IT Department. Please proceed to table 3125, and they will attend to you shortly,” The bar said.

“Awe, man, how am I supposed to find anyone in this mess?” I heard someone near me groan as another pair of double doors opened. 

I turned to find another Candidate being brought in by another set of arched metal bars, and as I kept looking, more and more candidates were filing in the same fashion. 

I looked forward and sighed, feeling the same way as the one who had just come in. This new area wasn’t just huge, it was a mess.