“How’s your daughter doing? Has her cough been getting better?”
“Uh, no, not really. She’s missed nearly a week of work now since the air quality’s been the worst it’s ever been. It’s almost as if the air is poison…”
“Oh, don’t you guys live next to the Dyhernfurth plant? Maybe you should consider moving away… I hear that they’re planning an expansion there.”
“I can barely keep the company provided housing and put food on the table! What makes you think — ah… sorry…”
“No, don’t be. These companies couldn’t care less about what they put into the water and into the air. We’re all in this together, against these brainless, idi — Harry! I didn’t notice you there! How’re you doing on this fine day?”
“Indeed, a very productive day. I trust that you’re all working hard.”
“Yeah, just trying to keep our heads down, you know, to make ends meet.”
“Indeed. You guys are fortunate to have this opportunity. Jobs are quite hard to find now, yeah? Anyways, I have to go now, keep up the good work!”
“It’s kind of disturbing how he just vanishes and appears like that. I swear, he’s always listening to us.”
“Yeah, and the ‘fortunate to have this’ thing? What is fortunate? That we can eat and breathe poison and work ourselves to death to make the rich richer?”
“Shhh… keep it down! You don’t know who’s listening here.”
“Who cares anymore? We’re all just going to die of cancer in a few years anyway. The ecosystem is already ruined… I don’t know why we keep doing this!”
“Wait… Why did the line just stop?”
“Attention all Farben employees! All work must stop immediately and all workers will need to listen to the next announcement.”
“What? Stopping production? Now?”
“It’s almost unthinkable that they would do that now, in the middle of the busiest month of the year! Maybe our dreams have come true!”
“Please pay attention now for a special announcement by Harry Moore, our great new leader!”
“Good afternoon, dear comrades!”
“What?
“ Today, history has changed forever! At 1400 hours, our brothers struck the Mars colony, the final bastion of greed. The heads, the rulers, now they are gone forever.”
“Is that the same Harry that I know? The one that just told me that I was fortunate to be working here, in such a polluting factory?”
“Yeah… It’s the same fake smile. Just a different emblem behind it.”
“We will rebuild this world with our comrades. We are all equals now!”
“Really? Just like that?”
“…Guess some people always end up on top.”
“While the rest of us keep coughing…”
“Maybe Mars was the last place we had left to run to.”