NOTE: The story at the bottom does not describe actual real events, but it is inspired by personal experiences. All characters described are fictional characters. The story itself is also pure fiction.
If you missed it, please start with Chapter I - Escaping the Beast .
After being diagnosed with a debilitating unknown disease affecting her nervous system, Lucy decided to leave The Netherlands and live a reclusive life in Portugal. In Portugal, Lucy found refuge and a safe place in Armona, an Island on the other side of a river flowing along the Olhão Marina, South of Portugal. There, Lucy began to have visions and confronting her past.
Back in The Netherlands, Lucy had, among many of her jobs, one for a fashion company
called Modern Fashion Metropol of Fun BV. It was also known as MFMF. At MFMF, Lucy was responsible to develop
software to support a variety of Telecom services.
This was the job she got after her position at BeRGees. In Lucy's dream, she remembered Hara Arre. Hara was someone
with her eyes on power, fame and reputation. She cared very little about her own position or the company itself.
Needless to say that Hara would make the best to exploit the work from Lucy even claiming at times Lucy's work as her
own work. The dream shifted back to MFMF to a meeting with another one of her former bosses: Fenestev Moon.
Lucy and Mr. Moon went to a meeting to clarify some concerns brought up by Lucy. Lucy was always concerned about the
safety of the company and due to her knowledge she was aware that some drastic changes had to be made in regard to the
software being produced. The dream turns to something Lucy remembers being the inflexion point in her decision to remain
or not in the company.
Fenestev, like Hara Arre, only had his sight on power and immediate profit and so concerns were seen to him
as unwanted weak negative emotions. Lucy remembered his trick:
- Fenestev Moon: I appreciate the fact that you bring this up to me. But you also have to understand the business side of our company. I can't spend money like that to invest in new software that way. And then you know you say this and then it happens and then the computer gets broken and the car I have to take and the weather gets bad and when I cook the computer gets down... you don't follow me do you Lucy?
- Lucy: With all due respect Mr. Moon, I'm not sure if I understand you.
- Fenestev Moon: That's what I mean, you don't have what it takes to understand business. Please go back to your post.
For Lucy, it became clear that she would never go anywhere in the company since this was her CEO and so little was
expected of her. Her job was at stake and the odds were going against her.
Lucy wakes up startled in the middle of the night. She was back in Armona. Her place was quiet and it felt safe.
As the night moved on and the sun rose, Lucy took further a nice rest and at around 10, she was already doing her
groceries in the supermarket close to her on the island.
As she went into the small supermarket she met an old friend called Lars Pereira. Lars was a strange man with a
peculiar tattoo. Like Lucy, Lars was also a foreigner in Portugal. He came from Norway and he, unlike
Lucy,
was
only in Armona for holidays. Every single summer he would come back to relax.
Lars Pereira, was someone visually very different. He had a strange tattoo that would start in his hand and radiate
from there throughout his body. It started on his left hand with the shape of a root, and it would end on his right hand
with the letters C, O, M and P and other faded out letters in what is seemed to be the result of the passing of time. It
could mean
anything and on the island it was a common subject to discuss what word used to be there? Could it have
been Completion, Composition, Composer or something else? Nobody really knew and Lars always refused to discuss
that changing the subject very swiftly and in very genius ways every single time someone would bring it up. Mean people
would refer to him as Mr.Comp.
Lucy always saw in him a close friend. As they were talking over how great it was to live on that island, the cultura
and the
portuguese traditions, a red cat came along.
It was a very friendly cat that reminded Lucy of something she never told Lars.
Back in Holland, more specifically in Nieuwegein, Lucy once had an assignment to install some sensors in a building.
At that time something was constantly failing in the software project she was involved in. Nobody could figure out what
it
was, and it was a difficult time, because Lucy was constantly receiving mails from herself to herself. It appeared that
someone was able to infiltrate her account regardless of how many times she changed her password leading to
uncomfortable moments between Lucy and her bos. Someone by the name of Sneller Brass. Brass was receiving a few odd
mails from Lucy that made no sense, but there was increasing tension in the office about it. On one early morning Lucy
went to the office to install some temperature sensors. Along the way, Lucy always had the time to pet a red cat that
always came along and was always there on the street.
They both had formed a very special bond rarely seen between humans and cats. Lucy just called this cat Kitten. Kitten
was obviously from someone although Lucy never ever found out who owned him.
After a few pets and a few laughs, something that would take about 5 to 10 minutes, Lucy would proceed to do her work.
And that was no different this day. As Lucy walks into the office, Kitten starts to meouw. But not like a normal cat
does. To Lucy, it felt like something was wrong. Somehow, the cat wanted to say something other than play or ask for
food.
The cat insisted on going inside the office, by scratching its paws against the glass. As Lucy lets him in, the cat jumps
and runs straight into her desk and
there he goes silent and begins to look at a corner where the bookcase was.
- Lucy: What are you doing Kitten? Playing hide and seek?
- Kitten: Meouwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! csssssssssshhhhhhh!
It was obvious that something was up. Maybe there was food around, maybe something odd was happening. Lucy decides to
check the back of the bookcase and there it was. A camera. Live and recording and aiming at her keyboard, which
immediately
clarified the emails. Someone was looking and micromanaging everything Lucy was doing. Since Brass was responsible for
hiring the cleaners and the cleaners never found the camera in plain sight, it was the obvious conclusion that Brass
might be involved. Regardless, Lucy mentioned this in the office, but she was accused of being too negative and to her
surprised she also accused of planting the camera herself.
Many questions raised in Lucy's mind including if she was being suddenly targeted by the company simply for being a woman. The Netherlands was known to be, at the time, for many Dutch people, quite an extreme patriarch society.
After this incident, Lucy was unable to remain in this environment that suddenly became so toxic to her. She
presented her resignation and found a new job at Red portal enterprises B.V. only a few weeks after the incident.
Lars remained the whole time listening carefully to Lucy's story in awe and disbelief.
to be continued... Chapter Three - Hong Kong Enterprise Surprise
- Fenestev Moon - CEO of
Infrastructure Collective Zaphire BV - Hara Arre - Chapter Lead of
Blue Round Grachten Roses Dot Com BV - Sneller Brass - CTO of
Max Maxx BV Red portal enterprises B.V.- Kitten - The cat that helped Lucy
- Lars Pereira - A norwegian friend of Lucy
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