C4 antho - Chamber Four
C4 antho - Chamber Four C4 antho - Chamber Four
~304~ The Chamber Four Fiction Anthology and grudging―and pasted in more blocks of pre-written text. These cubicles of words: he’d worried over them, like a boss getting a new job description right, and then, without testing it overmuch, he’d called the cut-and-paste system finished, suitable for all occasions, never to be questioned again. The main reason he dropped his disgust, gave up pacing and returned to his privileged corner was that he was bored. At five o’clock Herr Halsa came out of his office and Joseph’s pulse quickened. Towards or away? He glanced over: towards, and it was clear that Herr Halsa had forgotten everything, put it all behind him. He was wearing his smart suit jacket, finely tailored―Joseph took particular note of it. And he looked confident now. You couldn’t think about the Peter Principle when Herr Halsa wore that suit jacket. Maybe Joseph should spend some of his paycheck on a hand-tailored suit. He didn’t know what occasion he’d have to wear such a thing, but it seemed the perfect antidote to molded rubber balls, a factory pond, the gray rugs climbing up the walls of his cubicle. Herr Halsa laughed. He had a deep, hearty laugh when the day was done. And he told Joseph to go play a little. Joseph chuckled and nodded. “Good advice,” he said. “Das ist kein Ratschlag, das ist ein Befehl,” Herr Halsa said. “It’s not advice. It’s an order.” Almost drunk now, Joseph gave a casual evening salute. “Jawohl. Tschüß!” he said familiarly. Swatting the envelope against his wrist, back and forth, he watched Herr Halsa swagger away, and noticed with a certain amount of unbecoming pleasure that even as the boss passed a trio of underperforming American salesmen he said nothing to them, lost in his pre-dinner whistling.
American Subsidiary ~305~ That was it. Without considering what was inside, or rather, thinking of it sidelong, as evidence of his importance here, Joseph raised the sealed envelope in a toast and shredded it, along with a few sensitive documents that Herr Halsa didn’t want the others to see. He stood up and, with the last moments of the day―because Herr Halsa had left twentyfive seconds early―he wetted a square of paper towel in his melted ice and wiped the leaves of the ivy until they glowed.
- Page 253 and 254: The Next Thing on Benefit ~253~ “
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- Page 257 and 258: The Next Thing on Benefit ~257~ tur
- Page 259 and 260: The Next Thing on Benefit ~259~ Sha
- Page 261 and 262: The Night Dentist ~261~ warmth that
- Page 263 and 264: Pool ~263~ really. She walked back
- Page 265 and 266: Pool ~265~ She put her hand on his
- Page 267 and 268: Pool ~267~ hatching eggs and the wo
- Page 269 and 270: Pool ~269~ Jon said, “Yeah, Darla
- Page 271 and 272: Pool ~271~ He said, “Right. I’l
- Page 273 and 274: Everything Is Breakable with a Big
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- Page 277 and 278: The Abjection ____________ by Micha
- Page 279 and 280: The Abjection ~279~ Murderous. As i
- Page 281 and 282: The Abjection ~281~ Corkscrews. Cat
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- Page 285 and 286: American Subsidiary ~285~ “Nothin
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- Page 291 and 292: American Subsidiary ~291~ our robot
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- Page 299 and 300: American Subsidiary ~299~ Had anyon
- Page 301 and 302: American Subsidiary ~301~ “What a
- Page 303: American Subsidiary ~303~ Herr Hals
- Page 307 and 308: taken workshops at the UCLA Extensi
- Page 309 and 310: Angie Lee (“Eupcaccia”) is an a
- Page 311 and 312: a care home. She divides her time b
American Subsidiary ~305~<br />
That was it. Without considering what was inside, or<br />
rather, thinking of it sidelong, as evidence of his importance<br />
here, Joseph raised the sealed envelope in a toast and shredded<br />
it, along with a few sensitive documents that Herr Halsa<br />
didn’t want the others to see. He stood up and, with the last<br />
moments of the day―because Herr Halsa had left twentyfive<br />
seconds early―he wetted a square of paper towel in his<br />
melted ice and wiped the leaves of the ivy until they glowed.
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