The things we throw away.

“Repetition!” Said the creator, shouting across the room, “Most pieces make it through. That’s only way!” Machines hummed and whirred a rhythmic pulsing also felt through the floor and into the soles of Matt’s clean suit. The most modern printing tech; creations programmed, fed by multicolored fluid tubes into a germ and dust free sealed enclosure. On occasion a short double buzzer activates followed by a low thump.

The creator turns to point and holler, “That’s the rejects! They’re kicked into a holding tank and quality control makes their rounds to scoop up samples. They should be here soon, it’s getting a bit full.”

Matt nodded and asked, “What does QC do with defective parts?”

“As far as I know they look for quality trends with the print machines, signs they need adjusting. Stuff for maintenance to tune up or fix and get them back up to a spec. You’re basically a tourist today. I bet you’ll spend a day with them just like you are with me and find out.”

The Creator was right about that, as Matt is shown the process of the business before he settles in at the engineers office. His role for two weeks is to discover the whole process from start to finish of the company so he knows what everyone needs from him.

Matt observed the dials and read outs on the lineup of machines against the walls.

“The read outs say eighty-six percent! Is that correct?” Matt shouted back over his shoulder. 

They were talking in the break room before the shift started about the rate of fulfillment desired vs. possible in the industry, given the current state of technology. The machine was rejecting fourteen percent of all product.

“Yeah! You’ll get used to seeing numbers like that. We could see higher, but it slows the machines. It’s not possible to fill the orders fast enough that way, so we increase the speed and whatever makes the cut goes on to packaging, what doesn’t, well, you know…”

“There’s no other way more efficient?”

“Not yet. We could get more machines and run them slower to to get better numbers, but then that costs money to run

and, well, there’s no more profit. A balance!”

The creator, who that shift’s build crew called Bill, only held that label as a job title from the corporation. He was in charge of the build crew. As a team, they created, and created, and managed those machines while they ran every single minute of every single day. Replacement parts are always In high demand, especially when the vehicle using them up are all of us.

“I see what you mean…” Matt trailed off while looking over to the room’s exit.

A secure airlock door buzzed and then hissed in a figure wearing a purple clean suit with a giant letter “Q” emblazoned on the front and back. 

“Evenin!” Hollered Bill over the noise. The purple figure waved, single-mindedly stepping to the large holding cell of rejections. A card swipe. A hatch opened. A scoop not unlike that from a bulk feed bucket dug in and shoveled material into a basket. The purple figure pressed a big red button inside the cell and closed the door. The rest would be sent into the recycling building via vacuum tube.

Matt had never seen anything like it. A big clear vacuum tube across the ceiling with hundreds of defective synthetic thumb replacements, todays rejects in a size large, speeding towards recycling. There would be plenty more unusual things ahead as he eased into his new job. 

(Writer’s notes:)

First post in over two years. I haven’t forgotten, I just haven’t been doing. So here we go again as I try to find a rhythm, a routine, a distraction less environment which I am discovering is all on me.