The Individuality Package or The Committee for National Compliance Meets

Terence Joseph made his final bow to the committee and motioned for the man standing in the center of the room to begin playback. A few seconds later his film began to play on the large screen at the front of the large, darkened conference room.

A smiling Terence looked over at the camera as he drove down a city street. Pedestrians and people in other cars gave his ride the double-take, some with a long glance, some even staring as he made his way along.

The video ran silently for almost a minute before the technician punched the right keys on the laptop and the sound came on. Under committee rules the film was started over.

* * *

I got to tell you, I love this machine. I ordered it special, just for me, with every little gadget you could want, the 2012 Square. It's the hottest vehicle to come out of SukSwana since the Bleek. My mom had one of those, great for hauling groceries but hardly a social icon or a World Changer like my Spunky!

That's what I call my new car, Spunky. She's a DOLL, I tell ya!

I'm rolling about a mile or so from my house going home after another blessed and fruitful day at work. I hope you're not TOO jealous, but I've just GOT to tell you about my day. Keep in mind, I've enjoyed this routine everyday for the last month, since the very moment I took delivery of my Spunky, and my heart jumps for joy thinking of the glorious years ahead of me, assured by the 980 Easy Payment Plan agreement I signed.

The drivers door of my Spunky opens automatically as I approach her in the early morning, pre-dawn light. She even speaks to me!

"Good morning, Terrence, How are You?"

"I feel great today, Spunky. How are you?"

Is it silly talking to a car? Not one as smart as the 2012 Square! I sat behind the wheel and the door closed itself.

"Wonderful!," she says, "the forecast calls for sunny skies and calm winds. The Weather Service has scheduled a moderate shower for 3pm, with the usual automotive shutdown for accident prevention. All environmental features will return to normal at 4pm, well before your release from Occupationales Designato. Shall we begin? "

I was a bit late in responding, distracted by the sheer loveliness of this man-made but obviously deified machine.

Spunky started her engine before I could break the spell, and we were on our way. The engine was kept at just under operating temperature at all times and needed just a few nano seconds to be fully operational.

Ah, what a beauty! Her exterior shined like the sun, her flawless paint looked as deep as the ocean, a swirling Maroon Red, and looked as if you could put your entire arm into it. The windows wrapped around her, except for the left rear upper panel and another post that supported the drivers side door hinge. The sound system played from over ten thousand speakers, each one no bigger that the point of a pencil, placed apart in such a way that every square inch of the car was bathed in the most soothing sounds ever generated by something electronic.

And, true to its name, this car was square, well, more of a rectangle. It's width was just under six feet, it's height the same, and its length twice the height. The outer corners were barely rounded, but still pronounced enough to open you up if you were to somehow fall on it. Still, the danger added a lot to the car's ambiance and charm.

Remember the windows? Well, you'll see that they are not only beautiful in vision and design, but are also quite functional, even though they do not open. What if the air conditioner fails you ask? You simply notify the dealership and they'll rush another car over to you and tow the old one away, just like that! No need to wait for your car to be repaired at all.

As I mentioned before, I did order it special, built just for me, picked from Individuality Package #4. It offered everything I was told I wanted in a new car, and having my choices laid out in such a simple manner made my car purchasing experience so much more enjoyable!

And not only that, but it fit right into my career path, as you'll soon see, because now we are pulling up to my place of employment.

I have been an "Exemplary Employee" of Astute Sensitizing Services since the age of sixteen, right after I got my drivers license, actually. It was so different then, especially the technology. Back then you had to drive here, park your car, and physically walk into the building! And, here we are, a short ten years later and everything is so much easier.

Watch this guy! He's not sure where to park, even though every space in this parking garage is labeled so clearly. It looks like he's going to park in my spot. Yes! Look! Look!

See the red light, look there! Right in front of his car, on the wall! That means he has thirty seconds to move his car. Yea, he sees it, but it looks like he's just going to ignore it. Bad idea. See? He's trying to get out but the door has been de-activated! Oh sure! NOW he's trying to move his car, too late. Too bad, so sad. His first day will be his last. Watch!

That red light is not malfunctioning, it's growing, and will soon engulf the entire vehicle. Now you see it . wait for it wait for it ...now you don't. Gone. His mother will get a notice within the hour and I'm sure a tidy sum of cash to help her grieve. But hey, he was familiar with the consequences of such heresy, I'm sure. We all are, at our hiring and at least once a week after that. He was warned.

Now the fun part!

It's a simple matter to maneuver my Square into my now empty parking space. The light that radiated red for our former friend now glows green for me. Seconds later the floor that's holding my car begins to shake and I know the "arm" is coming.

It drops down and gently wraps padded appendages around my windows and lifts up on the metal supports- all according to design. Me and my beloved Square, Spunky, are lifted though the opening in the ceiling that the arm came through and I am officially on the clock.

Up, up, up, we go, into the workroom. I see I am the last to arrive, but that"s alright. I'm still on time, and that's all that matters.

I throw a wave to my co-workers as the arm gets me to my station, all the way to the top and to the front and to the right. My Square fits easily onto it's brethren underneath and behind and on the side. There are 1000 of us altogether, sitting in our Squares. As the arm moves away I feel the "clink" of the locking devices joining my car to my co-workers and the "shhtud" of the main frame server locking its interface into my "unit." Yes, while I am at work, my car is known as a "unit," not a vehicle, but that's alright.

You see, the uniformity of my Square allows for a total interlocking with others, joined together to form a powerful company force, stacked in strength and solidarity.

Within a minute of setting-in my steering wheel has retracted and my computer monitor has taken its place. The drivers seat adjusts downwards and backwards and will now swivel. The PRF, Personal Relief Feature, has attached itself to my, well, my person, to relieve me of the need to go anywhere and be relieved, if you know what I mean.

Lunch time is fun! The monitor switches to display up to six of our friends to visit with. The technology is so advanced you can tell if someone has silently broken wind or failed to shower!

I know what you're thinking, but it's a very efficient system and completely idiot proof. At quitting time the process is reversed and me and my Square are disengaged and gently set down on the street and allowed to motor away, which brings me to our present situation.

I opted to pay the extra cash to get the "Park Outside" feature, much more desirable than having my car stacked with the rest at the Public Garage. I get to park my Spunky right outside my house! It has to be perfectly aligned with the others on my street who park outside, and, I'm not allowed to exit Spunky until it does, but that's a small price to pay for such a high level of individuality, don't you think?

* * *

The screen goes dark as a smiling Terence turns to face the committee.

"It is my sincere hope that the committee is pleased with my entry, and, may I say, I have never enjoyed one's virtual company more than the August Committee before me now."

After an extended period of silence Chairman Foster began to speak.

"That was wonderful, Terence! Nicely done, well written and professional. Please return to the waiting room so the committee can make its decision. Thank you."

Terence stood for just a second too long, scanning the faces of each member searching for any sign of approval, gaging their stoic countenance to glean any hope he could to feed on while in the waiting room with the others. Chairman Foster cleared his throat as if to say "Get out!"

His spirits eased a bit as he sat down in the waiting room under the 3D picture of the Capital Building at sunset.

How could anyone be so clever, he thought to himself. No one else will have such an informative commercial for the National Compliance Initiative!

He looked around, hoping to see the sweaty faces of the other contestants and take pleasure in their sense of impending doom, but there were no others, only a scrub-wearing goon on either side of him. One of them he knew, Gary. The memory was fuzzy but he didn't like him for some reason, and Terence never dis-liked someone for no reason at all. The other guy he did not recognize, but did notice the familiar object sticking out of his shirt pocket. It was a syringe, filled with a clear liquid and apparently placed back into the paper wrapper for, well, convenience and symmetry, he supposed.

"Time to go, Terence," said Goon 1.

"Yes, the committee will inform you of their decision. When they have one," said Goon 2.

Terence felt his heart breaking inside as he was led back to his room. Then he remembered.

Yay! It's Tapioca Night!