If normal group interviews were scary, then this was hell in comparison. Usually she'd be against individuals of similar age and background, humans with flaws. She could beat them by an inch with lies and convince the interviewer with her non-existent talents. But this particular group interview was a scam in Ivanna's eyes. A cruel joke, an unfair game, a catastrophical display of injustice.
She was going against a robot, and a really expensive one at that. It was a beautiful blonde woman with smooth skin and long eyelashes, a naturally delicate doll. At first, Ivanna wasn't too worried. This was a serving job at a restaurant! Surely a human would do a better job, even if she was a little uglier, not short enough and her nose was crooked.
Ivanna eyed the robot's hands. They looked realistic, but they couldn't be as reliable as Ivanna's, could they? "With all due respect, I believe my balance and grip are far better than a robot's. I bet the trays will slip right out of its stiff fingers."
"It? She prefers she/her pronouns. And she is very capable. Let her demonstration speak for itself," the NoiRobo's owner spoke from behind it and rested his hand on the machine's shoulder as a sign. She had the audacity to smirk at Ivanna, before she picked up a pen and started twirling it between her fingers. All kinds of tricks were put on display, which Ivanna couldn't even dream of doing herself.
The doll spoke with a soothing voice, "New data can be added to my programming, so my skills are endless. I know how to deal with hundreds of different scenarios that could occur in customer service, while humans may freeze on the spot. My manners, smile and patience can't and won't slip like humans' do. Lastly, my battery lasts for a week before I need recharging, while this human will get tired before the sunset."
This was when Ivanna realized that she was indeed very lacking. Her eyebrows cinched together, and suddenly the room was too bright with its metallic, reflective furniture and white walls. It felt like a hospital room and a cage morphed into one. Had the air conditioning been that loud this whole time? Ivanna suddenly turned to address the interviewer directly, fingers turning white from gripping the edge of the ugly, cold table too hard. "If you were looking to hire a robot, why didn't you just rent one from a company? Why release a job ad, just to hire a piece of metal?"
"It's cheaper," spoke the robot's piece-of-shit owner, Akiro Noirot. Ivanna scowled at the sight of his babyface. How could someone so young own such a valuable machine, if not due to connections? "I will let this restaurant borrow her for an average waiter's salary. Robot companies, such as NoiRobots, usually demand a price ten times higher for rentals. This is a win-win situation for both you and me."
The interviewer looked sold.
"Ha. So, he gets the job and the money w-without lifting a finger?" Ivanna questioned with nervous laughter, her shaky finger pointing to Akiro. Months of job hunting without getting a single interview, and the moment she lands one, a rich spoiled bastard snatches the opportunity? Absolutely everything straight down the drain.
The interviewer straightened her back and tried to remain professional, despite sensing the beginnings of Ivanna's mental breakdown. "It's more profitable for us to hire his robot than you. Unfortunately, this time you weren't selected. Thank you for applying and good luck with your... on-going job search."
Ivanna stood up and grabbed her bag, dragging it out of the room along with herself. It was dizzying to realize that once again, she had failed and would remain unemployed. The walls shrunk rapidly around her and the hallway stretched on forever, door distant, and Ivanna had to run to catch up.
As she stumbled out into the streets of human swarms and expanding rain puddles, it dawned upon her that she'd never climb out of the grave that most would call 'home'. She'd be stuck in the lower city for the rest of her life, living off of her mother's lowly salary. Never the sun, never the stars and moon, never the flora for her to enjoy — just a woman, a mother and another daughter living together with a dozen of rats, cuddling for warmth in a damp ditch.
And so, the same old desperate life continued according to the same old blueprint. Applying to jobs, being rejected, then going to sleep with her younger sister. Applying to jobs, not being invited to an interview, then watching food shrink on the plate. Applying to jobs, and sometimes getting an online interview invitation, which was always false hope.
The moment the video call started, Ivanna knew it was a lost cause; the interviewer was a gorgeous man with a suit that fit too well on the unrealistically broad shoulders. Hair with unnaturally symmetrical curls. Skin too smooth. The AI bot smiled uncannily with his pearly whites and spoke with an all too low voice, "Why should we choose you for this position?"
Ivanna deadpanned at the floating screen in front of her. She almost ended the call right then and there, but decided to at least try to speak. "I'm pretty-"
"You are," the AI interrupted with a flirty tone.
Ivanna continued, "I'm pretty efficient and strong enough to carry heavy boxes. I recently worked at a warehouse and loaded tons of trucks. I'm familiar with the workfield and... I work out twice a week."
The man's face contorted in confusion, a poor attempt at scrunching his nose. "I would never let you carry heavy things with those delicate hands of yours, I say as I trap you against the table with my strong, large frame. I will carry everything for you, my dear, whether you like it or not."
Ivanna stared at the screen in disgust, "What the hell are you talking about?" The AI narrated something about pressing a palm to her lips, but before he could get further into his fantasies, the red button glowed on the screen as a sign of an ended call. Ivanna turned off the hologram device and the screen disappeared, leaving her alone in the darkness.
Another few weeks went by without any calls or interviews. The pages of the digital calendar on Ivanna's wall flew away at a scarily fast pace, the days blended together into one big clump of absolute void. Even hobbies felt like a chore, because she felt so useless just staying home and not being able to help her mom financially. Even little Milena noticed that something was wrong with her, and asked Ivanna to play with her unusually often to cheer her up.
Ding. An holographic email message popped up on Ivanna's device on the table. It flew in front of Ivanna, who had been laying on her bed and staring at the rotting ceiling.
"Job offer from DuPont Games," a monotonous AI assistant voice spoke the title out loud. "Dear Ivanna, I am delighted to formally offer you, on behalf of the DuPont Games, the role of an information broker inside our virtual game Odette. Our team has a limited amount of possible candidates for this position, and we find you very fitting for this job due to your connections."
Ivanna bolted up as she heard this, eyes widening in disbelief. She'd worked so hard on finding a job, and this is how she would finally get a job? Through a job offer, where they specifically request her to work for them? Ivanna searched through her memory lane for any connections she had to this game company, but found none. How could she possibly be the perfect candidate for a job that had nothing to do with her past experiences? She wasn't an information broker, knew nothing about games or machines, and definetly didn't know any significant figures in the lower or upper city. Was this a scam?
The AI continued to read the message out loud, "We'd like to have a face to face conversation with you regarding the job offer at our company's headquarters. The tasks included in this job are confidential, so details will be provided after you've signed a non-disclosure agreement."
"Blah, blah, blah," Ivanna yapped on top of the voice as the message started listing terms and conditions. "Give me the juice. What's the salary? Even if it's a shady job, I'll do it for a good price. For any price, really."
The assistant shut up for a moment, weaving through the message. "The job pays 40€ per hour, but is negotiable. The work hours depend on how much time you need to do your job."
"What?" Eyes shut, she laid back down. "What on earth do they want me to work on? If the work hours are that flexible, can't I just intentionally do my job slowly to get more money?"
Unless they really were that desperate to have her on the job? Was there really no one else who could do this, which lead the company to offer a deal she couldn't refuse? Whatever the answer was, Ivanna didn't hesitate to schedule an appointment with the employer, Aimé Du Pont, who was also the ceo of DuPont Games. She'd been wanting a job for so long, and now it was given to her on a silver platter! They could make her bite the curb and she'd still do it, as long as they also paid the hospital bills, because it would count as a workplace accident. Whoever this Aimé was, Ivanna now saw him as a guardian angel who descended upon her from the upper city and lent her a helping hand, which could possibly pull her family our of poverty. Maybe they'd even find a cheap apartment from the upper city with better living conditions.
Opening the browser, Ivanna seached for the game "Odette". Advertisements and visuals popped up, as well as the price of playing the game; 30 euros a month. Expensive as hell! Surely the company would let Ivanna inside the game for free, since she would be a part of the staff. Other than the price, everything seemed great. Odette was a virtual game, which players entered physically and had all their 5 senses available, excluding pain. You could fight monsters with magic, customize yourself, make friends, join events and explore the fantasy world with wings and other traversal items. The sceneries alone sealed the deal.
Ivanna felt like she'd seen articles and advertisements of the game before, but she wasn't really into games, so her previous information was limited. She hadn't been interested before, but now she couldn't help but feel giddy. All she had to do was play the game and gather information from inside of it? Hell yeah! Although Ivanna still wasn't sure why she specifically had been chosen...
Well, food for thought.